Born in 1967 in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Russia, I was raised in a highly cultural environment and studied music from the age of six to nineteen after which I worked as a composer and musician as well as playing in various 'underground' rock and fusion bands (most of this kind of music was severely frowned upon by the Soviet authorities) until I left Russia for the UK in 1993 with my wife. Parallel to my musical interest, I also developed a fascination for ancient history and archaeology. From the age of ten, I attended after-school classes at the Hermitage Museum where, for six years, I studied ancient history, mythology and art history from experts such as the museum director, Boris B. Piotrovskiy. From the age of eight, during theBorn in 1967 in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Russia, I was raised in a highly cultural environment and studied music from the age of six to nineteen after which I worked as a composer and musician as well as playing in various 'underground' rock and fusion bands (most of this kind of music was severely frowned upon by the Soviet authorities) until I left Russia for the UK in 1993 with my wife. Parallel to my musical interest, I also developed a fascination for ancient history and archaeology. From the age of ten, I attended after-school classes at the Hermitage Museum where, for six years, I studied ancient history, mythology and art history from experts such as the museum director, Boris B. Piotrovskiy. From the age of eight, during the summers 1975-81 I participated in archaeological digs at the Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy fortress near Odessa, led by my aunt, Academician Prof. Galina Mezentseva, Head of Archaeology at Kiev University. These formed part of her University courses, so I was able to attend all her afternoon lectures on archaeological methodology and history. It was this interest in archaeology which led me to join the University of Leningrad's expedition to Khakassia near border of Tuva in the summer of 1987 to excavate Scythian Kurgans. This was my first trip to Siberia. From the age of eight, during the summers 1975-81 I participated in archaeological digs at the Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy fortress near Odessa, led by my aunt, Academician Prof. Galina Mezentseva, Head of Archaeology at Kiev University. These formed part of her University courses, so I was able to attend all her afternoon lectures on archaeological methodology and history. It was this interest in archaeology which led me to join the University of Leningrad's expedition to Khakassia near border of Tuva in the summer of 1987 to excavate Scythian Kurgans. This was my first trip to Siberia and it is there that I had my first contact with its powerful gods and spirits. My interest in Buddhism also began in my childhood, when, at the age of ten I read a book called Gods of the Lotus by Parfionov which detailed his trip in the Himalayas and opened up a whole new world of deities and religions for me. In my teens this interest was combined with martial arts based on Taoism and Zen philosophy, and Qi Gong which I received from the Chinese adept Gu Yui from Nanjing. In the Soviet era such fields were strictly forbidden and materials were severely limited so it was only with the coming of Perestroika in 1989 that I was able to receive a blessing for the Lotus Sutra from a Japanese Zen master and receive teachings and initiations of Green Tara and Vajrasattva from a Tibetan lama, Bakula Rinpoche. The following year I met the Dalai Lama in Riga. It was this contact with Tibetan Buddhism which took me to Buryatia the first time, in the summer of 1990, to attend the Maidari Huural celebration (Maitreya festival) at the only Buddhist monastery left after the Communist persecution, the Ivolginskiy Datsan near Ulaan-Ude. I then travelled to the Eastern part of the region and made friends with the family of the late Batodalai Doogarov, Buddhist tantric practitioner and thangka painter. They invited me to spend the winter with them, practising meditation and healing. This was my first introduction to Buryatian culture. In 1991 I went to Moscow to receive teachings and empowerment from the Dzogchen cycle of Longchen Nyingthig and a Tantric initiation of Kurukulla from Khenchen Palden Sherab and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. This had a very profound effect on me and I began practising the preliminaries and meditation. Over the years I received further Dzogchen and Tantric teachings from them, including Vajrakilaya. The following year (1992) I met Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche in Riga and followed him on a two-month teaching tour in St.-Petersburg, Moscow and Ulaan-Ude during which he gave Dzogchen teachings. Since that time, Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche has been my Buddhist ...more