Photo taken by Kristina Jonutytė: “This photograph was taken in a sacred site on the outskirts of Ulan-Ude, the capital of Buryatia. Practitioners of Buryat shamanism and Buddhism tie khadag ceremonial scarves, ribbons, and pieces of cloth as a sign of respect and as an offering to local spirits who dwell there. During my fieldwork on the revival of Buddhism in Ulan-Ude, I noticed that some of these sacred sites contained ribbons in the color of the Russian flag, as well as ribbons of Saint George, a potent symbol of Russian nationalism, alongside other khadag scarves and ribbons. This new ritual use of Russian nationalist symbols in Buryatia embodies complex cultural and social change. Buryats, an ethnic and religious minority inhabiting Russia’s borderlands, are in a difficult position in contemporary Russia. They are part of the Slavic-dominated Russian nation, while at the same time they are being undermined through both Russian policies, which prioritise the center to the periphery, and Russian society, where racialized minorities are often treated as second-class citizens. While these tensions have existed ever since Buryatia’s colonization in the 17th century, today they are especially pertinent as Russia has waged a war in Ukraine, and Buryats have come to represent Russian minority participation in the war to many Russian as well as foreign observers. Republic of Buryatia, Russian Federation, 2015.”