The article deals with the problem of the status of a woman in the history of Buddhism among the Mongol-speaking peoples of Russia: the Kalmyks and the Buryats. Special attention is paid to the issue of female clergy in the religious history of these indigenous groups. The authors note that with the spread of Buddhism, women in Buryatia and Kalmykia acquired a higher social and religious status, which is enshrined in legal documents. At the same time, a woman in the traditional Kalmyk and Buryat society generally was excluded from active social life and could not make a career in the religious sphere.

In the 20th century, the position of Kalmyk and Buryat women society underwent significant societal changes. The Soviet state sought to attract the women of Kalmykia and Buryatia to build a new society, actively fighting against Buddhist religion and conducting nation-wide atheistic propaganda. All this contributed to the fact that the religiosity of the population in these regions, including its female part, significantly decreased.

Today, the position of women in the religious life of Kalmykia and Buryatia is characterized as dual. On the one hand, in traditional Buddhist organizations, women can occupy only the positions of worshipers, secular employees, as well as carry out basic religious activities during certain rites. On the other hand, among the laity, the role of women is more significant. They take an active part in the activities of Buddhist communities and organizations and study Buddhist philosophy and medicine. Buddhist activists in modern Buddhist communities in these regions of Russia contribute greatly to the revival of Buddhism there. Despite the fact that men make up the bulk of the Buddhist clergy, it is women who constitute the majority of lay practitioners both in Kalmykia and Buryatia.