Yes, the Shaolin Temple was built in cooperation with Russia. The following is the news material:
In recent years, Russia’s martial arts industry has developed rapidly. In 1999, a Shaolin Temple delegation visited Moscow and established the Chinese Shaolin Cultural Training Center in Moscow. Currently, Shaolin monks come to Moscow every year to teach kung fu. This year, a new "Shaolin Villa" will be built in Elista, the capital of Kalmykia. There are now 50 Russian cities and states with martial arts associations. There are 24 clubs under the Moscow Martial Arts Association, two of which specialize in teaching Changquan, and the others teach Tai Chi, Shaolin Boxing, Baguazhang, Tongbei Boxing, etc. These clubs have more than 2,500 members, accounting for about 1/4 of the total number of martial arts enthusiasts in the city.
After years of hard work, martial arts has finally blossomed in Russia. In December 2005, at the 8th World Wushu Championships held in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, Russian athletes won two gold medals. At the first International Wushu Fighting Competition held in Chongqing in February 2006, the double champion of the 2004 European Championships and the 8th International Wushu Championships and the Russian "Sanshou King" Sai Muslimu cleanly defeated four China's top player won the title of "King of Kings". During the competition, he used the most standardized and beautiful Chinese martial arts Sanda techniques, showing his super competitive physical fitness and martial arts skills. The magazine "Martial Arts: Fighting and Fitness" founded by the Russian Martial Arts Association introduces the history, schools and current situation of Chinese martial arts with pictures and texts, as well as Chinese language, Chinese food, tea ceremony and even Chinese Buddhism, Taoism and other traditional philosophies, so that martial arts practitioners can better understand The essence of Chinese martial arts. In the first issue of the magazine, there was a quiz with prizes related to Chinese culture and martial arts, and the prize was a trip to the Shaolin Temple.
Most enthusiasts practice martial arts not to participate in competitions, but to strengthen their bodies and cultivate their character. What is commendable is that their understanding of Chinese martial arts has gone beyond the stage of "physical similarity" of one move after another, and has risen to the pursuit of "spiritual similarity". To learn Tai Chi, they practice meditation; to learn Shaolin Kung Fu, they study Buddhist scriptures. In the process of practicing martial arts, they were deeply attracted by the charm of traditional Chinese culture. For Russians, traditional Chinese philosophical concepts such as "Tai Chi Bagua", "Yin Yang and Five Elements" and "Zen" are very profound, but they still have the courage to delve into them and enjoy them. One martial arts fan even said, “If you don’t know Chinese traditional culture, you are not a true martial arts practitioner.” Gleb Muzrukov, the principal of the Moscow Martial Arts School, believes that “the spirit contained in martial arts is too great. "Martial arts is the best messenger to spread Chinese culture!" Andrei Lelyavin, chairman of the Moscow Martial Arts Association, believes that Putin's trip to Shaolin will definitely promote the promotion of Chinese martial arts in Russia and hopes that the Russian and Chinese governments will It can provide more support for the future development of Russian martial arts.