WASHINGTON: A group of Buddhist monks is set to reach Washington, D.C., on foot Tuesday, capping a trek from Texas that has captivated the country.
The monks in their saffron robes have become fixtures on social media, along with their rescue dog Aloka.
They walk to advocate for peace. That simple message has resonated across the US as a welcome respite from conflict and political divisions. Thousands have gathered along Southern roadsides to watch the monks’ quiet, single-file procession that began in late October.
“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who has taught about mindfulness at stops along the way.
The monks plan to mark the last days of their Walk for Peace with outdoor appearances at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday and the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday.
“Their long journey and gentle witness invite us all to deepen our commitment to compassion and the work of peace in our communities,” said Washington Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde, who will help host an interfaith reception for the monks at the cathedral.
The monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies. Millions have followed them online, and crowds have greeted them at numerous venues, from a church in Opelika, Alabama, to City Hall in Richmond, Virginia.
Mark Duykers, a retired mechanical engineer who practices mindfulness, said he and his wife will drive 550 miles (885 kilometers) from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Washington to see the monks.
“In these divisive times, we saw entire towns in the Bible Belt coming out for these monks — having no idea of what Buddhism is — but being uplifted and moved by it,” he said. “That’s inspirational.”
Nineteen monks began the 2,300-mile (3,700 kilometer) journey from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth on Oct. 26, 2025. They came from Theravada Buddhist monasteries around the globe, led by Pannakara, who is vice president of the Fort Worth temple.
While in the US capital, they plan to submit a request to lawmakers to declare Vesak — Buddha’s birthday — a national holiday. But, Pannakara and others have emphasized that is not the walk’s goal.
Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the temple, said the walk is neither a political movement nor is it focused on advocacy or legislation.
“It’s a spiritual offering — an invitation to live peace through everyday actions, mindful steps and open hearts,” he said. “We believe when peace is cultivated within, it naturally ripples outward into society.”
The trek has had its perils, and local law enforcement officers have provided security. In November outside Houston, the monks were walking on the side of a highway when their escort vehicle was hit by a truck. Two monks were injured; one had his leg amputated.
Some of the monks, including Pannakara, have walked barefoot or in socks for most of the journey to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment. As they have pressed on through snow and cold, they’ve at times donned winter boots.
Peace walks are a cherished tradition in Theravada Buddhism. Pannakara first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means “divine light” in Sanskrit, during a 112-day journey across India in 2022.
The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha as core to attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection, observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering.
On Tuesday, the monks will complete 108 days of walking. It’s a sacred number in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. It represents spiritual completion, cosmic order and the wholeness of existence.
The monks’ return trip should be less arduous. After an appearance at Maryland’s Capitol, a bus will take them back to Texas, where they expect to arrive in downtown Fort Worth early on Saturday.
From there, the monks will walk together again, traversing 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) to the temple where their trip began.
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Buddhist monks head to DC to finish a ‘Walk for Peace’ that captivated millions
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Buddhist monks head to DC to finish a ‘Walk for Peace’ that captivated millions
- The monks in their saffron robes have become fixtures on social media, along with their rescue dog Aloka
From bakeries to beauty shops, Russian businesses are feeling the pain from a new wartime tax policy
From bakeries to beauty shops, Russian businesses are feeling the pain from a new wartime tax policy
Denis Maksimov’s bakery in suburban Moscow became famous overnight after he appeared on President Vladimir Putin’s annual call-in show in December.
Standing in front of the bakery — called Mashenka, after his oldest daughter -– he pleaded with Putin via video to look into new tax reforms that are significantly increasing the burden on small businesses like his.
“We understand very well that it’s not an easy situation for the country. We understand that raising taxes is necessary,” Maksimov said. “We’re looking ahead without optimism, frankly speaking. Many (businesses) will close down.”
As Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine marks four years, the mounting pressure on Russia’s economy is starting to show. Oil revenues are dwindling, the budget deficit is up, and military spending that fueled robust growth has leveled off.
The Kremlin is now tapping consumers and small businesses for funds. The value-added tax has been raised by 2 percent and revenue thresholds for requiring businesses to pay it have been lowered drastically.
Ordinary Russians appear to be feeling the pain. Business owners interviewed by The Associated Press described a steady decline in demand for their goods and services, a sudden increase in costs as suppliers adjust to the tax reform, and a tax burden that’s now tens of times higher. Some said they downsized to keep operating, while others closed.
A recent video on social media showed the economic fallout: Vacant commercial spaces on St. Petersburg’s main street, Nevsky Prospekt, where shop after shop went out of business.
“I’ve never felt so scared as this year, so unprotected, so anxious,” said Darya Demchenko, who owns a chain of beauty salons in Russia’s second largest city.
A failed plea
Maksimov’s plea to Putin failed to reverse the tax reform, which lowered the threshold for requiring businesses to pay VAT from 60 million rubles, or $783,000, in annual sales revenue, to 20 million rubles ($261,000) this year and to 10 million rubles ($130,500) by 2028.
The revenue threshold was similarly lowered for those using the “patent taxation system,” in which small businesses made fixed annual payments — usually only tens of thousands of rubles — instead of a percentage of their revenues or profits. This year, those whose revenues exceed 20 million rubles would need to pay at least a 6 percent tax on their revenues, and at least a 5 percent VAT.
In their televised exchange, Maksimov said he had been using the patent system for eight years, and Putin responded by underscoring the need for tax reform to tackle “uncontrolled” illegal imports but promised to look at what can be done.
Maksimov’s appearance attracted attention and new customers to Mashenka, which has three bakeries in the Moscow region. It had sent a basket of baked goods to the Kremlin and boasts on its website that Putin “tried our pies.”
Russian media quoted Maksimov as saying sales rose for a while, but without a change in tax policy, he contemplated closing.
Putin raised Mashenka’s case at a government meeting last month, and Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov proposed measures allowing Maksimov’s business to be exempt from paying VAT and lower his other taxes. Shortly after, the owner said he wasn’t considering closing down.
“I think we will grow, maybe slower than before, but no less confidently, I think,” Maksimov told AP this month. He admitted, however, that he’s still waiting for authorities to adopt the proposed measures. It’s unclear when that will happen.
Others follow suit
Maksimov’s case caused an outcry among other small and medium entrepreneurs. In an online campaign “We Are Mashenka,” started by the Association of Beauty Industry Enterprises, business owners across Russia raised similar cases, noting that unlike Maksimov, who was lucky to get Putin’s ear, they had no one to bail them out.
Demchenko, who supported the campaign, told AP that of four family-oriented beauty salons in her chain — three of her own and one opened through a franchise -– she had to close one and sell another to stay afloat due to the dramatically increased taxes and other costs, as well as lagging demand.
The tax reforms meant she was no longer eligible for the patent system and was looking at paying much higher taxes, as well as having to hire a full-time accountant to handle the paperwork, she said. Her costs — such as rent, supplies, security and banking services — spiked 30 percent, she added, noting suppliers raised their prices well over the 2 percent VAT increase.
Demand for beauty services, meanwhile, has been falling for months.
Russia’s restrictions on social media and messaging platforms deprived her of cheap advertising and easy ways to reach clients, Demchenko said.
The beauty industry weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, with government support like tax breaks and deferments, as well as ways to negotiate with landlords to waive rent for a while.
“This year, we haven’t felt any support at all. We feel like they want to shut us down,” she said.
Shuttered businesses
Lyalya Sadykova, president of the Association of Beauty Industry Enterprises, said about 10 percent of beauty industry businesses in St. Petersburg closed and another 10 percent sold their companies in December and January. She anticipates more closures this spring.
“People will do the math. The first deadline for taxes is in April, and people will see that they have nothing to pay with, and that’s when the collapse will begin,” she said. “I think there will be bankruptcies, and mass exodus from the market, because now it seems to me that not everyone has done the math and understood it.”
When the tax reforms were adopted last year, pastry shop owners Ilsiya Gizatullina and Railya Shayhieva and decided to shut down their business in Kazan. Like Demchenko, they cited the massive tax increases, rising costs and falling demand.
It was an incredibly hard decision, “like cutting off a body part. Because we lived there, it was our life, 24/7,” Gizatullina told AP.
They opened in 2020 and survived the pandemic, which Gizatullina noted was only temporary. The new tax system is here to stay.
“We understand very well that it won’t be abolished the day after tomorrow, and there will likely be an even higher tax burden in the future,” Gizatullina said.
As part of the reforms, more businesses will be paying increased taxes in 2027 and 2028, since changes will affect those with even lower revenues.
Growing pressure
Small and medium enterprises account for just over 20 percent of Russia’s economy, but it’s still significant, says Chris Weafer, CEO of Macro-Advisory Ltd. Consultancy. Increasing the application of VAT to those businesses will mean “a meaningful amount” of money for the state budget.
It is “a deliberate strategy by the Finance Ministry to create more stable, predictable sources of income” at a time when oil revenues are down and the budget deficit is up, Weafer said.
Small and medium enterprises have been under pressure since 2014, when Russia faced sanctions over its illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, and the government directed most of its support to big companies. The new tax regulations add to the pressure, Weafer said, and while that’s unlikely to wreck the economy, it will impede growth when the war ends.
“The one engine of expansion and growth and innovation that you need in an economy is the sector that has suffered most in the last four years and is continuing to suffer today,” he said.
Standing in front of the bakery — called Mashenka, after his oldest daughter -– he pleaded with Putin via video to look into new tax reforms that are significantly increasing the burden on small businesses like his.
“We understand very well that it’s not an easy situation for the country. We understand that raising taxes is necessary,” Maksimov said. “We’re looking ahead without optimism, frankly speaking. Many (businesses) will close down.”
As Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine marks four years, the mounting pressure on Russia’s economy is starting to show. Oil revenues are dwindling, the budget deficit is up, and military spending that fueled robust growth has leveled off.
The Kremlin is now tapping consumers and small businesses for funds. The value-added tax has been raised by 2 percent and revenue thresholds for requiring businesses to pay it have been lowered drastically.
Ordinary Russians appear to be feeling the pain. Business owners interviewed by The Associated Press described a steady decline in demand for their goods and services, a sudden increase in costs as suppliers adjust to the tax reform, and a tax burden that’s now tens of times higher. Some said they downsized to keep operating, while others closed.
A recent video on social media showed the economic fallout: Vacant commercial spaces on St. Petersburg’s main street, Nevsky Prospekt, where shop after shop went out of business.
“I’ve never felt so scared as this year, so unprotected, so anxious,” said Darya Demchenko, who owns a chain of beauty salons in Russia’s second largest city.
A failed plea
Maksimov’s plea to Putin failed to reverse the tax reform, which lowered the threshold for requiring businesses to pay VAT from 60 million rubles, or $783,000, in annual sales revenue, to 20 million rubles ($261,000) this year and to 10 million rubles ($130,500) by 2028.
The revenue threshold was similarly lowered for those using the “patent taxation system,” in which small businesses made fixed annual payments — usually only tens of thousands of rubles — instead of a percentage of their revenues or profits. This year, those whose revenues exceed 20 million rubles would need to pay at least a 6 percent tax on their revenues, and at least a 5 percent VAT.
In their televised exchange, Maksimov said he had been using the patent system for eight years, and Putin responded by underscoring the need for tax reform to tackle “uncontrolled” illegal imports but promised to look at what can be done.
Maksimov’s appearance attracted attention and new customers to Mashenka, which has three bakeries in the Moscow region. It had sent a basket of baked goods to the Kremlin and boasts on its website that Putin “tried our pies.”
Russian media quoted Maksimov as saying sales rose for a while, but without a change in tax policy, he contemplated closing.
Putin raised Mashenka’s case at a government meeting last month, and Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov proposed measures allowing Maksimov’s business to be exempt from paying VAT and lower his other taxes. Shortly after, the owner said he wasn’t considering closing down.
“I think we will grow, maybe slower than before, but no less confidently, I think,” Maksimov told AP this month. He admitted, however, that he’s still waiting for authorities to adopt the proposed measures. It’s unclear when that will happen.
Others follow suit
Maksimov’s case caused an outcry among other small and medium entrepreneurs. In an online campaign “We Are Mashenka,” started by the Association of Beauty Industry Enterprises, business owners across Russia raised similar cases, noting that unlike Maksimov, who was lucky to get Putin’s ear, they had no one to bail them out.
Demchenko, who supported the campaign, told AP that of four family-oriented beauty salons in her chain — three of her own and one opened through a franchise -– she had to close one and sell another to stay afloat due to the dramatically increased taxes and other costs, as well as lagging demand.
The tax reforms meant she was no longer eligible for the patent system and was looking at paying much higher taxes, as well as having to hire a full-time accountant to handle the paperwork, she said. Her costs — such as rent, supplies, security and banking services — spiked 30 percent, she added, noting suppliers raised their prices well over the 2 percent VAT increase.
Demand for beauty services, meanwhile, has been falling for months.
Russia’s restrictions on social media and messaging platforms deprived her of cheap advertising and easy ways to reach clients, Demchenko said.
The beauty industry weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, with government support like tax breaks and deferments, as well as ways to negotiate with landlords to waive rent for a while.
“This year, we haven’t felt any support at all. We feel like they want to shut us down,” she said.
Shuttered businesses
Lyalya Sadykova, president of the Association of Beauty Industry Enterprises, said about 10 percent of beauty industry businesses in St. Petersburg closed and another 10 percent sold their companies in December and January. She anticipates more closures this spring.
“People will do the math. The first deadline for taxes is in April, and people will see that they have nothing to pay with, and that’s when the collapse will begin,” she said. “I think there will be bankruptcies, and mass exodus from the market, because now it seems to me that not everyone has done the math and understood it.”
When the tax reforms were adopted last year, pastry shop owners Ilsiya Gizatullina and Railya Shayhieva and decided to shut down their business in Kazan. Like Demchenko, they cited the massive tax increases, rising costs and falling demand.
It was an incredibly hard decision, “like cutting off a body part. Because we lived there, it was our life, 24/7,” Gizatullina told AP.
They opened in 2020 and survived the pandemic, which Gizatullina noted was only temporary. The new tax system is here to stay.
“We understand very well that it won’t be abolished the day after tomorrow, and there will likely be an even higher tax burden in the future,” Gizatullina said.
As part of the reforms, more businesses will be paying increased taxes in 2027 and 2028, since changes will affect those with even lower revenues.
Growing pressure
Small and medium enterprises account for just over 20 percent of Russia’s economy, but it’s still significant, says Chris Weafer, CEO of Macro-Advisory Ltd. Consultancy. Increasing the application of VAT to those businesses will mean “a meaningful amount” of money for the state budget.
It is “a deliberate strategy by the Finance Ministry to create more stable, predictable sources of income” at a time when oil revenues are down and the budget deficit is up, Weafer said.
Small and medium enterprises have been under pressure since 2014, when Russia faced sanctions over its illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, and the government directed most of its support to big companies. The new tax regulations add to the pressure, Weafer said, and while that’s unlikely to wreck the economy, it will impede growth when the war ends.
“The one engine of expansion and growth and innovation that you need in an economy is the sector that has suffered most in the last four years and is continuing to suffer today,” he said.
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