Time to read: 13 minutes(s)

Author: Andrey Filimonov

On June 18, 1918, the unrecognized state of the Republic of Tuva, poetically calling itself the "center of Asia," signed a mutual assistance treaty with the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). Thus began the unbreakable friendship between Tuva and Russia, the main result of which can be considered the ascent of the plywood Marshal Shoigu to the top of the Kremlin food chain in the 21st century.

But a hundred years ago, many in Tuva believed that the Bolsheviks were not worth befriending. They suffered one defeat after another. Although the Lenin-Trotsky government still dreamed of world revolution, after the Czechoslovak Legion uprising on the Trans-Siberian Railway, Moscow lost control of most of the country. In July 1918, a detachment of the Siberian Army easily expelled the Reds from Belotsarsk, the capital of the Uryankhai region, as Tuva was then known.

"Uryangkhai is a vast basin of the Yenisei River; its northern border is formed by the Sayan Mountains, its southern border by the Tannu-Ola Mountains and the Tes River, its western border by the Altai Mountains, and its eastern border by Kosogol. With its wealth and fertility, Uryangkhai resembles the Promised Land. Thousands of flocks of sheep and horses graze on the vast steppes, covered in lush grass. The exceptionally fertile land produces excellent wheat, oats, and millet. The rivers provide abundant fish. The forests are full of game, very rare and valuable relative to their fur. The swamps and lakes are often completely black with birds. In terms of minerals, Uryangkhai possesses everything nature can offer. There is gold in the mountain streams and rivers. In addition, Uryankhai is rich in silver-tin, iron and copper ores, coal, sulfur, rock salt, and platinum, rubies, amethysts, topazes and rock crystal are also found here."

K. Gizhitsky. "Through Uryankhai and Mongolia. Memories from 1920-1921."

Kamil Giżycki served in the Polish Division of Kolchak's army. In the autumn of 1919, the Polish riflemen covered the retreat of the Siberian Army to the east, losing over 4 men in battles with Tukhachevsky's 5th Army. After the final defeat of the White movement in Siberia, Giżycki was among those who refused to lay down their arms and, with a small detachment, retreated first to Uryankhai and from there to Mongolia, where he joined the ranks of Baron Ungern's Asian Division.

The White officer and the Black Baron shared a hatred of the "red plague" that had ravaged Russia. Like Ungern, Gizhitsky believed that any means were adequate to combat Bolshevism. He proposed to Ungern the use of chemical weapons against the Red Army—shells filled with potassium cyanide. The Asian Division's supply train had somehow acquired a supply of this poison. But Gizhitsky didn't have time to implement the idea. A conspiracy was hatched at the headquarters of the "autocrat of the desert": several Cossack officers arrested their commander and handed him over to the Bolsheviks in August 1921.

According to Gizhitsky's recollections, when he arrived in Uryankhai, a war of all against all was raging. The taiga was overflowing with armed men who had arrived from the North uninvited and were extremely belligerent. Red partisans and White officers were killing each other with varying degrees of success, fighting for control of settlements neither of them had heard of a month earlier.

From time to time, a Chinese battalion would take part in the skirmishes, firing cannons at everyone in sight. The Chinese considered Tuva their territory, as the Uryankhai region was part of the Qing Empire. But after the 1911 revolution in China and the overthrow of the monarchy, the northern ethnic borderlands—Mongolia and Uryankhai—took advantage of the weakened central authority to declare independence.

In 1912, Tuvan noyons (including the future head of state, Buyan-Badyrgy) sent a petition to Emperor Nicholas II requesting Tuva be made an Imperial protectorate. The request was granted in 1914.

“The owners of this land are people of the Mongolian tribe, who call themselves Soyots, — writes Kamil Gizhitsky. "In fact, the current inhabitants of Uryankhai, who have adopted the name Soyots, are immigrants from the south, probably from Dzungaria, dating back four centuries." They professed Buddhism, which manifested itself in a rather peculiar way. "Under the influence of alcohol, they began to behave increasingly freely," writes a Polish traveler, recalling his meeting with representatives of the Uryankhai aristocracy. "They unbuttoned their robes, caught individual insects on themselves, and carefully lowered them to the ground, because, according to Buddhist belief, even such a vile insect could be inhabited by the soul of a deceased person."

Interestingly, the Russian ruble never caught on as a currency in the Uryankhai region. Local residents distrusted paper money and continued to use bricks of loose leaf tea, which were accepted at any market, for settlements.

In 1917, as soon as the Russian emperor abdicated, the Chinese returned to Uryankhai and ruled the country "as before" for almost a year, until the Bolsheviks drove them out. The export of revolution from Russia led to widespread ruin. The trade in wheat and maral deer ceased. The population, burdened with new taxes, became terribly impoverished. The country was finally destroyed by guerrilla warfare between the Bolshevik Shchetinkin's detachment and Colonel Bulatov's Cossacks.

In 1921, Tuva was occupied by the Red Army, after which the state of "Tannu-Tuva" was proclaimed.

«Further west, also south of the border, lies Tannu-Tuva, another Soviet republic on Chinese soil, whose nomadic diplomatic corps has nowhere to go but Moscow. It's if not the smallest, then certainly the least-known republic in the world, covering about 60 square miles, with a standing army of 160 men, equipped with uniforms and weapons donated by Moscow. A reliable army, until the uniforms wear out. — wrote American journalist Junius Boyd Wood in his book Incredible Siberia, published in the USA in 1928.

In fact, the area of ​​the "little-known republic" is approximately 20 times larger than the "60 square miles." But the American wasn't lying about the rest.

As a staunch ally of the USSR, Tuva declared war on Germany on June 25, 1941, just three days after the Wehrmacht invaded the USSR. At least, that's what the People's Khural (Assembly) passed. However, since the existence of the Tuvan People's Republic was recognized by only two countries worldwide—the Soviet Union and Mongolia—Tuva was unable to send a diplomatic note from Kyzyl to Berlin, and the Germans were unaware that a "second front" had been opened against them in the Far East.

Churchill also never mentioned Tuva in his memoirs of World War II, even though the republic fielded 206 cavalrymen against the Wehrmacht and handed over its entire gold reserve—30 million rubles—to the USSR.

As a token of gratitude, on October 11, 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR decreed the incorporation of Tuva into the Soviet Union as the "Tuvan Autonomous Oblast within the RSFSR." As if this were a minor administrative reform, an internal matter for one of the Union republics. The Kremlin didn't even hold a press conference on the matter, even though the country's territory had grown by 165 square kilometers, equivalent to the combined size of Hungary and Austria.

And this isn't about Stalin's legendary "modesty," but rather the fact that, from the perspective of international law, this territory is stolen. Throughout the 20th century, China never abandoned its claim to return Uryankhai/Tuva to its jurisdiction. Implacable enemies Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek agreed that "Uryangkhai is ours!" That is, Chinese. And the USSR was simply temporarily exploiting (and extremely irrationally) its mineral wealth and population.

Chinese politicians recalled the "stolen" Tuva even in the 21st century. In the summer of 2024, tensions sharply escalated around the island of Taiwan, which mainland China considers a temporarily lost province. The Chinese Red Army Navy then conducted provocative exercises near the island.

On September 2, 2024, Taiwan President Lai Qingde declared that if the big communist brother was so concerned about the country's territorial integrity, it should make claims against Russia, which 150 years ago forced the Qing Dynasty to cede Primorye and the Amur River. And simply "squeezed" Tuva without any negotiations, using force. Why is Beijing so keen on Taiwan and unwilling to return the resource-rich Uryankhai? This statement by the Taiwanese president was also a provocation. Lai Qingde knew that the PRC had officially renounced the once-lost "Northern Territories." But he decided to show off his erudition for the sake of argument.

According to Taiwan's own constitution, the Republic of China (the country's official name) succeeds the Qing Empire and lays claim to the entire territory of the former Chinese Empire, including Mongolia and Tuva. However, in 2002, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China recognized Mongolia's independence and removed its territory from official maps.

However, constitutional norms remain unchanged, so the government could "change its mind" at any moment. A war between Russia and Taiwan over Tuva is considered an unlikely event. Then again, Trump's chances of becoming US president also seemed unlikely 10 years ago.

During the Civil War, political uncertainty was absolute on all fronts. Power in cities and provinces changed monthly. People became "Red" or "White" by pure chance. Along the perimeter of the former empire, "independent republics" arose and disappeared, bursting like soap bubbles. For a brief period, even a Persian Soviet Republic existed…

"Who hasn't experienced incredible adventures during the Civil War?" exclaims Mikhail Bulgakov's hero in "A Theatrical Novel." Perhaps the citizens of the Soviet Union so meekly embraced Stalinism because the Civil War was a time of utter chaos, anarchy, and lawlessness, of Red and White Terror, when Chekists executed bourgeois citizens, Cossacks carried out pogroms against Jews, and White monarchists hanged Bolsheviks. Moreover, the victims of violence were always those who happened to be nearby. Having experienced such violence, the average person was ready to deify any authority, even the most authoritarian, as long as they weren't being slaughtered in the streets.

Although there is another explanation for the longevity of the Soviet dictatorship: everyone who fought against it went into exile or died.

Alexei Turchaninov, a graduate of the Berlin Agricultural College, was appointed commissar of the Provisional Government for the Uryankhai region in 1917. He knew Tuva better than any other Russian living there. During his three years as an agronomist in the Uryankhai region, Turchaninov traveled extensively and described the country. He also developed a deep affection for Tuvan Buddhism and its lamas, who were considering a theocratic state similar to Tibet.

The problem was that the Buddhist clergy of Uryankhai traditionally submitted to the Mongolian lama, the Bogdo Gegeen. This is why Buddhists had been lobbying for union with Russia as early as 1912. The head of the Uryankhai Sangha (Buddhist community), Lobsan-Chamza, hoped, with the support of the Russian government (he didn't care which one), to become not only the religious but also the secular leader of the country. However, the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs in St. Petersburg rejected the Sangha's request to appoint Lobsan-Chamza as "Bandido Lama," that is, the supreme and, in Christian parlance, "autocephalous" head of the national religious community.

After this, the sangha fell out of love with the Russian Tsar and welcomed the February Revolution in hopes of reaching an agreement with the new government. However, power in Russia soon began to shift so rapidly that the Uriankhais couldn't keep up. Commissar Turchaninov was imprisoned and then released, depending on which armed gang occupied Belotsarsk. In the summer of 1918, the Bolsheviks were driven out, many thought for good. Alexei Turchaninov was released from prison once again and was confirmed as "Uriankhai Governor" by the Omsk government.

The White regime seemed quite reliable to the Buddhists; they were even prepared to declare Kolchak a bodhisattva. Through Turchaninov's mediation, the sangha presented the admiral with offerings and a request to separate from the Mongolian Buddhists. This time, they almost succeeded.

"The meeting of Tuvan delegates with ministers of Kolchak's government in Omsk took place on July 2, 1919. Following this, Kambo Lama Lopsan-Chamzy was received by Admiral A.V. Kolchak. On July 13, 1919, by decree of the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Lopsan-Chamzy was appointed spiritual leader (Bandido-Khambo Lama) of the Uryankhai region. The first formal head of the Buddhist Church in Tuva was awarded the Order of St. Anna, Second Class, and received a car and a motorboat as gifts. A pledge of 20 silver rubles was made for the development of Buddhism in Tuva."

However, Omsk refused to confirm Lobsan-Chamza as the secular ruler of Uryankhai. However, this soon became completely irrelevant. The Siberian front collapsed under the pressure of Tukhachevsky's army. The Whites fled. The Reds returned to Uryankhai (but this was not the last episode), and Kolchak's "appointee," Lobsan-Chamza, was forced to hide in Buryatia and Mongolia.

Commissar Turchaninov's fate was tragic. On July 9, 1919, he announced the evacuation of Belotsarsk, for which he was dismissed from his post as governor by telegram from Omsk as a "panic-monger." But it turned out that Turchaninov was rather late with the evacuation. Shchetinkin's partisans routed the defenders of Belotsarsk, and it was no longer an evacuation, but a "runaway." This was a very popular term during the Civil War.

After two weeks of wandering through the taiga, Alexei Turchaninov was killed by bandits who thought the "Uriankhai governor"'s heavy suitcase must contain gold. But it contained only Turchaninov's own books and diaries. A Cossack who had accompanied Alexei Alexandrovich, but whom the bandits spared, told him what had happened. The manuscripts, however, were lost...

After the Red Army's final victory in the region, the Uryankhai region found itself in a gray zone—formally, it was neither part of Soviet Russia, nor of Mongolia, nor, especially, of China. A peculiar dual power was established in Kyzyl: on one side, the People's Revolutionary Committee, sent from Krasnoyarsk; on the other, the Buddhist sangha and the remnants of the former nobility, who sought to maintain autonomy.

In 1921, a brief but striking experiment began—the Tuvan People's Republic, with an army of two hundred horsemen and a new Latin alphabet in place of the traditional Mongolian script. Incidentally, the alphabet design and the first Tuvan primer were created by Shishkin's student, the Altai artist Choros-Gurkin.

The republic's main export is livestock, the main occupation of the population is horse breeding and horse stealing, and its main diplomatic achievement is the annual congratulatory telegram addressed to the Kremlin.

In the late 1920s, Stalin decided that Kyzyl had overdone the idea of ​​"independence" and that it was wrong for the republic's top officials to profess Lamaism instead of Marxism. "Extraordinary Commissars" were sent to Tuva, who repressed the entire ruling elite, including the "father of the republic," Buyan-Badyrgy. The first Tuvan prime minister, one of the architects of independent Tuva's first constitutions, sought friendship with both his northern neighbor and national traditions. He initiated the creation of the Tuvan Revolutionary Youth League and held the All-Tuvan Congress of Lamas. He was accused of patronizing the Khemchik Rebellion of 1924 and executed in 1932, along with Prime Minister Kuular Donduk.

Then an anti-religious campaign began. Communists with revolvers roamed the yurts, "removing the gods." While horses were requisitioned for collective farm needs, shamans and lamas were taken by the GPU. The confrontation between the sangha and the party cell was short-lived: many lamas disappeared into the forests, and only foundations and broken stupas remained of 26 monasteries.

Thus ended one of the most unique political adventures of the 20th century—the story of the distinctive, unrecognized Republic of Tuva. Today, it is remembered by archival photographs, artifacts in museums, and papers at academic conferences. And also by Taiwanese maps that show Uryankhai as part of the united and indivisible Qing Empire.