Donduk Kuular ( tyv, Куулар Дондук, , 1888–1932) was a

Tuva Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...

n monk, politician, and prime minister of the

Tuvan People's Republic The Tuvan People's Republic (TPR; tyv, Тыва Арат Республик, translit=Tywa Arat Respublik; Yanalif: ''Tьʙа Arat Respuʙlik'', ),) and abbreviated TAR. known as the Tannu Tuva People's Republic until 1926, was a partially rec ...

. Born in

Tannu Uriankhai Tannu Uriankhai ( tyv, Таңды Урянхай, ; mn, Тагна Урианхай, Tagna Urianhai, ; ) is a historical region of the Mongol Empire (and its principal successor, the Yuan dynasty) and, later, the Qing dynasty. The territory of ...

during the rule of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

of China, Donduk was originally a Lamaist monk. As leader of a group of Russian-supported

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

, he proclaimed the independence of the People's Republic of Tannu Tuva from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in 1921. He subsequently switched his affiliation to the Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party. Aware of his young nation's vulnerability, Donduk sought to establish ties with the

Mongolian People's Republic The Mongolian People's Republic ( mn, Бүгд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс, БНМАУ; , ''BNMAU''; ) was a socialist state which existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia in East Asia. It w ...

. His monastic background and theocratic inclinations gave him a close relationship with the country's lamas, whose interests he sought to advance in spite of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

's growing irritation. In 1926 he established Buddhism as the state religion of Tannu Tuva, which in November was renamed the Tuvan People's Republic. Stalin found Donduk's separatist and theocratic tendencies obnoxious, and counter to communist principles of internationalism and atheism. In 1929 he was removed from power and arrested. Meanwhile, five Tuvan graduates of the

Communist University of the Toilers of the East The Communist University of the Toilers of the East (KUTV) (russian: link=no, Коммунистический университет трудящихся Востока; also known as the Far East University) was a revolutionary training scho ...

were appointed ''commissars extraordinary'' to Tuva. Their loyalty to Stalin ensured that they would pursue policies, such as

collectivization Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member ...

, that Donduk had ignored. A coup was launched in 1929. One of these commissars,

Salchak Toka Salchak Kalbakkhorekovich Toka (russian: Салчак Калбакхорекович Тока, – 11 May 1973) was a Tuvan and later, Soviet politician. He was General Secretary of the Tuvinian department of the CPSU from 1944 to 1973; previou ...

, replaced Donduk as General Secretary of the Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party. On the 22nd of March 1932, Donduk was sentenced the highest penalty - death through execution by a firing squad - alongside 3 other figures named "exploiters" including Mongush Buyan-Badyrgy, and the following day they were executed.Indjin Bayart: ''An Russland, das kein Russland ist'', Hamburg 2014, p. 114.
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References

1888 births 1932 deaths Anti-Stalinist left History of the Tuvan People's Republic People executed by the Soviet Union Tuvan independence activists Tibetan Buddhism in Siberia Tibetan Buddhists from Russia {{tuva-stub