The Uryankhay Republic (; tyv, Урянхай) was a nominally independent state that broke away from 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-spea ...

of China during the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a ...

. It was proclaimed as a republic in 1911 by the Tuvan separatist movement and was encouraged by 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. ...

. On 1 December 1911, Outer Mongolia declared independence from Qing China. Throughout the rest of December, bands of

Uriankhai Uriankhai ( traditional Mongolian: , Mongolian Cyrillic: урианхай; sah, урааҥхай; zh, t=烏梁海, s=乌梁海, p=Wūliánghǎi), Uriankhan (, урианхан) or Uriankhat (, урианхад), is a term of address appli ...

began to plunder and burn Chinese-owned shops. Uriankhai nobles were divided on their course of political action. The Uriankhai governor (amban-Noyon), Gombo-Dorzhu, advocated becoming a protectorate of Russia, hoping that the Russians would appoint him Governor of Uriankhai. However, the princes of two other

kozhuun Kozhuun (; tyv, Кожуун, ) is the Tuvan term of an historical feudal administrative division known as a Banner (country subdivision), banner. The term ''kozhuun'' is used today as a unit in the system of the administrative divisions of the ...

s ( Tuvan for "

banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Als ...

") preferred to submit to the new Outer Mongolian state under the theocratic rule of Buddhist spiritual leader Jebstundamba Khutukhtu of Urga. Undeterred, Gombu-Dorzhu sent a petition to the Russian Tsar's Frontier Superintendent at

Usinsk Usinsk (russian: Усинск; kv, Ускар, ''Uskar'') is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located east of the republic's capital city of Syktyvkar and north of the town of Pechora, on the northern bank of the Usa River, before its c ...

, stating that he had been chosen as leader of an independent Tannu Uriankhai state. He asked for protection and proposed that Russian troops be sent immediately into the country to prevent China from restoring its rule over the region. There was no reply – three months earlier, the Tsarist Council of Ministers had decided on a policy of cautious gradual absorption of Uriankhai by encouraging Russian colonization. The Council feared that precipitous action by Russia might provoke China. Tsar Nicholas II ordered Russian troops into the Uryankhay Republic in 1912, under the pretext that Russian settlers were allegedly attacked. However, this position changed as a result of pressure from commercial circles in Russia for a more activist approach. Additionally, a Russian-sponsored petition from two Uriankhai khoshuuns in the fall of 1913 requested they be accepted as a part of Russia. Other Uriankhai khoshuuns soon followed suit. On 14 April 1914, the Uryankhay Republic became a Russian

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...

as the

Uryankhay Krai Uryankhai Krai; , ; mn, Урянхайн хязгаар, Urianhain hiazgaar, ; was the name of what is today Tuva and was a short-lived protectorate of the Russian Empire that was proclaimed on 17 April 1914, created from the Uryankhay Republi ...

.Istoriya Tuvy istory of Tuva v. 1, pp. 354–55.

References

{{Russian colonial campaigns Geography of Tuva History of Tuva 1911 establishments in Asia 1914 disestablishments in Asia Former countries in Chinese history Former unrecognized countries Former republics