Central Asia · Russian and Qing conquest
Republic of Uryankhay
Tuva, 1911–1914
The Uryankhay Republic (Tuvan: Урянхай) was a nominally independent state proclaimed in December 1911 when the Tuvan separatist movement broke away from Qing China during the Xinhai Revolution. At its greatest extent the region (Tannu Uriankhai) covered roughly 149,000 km², lying northwest of Mongolia in the Sayan Mountains.
- Existed
- Tuva, 1911–1914
- Shown on the map
- 1912–1913
- Peak area
- 149k km²
- Region
- Central Asia
Overview
The Uryankhay Republic (Tuvan: Урянхай) was a nominally independent state proclaimed in December 1911 when the Tuvan separatist movement broke away from Qing China during the Xinhai Revolution. At its greatest extent the region (Tannu Uriankhai) covered roughly 149,000 km², lying northwest of Mongolia in the Sayan Mountains. It was never internationally recognized and was absorbed into the Russian Empire as a protectorate in April 1914.
Origins and background
The territory, known to the Qing as Tannu Uriankhai, had been administered as part of Outer Mongolia under Qing rule. Its population was predominantly Tuvan (Turkic-speaking, traditionally shamanist and Tibetan Buddhist), organized administratively into kozhuuns ("banners") headed by hereditary noyans. When Outer Mongolia declared independence from the Qing on 1 December 1911, the Tuvan nobility split over the region's future: some noyans (Balzhin'nima and Toqamid) favored joining the new Mongolian state under the theocratic Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu, while the Uriankhai governor (amban-noyan) Oyun Kombu-Dorzhu advocated a Russian protectorate, reportedly hoping to be appointed governor by St. Petersburg. During December 1911, bands of Uriankhai plundered and burned Chinese-owned shops.
Chronology
Kombu-Dorzhu petitioned the Tsar's Frontier Superintendent at Usinsk, claiming leadership of an independent Tannu Uriankhai state and requesting immediate Russian military protection. St. Petersburg initially declined: the Council of Ministers had adopted a policy of cautious, gradual absorption, fearing that precipitate action might provoke China. Tsar Nicholas II nevertheless ordered Russian troops into the region in 1912, citing alleged attacks on Russian migrants. Pressure from Russian commercial circles, followed by Russian-sponsored petitions from Uriankhai khoshuuns in autumn 1913 requesting annexation, shifted the policy. On 14 April 1914 (17 April in some accounts), the Uryankhay Republic became the Russian protectorate of Uryankhay Krai.
Subsequent Tuvan history
After the Russian Revolution and Civil War, the region became the Tuvan People's Republic (Tannu Tuva, 1921–1944), a nominally independent Soviet satellite state between the USSR and Mongolia. In 1944, at the request of its Small Khural, Tuva was annexed by the Soviet Union, becoming the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast and later the Tuvan ASSR; since 1992 it has been the Republic of Tuva, a federal subject of Russia. Its capital is Kyzyl.
Government, economy, and religion
The republic was a loose polity led by the amban-noyan and the kozhuun nobility, with Tuvan, Russian, and Mongolian in use. The economy was pastoral nomadism, supplemented by hunting and small-scale Russian settler commerce. Buddhism coexisted with indigenous shamanic practice.
Common questions
- What was the Republic of Uryankhay?
- The Uryankhay Republic (Tuvan: Урянхай) was a nominally independent state proclaimed in December 1911 when the Tuvan separatist movement broke away from Qing China during the Xinhai Revolution. At its greatest extent the region (Tannu Uriankhai) covered roughly 149,000 km², lying northwest of Mongolia in the Sayan Mountains.
- When did the Republic of Uryankhay exist?
- The Republic of Uryankhay existed Tuva, 1911–1914. On this map it is drawn 1912–1913.
- How large was the Republic of Uryankhay?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Republic of Uryankhay covered about 149,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- Who ruled the Republic of Uryankhay?
- Kombu-Dorzhu petitioned the Tsar's Frontier Superintendent at Usinsk, claiming leadership of an independent Tannu Uriankhai state and requesting immediate Russian military protection. St. Petersburg initially declined: the Council of Ministers had adopted a policy of cautious, gradual absorption, fearing that precipitate action might provoke China.
- How was the Republic of Uryankhay governed?
- The republic was a loose polity led by the amban-noyan and the kozhuun nobility, with Tuvan, Russian, and Mongolian in use.
Sources
Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.
- Wikipedia: Uryankhay Republic en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uryankhay_Republic
This entry was written from the sources above and last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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