Novye Issledovaniâ Tuvy (Sep 2016)
Tuvan-Mongolian relations and links under the People’s Republic of Tuva
Abstract
The article examines the links and relations between Tuva and Mongolia during the two decades of People’s Republic of Tuva (1921-1944). Although some aspects of these relations have been studied by a number of Russian, Mongolian and Chinese scholars, they have so far failed to outline their general tendencies. In this article, we aim to study the Tuvan-Mongolian relations in the PRT period in the light of new archival materials, which will help us trace the main stages of their development and characterize the specific features of each stage. The first stage (1921-1925) opens with the establishment of Tuvan statehood and its non-recognition by Mongolia. Tuvan lamas and noyons retained their links to the highest-profile Mongolian clergy and the rulers of Mongolian aimags in the borderlands. The second stage (1926–1929) begins with the changes in leadership of both states, which led to PRT being officially recognized by the Mongolian People’s Republic. The recognition was followed by signing a Treaty of Friendship between the two states and the restoration of cultural links, given that traditional culture and the Mongolian written language still prevailed in Tuva. We have reconstructed a full list of Tuvan diplomatic envoys in Mongolia and Mongolian envoys in Tuva. The third stage (1930–1944) was marked by the victory of the political left in both Tuva and Mongolia. The new leaders of both states had been educated in Moscow, in Communist University of the Toilers of the East. This helped establish what was deemed ‘truly revolutionary mutual relations’ and build up an interparty network. Indirectly, it also helped enhance economic, trade and cultural links. Our study was based, among other sources, on archival documents from the State Archive of the Republic of Tuva, the research archive of Tuva Institute for Humanities and Applied Socioeconomic Studies, and some published sources from the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ archive and the Central National Archive of Mongolia, some of these in Old Mongolian language.
