Tuva, April 1914: Incorporation as a Russian Protectorate

There are multiple explanations concerning the roots and origins of the Tuvans and their culture (Zeahan, 2017; Bingsheng, 2011; Tumen, 2004; Hai, 1996; Hou, 2014; Glenfield, 2003; Shurkhuu, 2014; Mongush, 2014; Stone, 2012; Jianhua & Shuguang, 2014; Vainshtein, 1968; Levin, 1963; Kilunovskaya & Semyonov, 2019; Boeschoten, 1998; Kara, 2018; Alkaya, 2009; Küçük, 2015; Özbek, 2016; Kormuşin, 2001; Koçoğlu-Gündoğdu, 2011; Arikoğlu, 1999; Arıkoğlu & Borbaanay, 2007; Baran, 2017; Çetintaş, 2008). A central theme found in the academic literature concerns the Tuvans who religiously are closely related to the Mongol people, who are Turkic not solely due to linguistic familiarity, but due to ethnic roots which include and encompass the Yenisei Kyrgyz (Arikoğlu, 1997). Scholarly narratives concerning Tuva becoming a protectorate of Czarist Russia tend to contextualise this action within Russia’s rivalry with China. The 1911 Chinese Revolution provided an opportunity to annex Tuvan territory, culminating in Tuva becoming the final territorial expansion of the Empire before the Bolshevik Revolution. This research showcases that the Tuvan people were intent on much closer relations with newly independent Mongolia. The author argues that the Tuvan people belonging to the Turkic family of nations shared important values with and identified much more closely with Mongolia than Russia due to their common religion: Buddhism. The author stresses the fact that the increasing presence of Russians in Tuva in the mid 19th century resulted in the acknowledgement of two highly unfamiliar cultures and viewpoints. Utilising primary sources this work sheds light on the debates and choices Russia faced concerning Tuva and the opposition maintained by the new Mongol entity intent on unifying under its auspices peoples which were considered very close if not the same. This research highlights the Tuvan predicament as being located in more of a triangular contest than what is usually presented as a bilateral power struggle.