Greater United Mongol State Великое объединенное монгольское государство Velikoye Ob"yedinennoye Mongol'skoye Gosudarstvo (Russian) Их Монгол Улс Ikh Mongol Uls (Mongolian) |
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| Motto: "Народ в степях" "Narod v stepyakh" (Russian) "Тал нутгийн үндэстэн" "Tal nutgiin ündesten" (Mongolian) ("Nation in the Steppes") |
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| Capital | Urga | |||||
| Official languages | Russian (official) Mongolian (de facto) |
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| Recognised regional languages | Buryat, other Mongolic dialects | |||||
| Leaders | ||||||
| - | Governor-General | Urzhin Garmaev (first) Ivan Jamiyansüren (last) |
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| - | Lieutenant Governor | Boladjin Ganbaataryn (first) Davaadorjiin Ganbold (last) |
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The Great United Mongol State (Russian: Великое объединенное монгольское государство, Velikoye Ob"yedinennoye Mongol'skoye Gosudarstvo; Mongolian: Их Монгол Улс, Ikh Mongol Uls), also known as Greater Mongolia, Outer Mongolia or just Mongolia was one of the former Grand Duchy-level territorial administrations within Russia, encompassing modern-day Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia, the latter three which are still part of Russia. It was acquired and occupied by the Russians after the victory in the Russo-Chinese conflict.
Outer Mongolia became independent from China via the North Pacific Agreement in 1937 and joined the Axis powers, and for a short-time, was an independent country. However, in the aftermath of the Russo-Chinese conflict, it officially joined the Russian Empire on a Grand Duchy-level administration separate from the Russian Far East. Afterwords, the construction of the Trans-Mongolia Railway began.
Afterwards, Buryatia was transferred from the Governorate-General of Siberia, into that of Greater Mongolia.
Unlike our OT, this isn't a puppet state, this is direct Russian control over northern Mongolia. Greater Mongolia, unlike the other Grand Duchy/Grand Principality-level territorial administrations enjoyed the most cultural autonomy in the Empire. Although the Cyrillic alphabet was introduced, unlike OTE Mongolia, the Mongolian scripts remained co-official to Cyrillic.
In the time-span of its existence, the Mongols became significantly much more urbanized and sedentary, causing a number of nomadic rebellions. It became one of Russia's gateways to Chinese trade, although not as high as Manchuria, and was connected to the other parts of Asian Russia via the Far Eastern Railway, which still functions today that connects Modern Mongolia with that Russia and China. It became a center of Buddhism and Shamanism in Russia and a capital of Asian cultures in the country.
In 1992, Outer Mongolia declared independence from Russia and became the State of Mongolia, a dispute which caused Mongolia to break off ties with Russia until 2000. However, Buryatia, Kalmykia and Tuva all remained part of Russia, and the Khanate of Oiratia-Khalkha became modern-day Mongolia.
Establishment[]
Mongolia was a very pro-monarchist group, and wanted to become independent from China and did not support the new republic. They maintained sympathy towards Japan and friendly attitudes towards Russia. However, because Russia was too beleaguered from World War I, and felt it owed China for helping it against the communists, the new Provisional, and latter liberal tsarist government did not support aid towards the Bogd Khanate, but understood their situation. Therefore, Grigory Semyonov and Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, two pro-Mongol monarchists, were left sitting ducks, and their tarnished reputations in Russia simply did not help the situation.
Therefore, Mongolia was forcefully annexed by China in the early Interwar Period, and remained a Chinese territory.
During the Second World War, Mongol monarchists and conservatives began to side with Japan, and support the rise of Japan. Even conservative Russian monarchists sided with the Bogd Khanate, and thus, conservative Russian monarchists and their Mongolian counterparts began to re-establish ties. The Russian military secretly supported the Bogd Khanate in-Exile.
Formation as Independent country - 1937[]
During the Second World War, the Mongolian Movement of Salvation used the Sino-Japanese War to declare their independence from China. They formed an alliance with Manchukuo. but did not enter the Axis officially, their reason for allying with Japan was the same reason Finland allied with Nazi Germany in our timeline, for the sole purpose of gaining and maintaining independence from China. If Japan lost, it would surely vanquish any hopes of Mongolian independence.
Opinions of Mongolia truly differed in Russia, even among monarchist groups. Those who espoused Eurasian and pan-Eastern views viewed them in a positive light, those who espoused Christian nationalist views viewed them very negatively, and "general monarchists" who simply supported monarchies were generally positive-leaning. Those who saw Mongolia in a positive light also had a tendency to view Japan in the same positive light, and vice versa for pan-European and pan-Orthodox.
During the Second World War, the Bogd Khanate fought on Japan's side, but signed the Mongolian-Russian Nonaggression Pact, promising not to attack Russian territory, a promise they kept.
Post-war[]
As the Mongolians feared, the Japanese lost the war, and Manchukuo was divided between Russia and China. Therefore, the Mongolian bureaucracy quietly suppressed pro-Japanese material, though evidently still sympathized with Imperial Japan. The Mongolian assembly ordered the military to hoard whatever supplies they had leftover from the Japanese support, and prepare for a possible Chinese retaliation, given that it had signed a Non-Aggression Pact with Russia.
They sent delegates to the signing of the North Pacific Agreement, and Mongolia became one of the signatory parties to that agreement. Now that Japan was gone, the Bogd Khanate knew that it would side with Russia and also shared Russian grievances against the United States' handling of post-war Japan, since Mongolia had already allied groups and a foothold of influence in Russia.
Loss of Territory - 1945[]
As promised, because the Bogd Khanate did not attack Russia, it avoided the extreme post-war Allied wrath, and on Russia's end - no harsh penalties were enacted against Mongolia, however the United States was the one to push penalties, and the country nonetheless still lost some territory, due to the atrocities that it committed against Chinese POWs and civilians - an accusation that the Russians doubted and called into question. As part of the North Pacific Agreement, the Bogd Khanate could keep Outer Mongolia, while Inner Mongolia was given to China, a term that caused upset among both Mongol and Chinese nationalists.
Chiang Kai-shek was very reluctant to let go of Outer Mongolia, however, not wanting anymore conflict due to the beleaguered state that China was in, he stated he was open for compromise. Therefore, the Compromise of 1945 took place in Tokyo, between American, Chinese, Russian and Mongol separatists.
Integration as Russian territory - 1955[]
Outer Mongolia received a brunt of attacks from Chinese forces. Knowing how vulnerable it was, the Mongolian Parliament favored becoming part of the Russian Empire, for many reasons. It would unite the Khalkhas and the Oirats with the Buryats and Kalmyks, stimulate the local Mongolian economy, and most importantly - be under the protection of a superpower government from a superstate such as China. This was a dream envisioned by Grigory Semyonov, who was of partial Buryat descent as well as Urzhin Garmaev and Roman von Ungern-Sternberg. All three military commanders once-more, would lead the local Provisional Khurultai and would be tasked with Russian operations in Mongolia, composing of troops from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Transbaikal Armies.
The Battle of Mongolia ended up in a decisive Russian victory, not much troops were needed as expected. On ??? 1955, Russian troops seized the Imperial Palaces of the Bogd Khan. Troops from the 4th Kalmykia Army also participated, and soon afterwards, many military groups from the Far East participated in the Battle of Mongolia, though it was not needed.
It was decided Demchugdongrub, would become its Grand Prince, or its Khan. Although both Semyonov and Garmaev were the native Buryats, it was Roman von Ungern-Sternberg who was the more experienced and skilled military commander, especially in direct fighting. Demchugdongrub however, was a mere a constitutional figurehead, in spite of Roman wanting him to have absolute power and control in the new upcoming autonomous Mongol state.
Therefore in 1955, the Greater Mongol Provisional State officially become a Grand Duchy-level administration within the Russian Empire, and Buryatia was officially transferred into the administration of the Bogd Khanate. The local Senate composed of the Troika Council of Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, Grigory Semyonov and Urzhin Garmaev.
As a territory of the Russian Empire, the Mongols experienced the economic benefits, and it joined Manchuria in being a focal point of trade with China. In 1956, the Wrath of the Heavens Rebellion broke out in the Bogd Khanate, not aimed against the Russian government, but against Orthodox Christian missionaries. The authorities gave the local Bogd Khanate the permission to ban Orthodox Christian mission work in their local domains, leading to a retaliatory Orthodox Christian unrest in 1956, which raged across Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Kharbin.
In 1957, on his way to Tibet to search for the 9th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, Roman was assassinated. Two years in 1959, Grigory Semyonov was assassinated as well, leading Urzhin Garmaev to become the sole main leader of the Council. The "Troika" was disbanded, and Garmaev became the sole Governor-General of Greater Mongolia, being the only member of the Troika not be assassinated.
Under Autonomy Rights sanctioned by the Russian Parliament, saw the increase of Tibetan Buddhist temples in Urga. In spite of the local ban of Orthodox Christian missionary work, thanks to the predominantly-Orthodox population of Buryatia, the Bogd Khanate saw an increase in Orthodox Christianity, as the Buryats were known to have higher birth rates than the Khalkhas.
This led to the formation of the Mongolian Orthodox Church, an autonomous church within the Moscow Patriarchate.
In 1955, the first Mongolia-based tobacco company in Russia, Stounbek, found by Outer Mongolian businessman Chuluunbaataryn Arban (or Arban Chelenbatarovich) and Buryat businessman Boris Vladimirovich Apalkov, with the financing of Russian-Baltic German company Krämer-Krutov Holdings.
In addition, being part of Russia also saw an increase of Mongols living sedentary lifestyles, increasing the population of Urga.
Mongolia became a popular agritourism center in Russia, as well as a popular learning center of Buddhism, Shamanism and Tengrism. A number of Old Believer and Orthodox priests were known to have adopted some of these practices.
What really stimulated the local economy was the gold deposits, which gave mining companies a warmer option from the much colder regions of Siberia. Wrangel Mining Industries opened a local subsidiary, one that hired native Mongolians, and ran business ethics on Mongol principles and tradition, headed by Vladimir Balandin, an ethnic Kalmyk who worked as a project manager for Wrangel Mining Industries.
In 1965, the political administration of Kalmykia was switched from South Russia to that of Greater Mongolia.
Political structure[]
Greater Mongolia's political structure still retained its pre-Russian traditional ways, dominated by theocratic principles aimed towards Tibetan Buddhism and Tengrism, although Russian Orthodoxy was later included. The local politics was so autonomous, and in spite of being labeled a Grand Duchy-level administration, Outer Mongolia's level of political autonomy was further from Moscow's control and influence, however was closer than just a vassal state, given that the Bogd Khanate was using Russian rubles and co-officiating Russian alongside Mongolian. The Bogd Khan is the incarnation of the Bogd Gegen, and is a spiritual title. Unlike traditional and constitutional monarchies, the Bogd Khan is determined by who is the current reincarnation of the Bogd Gegen. Therefore, even after the death of the 8th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, he was still titled as the Bogd Khan, up until the next incarnation, or the 9th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu was found in 1933, but was not properly crowned up until the Bogd Khanate was officially formed.
Originally, Orthodox Christians were not allowed to serve in the high positions of the local Bogd Khaganate (though they were allowed in the Lower Khurultai, the local Assembly), which caused huge upsets with the Buryats, this Law was later lifted in 1975.
Culture[]
The Bogd Khaganate had two very contrasting cultures. To the north in the Khanate of Buryatia, had a very Russified culture, and half of the people were followers of the Russian Orthodox Church, with remaining half being Tibetan Buddhist with traces of Tengrism and Shamanism in their practices. To the south, the Khanate of Khalkha, was very traditional Mongolian in nature. and as much as 95.6% of the population was Tibetan Buddhist or Shamanistic. In addition, while Cyrillic was learned in both, in Outer Mongolia - Traditional Mongolian alphabet was used alongside Mongolian Cyrillic and Russian.
Unlike the other Grand Principalities/Grand Duchies, in the Khaganate of Khalkha, ethnic Russians did not form elite communities, or anything of the matter, and Khalkha stood out as the least Russified of all the non-ethnic Russian royal polities. Even with Russians who did business in Khalkha, native people were helped to rise to positions of wealth and power.
In addition, interracial marriage between Mongols and Russians (or other Europeans) was almost non-existent, and as a matter of fact, interracial marriage with non-Mongols was de facto illegal, even intermarriage between Oirats, Buryats and Khalkha was discouraged as well.
In addition, the Imperial government never attempted to force Russian Orthodoxy as part of the public culture, however, allowed for the formation of autonomous local churches under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, specifically for native Mongolic peoples who wanted to become Russian Orthodox.
Economy[]
The local economy was historically traditionally agricultural and not developed. With the introduction of the Trans-Mongolia Railway, the modern transit economy was introduced into Outer Mongolia. Soon, with the exploitation if its natural resources in gold, iron, zinc, tin and copper, This introduced the mining industry into the country. Marshal Urzhin Garmaev, Greater Mongolia's first single Governor-General, and the commander of the Mongolian Front, as other Buryats, did not like the nomadic lifestyle, and made aggressive push to urbanized the Mongols.
Under Russian rule, certain local leaders collaborated with the rest of Russia to bring aggressive urbanization in Mongolia. Urga (OTE: Ulaanbaatar) was transformed into an urban environment, along with Erdenets, Darkhan, Bayan Tümen (OTE: Choibalsan). However, the urbanization programs were overwhelmingly dominated by Buryats and Kalmyks who were more accustomed to the urban Russian lifestyle.
Tobacco was also another huge staple crop from Outer Mongolia, and eventually became one of the Russian Empire's largest domestic tobacco exporters, enabling many Mongolian tobacco dealers to be able to work across other areas in the Empire.
Territorial administrations[]
Outer Mongolia was divided into two khaganates, the Buryatia to the north with Ulan-Ude as its capital city, and Khalkha-Oratia to the south with Urga as its capital city. The two cities competed for the title of which to be the capital city of the United Mongol State, but Urga eventually became the main capital of Mongolic culture in Russia.
Military[]
The Bogd Khanate enjoys its own military front, known as the Mongolian Front, separate from the Far Eastern Front. The Mongolian Front's main headquarters were in the capital city of Urga.