Bogd Khanate of Mongolia
Bogd Khanate of Mongolia was the theocratic regime in
Mongolia between declaring independence from
Qing Dynasty in the Mongolian Revolution of 1911 and the formation of the
Mongolian People's Republic in 1924.
History[edit | edit source]
Founding[edit | edit source]
The Bogd Khanate was founded in 1911, following the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in
China. Taking advantage of the political turmoil and weakening
Chinese control,
Mongolian nobles, lamas, and the general populace declared independence from
China. They invited the eighth
Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, a high-ranking
Tibetan Buddhist lama, to become their spiritual and temporal leader. Consequently, the
Bogd Khan was enthroned as the ruler of the newly established theocratic state, marking the beginning of the Bogd Khanate of Mongolia.
Kyakhta Agreement of 1915[edit | edit source]
A tripartite conference between the Russian Empire,
Republic of China and the
Bogd Khan's government convened at
Kyakhta in the autumn of 1914.
The Mongolian representative, prime minister
Tögs-Ochiryn Namnansüren, was determined to stretch autonomy into de facto independence and to deny the
Chinese anything more than vague, ineffectual suzerain powers. The
Chinese sought to minimize, if not end,
Mongolian autonomy. The
Russian position was somewhere in between. The result was the
Kyakhta Treaty of June 1915, which recognized
Mongolia's autonomy within the
Chinese state.
Nevertheless, Outer Mongolia remained effectively outside
Chinese control and retained the main features of the state according to the international law of that time.
The Mongolians viewed the treaty as a disaster because it denied the recognition of a truly independent, all-
Mongolian state.
China regarded the treaty in a similar fashion, consenting only because it was preoccupied with other international problems, especially
Empire of Japan.
The treaty did contain one significant feature which the Chinese were later to turn to their advantage; the right to appoint a high commissioner to
Urga (now known as Ulaanbaatar) and deputy high commissioners to
Uliastai,
Khovd City, and
Kyakhta. This provided a senior political presence in
Mongolia, which had been lacking.
Decline of Russian Influence[edit | edit source]
In 1913, the Russian consulate in
Urga began publishing a journal titled Shine tol' (the New Mirror), aimed at promoting a positive image of
Russia. Edited by
Buryat-born scholar and statesman
Ts. Zhamtsarano, the journal became a platform for advocating political and social change. The first issue angered lamas by denying the world was
flat, and another issue sharply criticized the
Mongolian nobility for exploiting ordinary people.
Russian-sponsored reforms, including medical and veterinary services, faced resistance from the lamas, who viewed these areas as their domain. The
Mongols were frustrated by
Russian efforts to oversee the use of a second loan and to reform the state budgetary system, believing the first loan had been squandered. Appointed in 1913,
Russian diplomat
Alexander Miller was poorly received due to his disdain for most
Mongolian officials, whom he considered extremely incompetent. Meanwhile, the chief
Russian military instructor successfully organized a
Mongolian military brigade, which later fought against
Chinese troops.
The outbreak of World War I in 1914 forced Russia to focus his energies on
Europe. By mid-1915,
Russia's military position had deteriorated so much that the government had to neglect his
Asian interests.
China soon exploited
Russia's distractions, which worsened dramatically following the
Bolshevik Revolution in 1917.
Chinese Attempts to Reintegrate Mongolia[edit | edit source]
In December 1915, Yuan Shikai, the President of the
Republic of China, sent gifts to the
Bogd Khaan and his wife. In response, the
Bogd Khaan dispatched a delegation of 30 individuals to
Beijing, bearing gifts for
Yuan: four white horses and two camels, while his wife
Ekh Dagina sent four black horses and two camels.
Yuan Shikai, now the self-proclaimed ruler of a restored
Empire of China, personally received the delegation on February 10, 1916. In
China, this was interpreted within the traditional tributary system, where missions with gifts to
Chinese rulers were seen as signs of submission. Consequently,
Chinese sources claimed that a year later, the
Bogd Khaan agreed to participate in an investiture ceremony, a formal
Qing ritual where frontier nobles received imperial appointments.
Yuan Shikai awarded him
China’s highest decoration of merit, and other senior
Mongolian princes received significant decorations as well.
Following the 1914 Kyakhta agreement,
Yuan Shikai had sent a telegram to the
Bogd Khaan, informing him that he was bestowed the title of "Bogd Jevzundamba Khutuktu Khaan of
Outer Mongolia" along with a golden seal and diploma. The
Bogd Khaan responded by noting that since the title had already been bestowed by the
Ikh Juntan, there was no need for it to be granted again, and that the golden seal and diploma were not mentioned in the tripartite agreement, so his government could not accept them. The
Bogd Khaan had previously received the golden seal, title, and diploma from the
Qing Dynasty.
End of the Khanate[edit | edit source]
After the Russian Communist Revolution in 1917, Mongolia's political landscape underwent significant changes. The collapse of the
Russian Empire and the ensuing civil war left Mongolia in a precarious position. In 1921, with the support of the Soviet
Red Army,
Mongolian revolutionaries led by
Damdin Sükhbaatar overthrew the Bogd Khanate's theocratic government, establishing the
Mongolian People's Republic in 1924. The
Bogd Khan, the spiritual and temporal leader of Mongolia, remained as a symbolic figurehead until his death in 1924. Following his death, the new
communist regime, heavily influenced by
Soviet ideology, abolished the
monarchy and implemented
socialist reforms, marking the beginning of a new era of
Soviet-aligned communist rule in Mongolia.
How to draw[edit | edit source]
![](/images/thumb/4/43/BogdFlag.png/181px-BogdFlag.png)
- Draw a ball.
- Fill it with red.
- Draw a big yellow square attached to the right side of the ball.
- Draw the Bogd Khanate coat of arms in the middle of the yellow square.
- Add three red tentacles, with their tips in a triangular shape, on the right side of the ball. Stack them vertically.
- Add three white Mongolian symbols on the top tentacle, three yellow ones on the middle one, and three black ones on the bottom one.
- Add the eyes and you’re done!
Color Name | HEX | |
---|---|---|
Red | #DB1A2E | |
Yellow | #FFDA00 | |
Blue | #0066B4 | |
Dark Blue | #0B2C3D | |
Green | #1F5B18 | |
White | #FFFFFF | |
Black | #000000 |