As a result of two “referendums” (in Mongolia and Tyva) organized by Russia, China lost a territory of 2 million square meters. km.
Tannu-Uriankhai, with an area of 240 thousand square meters. km, during the reign of the Qing dynasty it was an undisputed part of the Chinese state. At that time, Tsarist Russia repeatedly tried to annex the territory of Tuva but failed due to the presence of border troops of the Qing Empire.
After the fall of the Qing dynasty, Russia began sending a formidable military force to Urianhai, and the territory came de facto under Russian control.
The Beiyang militarists, who actually ruled China in those years, decided to take advantage of the difficult situation that had developed in Russia in connection with the October Revolution of 1917 and return Tannu-Uriankhai by force. As a result of a difficult war that lasted two years, by 1919 Uriankhai was returned to Chinese jurisdiction.
On 21 December 1920, the President of the Republic of China, Xu Shichang, issued a decree and appointed Huang Chengtu as Governor-General of Urianghai. But unfortunately, the October Revolution brought Marxist ideas to China, and with them brought the Red Army.
In 1921, the Red Army, under the pretext of fighting the White Guards, entered the territory of Tannu-Uriankhai. Along with the defeat of the Whites, China lost Tannu-Uriankhai.
In March 1921, under pressure from the Soviet government, a “pseudo-referendum” was held in Uriankhai, the result of which was predictable: Uriankhai declared its independence and became known as Tannu-Tuva, and from 1926 – the Tuvan People’s Republic.
Despite the statement of the Soviet authorities that they would never claim the inclusion of Tuva in the Soviet Union, in 1944 Tuva petitioned for the admission of the Tuvan People’s Republic to the RSFSR as an autonomous region.
In the blink of an eye, our territory shrank by 1.7 million square meters. km. And our map, similar in shape to a maple leaf, turned into a chicken, a chicken that cannot lay eggs.
Yinmi Didai
