Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu and Amban Sando: Beginning of the Opposition (a Case Study of 1910 Reports by Russian Consul General in Urga Ya. Shishmarev)

The situation in non-Han territories of the Qing Empire that preceded the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 was quite tense. Outer Mongolia became the scene of growing impatience with the dominance of the Manchu administration and Chinese merchants, which attested to weak positions of the Qing dynasty in the region. In the meantime, the Russian Empire in every way available increased its political and economic influence on Outer Mongolia. Goals and Objectives. The article studies the relationships between the religious leader of Mongolia Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu and the new appointee of the Qing Empire Amban Sando. Sando proved a supporter of the ‘new policy’ who had served as a Manchu official in South China, and then spent seven years in Japan. Immediately prior to Urga, he had been ruling the Tumet Banners. The research objectives set include as follows: review of Amban Sando’s activities between his arrival to Urga in February 1910 to April 1910; insight into the March 1910 Urga unrest of Buddhist priests; analysis of interpersonal relationships between Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu and Sando. Somewhat secondary tasks are to analyze reactions of Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu and the Mongolian population to the departure of the 13th Dalai Lama to India in 1910; to consider the problem of the emerged rebel detachment led by Togtokho from Inner to Outer Mongolia. Materials. The work analyzes reports by Russian Consul General in Urga Ya. Shishmarev housed by the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire. The study also examines some Mongolian and Russian research works. Conclusions. According to Ya. Shishmarev, Sando was supporting China’s reforms and entered the Urga office with all his might. The reports inform the relationships between Sando and Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu were tough since the very beginning, and they worsened after the March 1910 Urga unrest largely joined by Buddhist monks. The Russian official concludes Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu was quite satisfied with the 13th Dalai Lama’s departure towards India, and reports that the border Mongolian population was supporting Togtokho’s rebel detachment from Inner Mongolia.

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