turn would appoint him governor of Uriankhai. But the princes of two other banners preferred to submit to the new Bogd Khanate of Mongolia under the theocratic rule of the Jebstundamba Khutukhtu of Urga. Undeterred, Gombu-Dorzhu sent a petition to the Frontier Superintendent at Usinsk stating that he had been chosen as leader of an independent Tannu Uriankhai state. He asked for protection, and proposed that Russian troops be sent immediately into the state to prevent China from restoring its rule over the region. There was no reply—three months earlier the Tsarist Council of Ministers had already decided on a policy of gradual, cautious absorption of Uriankhai by encouraging Russian colonization. Precipitous action by Russia, the Council feared, might provoke China. This position changed, however, as a result of pressure from commercial circles in Russia for a more activist approach, and a Russian sponsored 'petition' from two Uriankhai khoshuns in the fall of 1913 requesting to be accepted as a part of Russia. Other Uriankhai khoshuns soon followed suit. In April 1914 Tannu Uriankhai was formally accepted as a protectorate of Russia. See also The Sixty-Four Villages East of the Heilong Jiang is another territory annexed by Russia, claimed by the Republic of China now based in Taiwan. Outer Mongolia Outer Northwest China Outer Manchuria References Geography of Tuva Qing dynasty Historical regions of China Territorial disputes of the Republic of China China–Soviet Union relations History of Tuva 1757 establishments in Asia 1911 disestablishments in Asia