internal problems to deal with this. Instead, it was left to local officials on the frontier to manage the Russians as best they could, an impossible task without funds or troops. The military governors at Uliastai had to be content with limp protests and inconclusive investigations. End of Qing rule By the early 20th century the Uriankhai economy had seriously deteriorated, resulting in the increasing poverty of its people. The causes were varied: declining number of fur-bearing animals probably due to over-hunting by both Uriankhais and Russians; declining number of livestock as a result of the export market to Siberia; and periodic natural disasters (especially droughts and plagues), which took a fearful toll on livestock herds. There was another reason. Uriankhai trade with Russians was conducted on credit using a complex system of valuation principally pegged to squirrel skins. As the number of squirrels declined because of over-hunting, the price of goods increased. The Russians also manipulated the trade by encouraging credit purchases at usurious rates of interest. If repayment were not forthcoming, Russian merchants would drive off the livestock either of the debtor or of his relatives or friends. This resulted in retaliatory raids by the Uriankhai. The situation worsened when the Han people arrived from China proper. Although the Qing had successfully kept Han traders out of Uriankhai (unlike in other parts of Outer Mongolia and other parts of the frontier), in 1902 they were allowed to cross the border to counter Russian domination of the Uriankhai economy. By 1910 there were 30 or so shops, all branches of Han-owned firms operating in Uliastai. For a host of reasons—more aggressive selling, easier credit terms, cheaper and more popular goods for sale—the Han people soon dominated commerce just as they had in Outer Mongolia. Soon, the Uriankhais, commoners and princes alike, had accumulated large debts to the Han. The end of Qing rule in Tannu Uriankhai came quickly. On October 10, 1911 the Xinhai Revolution broke out, and soon afterwards Chinese provinces followed one another in declaring their independence. Outer Mongolia declared its own independence from China on December 1, and expelled the Qing viceroy four days later. In the second half of December bands of Uriankhai began plundering and burning Han-owned shops. Uriankhai nobles were divided on their course of political action. The Uriankhai governor (amban-noyon), Gombo-Dorzhu, advocated becoming a protectorate of Russia, hoping that the Russians in