The Political Role of the Russian Consulates in Mongolia in the Mongolian National Liberation Movement in the Early 20th Century

This article examines the objectives, specific features and the results of the political and diplomatic work of the Russian consulates in Outer Mongolia during the rise of the Mongolian national liberation movement in the 1900-1910s. The article is based on a wide range of sources, including archives, in Russian, English, Chinese and Mongolian. In the period after the Xinhai revolution, Russian representatives were actively involved in the settlement of the political disputes between China and Mongolia which sought independence from the former and facilitated the achieving the autonomous status by Mongolia. The Russian diplomats participated in the elaboration and implementation of important international agreements, organization of the technical and financial help to the Mongolian government and prevention of the spread of the Pan-Mongolist movement. Therefore, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian consulates not only served as powerful protectors of Russia’s strategic interests in Mongolia, but also played a significant regulating role in the political processes in this country. Above that, they were important for maintaining the Russian Empire’s political contacts with China and Mongolia and the political status quo in the regional system of international relations.