Outer Mongolian Revolution of 1921 - Aftermath

Aftermath

Von Ungern-Sternberg's army, now defeated, began to crumble. His men deserted him, and he was seized by a Red Army detachment. The Soviets executed him later that same year. Fighting then shifted to western Mongolia, and by the end of 1921, the White Guards had either been destroyed or expelled.

The Chinese government was not indifferent to von Ungern-Sternberg's invasion, appointing Zhang Zuolin as commander of an expeditionary army to deal with it. However, the occupation of Urga by Red forces in July and internal Chinese warlord politics forced him to abandon his plans.

On the diplomatic front, the Soviets had proposed to the Chinese the convening of a tripartite conference, similar to that of 1914-15, to discuss Mongolia's relationship with China. The Chinese government, however, emboldened by the prospect of Zhang's expedition, responded that Mongolia was part of China, and thus could not be the subject of international negotiations. It was not until 1924 that a Chinese-Soviet treaty was concluded, by which the Soviet Union recognised Mongolia as an integral part of China, and agreed to withdraw its troops. The treaty notwithstanding, the death of the Khutuktu in that same year provided an opportunity for the MPP to dispense with theocratic rule entirely, and the Party announced the establishment of the Mongolian People's Republic. In 1945, the Chinese Nationalist government recognised the full sovereignty of the Mongolian People's Republic, though Chiang Kai-shek was to withdraw that recognition a few years later. However, in 2002 the Republic of China did recognize Mongolia as independent.