Kudun theocracy of Lubsan-Samdan Tsydenov: origins, content and chronology of events

On the basis of Mongolian and Tibetan sources as well as hitherto unknown Russian archives the paper gives a detailed exposition of the history of establishment and demise of a Buddhist theocratic project in Russian Siberia in the period of the Civil war and early Far-Eastern Republic (the Kudun theocracy). The legal foundation and administrative structure of the Kudun theocracy as well as its cultural background is analyzed. The author comes to a conclusion that the theocratic project of Lubsan- Samdan Tsydenov, an authoritative religious figure in Buryatia was unique phenomenon as it combined premises of the Western state and Buddhist conception of the ideal Dharma state. The Kudun theocracy was a response to the Buriat secular nationalism and movement for political and administrative autonomy within Russia which offered an alternative in the form of a state with the religion as a consolidating force.