Salchak Kalbakkhorekovich Toka (, – 11 May 1973) was a Tuvan and later, Soviet politician. He was General Secretary of the Tuvan department of the

CPSU The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

from 1944 to 1973; previously, he was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the

Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party The Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party was a political party in Tuva, founded in 1921. When the Tuvan People's Republic was founded in the same year, the party held single-party control over its government as a vanguard party. History Under ...

and was the supreme ruler of the

Tuvan People's Republic The Tuvan People's Republic (TPR), known simply as Tannu Tuva, was a partially recognized socialist republic that existed between 1921 and 1944 in North Asia. It was located in the same territory as the former Imperial Russian protectorate of ...

from 1932 until its annexation by the Soviet Union in 1944.

Biography

Salchak Toka was a member of the

Communist University of the Toilers of the East The Communist University of the Toilers of the East (, KUTV; also known as the Far East University) was a revolutionary training school for important communist political leaders. The school operated under the umbrella of the Communist Internatio ...

(, ) in Moscow and Kyzyl. In 1929, the Soviets arrested the head of state

Donduk Kuular Donduk Kuular (, ; 1888–1932) was a Tuvan monk, politician, and prime minister of the Tuvan People's Republic. Life Born in Tannu Uriankhai during the rule of the Qing dynasty of China, Donduk was originally a Lamaist monk. As leader of a ...

. Meanwhile, five Tuvan graduates of the

were appointed commissars extraordinary to Tuva. Their loyalty to Stalin ensured that they would pursue policies, such as collectivization, that Donduk had ignored. A coup was launched in 1929. On 6 March 1932, Salchak Toka replaced Donduk as General Secretary of the

Salchak Toka established close contacts with

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. After the execution of Donduk Kuular in 1932, Salchak Toka became the ruler of Tannu Tuva. He introduced a communist ideology after the Soviet model, the nomad agriculture was collectivised and the traditional religions (Tibetan Buddhism and Shamanism) were suppressed. A personal cult developed around him, and he was awarded numerous Soviet prizes for his literary works. In 1940 he married Khertek Anchimaa, who was Chairwoman of the

Little Khural The Little Khural () or State Little Khural () was the presidium of the Mongolian People's Republic from 1924 until 1951 and then the standing legislature from 1990 to 1992. The original Little Khural of 1924 comprised five members elected by the ...

. In 1944 he requested that Tuva should be annexed by the Soviet Union. The event took place on 30 October 1944 de jure via

Mikhail Kalinin Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (, ; 3 June 1946) was a Soviet politician and Russian Old Bolshevik revolutionary who served as the first chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (head of state) from 1938 until his resignation in 1946. From ...

Tuva Tuva (; ) or Tyva (; ), officially the Republic of Tyva,; , is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Federal subjects of Russia, federal sub ...

was initially an

autonomous oblast An autonomous oblast is an autonomous entity within the state which is on the ''oblast'' (province) level of the overall administrative subdivision. There were autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union and later some federal subjects of Russia w ...

of the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

(RSFSR) and starting from 10 October 1961 as the

Tuvan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Tuvan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (; ), or the Tuvan ASSR (; ), was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR. It was created on 10 October 1961 from the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast. Its territory measured 175,000 square kilometers a ...

(Tuva ASSR). Salchak Toka remained up to his death in 1973 the General Secretary of the Tuvan department of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

References

1901 births 1973 deaths People from Tuva Tuvan people Candidates of the Central Committee of the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Candidates of the Central Committee of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Candidates of the Central Committee of the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Candidates of the Central Committee of the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Committee of the 24th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Communist University of the Toilers of the East alumni History of the Tuvan People's Republic People from Kyzyl Spouses of heads of state {{tuva-stub