[1] As leader of a group of Russian-supported Bolsheviks, he proclaimed the independence of the People's Republic of Tannu Tuva from the Russian Empire in 1921.

Aware of his young nation's vulnerability, Donduk sought to establish ties with the Mongolian People's Republic.

His monastic background and theocratic inclinations gave him a close relationship with the country's lamas, whose interests he sought to advance in spite of Joseph Stalin's growing irritation.

In 1926 he established Buddhism as the state religion of Tannu Tuva, which in November was renamed the Tuvan People's Republic.

[2] Stalin found Donduk's separatist and theocratic tendencies obnoxious, and counter to communist principles of internationalism and atheism.