The Question of the Lamas examines a vital time in the development of Mongolia as a nation-state and its ongoing struggle for independence and recognition during the twentieth century. Before becoming the second socialist country in the world in 1921, after the Soviet Union itself, Mongolia had been a Buddhist feudal theocracy. The question of the lamas was one of the most important challenges the new socialist government faced: how to combat the influence of the Buddhist establishment and win the hearts and minds of the Mongolian people. It would take almost a decade and a half to answer the question of the lamas, and then it would be answered with violence, destruction and mass killings.

Chris Kaplonski is senior research associate and affiliated lecturer in the Mongolia & Inner Asia Studies Unit/Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge.