With the rise of the 1917 revolution, the Altai attempted to make their region a separate Burkhanist republic called Oyrot. Their support for the Mensheviks during the Civil War led to the venture's collapse after the Bolshevik victory and the later rise of Joseph Stalin. In the 1940s, during World War II and when he was directing numerous purges, his government accused the Altai of being pro-Japanese.