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