From 1691 to 1911, Outer Mongolia was ruled by the Manchu Qing dynasty. In the first decade of the 20th century, the Qing government began implementing the so-called New Policies, aimed at a further integration of Outer Mongolia. Upset by the prospect of the colonization akin to the developments in Inner Mongolia during the 19th century, the Mongolian aristocracy turned to the Russian Empire for support. In August 1911, a Mongol delegation went to Saint Petersburg and obtained a pledge of limited support. When they returned, the Xinhai Revolution—that eventually led to the collapse of the Qing dynasty—had begun. In December 1911 the Mongols deposed the Qing Amban in Ulaanbaatar and declared their independence under the leadership of the 8th Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, who was appointed Bogd Khan of Mongolia, breaking away from the Qing dynasty. Attempts to include Inner Mongolia into the new state failed for various reasons, including the military weakness of the Inner Mongols to achieve their independence, the lack of Russian assistance to them (Russia was bound in Inner Mongolian affairs by secret treaties with Japan), and the lack of support from Inner Mongolian aristocrats and the higher clergy. In the Khiagt agreement of 1915, China, Russia and Mongolia agreed on Mongolia's status as maintaining autonomy under Chinese suzerainty.