These are not nice news, Matt... I hope it's not true.
When I applied my border permits last year, I sent the filled and subscribed forms (as pdf and jpeg) in my first e-mail, without asking before. Buryatia and Tuva answered, that they received my application, Altay didn't answered. In that moment I was not sure, if they will help me, but it was a good signal, that they accepted my applications. Maybe you should try it again and send the filled forms - than the bureacratic procedere will start (irrespective of the result).
In other hand: on your initially planned route all the permits are not really necessary, if you find a way to avoid the last border zone in Buryatia (maybe there is a path in the Ikhe-Ukhgun valley north of Mondy). It's only a short road section through the border zone (25 km), which ends 5 km east of Mondy. Or you leave the East Sayan via Oka river...
Good luck,
Richard
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