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The Modern History of Mongolia - Part 4 of 5

The beginning of the end for the Mongolian People’s Republic came with a series of reforms that largely mimicked Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of ‘perestroika’ and ‘glasnost’ in the USSR, implemented enthusiastically by Tesedenbal’s successor Jambyn Batmonkh. The transition to democracy began on December 10^th, 1989 (International Human Rights Day), when a small group of activists started a peaceful pro-democracy demonstration upon Sukhbaatar Square. The number of participants quickly swelled to tens of thousands, being comprised of citizens from across the Communist socio-economic spectrum. On March 9^th, 1990 the country’s single party government quietly stepped down under pressure from Gorbachev to avoid conflict, and a desire to avoid repeats of the Tiananmen Square atrocities that shook Beijing the previous year.

The first free elections were introduced the same year, being won by the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party. Efforts to ensure electoral legitimacy were made by the MPRP, who publically cut ties with military and police forces before the ballot. Despite such gestures however, the introduction of elections alone did not create an initial effective representation mechanism, the ex-communist party securing 86% of the seats from only 60% of the vote in the State Grand Kuural (the Mongolian upper legislative body). It was not until 1996 that the Democratic Party was able to establish itself as a viable political force and secure a majority over the Marxist holdovers.

The transition period marked something of a renaissance for Mongolian culture, largely suppressed in the People’s Republic. Mongolian began to replace Russian as the operational language in the education system. Buddhist monasteries were rebuilt and the Tibetan Lamaism tradition was able to reestablish its central role in Mongolian society, free from the communist religious persecution that had left it nearly extinct. The institution of Chinngis Khaan was restored to its central position in Mongolian society, as historians and the public raced to restore the tarnished legacy of a national hero.

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The Modern History of Mongolia - Part 3 of 5

Consolidation of power allowed for the MPP to look inwards, in order to address the multitude of problems that plagued the country. Endowed with no existent industry whilst the country’s few resources were controlled almost exclusively by a hierarchy of nobility and theocratic elites, economic upheaval was brisk. A declaration of the planned collectivization of Mongolian agriculture led to violence in the aimags (provinces) of the West and South of the country that could only be suppressed with the assistance of the Red Army. With the eradication of the Stalin-skeptic Prime Minister Peljidiin Genden (who accused Soviet interference as being ‘Red Imperialism’), the country’s obedience to the Soviet Union was amplified. Khorloogiin Choibalsan, a public follower of Stalinism was appointed Prime Minister, and instigated a series of purges that almost completely deracinated the country’s Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Choibalsan

The concession of Mongolian autonomy by the Chinese at the 1945 Sino-Soviet Treaty, and the conclusion to the Second World War allowed both the MPR’s government, and the Soviet powers that guided (and largely controlled) policy output to focus upon making real developmental progress. One of the most isolated countries in the world, with almost no contact with the outside world other than through the USSR resulted in a concerted effort being made to expand international ties. Relations were quickly established with North Korea, and the communist states of Eastern Europe that were developing their own command economic systems in tandem. 1949 saw Mongolia and the People’s Republic of China officially recognize each other as sovereign states (although this was an action that Mao Zedong never supported wholeheartedly, as he looked for opportunities to bring Mongolia back into the Chinese fold on numerous occasions.)

Choibalsan’s death in 1952 resulted in a fortification of the Mongolian-Soviet relationship. The new General Secretary of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP), Yumjaagin Tsedenbal was keen to establish increased links with Moscow, and went as far as unsuccessfully advocating that the country be incorporated as a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. The Sino-Soviet dispute of 1962 saw Mongolia take a sharply pro-Soviet stance, being one of the first socialist countries worldwide to unequivocally support the USSR’s position. The subsequent military buildup on the Sino-Mongolian border resulted in a visit to Ulaanbaatar by Leonid Brezhnev in January 1966. The consequence was a strengthening of ties between Mongolia and the Soviet Union, and the signing of a mutual assistance treaty which paved the way for the stationing of the 39^th Soviet Army in Mongolia from February 1967.

Mongolian attempts to engage with international conferences and organizations were fraught with difficulty. The prevailing thought in the international community assumed the MPR to be a Soviet appendage neutered of sovereignty, as opposed to an independent country in its own right. An attempt to join the United Nations in 1955 was vetoed by the People’s Republic of China who had established a renewed claim over the country. Membership was only granted in 1961 after the USSR stated that if the PRC was to block Mongolia again, it would deploy its own permanent member veto to cease the admission of all the newly decolonized states of Africa into the organization. However despite becoming officially recognized by the UN, relations were not opened between Mongolia and the United States until the Cold War had ended and tension eased.

The Modern History of Mongolia - Part 2 of 5

The dynamics of Sino-Mongolian relations shifted in the wake of the 1918 Russian Civil War. With the threat of a Bolshevik invasion from the north looming the country was required to reluctantly obtain military support from China, to the tune of approximately 250 troops. When no invasion occurred, requests by the Mongol government for Chinese soldiers to be withdrawn fell upon deaf ears. The Chinese felt that the movement of forces into Mongolian space signified the first stage of reestablishing control over the area. April 1919 saw China’s ‘Northwest Frontier Commissioner’, Xu Shuzheng, offer a set of proposals in Beijing outlining plans for complete social and economic reconstruction of the Outer Mongolian enterprise, and the ‘sinification’ of the Mongolian population and its culture through explicit Chinese colonization of the region. The document was submitted to the ‘Bogd Khan’ in October with the threat that refusing to sign the document would result in exile. On the 17^th November Xu accepted a petition from the ministers and deputy ministers of the Mongolian administration (but not the Bogd Khan himself) requesting that Mongol autonomy be revoked, which Chinese representatives wholeheartedly accepted.

As Mongol autonomy was repealed two revolutionary groups quickly organized: the socially progressive ‘Consular Hill’ (Konsulyn denj) and the nationalistic ‘East Urga’ (Züün khüree). Originally separate entities with little interaction the groups soon merged into the ‘Mongolian People’s Party,’ united by promises filtering through fragmented information networks of possible Soviet military assistance to aid the Mongolian ‘workers’ against their Chinese occupants.

After several attempts to secure explicit Soviet support, indecisiveness was overcome by the necessity for action in November 1920 as White Guard troops, expelled south of the Russian border, laid siege upon the Chinese at Urga (now Ulaanbaatar). The leaders of the Mongolian People’s Party were promptly informed that they would be supplied with the weapons and reinforcements needed to expel the Whites, led by Roman von Ungern-Sternberg (known as the Mad Baron). However logistical constraints meant the siege ended before Russian-Mongolian forces could arrive. After a series of skirmishes the White force prevailed, expelling all Chinese troops and citizens from the capital, and restoring the ‘Bogd Khan’ and his government to power on the 22^nd February 1921.

Von Ungern-Sternberg’s triumph acted as a catalyst for both the development of the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), and the Soviet military effort. The MPP now considered itself a serious contender for power, and established itself with increased organizational structure and ideological clarity. The combined effort of Mongolian and Russian forces led to a prompt defeat of the White army at Kyakhta in early June, and the capture of Urga on the 6^th July. The Bogd Khan’s court was dissolved within three days, and the formation of a new government headed by Dogsomyn Bodoo was announced by the Mongolian People’s Party Central Committee. Following the disintegration of von Ungern-Sternberg’s force, the demise of realistic Chinese military ambitions to recapture the territory, and the death of the Jebtsuindamba Khutuktus, the Mongolian People’s Republic declared it’s sovereignty on the 22^nd February 1921.

The Modern History of Mongolia - Part 1 of 5

Until its collapse in 1990 the Mongolian People’s Republic represented the second oldest communist regime in the world after Russia. In order to appreciate Mongolian attitudes, perceptions and culture that directly affect business decisions and economic policy within the country’s democratic framework, it is essential to have a basic historical knowledge of the predecessor to free market state that exists today.

The genesis of the country’s modern history is directly linked to the 1911 resolution by the Chinese Qing dynasty to embark upon a policy of ‘sinification’ in Outer Mongolia (or Khalkhain Mongolia, the geographical area which now forms the modern Mongolian state). Intended to fabricate a territorial and cultural buffer to the perceived threat of the Russian Empire, the so called ‘New Administration’ (Xin Zheng) was to be implemented through Chinese colonization, education, and resource exploitation. Mongol perceptions of the decision were overwhelmingly negative; posing what was considered a direct threat to the area’s traditional nomadic way of life.

As the 1911 Xinhai revolution overthrew the Qing Dynasty, Mongolia along with many other Chinese provinces declared its independence. A theocracy was established, and the ‘Khalkha Jebtsuindamba Khutuktus’ (or the highest ranking official in Mongolian Lamaism) was elevated to the status of ‘Bogd Khan’, or Emperor of Mongolia. Diplomatically in limbo until 1919, the Mongols struggled to get their autonomy recognized on the international stage, with China intent on re-establishing its sovereignty over the region. Russia’s refusal to establish a decisive position on which of its neighbors was to support resulted in it refusing to acknowledge Mongolian autonomy, without accepting the Chinese demands.