Mongolian People's Republic

Бүгд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс (БНМАУ) Mongolian People's Republic 1921–1990
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Official language	Mongolian
Capital	Ulaanbaatar
Form of government	People's Republic
Government system	Socialist one-party system
Head of state	President
Head of government	prime minister
Area - 1992	1,564,116 km²
Population - 1992	2,318,000
currency	Tögrög (1 ₮ = 100 Möngö)
Existence period	1921-1990
National anthem	National anthem of the VRM
Time zone	UTC + 7 , UTC + 8
Telephone code	+976

The Mongolian People's Republic ( Mongolian Бүгд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс (БНМАУ) ) was a socialist state in Central Asia between 1921 and 1990, which was then converted into the democratic state of Mongolia . The Mongolian People's Republic was a close ally of the Soviet Union .

Prehistory, background

Outer Mongolia was a province of China under Manchu rule from 1691 to 1911 . In the early 20th century, the Manchu's position of power declined, and both China and Mongolia sought independence. As part of the Russo-Japanese War , Russia provided nationalist-minded Mongol leaders with weapons and diplomatic support. Shortly after the Chinese uprising against the Manchu, the Mongols for their part declared independence in 1911. The Russian government ensured through treaties signed in 1913 and 1915 that the new republican government of China accepted an autonomy of Mongolia under Chinese suzerainty. This construction was supposed to prevent other powers from influencing the new independent state, which sought support from as many sides as possible.

Emergence

In 1911, Outer Mongolia became independent from China for the first time, but was heavily dependent on Russia. Its entry into the First World War and internal political difficulties caused control to be continuously weakened. The Russian Revolution and the resulting Russian Civil War enabled Chinese troops to invade Mongolia again from 1918. A subgroup of the Russian White Army under the command of Roman von Ungern-Sternberg occupied Outer Mongolia in 1921 and expelled the Chinese. They were then defeated by Soviet units and by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army under Damdin Süchbaatar and expelled from the capital Urga (then: Niislel Chüree, now Ulaanbaatar ). Süchbaatar declared independence from China on March 13, 1921. After the death of Bogd Khan , the Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed on November 26, 1924. The new state established a communist regime under the leadership of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MRVP), which was heavily influenced by Moscow. With the constitution of November 1, 1924, the general active and passive right to vote for women was introduced.

development

Consolidation

Flag of the Mongolian People's Republic from 1924 to 1940

The new regime was established between 1925 and 1928. There were, however, major conflicts of direction between pro-Soviet and independently-minded factions. The moderate communist and independent thinker Peldschidiin Genden was head of government from 1932 to 1936. He slowed down the introduction of the command economy, refused to station Soviet troops on Mongolia territory, and resisted Stalin's orders to kill the Buddhist monks.

With Soviet help, Chorloogiin Choibalsan became party leader in 1936 and also took over the government. Genden was arrested and later executed, and his followers lost their influence. Choibalsan was a radical supporter of Stalin and almost completely adopted his policy, which was implemented in the Soviet Union, for Mongolia. The extreme wing of the MRVP gradually eliminated all opposition elements and gained complete control of the party and government.

At that time, Mongolia's economy continued to consist almost entirely of nomadic ranchers who were largely uneducated. There was no industry, and the country's small fortunes were controlled by the aristocracy and religious forces. The MRVP regime did not have broad popular support, and the government neither had efficient organizational structures nor the necessary experience.

In striving for a quick economic and social transformation, the government took extreme measures. In doing so, it attacked the main traditional institutions, the aristocracy and religious leaders. The result were anti-communist uprisings between 1932 and 1945. To combat these, “purges” were carried out, which were specifically directed against the Lamaist monasteries. All but four of these were destroyed, and more than 10,000 people were killed.

Second World War

Coat of arms of the Mongolian People's Republic from 1940/41

Coat of arms of the Mongolian People's Republic from 1941–1960

During the Second World War , the Japanese-Soviet border conflict again created a threat on the Mongolian-Manchurian border. For this reason, Mongolian socialism was adapted and national defense expanded. The Soviet-Mongolian army defeated the Japanese army in the summer of 1939 in the Battle of Khalkhin-Gol . A ceasefire agreement was then signed and a commission was set up in the autumn to define the Manchurian-Mongolian border.

In August 1945, the Soviet Union used Mongolia as a base for Operation August Storm , a successful attack on the Japanese. To this end, 1.5 million Soviet soldiers were concentrated in Mongolia, along with large amounts of equipment and material. The Mongolian army played only a minor supporting role.

Cold War

Choibalsan died in Moscow in 1952. His successor was Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal , also a loyal Soviet supporter. Following Nikita Khrushchev's condemnation of Stalin's policies , the Mongolian government adopted the same approach against Choibalsan in 1956. His personality cult , in particular , was condemned, as were some of his other radical political positions.

Following the war, the Mongolian government turned to building a civil economy. International relations with other socialist states such as North Korea and the Eastern European countries were expanded. In 1949 there was mutual recognition between Mongolia and the People's Republic of China . China renounced all territorial claims in the former Outer Mongolia and provided labor to help build the infrastructure in Mongolia.

Mongolia now took part increasingly in international organizations and took part in communist-oriented international conferences. In 1961 she became a member of the United Nations .

In the Sino-Soviet quarrel at the beginning of the 1960s, Mongolia initially tried to stick to a course that was as neutral as possible. In 1966, however, she sided with the Soviet Union again and signed an agreement that enabled the massive stationing of Soviet troops (in the 1980s: over 70,000 men) on Mongolian territory. Mongolia's relations with China deteriorated accordingly. In 1983 Mongolia began the systematic deportation of residents of Chinese descent to China. Many of them had come to Mongolia as early as the 1950s to help with construction projects.

collapse

The rise of Mikhail Gorbachev in the USSR brought the politics of perestroika and glasnost there . The relaxed atmosphere in the Soviet Union resulted in a similar easing in Mongolia. After mass demonstrations in the winter of 1990, the MRVP increasingly lost control of the political system. In March the Politburo resigned and in May the constitution was amended. As a result, the MRVP lost its claim to leadership, opposition parties were admitted, and a permanent legislature and the office of president were established. On July 29, 1990 , the first free elections took place in a multi-party system. The MRVP received 85% of the votes. It wasn't until 1996 that the party, which had meanwhile been reformed according to the social democratic model, lost its majority for the first time.

literature

• Trevor N. Dupuy (Ed.): Area handbook for Mongolia . 2nd Edition. Foreign Area Studies, the American University, Washington DC 1970.
• Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada (Ed.): Mongolia. A Country Study . United States Government Printing Office , Washington DC 1991, ISBN 978-0-16-029462-4 . ( Online )
• David J. Dallin: Soviet Russia and the Far East . Yale University Press, New Haven 1948.
• Georg Cleinow: New Siberia (Sib-krai). A study on the rise of Soviet power in Asia . Published by Reimar Hobbing, Berlin 1928.
• Erich Thiel: Mongolia. Country, people and economy of the Mongolian People's Republic. (= Publications of the Eastern European Institute Munich. Volume 8). Isar Verlag, Munich 1958.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/aussenpolitik/laender/mongolei-node/mongolei/222840/
2. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 262.