1911-1924 History of Mongolia 1945-1966





Mongolia 1924-1945



Status and Administration . In 1924 the Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed. The People's Party (est. in 1921) renamed herself Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), the sole political party in the country until 1990. In a 1924 treaty, the USSR recognized (Outer) Mongolia as formally being part of the Republic of China. China, on August 9th 1945, recognized Mongolian independence.
In 1937, Mongolian Prime Minister, Genden, while on a visit to Moscow, was arrested for alleged espionage for Japan. The strongman in Mongolia was Khorloogiin Choibalsan, a loyal supporter of Stalin.

Foreign Policy; Mongolia object of Power Policy . May-August 1939, Japanese forces attacked Soviet and Mongolian forces, the latter commanded by General Zhukov. Zhukov, always informed in advance about Japanese moves (by Soviet spy in Japan, Richard Sorge), repelled every Japanese attempt to adbance. A peace on the basis of the status quo ante was signed.
Late in World War II, Mongolia declared war on Japan.

Domestic Policies . From 1928 onward, the MPRP experienced Stalinist purges; Buddhist monasteries were dissolved, their property confiscated (1929-1937). Collectivization of herds of livestock also began in 1928, causing resistance ("conterrevolutionary uprising"), which, with the help of the Soviet Red Army, was suppressed by force (1930).
A number of industrial enterprises (wool washing mill, 1933, Ulaanbataar industrial combinate, 1934) began operation.
A new constitution was adopted in 1940 (BBoY 1952).
In 1921 there had only been one school in Outer Mongolia. Under the People's Republic, numerous school were built, the literacy rate considerably expanded (BBoY 1952).

Social History . Official policy aimed at settling down the nomadic population, at promoting monogamy over traditional polygamy, at promoting atheism over religiosity. The lifestyle of Buddhist hermits/monks was abolished. The constitution granted equal status to women.
In 1936, Mongolia had a population of 2,077,000, capital Ulan Bataar 30,000.

The Economy . Central planning began in 1931 with a Five Year Plan which was aborted; from 1941 onward, annual plans were implemented. The development of Mongolia's economy was hampered by the climate ranging from hot summers to harsh winters, the lack of roads and railroads, the geography (deserts, rugged mountains) and the country's low population density. The first state farm was organized in 1941 (BBoY 1954).
Oil exploration began in 1931; oil was found in 1940.

Cultural History . Buddhist monasteries were dissolved from 1929 onwards in a campaign intensified from 1936; the state promoted atheism instead. Gandantegchinlen Khiid Monastery, near Ulaanbataar, was closed down in 1938, but allowed to reopen in 1944.
In 1933, radio broadcasting began in Ulan Bataar. In 1931 the traditional Mongolian script was replaced by Latin, the Latin script in 1937/1941 by Cyrillic. In 1942 the Mongolian State University was founded in Ulaanbataar.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Timetable History of Mongolia, from BBC News
Modern History, from Embassy of Mongolia, Washington
Article Mongolian People's Republic, Economy of the Mongolian People's Republic, Mongolian Language : Writing System, Buddhism in Mongolia, Gandan Monastery, Khorloogiin Choibalsan, from Wikipedia
The Mongolian Language and Scripts, by T. Shagdarsuren
Mongolia's Black Gold Lacks Investment, from ADVFN, has history of Mongolia's oil industry
DOCUMENTS Estimates of Death Toll in the Russo-Japanese War over Mongolia, 1939, posted by Matthew White, scroll down
REFERENCE Alan J.K. Sanders, Historical Dictionary of Mongolia, London : Scarecrow 1996 [G]
Violet Conolly, Soviet Economic Policy in the East, London : Oxford UP 1933; pp.91-115 on Mongolia [G]
Hübner's Weltstatistik, 73rd edition, editor Ernst Rösner, Wien 1939 [G]
Article : China : Mongolia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1924 pp.757-762, 1925 pp.767-768, 1926 pp.744-749, 1928 p.755, 1929 pp.747-752, 1932 pp.752-758, 1937 pp.788-791, 795, 1943 pp.785-793 [G] (on both Inner, Outer Mongolia)
Article : Mongolia, in : Americana Annual 1927 p.571, 1928 p.532, 1930 p.524, 1931 p.501, 1932 p.474, 1933 pp.504-505, 1934 pp.384-385, 1935 pp.466-467, 1936 pp.465-466, 1937 pp.461-462, 1938 p.446, 1939 pp.509-510, 1940 p.519, 1943 pp.492-493; Outer Mongolia p.569, 1944 p.465; Outer Mongolia pp.547-548, 1945 pp.481-482, 1946 pp.501-502 [G]
Article : Mongolia, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1944 p.451, 1945 pp.457-458 [G]
Article : Mongolia, in : New International Year Book 1925 p.451, 1928 p.468, 1930 p.496, 1932 pp.522-523, 1933 p.508, 1934 p.436, 1935 p.454, 1938 pp.472, 474, 1939 p.500, Events of 1940 pp.469, 471, 1941 pp.377-378, 1942 pp.423-424, 1943 p.382, 1944 p.396, 1945 pp.383-385 [G]
Article : Mongolia, in : Funk & Wagnall's New Standard Encyclopedia Year Book 1932 p.385, 1933 pp.356-357, 1934 p.373, 1935 pp.368-369, 1936 pp.342-343, 1937 pp.346-347, 1938 p.351, 1939 p.p.377-378, 1940 p.379, 1941 p.328, 1942 p.293, 1943 p.300 [G]



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2002, last revised on August 26h 2007

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