The Switch From Socialism

I had an opportunity to speak to my teachers about how Mongolia was back during the transition from a socialist system to a free-market one, as well as their change into Democracy, all of which happened back in 1991. Only one teacher was not around for the switch. Here is what they told me. Everyone […]

Red Hero

I’m not the biggest fan of Mongolia’s capital city, Ulaan Baatar (which translates to Red Hero in English), but one question I should address is this: Who is the “Red Hero?” Damdin Sukhbaatar. Sukhbaatar, of course, translates into English as “Axe Hero.” The short story is that he’s a hero of the revolution that brought […]

The Cult of Chinggis

That’s how the Russians referred to the Mongolian reverence of the late conqueror Chinggis Khaan upon their orders to remove the conqueror from the popular consciousness. They wanted to remove anything that could be a distraction from loyalty to the state. Chinggis’ spirit banner, the physical embodiment of his soul, was lost forever during the socialist […]