MONGOLIA (Mongol Ule)
A country in Central Asia. Area - 1,566.5 thousand km². Capital - Ulaanbaatar (over 800 thousand, 2004), major cities: Darkhan - 88 thousand (2004), Erdenet - 65 thousand (2004). Administrative-territorial division - 21 aimag (aimags are divided into somons). Population - 2.5 million (2004); Mongols - about 94%, Kazakhs - 4% (1998), Buryats, Tuvans, and others. Official language - Mongolian. Religion - Buddhism in the form of Lamaism. Currency - Tugrik = 100 Mungus.
It has diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation (relations with the RSFSR were established on November 5, 1921).
In 1993, a Treaty on Friendly Relations and Cooperation between the Russian Federation and Mongolia was signed.
National holiday - July 11 - "Naadam".
Mongolia is a republic with a parliamentary form of government. The new constitution was adopted on November 13, 1992, and came into force on November 12, 1992. The head of state is President N. Enkhbayar, elected on May 22, 2005, by universal direct voting (for a term of 4 years). The highest legislative body is the Great State Khural (GSK), elected in general elections on June 27, 2004 (76 members; for a term of 4 years, chairman - Ts. Nyamdorj). It is represented by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, leader - M. Enkhbold - 36 seats; the remaining seats were distributed among opposition democratic parties (Democratic Party, leader - M. Enkhsaikhan, Republican Party, leader - B. Jargalsaikhan, "Motherland" party, leader - B. Erdenebat, Democratic New Socialist Party, leader - R. Gonchigdorj), which formed a coalition "Motherland - Democracy" during the election campaign and in the first months of the GSK's work. The highest executive body is the government, formed by the Great State Khural in agreement with the president. The head of government is the Prime Minister (Ts. Elbegdorj).
Trade union organizations: Federation of Mongolian Trade Unions, United Union of Free Trade Unions.
Since 1961, Mongolia has been a member of the UN.
Starting from the 3rd century BC, various state formations such as the Huns, Xianbei, Jurchens, Turks, Uyghurs, and Khitans arose and replaced each other on the territory of Mongolia. The founder of the first unified Mongolian state in the early 13th century was Genghis Khan, who united all the main tribes of the Mongols under his rule; in 1206, he was proclaimed the Great Khan. Genghis Khan and his successors created the Mongol Empire during their conquests in Asia and Europe, which lasted until the last third of the 14th century. In the 17th century, Mongolia was partially conquered by the Manchus and remained part of the Qing Empire until 1911.
In the early 20th century, Mongolia was one of the most underdeveloped countries in Asia in terms of its socio-economic development. It was under the oppression of the Manchu-Chinese administration, foreign, predominantly Chinese and Russian, trade and usury capital, and local spiritual and secular feudal lords. In 1911, the long-standing struggle of the Mongolian people for the restoration of national independence was successful, and Mongolia's independence was proclaimed, restoring national statehood in the form of a feudal-theocratic monarchy headed by the Bogd Khan, the highest spiritual hierarch of the Lamaism church in the country.
However, the situation for the majority of the population - the arats (herders) did not significantly improve, and feudal relations were preserved. In 1915, a tripartite conference of representatives from Tsarist Russia, China, and Mongolia was held in the city of Kyakhta (Russia), according to whose decisions Mongolia's status was limited to a broad autonomy under the suzerainty of China and the protection of Russia. In 1919, the Chinese government sent its troops into Mongolia and forced the ruling elite of the country to renounce its autonomous status, but the Mongolian people continued their struggle for national independence.
In the same year, 1919, two underground revolutionary circles emerged in the capital of Mongolia, Urga. Uniting in 1920, they formed the Mongolian People's Party under the leadership of D. Sukhe-Bator, which led the struggle of the Mongolian people for national and social liberation. They received significant ideological, moral, and material support from Soviet Russia.
On July 11, 1921, the People's Revolution was victorious (in November 1924, the People's Republic was proclaimed).
After 1921, Mongolia developed in close connection and friendship with Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union, adopting the model of socio-political and socio-economic structure that was gradually forming in the USSR. Mongolia largely repeated the complex, contradictory path traversed by the Soviet Union over 70 years. A characteristic feature was that Mongolia was seen throughout these decades as an example of the practical implementation of the theoretical concept of the possibility of building socialism, bypassing the capitalist stage of development. In the course of implementing this concept in practice, Mongolia, with significant assistance from the Soviet Union, achieved considerable success in its political, economic, social, and spiritual development. At the same time, it fully experienced the tragic consequences of the cult of personality of Stalin and Choibalsan (who led the country from 1939 to 1952), unjustified repressions, the struggle against the Lamaism church, and the negative aspects of the functioning of the command-administrative system of the Soviet model of socialism construction, etc. Under the influence of the processes that occurred in the Soviet Union and thanks to the active actions of new, democratically inclined political forces and movements since the early 1990s, Mongolia entered a qualitatively different stage of its development - a transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, from a one-party political system to a multi-party system, from a totalitarian state to a rule-of-law state. The new constitution of the country proclaimed the construction of a humane civil democratic society in Mongolia.
The economic policy of the government is aimed at stabilizing production, forming market relations based on the privatization of state property, liberalizing prices, developing the private sector, and implementing an "open door policy" in the field of foreign economic relations. Considering the difficult economic situation in Mongolia, countries such as Japan, the USA, the Republic of Korea, Germany, and others, as well as international organizations - the World Bank, the IMF, the Asian Development Bank - provided it with credit and grant assistance totaling $965 million from 2001 to 2004. Other foreign investments in the economy of the country are still insignificant. Some small joint companies and enterprises are being established.
The territory of Mongolia is rich in mineral resources. More than 500 deposits of over 30 types of minerals have been identified, including coal (hard, brown, and coking), uranium, gold, silver, copper, molybdenum, tin, fluorite, iron ore, phosphorites, precious and semi-precious stones, etc. Large reserves of various construction materials, expanded clay and ceramic tiles, limestones, sand, gravel, kaolin, gypsum, alabaster, marble, granite, etc. have been identified. With the help of foreign companies, oil exploration is underway. More than 400 hot and cold mineral springs have been discovered and studied. Based on some large deposits, joint Russian-Mongolian enterprises such as the Erdenet Mining Corporation and the Mongolrosцветмет economic association were created and continue to operate with the help of the Soviet Union.
Before the 1921 revolution, Mongolia was one of the few countries in the world where essentially the only branch of the economy was nomadic pastoral livestock breeding. Currently, Mongolia is an agrarian-industrial country.
The economy is primarily based on industrial production and agriculture. Mongolia raises five main types of livestock - sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and camels, as well as yaks and reindeer in some regions of the country. The livestock population is increasing, but there is a problem with the sale of meat products. As of the end of 2004, the country had
27.9 million heads of livestock. In terms of livestock per capita, it ranks among the top in the world. In 2004, a low grain harvest was collected - 136.9 thousand tons.
In 1991-92, the former 255 agricultural associations (agricultural cooperatives) were transformed into joint-stock companies (about 400). The privatization of livestock has mostly been completed in the country. Most state farms, which previously mainly engaged in agriculture and breeding purebred and local livestock, have also been transformed into joint-stock companies.
GDP growth in 2004 was 5.8%. The inflation rate was 10% in 2004 compared to 3.5% in 2003, with a budget surplus of $6.9 million. From 1991 to 1998, 80% of industrial enterprises, almost the entire sphere of trade and services, and the main assets of livestock and agriculture were privatized in the country. Tourism is developing. The total length of railways is 1,815 km (2004), improved roads - over 4,300 km (2004), and air routes - over 40,000 km. The railway mainline Moscow - Ulaanbaatar - Beijing runs through Mongolia. An agreement has been reached between the governments of Mongolia and China on the possibility of Mongolia accessing the sea through the Chinese port of Tianjin. A joint Russian-Mongolian joint-stock company operates in Mongolia - the Ulaanbaatar Railway.
Until the late 1980s, the country's foreign trade was primarily oriented towards the Soviet Union.
Since the early 1990s, Mongolia has actively pursued an "open door" policy, developing relations with other countries, including Japan, the USA, Germany, the Republic of Korea, China, and others. Livestock products, mining, light, and food industries occupy an important place in exports. The total volume of foreign trade turnover in 2004 amounted to $1,648.1 million, which is $402.6 million more than in 2003. The trade turnover between Russia and Mongolia in 2004 was $316 million. Mongolia's external debt to Russia amounted to over 10 billion transferable rubles (1998). At the end of 2003, Russia wrote off 98% of this debt.
The standard of living of the population, which was low before, sharply declined in 1991-98 due to the deterioration of the overall state of the economy, the intensification of crisis phenomena in production, and the disruption of previously established trade and economic ties with foreign countries, primarily with Russia. According to data for 2004, about 40% of the population lived below the official subsistence minimum. At the end of 2004, there were over 37 thousand officially registered unemployed in the country. A program to combat poverty has been adopted and is being implemented.
In 2004, 386 thousand people were studying in 663 general education schools. In 2004, there were more than 60 higher educational institutions (universities), and branches of several Russian universities operate. Every year, up to 200 citizens of Mongolia study in Russia at the expense of the federal budget. In 2004, there were 424 libraries with a total collection of 4.2 million books.
In 2004, 1,431 periodicals were registered in Mongolia (central and local newspapers and magazines), of which 205 were published on a regular basis. The most popular newspapers include "Onoodor," "Zuunii Medee," "Unen," "Odrin Sonin," "Ug," "Hoh Tolboo." The government information agency is MONTSAME (Mongolian Telegraph Agency). There are 37 radio stations, 32 television studios, and 13 cable TV channels operating.