Mongolia: Difference between revisions

Mongolia
Монгол Улс
*Mongol Uls*
Mongolia Монгол Улс; Mongol Uls
	Flag Coat of arms of Mongolia Coat of arms
	Motto: Dayar Mongol
	Anthem: Bügd Nairamdakh Mongol
Capital and largest city	Ulaanbaatar
Official languages	Mongolian
Government	Parliamentary democracy
• President	Nambaryn Enkhbayar
• Prime minister	Miyeegombo Enkhbold
Independence from China
• Declared	July 11, 1921
• Water (%)	0.6
Population
• July 2006 estimate	2,832,224 (139th)
• 2000 census	2,650,952
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
• Total	$6.01 billion (153rd)
• Per capita	$2,200 (137th)
HDI (2003)	0.679; medium (114th)
Currency	Tugrug (MNT)
Time zone	UTC+7
• Summer (DST)	UTC+8
Calling code	976
ISO 3166 code	MN
Internet TLD	.mn

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Revision as of 16:08, 16 June 2006

Mongolia (Mongolian: Монгол Улс) is a landlocked Central Asian country, bordered by Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south.

It was the center of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, but was ruled by the Manchu Qing dynasty from the end of the 18th century until an independent government was formed with Soviet assistance in 1921. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, Mongolia adopted electoral politics. The 18th largest country in the world by area, Mongolia has very little arable land: much of its area is grassland, with mountains in the north and west and the Gobi Desert in the south. A little over 30 percent of the population are nomadic or semi-nomadic Tibetan Buddhists of the Mongol ethnicity. About one-third of the population lives in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar.

History

Main article: History of Mongolia

A large number of ethnicities have inhabited Mongolia since prehistoric times. Most of these people were nomads, who from time to time formed great confederations which have risen to prominence. The first of these, the Xiongnu, were brought together to form a confederation by Modun Shanyu in 209 BC.They defeated the Donghu who once possessed the hegemony in eastern Mongolia. The Xiongnu became the greatest enemy of China for the following three centuries. The Great Wall was built partly as defence against the Xiongnu. The Marshal Meng Tian of the Qin Empire disposed more than 300,000 soldiers along the Great Wall to prevent an expected invasion from the North. It is believed that, after their decisive defeat by the Chinese in 428-431, some of the Xiongnu migrated West to become the Huns. After the Xiongnu migrated west, Rouran, a close relative of the Mongols came to power before being defeated by the Gokturks who dominated Mongolia for centuries.

During the 7th and 8th centuries, Mongolia was controlled by Gokturks, who were succeeded by the ancestors of today's Uigur called Huihu and then the Khitan and Jurchen. By the 10th century, however, the country came to be populated predominantly by Mongols, believed to be a branch of the Xianbei. During this period, the country was divided into numerous tribes, linked through transient alliances. In the late 12th Century, a chieftain named Temujin united the Mongol tribes after a longer struggle to Naiman and Jurchen. In 1206, Temujin was crowned Genghis Khan, and the nation of Mongolia was born. Genghis Khan and his successors consolidated and expanded the Mongol Empire into the largest contiguous land empire in world history. After Ghengis Khan's death, the empire was divided into four kingdoms, or "Khanates". One of these, the "Great Khanate", comprised the Mongol homeland and China, and is known as the Yuan Dynasty. Its founder, Kublai Khan, set up his centre of administration in present day Beijing. After more than a century of power, the Yuan Dynasty was replaced by the Ming Dynasty in 1368. The Mongol court fled north. The Ming armies pursued and defeated them in Mongolia, but did not conquer Mongolia.

During the next few centuries, Mongolia was split between the Oirad in the west and the Khalkha in the east. Altan Khan united the Mongols briefly in 1571. After failing to defeat the Chinese, he made peace with the Ming Dynasty and instead attacked Tibet, eventually becoming a convert to Tibetan Buddhism.

During the 17th Century, the Manchus rose to prominence in the east, and they conquered Inner Mongolia in 1636 and Outer Mongolia in 1691. For the next 200 years Mongolia was ruled by the Manchus, who became the Qing Dynasty. During this time, the Manchus maintained their control over Mongolia with a series of alliances and intermarriages, as well as military and economic control. Almost all emperors of the Qing Dynasty were born to Mongol mothers.

With the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Mongolia declared independence in 1911, covering approximately the territory of the former Outer Mongolia. After the October Revolution in Russia, Chinese troops led by Hsü Shu-Cheng attacked and occupied the capital in 1919, but were expelled by the Soviet Red Army soon after. In 1924, the Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed with Soviet backing.

The Mongolian People's Republic was aligned closely with the Soviet Union. Politicians who demanded a more capitalist course and who dissented against collective prosperity, like Dogsomyn Bodoo or Horloogiyn Dandzan, quickly became unpopular. In 1928, Horloogiyn Choybalsan rose to power. Under his administration, forced but productive collectivisation, and the destruction of Buddhist monasteries in 1937 left more than 10,000 insurgent lamas dead.

During the Soviet-Japanese Border War of 1939 the USSR defended Mongolia against Japan during the Battle of Halhin Gol. Mongolian forces also took part in the Soviet offensive against Japanese forces in Inner Mongolia in August 1945 (see Operation August Storm). The threat of Mongolian forces seizing parts of Inner Mongolia induced the Republic of China to recognize Outer Mongolia's independence, provided that a referendum was held. The referendum took place on October 20 1945, with, according to official numbers, 100% of the electorate voting for independence. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, both countries recognized each other on October 6 1949.

After Choybalsan died in Moscow on January 26 1952, Yumjaagiyn Tsedenbal took power. In 1956 and again in 1962, Choybalsan's 'personality cult' was condemned. Mongolia continued to closely align itself with the Soviet Union, especially after the Sino-Soviet split of the late 1950s. While Tsedenbal visited Moscow in August 1984, being very ill, the parliament announced his retirement and replaced him with Jambyn Batmonh.

In 1990, the Communist Party relinquished control over the government, without a single bullet being fired. A new constitution was prepared in 1992 that abolished the People's Republic and created a democratic state.

Politics

Template:Morepolitics Until June 27 2004, the predominant party in Mongolia was the ex-communist party Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or MPRP, which was formed by Mongolia's communist leaders after the end of the Cold War. The main opposition party was the Democratic Party or DP, which controlled a governing coalition from 1996 to 2000.

From 2000 to 2004 MPRP was back in power, but results of the 2004 elections required the establishing of the first ever coalition government in Mongolia between the MPRP and MDC (Motherland Democratic Coalition).

Mongolia uses a parliamentary system where the president has a symbolic role and the "government" chosen by the legislature exercises the executive power. The legislative arm, the State Great Khural, has one chamber with 76 seats and is chaired by the speaker of the house.

On January 14 2006 the parliament's 39 members, mostly MPRP but including 4 Democratic Party members Mendsaikhan Enkhsaikhan, Narantsatsralt, Mishig Sonompil, J. Batkhuyag, overthrew Democrat Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj's grand coalition government. It has been claimed that this violated the Constitution as the parliament exceeded its power. The decision to overthrow Elbegdorj's government was based on the MPRP Directing Board's decision, contrary to its three agreements with the Democratic Party. There has been protest against this action.

Administrative Divisions

Main article: Provinces of Mongolia

Mongolia is divided into 21 provinces (aymguud; sing. aimag or aymag) and 1 municipality (khot) with provincial status.

The Aymags are further sub-divided into Somon (sing. Sum).

Geography

Main article: Geography of Mongolia

The Mongolian heartland consists of relatively flat steppes. The southern portion of the country is taken up by the Gobi Desert, while the northern and western portions are mountainous. The highest point in Mongolia is Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) at 4,374 m (14,350 feet). Uvs Nuur Lake, shared with Tuva Republic in the Russian Federation, is a natural World Heritage Site.

Most of the country is hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter, with January averages dropping as low as -30°C (-22°F). The country is also subject to occasional harsh climatic conditions known as zud or dzud.

Ulaanbaatar has the coldest average temperature of any national capital in the world.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Mongolia

Mongolia's economy is centered on agriculture and mining. Mongolia's main mining products are petroleum, coal and copper, with smaller industries in molybdenum, tungsten, and phosphate mining. Following decades of state-run enterprise, the economy has undergone an often-painful transition to capitalism; many industrial facilities were closed down with the end of the Soviet Union, which supported the largely money-losing factories. There are currently over 30,000 independent businesses in Mongolia, chiefly centered around the capital city. The majority of the population outside the cities subsists on sustenance herding; livestock typically consists of cows, sheep, goats, horses and Bactrian camels.

GDP per capita is about $602 in nominal terms, but adjusted for purchasing power this comes to around $2,046. Although GDP has risen steadily since 2002, the state is still working to overcome a sizable trade deficit. A massive ($11 billion) foreign debt to Russia was settled by the Mongolian government in 2004 with a $250 million payment; this reduced value was accepted due to Mongolian hardship and the loss of human lives during the Soviet Era.^[1] Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization in 1997 and now exports cashmere, minerals, and food products to Russia, the United States, China, Japan, Italy, and other countries.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Mongolia

Most Mongolians are Mongol in descent: there are also smaller populations of Kazakh and Tungus people. As in many developing countries, Mongolia's young and rapidly growing population has put great strains on its economy.

The predominant religion is Tibetan Buddhism, around half the population. Another 40% of the country has no religion whilst the final 10% is Christian and Muslim.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Mongolia

See also: Music of Mongolia

References

This article incorporates text from the Library of Congress Countries Study, which is in the public domain.

^ "Gift on a New Year Eve". Bizmongolia.com, January 01. 2004

External links

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 GDP_PPP_rank = 153rd |
 GDP_PPP_per_capita = $2,200 |
-GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 174th |
+GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 137th |
 HDI_year = 2003 |
 HDI = 0.679 |