Khorloogiyn Choibalsan was the leader of Mongolia and Marshal of the Mongolian People's Army from the 1930s until his death in 1952.
INFORMATION FOR TRAVELERS
MONGOLIAN LEGENDARY PERSONS
KHORLOOGIYN CHOIBALSAN (1895-1952)
 Choibalsan was born in Dornod aimag,
northeast of what is now Choibalsan. A former monk at Gandantegchinlen Khiid and later a great hero of the 1921 Revolution, he became
Mongolia's leader in 1928. Like his Russian mentor, Joseph Stalin, Choibalsan was ruthless, and is credited with launching the purge
in 1937, which cost up to 30,000 lives. Thousands of others were arrested and sent to Siberian labour prisons. Even after the purge,
Choibalsan kept the country in a state of fear.
Although Choibalsan's regime has been heavily criticised by modern
Mongolians, he is still surprisingly well regarded because of his efforts to protect Mongolia's independence. In 1945, against
Stalin's orders, he launched an attack into Inner Mongolia. It was an attempt to reclaim the lost province during the political
vacuum of the Japanese retreat near the end of World War II. The 80,000 Mon golian troops only withdrew after a strong rebuke
from the Soviet Union.
Following the war, pressure was mounting for Mongolia to join the USSR. In 1944, Mongolia's north-west neighbour Tannu Tuva
gave up its independence and joined the Soviet Union. The Tuvan leader Salchack Toka met Choibalsan and urged him to do the same.
Choibalsan is said to have slapped Toka across the face for suggesting so and berated him for giving up Tuva's independence.
Choibalsan died of cancer in 1952, one year before Stalin. While images of Stalin have all but disappeared from Russian streets, statues of Choibalsan remain in Mongolia,
and his name is still used for streets, cities and sums.
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