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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