Damdin Sükhbaatar (Mongolian: Дамдин Сүхбаатар, usually only Sükhbaatar, originally Sükh Сүх) (February 2, 1893-February 22, 1923) was a Mongolian military leader known for his excellent horsemanship capabilities. Sükh (the original name given to him at birth) was probably born in Ikh Khüree and joined the nation's army in 1911. For his outstanding services in the army he earned the moniker of baatar (hero). He was later forced to leave the army because of charges of insubordination.
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Until 1911, Mongolia had been under the rule of the Manchus Qing Dynasty. The Mongolian nobles declared their independence in 1911 on the grounds that their oaths of loyalty from 1691 bound them only to the Manchu, not to the Republic of China, and established the religious leader, the Bogd Khan, as emperor of an independent Mongolia. The Republic of China occupied Mongolia in 1919, and the Bogd Khan was forced to recognize Chinese control of his country. In 1920, Sükhbaatar traveled to Russia as part of a seven-man delegation sent from two Urga underground groups to ask for aid from the Bolsheviks. [1] These groups had just united and begun to call themselves the Mongolian People's Party, and had used their contacts within the Lamaist hierarchy to receive the approval of the Bogd Khan. Sükhbaatar carried the letter bearing the Khan's stamp hidden in his riding crop.[2] One of the group members even met Lenin, but contrary to later myths, it was Danzan, not Sükhbaatar. The Soviets agreed to help. When the delegation returned they found that the White Russian adventurer baron Roman Ungern von Sternberg, operating independently, had driven the Chinese out of the Mongolian capital Niislel Khüree and proclaimed himself dictator. [3] The revolutionaries proceeded to found, with generous Soviet support, a provisional government and the Mongolian People's Army, in the Russian part of Khiagt. The army began to engage in partisan warfare around the Mongolian part of Khiagt and took the town, although heavily outnumbered, on March 18th 1921. The Mongolian revolutionary troops fought a number of successful battles with the Chinese and tsarist invaders, the most famous of which are the battles in the Tujiin Nars and Zelter. The fight against Ungern-Sternberg, however, was mainly undertaken by Soviet forces. Sükhbaatar died in 1923, probably from natural causes, although rumours, often politically motivated, of him having been poisoned have surfaced from time to time. In his honour, Mongolia's capital was renamed Ulaanbaatar ("Red Hero") in 1924. In 1954, he was exhumed from his grave at Altan Ölgii and reinterred in the newly built mausoleum at Sükhbaatar square. When the mausoleum was dismantled in 2005, he was cremated and his ashes buried in Altan Ölgii again. [4] Today Sükhbaatar is remembered as a hero in Mongolia for defeating both the Chinese and von Sternberg and thus re-establishing Mongolia's independence. Sükhbaatar's widow, Sükhbaataryn Yanjmaa, went on to serve in a number of senior positions in the Mongolian government, including acting President.
Trivia
- A statue of Sükhbaatar still graces Sükhbaatar Square in front of the government building in Ulan Bator today. Other places named after Sükhbaatar include Sükhbaatar aimag, the center of Selenge aimag, and a district of Ulan Bator.
- Mongolian bank notes between 5 and 100 Mongolian tögrög (1993 series) feature an image of Sükhbaatar, with higher denomination notes bearing the portrait of Genghis Khan.[5]
See also
References
- ^ http://www.museum.upenn.edu/Mongolia/section2c.shtml
- ^ http://www.nationalmuseum.mn/exh/social/social.html
- ^ http://blogs.waytorussia.net/item/54
- ^ http://mongolia800.mn/eng/index.php/content/view/102/40/
- ^ http://www.mongolbank.mn/web/guest/banknotes/notes
