Stalin is out, Genghis Khan is in as Mongolia reclaims past
Mongolians rent traditional costumes and pose in front of the main monument in Ulan Bator’s central square, which depicts Damdiny Sukhbaatar (1893-1923), a key leader of the 1921 revolution. The inscription reads, in classical Mongolian: “Our nation, once in unity joined, our strengths combined and in resolve forward stepped, shall see no destination unreachable, no things unknown or unattainable, and will reach the pinnacle of happiness, which is only up to our own resolute will.”
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After spending centuries under the thumb of China and seven decades as an atheistic Soviet satellite, Mongolia became a democratic state in 1990. In the quarter-century since, the nation has been on a mission to reclaim and redefine its identity and re-evaluate its history. Perhaps nowhere is this quest more evident than in the flurry of statue building – and tearing-down – that has erupted in recent years. Buddhas, the Beatles and Genghis Khan are in. Stalin and Lenin are most definitely out.
