BEIJING (Reuters) -Mongolia’s top court has ruled that a parliamentary vote to remove the mineral-rich country’s prime minister was unconstitutional, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Thursday.
The Constitutional Court’s ruling comes into force immediately, CCTV reported, overturning the parliament’s decision last week to dismiss Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombojav.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
BEIJING (Reuters) -Mongolian Prime Minister Gombojav Zandanshatar has resigned, the Chinese national broadcaster reported on Friday, after taking office just four months ago.
Zandanshatar was confirmed by Mongolian lawmakers as the country’s latest prime minister after his predecessor, Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene, quit after losing parliamentary backing due to corruption claims and street protests.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — Russian President Vladimir Putin was visiting Mongolia on Tuesday with no sign that the host country would bow to calls to arrest him on an international warrant for alleged war crimes stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The trip is Putin’s first to a member country of the International Criminal Court since it issued the warrant about 18 months ago. Ahead of his visit, Ukraine called on Mongolia to hand Putin over to the court in The Hague, and the European Union expressed concern that Mongolia might not execute the warrant. A spokesperson for Putin said last week that the Kremlin wasn’t worried.
The warrant puts the Mongolian government in a tough spot. Member countries are required by the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, to detain suspects if an arrest warrant has been issued. But Mongolia, a landlocked country bordering Russia, is highly dependent on its much larger neighbor for fuel and some of its electricity. The court lacks a mechanism to enforce its warrants.
The Russian leader was welcomed in the main square in Ulaanbaatar, the capital, by an honor guard dressed in vivid red and blue uniforms styled on those of the personal guard of 13th-century ruler Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire.
He and Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa walked up the red-carpeted steps of the Government Palace and bowed before a statue of Genghis Khan before entering the building for their meetings.
Russian President Vladimir Putin walks with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh during a welcoming ceremony in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024.
Kristina Kormilitsyna, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
A small group of protesters who tried to unfurl a Ukrainian flag before the welcome ceremony were taken away by police.
Sitting down for talks with Khurelsukh, Putin said that relations between their two countries “are developing in all areas.” He invited the Mongolian president to attend a summit of the BRICS nations – a group that includes Russia and China among others – in the Russian city of Kazan in late October. Khurelsukh accepted, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
The ICC has accused Putin of being responsible for the abductions of children from Ukraine, where the fighting has raged for 2 years.
On Monday, the EU expressed concern that the ICC warrant might not be executed and said it has shared its concern with Mongolian authorities.
“Mongolia, like all other countries, has the right to develop its international ties according to its own interests,” European Commission spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said. But she added, “Mongolia is a state party to the Rome Statute of the ICC since 2002, with the legal obligations that it entails.”
More than 50 Russians outside the country have signed an open letter urging the government of Mongolia to “immediately detain Vladimir Putin upon his arrival.” The signers include Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was freed from a Russian prison in August in the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, denounced the warrant against Putin as “illegal” in an online statement Tuesday and those who would try to carry it out as “madmen.”
Putin, on his first visit to Mongolia in five years, will join a ceremony to mark the 85th anniversary of a joint Soviet and Mongolian victory over Japan’s army that controlled Manchuria in northeast China. Thousands of soldiers on both sides died in 1939 in months of fighting over the border’s location between Manchuria and Mongolia.
“I am very delighted about Putin’s visit to Mongolia,” said Yansanjav Demdendorj, a retired economist, citing Russia’s role against Japan. “If we think of the … battle, it’s Russians who helped free Mongolia.”
Putin has made a series of overseas trips in recent months to try to counter the international isolation he faces over the invasion of Ukraine. He visited China in May, made a trip to North Korea and Vietnam in June and went to Kazhakstan in July for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Last year, he joined a meeting in Johannesburg by video link after the South African government lobbied against him showing up for the BRICS summit. South Africa, an ICC member, was condemned by activists and its main opposition party in 2015 when it didn’t arrest then-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir during a visit.
Enkhgerel Seded, who studies at a university in Moscow, said that historically, countries with friendly relations don’t arrest heads of state on official visits.
“Our country has obligations toward the international community,” she said. “But … I think in this case as well, it would not be appropriate to conduct an arrest.”
Trip would be Russian president’s first to a member of International Criminal Court since warrant over ‘war crimes’.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Mongolia next week despite the country being a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued a warrant for his arrest last year.
The visit, scheduled for September 3, will be Putin’s first trip to an ICC member state since The Hague-based court issued the arrest warrant in March 2023 accusing the president of the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and Russian-controlled territory.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were “no worries” over the visit, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
The visit is taking place on the invitation of Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh. “We have a wonderful dialogue with our friends from Mongolia,” Peskov said.
Under the Rome Statute, the court’s founding treaty, ICC members are bound to detain suspects for whom an arrest warrant has been issued if they set foot on their soil. However, the court does not have any enforcement mechanism.
The ICC’s arrest warrant for Putin was its first against a leader of one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Putin has avoided travel to ICC member states ever since the warrant, which he deems “null and void”, was issued. Last year, he skipped a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, in Johannesburg.
ICC member South Africa lobbied Moscow for months for Putin not to attend to avoid the diplomatic fallout, announcing that the countries had reached a “mutual agreement” that the BRICS regular not attend the meeting.
Putin took part by videolink, during which he launched a tirade against the West.
Armenia vexed Russia last year over its decision to join the ICC, adding to growing tensions between the old allies.
Armenian officials, however, quickly sought to assure Russia that Putin would not be arrested if he entered the country.
Mongolia signed the Rome Statute in 2000 and ratified it in 2002.
The Kremlin said Putin will hold talks with Khurelsukh and other top Mongolian officials, participating in “ceremonial events dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the joint victory of the Soviet and Mongolian armed forces over the Japanese militarists on the Khalkhin Gol River”.
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — With its reindeer sleigh rides, camel racing and stunning landscapes with room to roam, Mongolia is hoping to woo visitors who are truly looking to get away from it all.
Like most countries, its tourism industry was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has launched a “Welcome to MonGOlia” campaign to win people back. The government has added flights and streamlined the visa process, offering visa-free visits for many countries.
At least 437,000 foreign tourists visited in the first seven months of this year, up 25% over the same period last year, including increasing numbers from Europe, the U.S. and Japan. Visitors from South Korea nearly doubled, thanks in part to the under-four-hour flight.
Despite the gains, Mongolia’s government is still short of its goal of 1 million visitors per year from 2023-2025 to the land of Genghis Khan, which encompassed much of Eurasia in its 13th-century heyday and is now a landlocked nation located between Russia and China.
With a population of 3.3 million people, about half of them living in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, there’s plenty of open space for the adventure tourist to explore, said Egjimaa Battsooj, who works for a tour company. Its customized itineraries include horseback trips and camping excursions with the possibility of staying in gers, the felt-covered dwellings still used by Mongolia’s herders.
There’s little chance of running across private property, so few places are off-limits, she said.
“You don’t need to open a gate, you don’t need to have permission from anyone,” she said, sitting in front of a map of Mongolia with routes marked out with pins and strands of yarn.
“We are kind of like the last truly nomad culture on the whole planet,” she added.
Lonely Planet named Mongolia its top destination in its Best in Travel 2024 report. The pope’s visit to Mongolia last year also helped focus attention on the country. Its breakdancers became stars at last year’s Asian Games. And some local bands have developed a global following, like The Hu, a folk-metal band that incorporates traditional Mongolian instruments and throat singing with modern rock.
Still, many people know little about Mongolia. American tourist Michael John said he knew some of the history about Genghis Khan and had seen a documentary on eagles used by hunters before deciding to stop in Ulaanbaatar as part of a longer vacation.
“It was a great opportunity to learn more,” the 40-year-old said.
Tourism accounted for 7.2% of Mongolia’s gross domestic product and 7.6% of its employment in 2019 before collapsing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Bank. But the organization noted “substantial growth potential” for Mongolia to exploit, with “diverse nature and stunning sceneries” and sports and adventure tourism possibilities.
Mongolia tourism ads focus on those themes, with beautiful views of frozen lakes in winter for skating and fishing, the Northern Lights and events like reindeer sledding and riding, camel racing and hiking.
Munkhjargal Dayan offers rides on two-humped Bactrian camels, traditional archery and the opportunity to have eagles trained for hunting perch on a visitor’s arm.
“We want to show tourists coming from other countries that we have such a way of life in Mongolia,” he said, waiting for customers by a giant statue of Genghis Kahn on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar.
Outside the lively capital, getting around can be difficult in summer as the steppes become waterlogged, and there is limited infrastructure, a shortage of accommodation and a deficit of skilled labor in tourism destinations.
It is also easy for foreigners to get lost, with few signs in English, said Dutch tourist Jasper Koning. Nevertheless, he said he was thoroughly enjoying his trip.
“The weather is super, the scenery is more than super, it’s clean, the people are friendly,” he said.
Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene declares victory in the country’s parliamentary elections but the opposition makes significant gains.
The governing Mongolian People’s Party retained a slim majority in the country’s parliament with the opposition Democratic Party making major gains, according to preliminary results reported early Saturday.
Mongolia’s Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene declared early victory in parliamentary elections dominated by deepening public anger over corruption and the state of the economy.
The prime minister told a news conference in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, his governing party won a majority in the 126-seat body. “According to the pre-results, the Mongolian People’s Party [MPP] has 68 to 70 seats,” he said.
With 99 percent of the vote counted, tallies by Mongolian media indicate the opposition Democratic Party won about 40 seats – a big jump from 2020. The results indicate opposition parties have been able to capitalise on voter discontent and eat into the governing party’s majority.
“Through this election, people gave their evaluation on the past policy mistakes of the ruling party,” said Democratic Party leader Gantumur Luvsannyam.
The MPP is the successor to the communist party that ruled Mongolia with an iron grip for almost 70 years. It remains popular – particularly among rural, older voters – and commands a sprawling, nationwide campaign apparatus.
Meanwhile, results tallied by local media outlet Ikon showed the minor anticorruption HUN party won eight seats. The votes will be counted by hand on Saturday to ensure accuracy, after which an official result is expected.
‘New page in democracy’
On Friday, people across the vast, sparsely populated nation of 3.4 million, sandwiched between China and Russia, voted to elect 126 members of the State Great Khural.
The streets of Ulaanbaatar, home to almost half of Mongolia’s population, were decked out with colourful campaign posters touting candidates from across the political spectrum, from populist businessmen to nationalists, environmentalists and socialists.
Long lines snaked around corridors at a polling station in a school in downtown Ulaanbaatar, with many voters wearing traditional clothing.
Tsagaantsooj Dulamsuren, a 36-year-old cashier pregnant with her fourth child, said the election offered her a chance to “give power to the candidates” she really wanted to support.
“I want lawmakers to provide more infrastructure development … and more jobs in the manufacturing industry for young people,” she said outside a polling station at a hospital near the capital.
Corruption scandals have eroded confidence in the government and political parties. Besides the centre-right Democratic Party, the HUN Party emerged as a potential third force.
In addition to corruption, major issues for voters included unemployment and inflation in an economy rocked first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then by the fallout from the war in Ukraine.
Many younger voters, however, expressed disappointment with the governing party and said they chose younger candidates who they hoped would bring change.
“I am very disappointed in the result,” said Shijir Batchuluun, 35, a marketing manager in Ulaanbaatar, suggesting the younger generation had not turned out to vote. “It’s all the same thing again. Singers, wrestlers, businessmen won.”
The prime minister thanked even those who did not vote for his party, saying that, for the first time, five to six parties had been elected to the parliament reflecting a “new page” in Mongolian democracy.
“Having diverse and contrasting opinions is the essence of democracy. Your criticisms will be reflected in our actions,” he said.
Batbold Sukhbaatar of Mongolia addresses the Millennium Development Goals Summit at the United Nations headquarters in New York, September 22, 2010.
Emmanuel Dunand | AFP | Getty Images
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday sued to seize two New York City apartments worth $14 million that were allegedly bought with proceeds from a corrupt scheme involving Mongolia’s huge copper mine, a former prime minister of that nation, and his Harvard Business School graduate son.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn details a total of $128 million in allegedly unlawful contracts granted by a Mongolian state-owned mining company to shell companies, which benefited then Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold and his family, including his oldest son.
“During Batbold’s tenure as Prime Minister, Erdenet Mining Corporation inserted a middleman with ties to Batbold into the relationship with [the commodity trading firm] Ocean Partners, allowing Batbold to siphon off millions of dollars for his personal use and benefit, which included the purchase of the” luxury apartments in Manhattan, the suit alleges.
Batbold served as prime minister from 2009 through 2012. He currently is a member of the Mongolian parliament.
Money linked to another allegedly illegal contract for $30 million from Erdernet Mining went into a bank account in the United States controlled by the eldest son, Battushig Batbold, via wire transfers referencing “car payment,” trips and travel,” “school payment,” and “interior designer payment,” the suit said.
Batbold’s son, Battushig Batbold, a Harvard Business School graduate, is a member of the International Olympic Committee.
Battushig Batbold also worked as a summer associate at Blackstone in 2014, and as a mining analyst at Morgan Stanley from 2009 through 2011, according to his LinkedIn page.
Read more CNBC politics coverage
Orin Snyder, an attorney at the Gibson Dunn firm which is representing Sukhbaatar Batbold and Battushig Batbold, in an email statement to CNBC said, “The claims filed today echo allegations our clients defeated two years ago in courts around the world.”
“In those cases, we proved the claims against Mr. Batbold were the product of a misinformation campaign designed to manipulate Mongolian democracy — a campaign secretly directed by Mr. Batbold’s opponents.”
“Mr. Batbold looks forward to his day in court, when he will have the opportunity to defend himself against these unfounded claims,” the attorney said.
CNBC has reached out to Mongolia’s United Nations mission in New York for comment on the allegations in the suit.
AT least six people have been killed after a “tsunami of fire” exploded from a tanker carrying 60 tons of liquid gas.
The truck burst into flames after a horror crash close to a busy market in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
7
Footage shows how the truck was engulfed in fire before a second giant explosionCredit: East2West
7
The tanker burst into flames after a crash in Ulaanbaatar, MongoliaCredit: Getty
7
Thick black smoke pours into the sky after the explosionCredit: Reuters
7
Hundreds of firefighters were called in to battle the blazeCredit: AFP
Dramatic footage showed the tanker engulfed in flames before a second massive explosion sparked a huge fireball.
People were seen fleeing from the explosion as cars turned around to get out of the way of the raging inferno.
The series of explosions were felt hundreds of metres away from the burning truck, according to reports.
More than 600 firefighters along with 100 vehicles were involved in bringing the blaze under control.
Several firefighters were killed in the inferno, Mongolia’s Emergency Management Agency said.
“Six people were killed, 14 people – three children and 11 adults – were injured,” spokesman G. Ariunbuyan said.
“23 adults and 17 children were evacuated from the area and placed into a hotel, 30 cars were burned.
“Three of the people who were killed were servicemen of the 63rd unit of Bayazurkh district.
“Deepest condolences to the families of the officers.”
The official said at least 11 adults and three children needed medical treatment for burns.
The explosion was sparked by a crash at a busy roundabout in the capital.
“Based on the preliminary assessment of the cause of the fire, it is concluded that the explosion happened when a truck loaded with liquefied natural gas did not notice the distance while moving on the roundabout and collided with a passenger car,” Ariunbuyan said.
Fiona Blyth, Britain’s ambassador to Mongolia, said: “On behalf of the British embassy I extend my condolences to the officers who lost their lives during the tragic accident at Dunjingarav.
“Our thoughts are with the families of all those affected and we wish a fast recovery to those injured in this tragic event.”
US ambassador to Mongolia, Richard Buangan, was “deeply saddened by the terrible accident”.
“I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the NEMA employees who lost their lives in this shocking accident,” he said.
7
Police officers inspect damage at the scene of the explosionCredit: AFP
7
More than 600 firefighters were called in to bring the blaze under controlCredit: East2West
7
The inferno spread to residential buildingsCredit: East2West
Editor’s Note: This CNN Travel series is, or was, sponsored by the country it highlights. CNN retains full editorial control over subject matter, reporting and frequency of the articles and videos within the sponsorship, in compliance with our policy.
Karakorum, Mongolia CNN
—
Karakorum is known by many names and even more reputations. Once the home of the world’s most famous Khan, this ancient city quickly became one of the Silk Road’s most important – and progressive – convergence points.
Located in Mongolia’s Övörkhangai province, Karakorum and its surrounding landscapes are among the best places to visit in Mongolia today.
Located just 350 kilometers from Ulaanbaatar, the country’s modern-day capital city, the road to Karakorum is an essential drive on any Mongolia travel itinerary not only for its beauty, but for its history.
It’s this same East meets West route that was once traveled by Turks, Chinese, Uighurs, Sogdians, Hungarians, Greeks, Armenians, Alans and Georgians. By diplomats, traders, artisans and merchants all looking to trade silk, spices, tea, ivory, cotton, wool and precious metals, as well as ideas.
Because of this, Karakorum quickly became a place where cultures would intertwine and learn to live in harmony with one another. Despite many of the connotations about Genghis Khan and his empire many of us hold today, Karakorum was a city built on understanding and acceptance.
It was a place where different religious practices were accepted, with at least 12 different pagan temples, two mosques, a church and at least one Buddhist temple located inside the city’s walls.
The city’s glory was, however, short lived. Kublai Khan eventually moved the empire’s capital to Beijing only 50 years after development first began. With harsh temperatures and a vulnerability to attacks, the city’s inhabitants didn’t stay around for long after that, and Karakorum quickly turned into a pile of rubble.
The Karakorum we see today may be nothing like it was in the days of the Great Khan, but with a recent vow from the president of Mongolia to revitalize this culturally significant city in the coming years, there’s a brighter future on the horizon.
Until then, there are still plenty of reasons to visit.
As a country with a nomadic culture Mongolia doesn’t have many traces of its past still standing. Even today, much of the Mongol’s history as one of the largest and most powerful empires in the world is a mystery still being pieced together.
Besides “The Secret History of the Mongols,” not many written accounts from the Mongolian Empire, as told by Mongols, remain. Archeological sites around Karakorum are still filling in many blanks.
Excavations in and around Karakorum have discovered paved roads, remains of brick and adobe buildings, floor-heating systems, bed stoves, evidence of the processing of copper, gold, silver, iron, glass, jewels, bones and birch bark, as well as coins from China and Central Asia, ceramics and four kilns.
Many of these discoveries, and the stories around them, can be found in the Karakorum Museum, a sleek and modern attraction in the heart of the city.
None of the artifacts and exhibitions, however, are as enthralling as the tale of the Silver Tree – a once ornate fountain that was the centerpiece of the Mongol capital.
According to the legend, the tree was adorned with silver fruit and flowing with various alcoholic drinks, including wine, fermented mare’s milk (airag), rice wine and honey mead, all for the grandsons of Genghis Khan and his invited guests.
The Silver Tree hasn’t been discovered and was most likely dismantled during one of the city’s raids, but the tale of it is enough to fill our own cups just like it once did those of the Mongol royals.
Back in 1585 when Karakorum was abandoned and falling into ruin, the city’s salvation came in the form of a Buddhist monastery commissioned by the then Khalkha-Mongolian prince.
It was the prince’s meeting with the third Dalai Lama, and his declaration of Tibetan Buddhism as the state religion of Mongolia, that would make Erdene Zuu Monastery the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia.
During the Soviet purges of the 1930s, Stalin himself saved a few of the main temples from being destroyed, calling them symbols of religious freedom. The monastery complex was eventually converted into a museum.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the monastery again became active, but nothing like its former days. At its peak, the monastery was home to more than 100 temples, around 300 yurts, and 1,000 monks in residence.
Today, Erdene Zuu Monastery is one of Mongolia’s most sacred Buddhist temples, with Buddhist-practicing Mongols vowing to visit the complex at least once in their lives.
The Laviran Temple at the back of the complex is where monks can be found chanting, practicing musical instruments and providing sacred readings daily.
With a recent expansion and the ability to offer a wider array of workshops and exhibitions that go beyond Mongolian calligraphy, the center focuses on promoting all aspects of Mongolian heritage.
Concerts featuring traditional Mongolian music as well as masterclasses on khoomei, or traditional Mongolian throat singing, will be held throughout the summer.
In September, the center plans to open a ceramic workshop.
While Karakorum is often considered a stop along the route to somewhere else, this culturally rich city deserves closer attention. Visitors should plan to spend at least two days exploring this ancient area, booking at least one night at one of these hotels, guesthouses or tourist ger (yurt) camps.
The modern and clean Ikh Khorum Hotel and Restaurant stands out as one of the city’s most elegant choices. The hotel features 27 rooms, a sauna, restaurant, bar and lounge. The hotel is within walking distance to Erdene Zuu Monastery, Karakorum Museum, and the Erdenesiin Khuree Calligraphy Center.
While Silver Tree Guest House is still in its opening phases, staying here feels like you’ve been invited into someone’s home. And that’s also because it is. Silver Tree Guest House is a family-run guest house offering yurt stays, rooms with toilets and showers, and a restaurant that can accommodate both meat eaters and vegetable lovers.
It’s also the first building in Mongolia to utilize a biogas heating system and can speak several languages, including English, French, Russian, Polish, and Mongolian.
For the real yurt experience, Anja Camp makes the list as one of the best in Karakorum, offering ecologically healthy and natural meals from their three-season greenhouse as well as having a focus on environmental projects.
The camp and its founders have started initiatives to grow sea buckthorn to stop soil erosion, using the trees to create creams, liqueurs, organic juice, organic oil, and – a Mongolian favorite – sea buckthorn tea. They also have a sister lodge in Elsen Tasarkhai, the Sweet Gobi Geolodge, an hour outside of Karakorum that’s worth checking into if you’re in the area.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – Dulamsuren Demberel, a 58-year-old herder who lives an eight-hour drive from Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar, finds it harder each month to make the household budget work.
Prices of flour and rice, among the basic staples Mongolia’s herders cannot produce themselves, have soared due to the war in Ukraine, with overall inflation running at an eye-watering 14.5 percent.
Even worse has been the 40 percent jump in the price of coal, as well as shortages recent protests have blamed on corrupt officials’ alleged theft of 385,000 tonnes of coal for sale in China.
In Mongolia, where winter temperatures often dip below -35°C, about 60 percent of the population lives in gers – traditional tents – that are not connected to the country’s Soviet-era heating and water grid, but instead heated using coal-powered stoves. More than one-quarter of households are made up of herders like Demberel, who relocate their flocks and gers several times per year.
Mongolia, where winter temperatures often dip below -35°C, is grappling with skyrocketing energy prices [Courtesy of Antonio Graceffo]
“Last time when I went to the soum, they weren’t even selling coal,” Demberel, who shares her ger with her husband, her second-eldest son and his wife and five children, told Al Jazeera, referring to the provincial district nearby.
Meanwhile, Demberel, whose husband’s poor health leaves him unable to work, finds it hard to justify making the trek to Ulaanbaatar to sell sheep, wool and milk, the prices of which are in decline even as gasoline prices soar. Mongolia produces oil but, without a cost-effective means to refine it into gasoline, exports almost all of it to China.
While exports to China have declined in recent months as Mongolia’s economy slows under strict COVID-19 curbs, gasoline prices have risen as much as 65 percent since Russia launched its war in Ukraine in February.
“Unless you sell more than 30 sheep or something, it’s not worth it, even though we can sell in the city at a higher price,” Demberel said. “It’s too far. Paying for gas and other expenses would just make it the same as selling it in the soum, unless you sell a lot.”
Mongolia, one of the world’s most sparsely-populated countries, is being squeezed economically by China and Russia, its two giant neighbours, which have historically dominated its vast landmass.
While Russia’s war in Ukraine has caused energy prices to skyrocket, China’s weakening economy has dampened trade even as some Mongolians question their government’s export of coal and other valuable resources to their southern neighbour.
Many Mongolian households are heated using coal-powered stoves [Courtesy of Antonio Graceffo]
Mongolia depends on Russia for electricity, gasoline, aviation fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and diesel, about 60 percent of which comes from its northern neighbour.
China accounts for more than 80 percent of Mongolia’s total exports, 60 percent of imports and more than 40 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). Mongolia’s dependence on its bigger neighbours is immediately obvious on visiting any store, where packaging is covered with Chinese and Russian writing.
“Of course, we’re fully dependent on China and Russia,” Narangerel, a 57-year-old businessman in Ulaanbaatar, told Al Jazeera.
“We’re dependent on China in terms of our economy, and we depend on Russia for electricity. Also, we buy 90 percent of our coal and petrol from Russia. All other consumer goods come from China.”
Mongolia gained independence in 1921, after nearly 300 years of rule by China’s Qing Dynasty. Until the collapse of communism in the early 90s, the socialist Mongolian People’s Republic operated as a satellite state of the Soviet Union.
Former Mongolian territories, Tuva, Buryatia and Altai are part of today’s Russian Federation, while China controls the geographic area of Southern Mongolia as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
While Mongolia is independent, Moscow and Beijing continue to exert significant influence over the country. After the Dalai Lama’s visit to Ulaanbaatar in 2016, China punished Mongolia by closing off the border. Although he is the spiritual head of the Tibetan Buddhist faith, practised by the majority of Mongolians, the Dalai Lama has not been invited back.
Herder Dulamsuren Demberel’s husband is unable to work due to poor health [Courtesy of Antonio Graceffo]
Mongolians experienced a taste of what decoupling from China would look like in 2020 when the borders were closed as part of China’s COVID-19 lockdowns.
Mongolia’s economy shrank by 4.4 percent, prompting businesses to lay off tens of thousands of workers. Unemployment peaked at 8.5 percent in April of 2021 before declining to 5.4 percent in the third quarter of this year. Herders were not considered unemployed, although many could not get to the city to sell meat or milk during the height of the pandemic.
While the economy has rebounded, the recovery remains shaky due to China’s economic slowdown and the uncertain global economic outlook.
Mining revenue, which accounts for more than 20 percent of GDP, dropped by nearly one-quarter in the first two months of 2022, compared with the previous year.
Despite rebounding since October, resource export revenues remain well below pre-pandemic levels, with iron ore exports to China, one of the biggest money-makers, down 38 percent in the first eleven months of this year.
“We used to export fluorite to Ukraine, Russia and China. Now, we’ve stopped exporting to Ukraine. And because the border is closed with China, we can’t export to China,” M Uuganbaatar, a 40-year-old executive director at mining enterprise Bayan Jonsh Co, told Al Jazeera.
Previously, China accounted for 70 percent of Uuganbaatar’s business.
“Due to inflation, transportation and logistics, costs have increased,” he said. The one upside is that his exports are purchased in United States dollars, which he can use to hedge against a declining tugrik, the local currency.
So far this year, the tugrik has lost about 18 percent of its value against the dollar.
Oyuntsetseg Togoodorj, a kindergarten teacher in Ulaanbaatar who earns a salary of 800,000 tugriks ($234) a month, said feeding her four children is becoming increasingly difficult.
“Two hundred thousand tugrik ($59) a month, was enough to buy all we needed before but now it should be at least 600,000 ($176) to make barely enough to survive,” Togoodorj told Al Jazeera. “For the whole winter, we used to spend 400,000 ($117) for meat. Now it is 800,000 ($235).”
In addition to increased grocery bills, she is also dealing with higher school fees. “We’re paying four times what we used to pay last year.”
More than one-quarter of Mongolian households are made up of herders [Courtesy of Antonio Graceffo]
Anger and frustration over Mongolia’s dependence on its powerful neighbours is not hard to find.
Many Mongolians believe China and Russia discourage the construction of power-generation plants and factories in Mongolia for fear of losing their influence over the country. In one notable source of tensions, Russia has opposed the construction of a dam and hydropower generation plant along the Uldza River, claiming it would damage the ecology of Lake Baikal, which lies on the Russian side of the border.
While Moscow has protested the project on environmental grounds, many Mongolians believe its opposition is really motivated by a desire to keep their country subservient.
“Historically Russia claims to be our brother but they seem to keep us under thumb,” Ariunjargal Andrei, a 52-year-old construction engineer, told Al Jazeera. “We buy our electricity from Russia, so it isn’t beneficial for them if we build a hydropower plant. Therefore, they’re not allowing us to build it, claiming it’ll have a negative effect on Lake Baikal.”
“Russia is not allowing us to build the Enkh Gol power station,” Narangerel said. China is … we are getting so many loans that we are in really serious danger.”
For many Mongolians such as Narangerel, the answer to the country’s economic troubles lies in achieving greater independence.
“We’re not a producing country, we’re consumers,” he said.
Batmunkh, a 43-year-old accountant at the country’s fifth largest bank, Khas Bank, who, like many Mongolians goes by one name, summed up the country’s economic problems simply: “The central cause of the success or failure of the Mongolian economy is the Chinese economy and China’s anti-COVID policy.”
