Damdin Sükhbaatar

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This article is about the Mongolian revolutionary. For other uses, see Sükhbaatar.
Sükh, ca 1920-1922
Sükh, ca 1920-1922
Damdin Sükhbaatar statue in Sükhbaatar Square
Damdin Sükhbaatar statue in Sükhbaatar Square
Mongolian postage stamp of 1932 showing Sükhbaatar
Mongolian postage stamp of 1932 showing Sükhbaatar

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 (which means axe in the Mongolian language) was probably born in Urga and joined the nation's army in 1911. He was later forced to leave the army because of charges of insubordination. In 1917, he joined another army, fought against the Chinese, and earned the moniker of baatar (hero).

Until 1911, Mongolia had been under the rule of China and the Manchus, who established the Qing Dynasty. In 1911, the Xinhai Revolution led to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the founding of the Republic of China. The people of Mongolia took advantage of the upheaval in China by declaring their independence, establishing the religious leader the Bogd Khan as king of an independent Mongolia.

The Chinese republic reinstated its claim to Mongolia by an invasion in 1919, and the Bogd Khan was forced to recognize Chinese control of his country. Sükh traveled to Moscow as part of a delegation from the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party sent, with the approval of the Bogd Khan, to ask for aid from the Bolsheviks.[1] Sükh carried a letter bearing the Khan's stamp in his riding crop.[2] The Russians agreed to help. Sükh and the Mongolian/Red Army force returned to find that White Russian warlord Roman Ungern von Sternberg, operating independently, had driven the Chinese out of the Mongolian capital of Urga and proclaimed himself dictator.[3] Sükh and the Mongolian/Soviet forces defeated von Sternberg in the summer of 1921 and reclaimed Mongolian sovereignty.

Today Sükhbaatar is remembered as a hero in Mongolia for defeating both the Chinese and von Sternberg and thus confirming Mongolia's independence from China.

Sükhbaatar's widow, Sükhbaataryn Yanjmaa, went on to serve in a number of senior positions in the Mongolian government, including acting President.

[edit] 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 a town on the Chinese border, a district of Ulan Bator, and a Mongolian province (aimag).
  • Mongolian bank notes between 5 and 100 Mongolian tugrug (1993 series) feature an image of Sükhbaatar, with higher denomination notes bearing the portrait of Genghis Khan.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.museum.upenn.edu/Mongolia/section2c.shtml
  2. ^ http://www.nationalmuseum.mn/exh/social/social.html
  3. ^ http://blogs.waytorussia.net/item/54
  4. ^ http://www.mongolbank.mn/web/guest/banknotes/notes

[edit] External links

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