Sükhbaatar Square (Mongolian: Сүхбаатарын талбай, pronounced Sükhbaatariin Talbai) is the central square of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It is named after and features a statue of Damdin Sükhbaatar, leader of Mongolia's 1921 revolution. The statue is located right in front of the Saaral Ordon (Government Palace).
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The newspaper "Izvestiya Ulanbator khoto" reported on July 15, 1925 that "in line with Mongolian tradition the fourth anniversary of the People's Revolution was celebrated with rallies at the square dedicated to D.Sukhbaatar". The statue of Sukh Janjin (meaning General Sukhbaatar) lies on the spot where his horse urinated during a rally on July 8, 1921. Sukh Janjin's horse urinating was seen as a good omen and a marker was buried on the spot by a man called "Bonehead" Gavaa. Marshal Choibalsan (who participated as a simple worker during the cementing process of 1946 along with Tsedenbal) had the marker dug out and chose the spot as the place of Sukhbaatar's statue in 1946, after the sculptor Sonomyn Choimbol (1907-1970) asked where his statue should be placed. Before Sukhbaatar, this place was a large empty area surrounded on all sides by temples, residences of the nobility and clergy as well as the Baruun Damnuurchin markets. It had become a place of disposing refuse where large piles of garbage could be seen. The Bogd Khan would pass through it on his royal procession to the Yellow Palace in the central temple-palace complex of the city. This central temple-palace complex (now completely destroyed), the largest and oldest section of Ulaanbaatar, was called the Zuun Khuree or Eastern Monastery and faced Sukhbaatar Square from the north. It had a large square of its own (the former main square of the city) where Mongolian wrestling and Tsam dances took place in the presence of nobles and clergy.
Major buildings on the square include the Government Palace (built in 1951 on the spot of the Green Domed Theatre), the Golomt Bank, the Central Post Office, the Culture Palace and, until 2005, Sükhbaatar's Mausoleum. The Green Domed Theatre was built in 1926 and burned down unexpectedly in 1949. A well-known story related by witnesses of the event tells of a passer-by who exclaimed "our theatre sure burns nicely" as the cultural monument blazed brightly during the night. He was quickly apprehended and severely punished by the authorities. The City Administration building was formerly a hotel and was built in 1936. Other buildings surrounding the square include the Lenin Club building (1929), Printing Press (1929), State Ballet and Opera House (1946–1949) and the Stock Exchange building formerly the Eldev-Ochir Cinema (1946–1948). Besides the Sükhbaatar monument in the middle of the square, one can find several other statues at the square: those of Genghis Khan and two of his generals in front of the Government House, a monument for Jamsrangiin Sambuu on the north-western corner, and another one for Sanjaasürengiin Zorig across the intersection on the south-western corner.
Sukhbaatar Square was the scene of annual civil, youth and military parades until 1989. For example, large parades were held when Brezhnev made an official visit to Mongolia in 1966. It is still the scene of major state ceremonies, cultural events and exhibitions. The Democratic Revolution of 1990 featured massive demonstrations and hunger strikes at the square. Heads of state of foreign countries generally pay respects in front of the statue of Sukhbaatar. Sukhbaatar Square was also the scene of the violent riots of July 1, 2008 when 5 people were shot dead and many more injured.
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