Mongolia: Political System
According to EQUZHOU.NET, Mongolia is a parliamentary republic. See AbbreviationFinder for more information about Mongolia politics, and acronyms as well.
The head of state is the president and the head of government is the prime minister.
The unicameral parliament, the Great Hural, consists of 76 members who are elected every four years. The head of state is also directly elected every four years.
In the parliamentary elections on June 29, 2008, the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party won 50 and the Democratic Party of Mongolia 25 of the total of 76 seats in parliament. As a result, the ruling People’s Party was accused of election fraud and fraud. As a result, serious clashes broke out in Ulan Bator on July 2nd, as a result of which around 6 people died and even President Nambariin Enkhbayar declared a state of emergency.
Despite rapid economic growth, over a third of the people are still below the poverty line.
The official name of the country is:
| Mongolia/Mongol Uls |
National anthem
Bügd Nairamdach Mongol (Democratic Mongolian Republic) has been the national anthem of Mongolia again since 1991. It was written in 1950 and served as the country’s national anthem from then until 1961, including a further stanza in which, among others, Lenin and Stalin were praised. Bilegiin Damdinsuren (1919 to 1991) and Luvsanjamts Murjorj (1915 to 1996) composed the music. The text comes from Tsendiin Damdinsuren (1908 to 1988), but it was revised again in July 2006 and a third stanza was added in honor of Genghis Khan.
National flag
The national flag (national flag) of Mongolia was adopted on January 13, 1993. Based on flag descriptions by Countryaah.com, the two red bars symbolize the country’s progress and prosperity, while the middle, blue stripe stands for the eternal sky. The sky blue is also considered the centuries-old Mongolian national color. The Sojombo symbol consists of ancient Mongolian symbols which indicate wisdom, the will to be free, a longing for peace and justice.
- Check top-mba-universities for public holidays, sports events, UNESCO world heritage sites and major places to visit in Mongolia.
Mongolia: Known People
Visual artist
- Under Geghen Zanabazar(1635 to 1723), Buddhist scholar and artistThe Buddhist dignitary, who was educated in Lhasa, created numerous important sculptures in addition to religious works, teachings and prayer songs.
Politicians and rulers
Mongol Empire
- Genghis Khan(around 1160 to 1227)The high medieval Mongol ruler succeeded in uniting the former Turkic-Mongolian tribes and, on this basis, conquered a huge Central Asian empire that included northern China and that stretched from the Caspian Sea in the east to the Sea of Japan in the west was enough. Under his successors, it became the greatest empire in all of human history. From 1206 to 1227, Genghis Khan ruled the Mongols as the first major khan, had a script developed and for the first time laid down generally applicable laws.
- Ugedai Khan(1186 or 1189 to 1241)The third son of Genghis Khan ruled the Mongol Empire as the second Great Khan from 1229. From 1235 he had Karakoram expanded into the imperial capital. His army even invaded Europe and in 1237 conquered Moscow, advanced into Poland, defeated the German-Polish army in Silesia in 1241 and, at the same time, the Hungarian army at Mohi in Hungary. The so-called Mongol Storm, however, ended abruptly with his death.
- Kublai Khan(1215 to 1294)The grandson of Genghis Khan was Mongolian Great Khan from 1960. Under his rule, Buddhism became the state religion of the people who had hitherto been shamanistic. Kublai Khan conquered the south of China and founded the Yuan Dynasty, whose first emperor he ruled from 1271 to 1294. As governor in northern China, he had Buddhist monks administer Tibet from 1253.
20th century
- Damdin Süchbaatar(1893 to 1923), Mongol revolutionary heroThe commander-in-chief of the Mongolian People’s Army was instrumental in driving the Chinese out of Mongolia’s territory and is considered the country’s national hero, not least because of his untimely death.
- Süchbaataryn Jandschmaa(1893 to 1963), President of Mongolia from 1953 to 1954The widow of Damdin Süchbaatar is considered to be the first woman in the world to hold the role of President, even if only temporarily.
- Chorloogiin Tschoibalsan(1895 to 1952), communist leader.He served as the country’s president from 1929 to 1930 and as head of government from 1939 to 1952, and during this time he also implemented Stalin’s policy in Mongolia. Thus he was responsible for the mass murder of so-called enemies of the people.
Athlete
- Tsagaanbaatar Khashbaatar(born 1984), judokaHe won the bronze medal in super light weight at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Mongolia: animals
Mammals
The Maral deer found in the Altai Mountains are a subspecies of the red deer and are among the largest deer in the world. Many tourists stop in surprise when they come across these animals in the city center of Ulan Bator , where the deer like to graze in the parks.
Another resident of the Altai Mountains is the endangered snow leopard, little is known about their habits. It is one of the most critically endangered big cats as it is hunted for its fur and bones. The bones are ground into powder and are considered in Chinese medicine as a panacea and sexual enhancer. The snow leopard is endangered and is under strict conservation.
The Mongolian saiga, a genus of ungulates that is immediately recognizable by its trunk-like nose, is also endangered. Another characteristic are the short, curled horns, which are only found in males.
The last occurrences of the wild camels, wild donkeys, the Argali wild sheep and the Przewalski wild horse, which is named after its discoverer Colonel Nikolai Michailowitch Przewalski, are remarkable. It is the only real wild horse still alive, which is probably one of the ancestors of our horses today. It differs from today’s domestic horses in both external and internal body structure.
The Przewalski horse has a stocky build with a thick neck and short legs and one more thoracic vertebra. It was already exterminated in Mongolia in the 1960s, but was released back into the wild in the 1990s and has since lived mainly in the Gobi Desert. Some of the animals have already been born in the wild.
Mongolia is also one of the few countries where the Kashmiri goat is native. She is the producer of the precious and worldwide very popular cashmere wool, which is characterized in particular by its softness, lightness and suppleness.
In the north of the country there are lynxes, bears and red deer, while ibex and gazelles live in the steppes.
A rarity is the occurring in Trans Altai territory gobi bear, one gets almost never to face and therefore do not know much about him. But he is special because he is the only brown bear living in the desert.
The most common grazing animals will be encountered such as sheep and goats, of which there are around 25 million in Mongolia.
The huge yak , which plays a versatile and important role among the Mongols, is only domesticated. He is both pack and mount as well as milk, meat, wool and skin supplier. The dried manure is also used as fuel. The marmots , of which a large number live in the steppe areas, are also considered to be very valuable. Their meat is considered a delicacy and their fur is used for winter clothing.
Blue
sheep Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), despite their name, are not sheep, but rather goat-like. Together with the dwarf blue sheep they form the genus (blue sheep = pseudois).
The animals are between 120 to 170 cm long and a shoulder height of 75 to 90 cm – with a 10 to 20 cm long tail. Their weight varies between 40 to 80 kg, with the males being heavier than the females.
The horns of the males reach a length of over 80 cm, while those of the females are only 20 cm long. The animals live in the Himalayan region as well as in a number of mountain ranges of Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia.
Their habitat is predominantly at altitudes between 3,000 and 6,000 m. Their diet consists of grasses, herbs, mosses and other parts of plants.
After a gestation period of around 160 days, the females usually give birth to only one young – rarely two.
Life expectancy in freedom is 12 to 15 years. One of the most dangerous enemies is the snow leopard, which lives in the same habitat as the blue sheep.
The animals are classified as not endangered by the IUCN.
Pfeifhase
Pfeifhase do not look much like the well-known field hares, in earlier times they were even regarded as rodents. There are around 30 species of the pigeon hares (Ochotona) genus.
The animal is on average 20 cm long – with a spread of 15 to about 25 cm. Their weight can reach approx. 200 g. In addition to Asia, the animals are also found in America.
The animals get their name from the high-pitched whistling tones with which they warn each other in case of danger.
The food of the animals, which can be found at altitudes up to almost 6,000 m, consists of grasses, herbs or plant stems. The female gives birth to up to 12 cubs two to three times a year.
Reptiles
Snakes and lizards such as the forest lizard and the desert racer are mainly found in the Gobi desert. In the past, however, many more lizards must have lived here, because a great many dinosaur skeletons and dinosaur eggs were excavated in Mongolia.
Poisonous animals
The tarantula , which occurs in Mongolia , is a wolf spider, grows 3 – 5 cm in size and is light brown in color with dark markings on its back. The nocturnal spider lives in caves and tree crevices. It is interesting that it does not catch its prey in the net, but rather actively hunts. Lizards and smaller rodents are then on the menu. The poison sting poses only a minor threat to humans, whereby the symptoms after a bite are almost always only expressed locally. There may be moderate to mild pain and local inflammation with redness, itching and swelling. The tarantula is also widespread in the Mediterranean region, the tropics, subtropics and in south-east Europe.
One of the poisonous snakes in Mongolia is the Halysotter, a viper. They are mainly found in deserts, semi-deserts and in wooded regions. These areas should be avoided at night, as the Halysotter is able to locate potential victims through a sensory organ that is sensitive to thermal radiation.
Myths and stories entwine around the “Allghoi Khorkhoi”, the red Mongolian death worm supposedly living in the Gobi desert , whereby the touch of the worm is said to bring death. Its occurrence is questioned if only because a worm could not survive in the extreme drought in the desert. Rather, it is believed that it could be a species of desert death otter that occurs in Australia and of which there are also species with a red color.
insects
Most insects such as beetles, grasshoppers and mosquitoes can be found in the forests and in the desert. The mosquitoes can become a nuisance even if there is no water around.
Birds
One of the most famous birds in Mongolia is the golden eagle, which with a body length of 75–90 cm can reach a wingspan of up to 2 m. In the order of birds of prey, it belongs to the eagle family. The adult birds have a uniformly dark brown fur, with only the crown and the neck being golden yellow. The young birds have a large white field at the base of the hand wings and a white tail with a black band at the end. It feeds on smaller mammals such as marmots and mountain hares, but its main source of food is chamois and fawns.
Other birds such as grouse are also on the menu. It was almost wiped out decades ago, but it is now recovering very slowly. It is used by the nomads for hunting until the age of 7 years. He is then released again.
Two species of vulture also occur here, the monk and the bearded vulture. The latter can be seen particularly well in the famous Bearded Vulture Gorge on the eastern foothills of the Altai Mountains.
Live by the lakes in the valleys areas many water birds such as wild geese and wild ducks, swans, grebes, pelicans, Cormorants and seagulls. In the desert, warblers, buzzards, Saxaul jays and Saxaul sparrows are more likely to come across.
Underwater world
Fishing is very widespread in Mongolia, the Kherulen River with its numerous tributaries is particularly rich in species and popular with anglers. These are for Lenok (Siberian) trout and taimen, which can reach a considerable size. The most common are carp, sturgeon, eel, whitefish, pike, catfish, beak and perch . There is also the Arctic grayling here.
Mongolia: plants
Trees
The forest areas take up only a small part of the land area, the main occurrences are limited to the slopes of the northern mountains.
At the foot of the mountains there are spruces, firs, Swiss stone pines and larches. There are birch and birch-larch mixed forests in the mountain forest steppe, and on floodplains you will mainly find aspen, poplar, birch and desert elm.
Other plants
Typical plants of the steppe areas in Central Mongolia and in the east of the country are bulbous plants, feather grasses and numerous types of wormwood. In the spring and summer months, especially from mid-June to mid-August, you get to see the steppe from its most beautiful side, because then the flowering time of lilies, orchids and numerous herbs begins.
The huge occurrence of edelweiss, which is under nature protection in Europe due to its rarity and which covers entire meadows in Mongolia, is almost unbelievable. The edelweiss belongs to the daisy family and grows on sunny, calcareous lawn slopes, on stony meadows, on limestone cliffs and in crevices in mountains up to 2500 m. The plant grows to a height of 3 – 20 cm and has a characteristic flower consisting of 5 – 6 small yellow flower heads surrounded by white star-shaped leaves. The edelweiss is common in the Pyrenees, Alps, Carpathians and Central Asia.
In the desert in the south of Mongolia, except for the Saxaul bushes, there is very sparse vegetation.
Crops
One of the most important crops, especially for the nomads, is the Saxaul bush or tree, whose island-like mass populations in the Gobi desert are also known as Saxaul forests. The 2 to 4 m tall shrub often appears as a low tree, whose characteristics are very small leaves that give the impression that the plant is completely leafless. The thick and heavy wood is very popular as firewood due to its long flammability, and the water-storing and floating bark serves as a water reservoir for the nomads.
Agriculture is very limited in Mongolia because there is not enough fertile land available.
Medicinal plants
Mongolia is known for its variety of medicinal plants. The best known are the hawthorn and the blue monkshood. The hawthorn is a tree-high shrub that can reach heights of up to 12 m. Characteristic are the eponymous thorns and white flowers as well as the red fruits of the shrub. The active ingredients of the dried leaves and flowers are known for their blood pressure regulating effect and are also used for heart disease and hardening of the arteries.
Despite its extremely high toxicity, the alkaloid aconitine of the blue monkshood is of great importance in medicine. In its pure form it is used for nerve pain, rheumatism, gout, pleurisy and inflammation and wound healing processes. Caraway is one of the plants that are grown. It has an antispasmodic and digestive effect and is often added to heavy meals and used to treat indigestion.
Poisonous plants
A very poisonous plant is the blue monkshood, which grows with preference on damp pastures and in higher mountain areas. The plant, which belongs to the buttercup family, grows to 50 – 150 cm and is mainly recognizable by the blue-violet flowers in panicles. The poisonous alkaloid aconitine is found throughout the plant, but the tubers contain the largest amount. However, just a few grams are enough to cause the symptoms of poisoning to appear within 10-30 minutes. They start with tingling in the mouth, fingers and toes, followed by sweats, vomiting, cramps and diarrhea. Blood pressure drops and death eventually occurs from cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest. The honeysuckle growing on floodplains is also poisonous and causes diarrhea and vomiting if large quantities of the red berries are consumed.
