Special Sub-Topic: Mongolia Authored by: alan03 Sub-topic of: Asian Countries - Other

In 1992, Mongolia adopted the official name, the Republic of Mongolia. By what name was it known 1924-1992?

Mongolian Peoples' Republic. The Mongolian Peoples' Republic was declared in 1924, the world's second Communist country.

From which country did Mongolia become independent in the 1920s?

China. Mongolia initially gained limited autonomy from China following the fall of the Qing monarchy in 1911 but was later reoccupied by China in 1919. Anticommunist White Russians expelled the Chinese in 1921 at which point the Mongolians sought help from the Bolsheviks and in 1924 the Mongolian Peoples' Republic was declared. Independence Day is celebrated on 11th July, the day on which in 1921 Mongolia declared independence from China.

What is the currency of Mongolia?

Togrog. The togrog (pronounced locally as the tugrik) consists of 100 mongos. The kip is the currency of Laos, the dong is Vietnamese and the won is South Korean.

Mongolia is often referred to as 'Outer Mongolia'. Where would you find 'Inner Mongolia'?

China. The terms Inner and Outer Mongolia date back to Imperial China. The Qing dynasty divided China into a number of provinces: Inner Mongolia was so called because it was closer to the Chinese capital at Beijing. The Mongols themselves use the terms North and South Mongolia.

What is the predominant religion in Mongolia?

Buddhism. All religions were suppressed during the years of the Communist government. However, about 96% of the population are considered Tibetan Buddhists with most of the remainder being Muslims.

Much of Mongolia is desert or semi desert. What is the name of the large desert which covers part of south-east Mongolia?

Gobi. "Gobi" means desert in Mongolian. The desert has an area of 281,800 square kilometres and stretches south into China. Temperatures vary from 45C in summer to -40C in winter.

What is the largest ethnic grouping in Mongolia?

Khalka Mongols. Mongolia is relatively ethnically homogeneous. Mongols constitute 85% of the population (of that Mongol population 90% are Khalka with the remaining 10% being Durbet and Dariganga Mongols). Turkic groups (Kazakhs, Turvins and Khotans) make up 7% of the population. The remainder of the population is made up of Russians, Chinese and Tungusic-speakers.

What is the State Great Hural?

Mongolia's parliament. The parliament was previously known as the Peoples' Great Hural. The State Great Hural was established by the constitution of 1992.

Which mountain range would you find in Mongolia?

Altai. The Altai Mountains can be found in the west of Mongolia and include the five peaks of Tavan Bogd (Five Saints). The highest of these, and the highest peak in Mongolia, is Huiten Uul (Mt Cold) which is 4374m. The Sayan Mountains lie north of Mongolia in Russia, the Khinggan Mountains can be found in the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia while Tian Shan stretches across Kyrgyzstan and the Chinese province of Xinjiang Uygur.

Chinggis Khaan (better known in the West as Genghis Khan) is perhaps the most famous Mongol of all time and a very important figure to modern Mongolians. His real name was Temujin, what does Chinggis Khaan mean?

Universal King. Temujin was given the name after uniting the warring Mongol tribes. His armies went on to conquer much of Asia and laid the foundations for an empire that under Temujin's grandson, Kublai Khan, would stretch from Korea to Hungary, the largest contiguous empire in history. Chenggis Khaan remains a national hero in Mongolia.