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electricity,sowehavetocooperateclosely,”hesaid.There’s

alsolongstandingaffectionforRussiaamongMongoliansof

Battulga’sgeneration,forwhomeliteeducationgenerally

meantstudyingintheUSSR.“RussiaandMongolia,”Battulga

said,“arecloselybonded.”

PreviousMongolianleadersconcentratedonwooingthe

U.S.,notablybysendingtroopstoAfghanistanandIraq.(The

country’sfirstarmedforaytothoselands,incidentally,wasthe

1258 sackingofBaghdadbyGenghis’sgrandsonHulaguKhan,

whosehorderolledthecity’srulerina carpetandtrampledhim

todeath.)TieswithWashingtonarethelinchpinofthe“third

neighborpolicy,”a long-runningMongolianefforttoguarantee

autonomybycultivatingrelationshipsbeyondRussiaandChina.

U.S.officialshavelatelybeenworkingtokeepMongoliain

theWest’stent.Then-NationalSecurityAdviserJohnBolton

traveledthereinlateJune,quicklyfollowedbySecretaryof

DefenseMarkEsper.TrumphasalsowelcomedBattulgatothe

WhiteHouse,a visittheMongolianpresidentcommemorated

bysymbolicallygiftinga horsenamedVictorytoTrump’steen-

agesonBarron.(ThehorseremainedinMongolia.)Battulga

andotherslament,however,thatCongresshasn’tpassedthe

MongoliaThirdNeighborTradeAct,a billthatwouldremove

dutiesonsomeMongolianimports.

Tothepeopleresponsibleforsellinginternationalbusinesses

onMongolia,democracyremainsa keycompetitiveadvantage.

SumiyabazarDolgorsuren,theministerofmining,saysthatfor

foreigninvestors,“Ithinkit’sbettertoreachanagreementwith

a systemthatcanactuallycleanitselfupandrightitswrongs.”

MANYOFTHEPEOPLEBATTULGASAYSHEWANTSTOHELP

liveinthegerdistricts,hometomorethanhalfofUlaanbaatar’s

roughly1.5 millionresidents.Thedistricts’existenceowesto

twopeculiarities,oneculturalandtheotherlegal.Mongolians

werelargelynomadicwellintothe20th century,andproperty

ownershipwasn’treallyrelevant;therewasplentyoflandtogo

around.Eagertobuilda moremodernmarket,post-Communist

lawmakerscreateda systemallowingeveryMongoliantoget

a plotoflandforfree—700squaremetersinUlaanbaataror

asmuchas5,000inruralareas.Sincemostpropertynomi-

nallybelongedtothestate,therewerefewprivatelandowners

toobject.Oneunintendedconsequenceoftheprovisionwas

that,witheconomicopportunityconcentratedinthelargest

city,manynomadicfamiliesclaimeda patchoflandonitsout-

skirtsandneverleft.Fewmadeenoughmoneytomoveupthe

housingladder,leavingUlaanbaatarringedwiththousandsof

gers—traditionaltentlikesheltersusedbynomadsforcenturies.

Ona grayafternoonina gerdistrictthatascendsthefoot-

hillsnorthofthecitycenter,it wasn’thardtoseewhymany

residentssupporteda leaderclaiminghecouldbreakthedomi-

nanceofthewealthy.Whitegerslinedbothsidesofa rutteddirt

track,separatedfromoneanotherbyshortwoodenstockades.

Nexttoeachresidencewasa tinyouthouse,a particularincon-

venienceina countrywheretemperaturescanplungebelow

–30C.Peekingoutabovethetentsweresmallchimneysforvent-

ingsmokefromcoalstoves.Theaveragegerburnsbetween

threeandfourtonseverywinterforwarmth,themainreason

Ulaanbaatarhassomeoftheworld’sworstairpollution.

Totheleesideofa smallhillwasanangularone-storystruc-

ture,constructedwitha skeletonofblondwoodandcladin

translucentpolycarbonatepanels.Thebuildingis a makeshift

communitycenter,oneofseveralattemptsmadebya localnon-

profitcalledGerHub,withhelpfromdesignersattheUniversity

ofHongKong,toimprovethedistricts.Despitepromisesbysuc-

cessivegenerationsofpoliticians,nooneelsehasdoneit.“The

governmenthassortoffrozen,”saidBadruunGardi,GerHub’s

founder.Evenattheheightoftheminingboom,“therewas

thislargeportionofthecountrythatwasn’tbenefiting,andin

somewayspeople’slivesweregettingworse.”

Youdon’thavetogofarinUlaanbaatar,though,tofind

peoplewhoseliveshaveimproveddramaticallyundermarket

democracy.A largecohortofyoung,tech-savvyMongolians,

manyofwhomhavestudiedorworkedintheWest,nowform

a genuinemiddleclass.Themainstreammediais vibrant,with

dozensofpapersandTVchannels,whileTwitterandFacebook

buzzwithpassionatepoliticaldebate.AndwhenMongolians

aredissatisfiedwiththeirleaders,theycananddotaketothe

streets,fillingthecentralsquarenomattertheweather.

EvenpeoplewhohelpedbringaboutMongolia’stransition

tocapitalismexpressamazementathowfarthecountryhas

come.JargalsaikhanDambadarjaaandBoldLuvsanvandanwere

pro-democracyactivistsin1990,narrowlyescapingarrestafter

theyposteredUlaanbaatar’smaindrag. Nowthey’repartofthe

establishment:Jargalsaikhanrunsa respectedthinktank,while

Boldsitsinparliamentandleadsa politicalparty.

SittingintherestaurantoftheCommunist-eraUlaanbaatar

Hotel,theyremarkedonMongolia’suniquelyindependentpath.

BothmenshareBattulga’sstatedinterestinseeingprosperity

sharedbroadlywithinthecurrentsystem.“Whena veryfew

peoplebecometrulyrich,”Jargalsaikhansaid,“andthemasses

getpennies,noteventoilets,thatmakespeopleunhappy.”They

werenonethelessdeeplyconcernedaboutMongolia’sdirection.

“What’shappeninginHungaryandPoland,similarthingsare

tryingtobehappeninghere,”Jargalsaikhansaid.

“NobodywantsMongoliatokeepdemocracy,”Boldchimed

in,alludingtothecountry’sneighbors.“I’mnotevensureabout

Westerncountries.Dealingwitha dictatoris mucheasier.”

AgerdistrictinUlaanbaatar

September 30, 2019

INJINAASH BOR