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alphabet became the standard script for written Mongolian in schools and the military
during this time as well.^164
Choybalsan’s death in 1952, followed to the grave by Stalin in 1953, marked a gradual
shift in Mongolia’s relations with its neighbors. China, which recognized Mongolia’s
independence in 1949 (the year that Communist leader Mao Zedong took power), once
again began to take an active role in Mongolia’s economy. Increased trade and numerous
construction projects brought a large number of Chinese workers into the country, many
from the Inner Mongolia region.
(^165) During the 1960s, as relations between China and the
Soviet Union deteriorated, the Soviets took a renewed interest in Mongolia. Mongolia,
forced to take sides between the two Communist adversaries, chose Moscow. China’s
long history of claiming Mongolian lands played large in this decision.^166
Mongolia’s Democratic Revolution
The late 1980s saw a change in Mongolian political history,
coincident with similar changes taking place in the U.S.S.R. and
other Eastern Bloc countries. As the Soviets pulled their troops
out of Mongolia, reflecting an easing in tensions between the
U.S.S.R. and China, Mongolia quickly began repairing its
political and trade relations with China. Perhaps more
importantly, the Mongolian government began to establish
relations with the West, including the United States.^167 The
government leadership also proposed reform measures intended
to supply greater local autonomy and increase productivity.^168
Such measures, however, were unable to keep pace with the tides
of change. Young educated Mongolians returning from their
studies in the Soviet Union during the mid-1980s carried with
(^164) Robert L. Worden, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Modern Mongolia, 1911–84: Economic Gradualism
and National Defense, 1932–45: Peacetime Development, 1946–52,” in Mongolia: A Country Study, 2nd
ed. (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1991), 50.
(^165) Larry Moses and Stephen A. Halkovic, Jr., “Chapter 7: Twentieth Century Mongolia,” in Introduction to
Mongolian History and Culture (Bloomington, IN: Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, Indiana
University, 1985), 164–165.
(^166) Robert L. Worden, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Modern Mongolia, 1911–84: Economic Gradualism
and National Defense, 1932–45: Socialist Construction Under Tsedenbal, 1952–84,” in Mongolia: A
Country Study, 2nd ed. (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1991), 52.
(^167) Morris Rossabi, “Chapter 1: Mongolia: A Peaceful Transition,” in Modern Mongolia: From Khans to
Commissars to Capitalists (Berkeley/Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2005), 8–9.
(^168) Morris Rossabi, “Chapter 1: Mongolia: A Peaceful Transition,” in Modern Mongolia: From Khans to
Commissars to Capitalists (Berkeley/Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2005), 8.