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Mongolia’s History and People

The nation of Mongolia is wedged between Russia to the north and China to the south. It is a country that is twice the size of Texas, with wide open grassy spaces that livestock and animals have grazed on for hundreds of years. It is known as “the land of the blue skies” because it rarely rains or clouds over. Typically, over 260 days of the year are bright and sunny.

Mongolia is the country of Ghengis Khan, the world’s greatest conqueror. Ghengis Khan had more territory under his rule than any other leader of all time. His empire was once so vast, it was said to have encompassed “all the lands from the rising of the sun to its setting.” Marco Polo, the world explorer, wrote narratives that both terrified and fascinated the world with the mysterious land of Mongolia.

Mongolia, just south of Siberia, is a land of cold temperatures and has the coldest capital city in the world, the city of Ulaanbaatar. Mongolia is also the place most Americans would call the “uttermost parts of earth.”

What happened in 1989?

When the Soviet Union dissolved and Communism weakened in Central Asia, Mongolia shook free from her Russian dominance. Russia began to withdraw both financial investments and industry, stripping factories and collective farms of the equipment and machinery needed to continue an industrial society.

Mongolia, long attached to the Russian rule from Moscow, began to open up to the rest of the world. The people of Mongolia had little outside influence from the West. It has only been since 1989 that Mongolia has been open to Christian influence. Up until that time, at least in the 20th century, there were no known believers in Mongolia.

The people of Mongolia live in apartments, houses, or gers, the felt-covered tents that are found throughout Mongolia. The gers are easily assembled and taken down as the people follow their grazing herds and flocks across the steppes or plains. The people who live in the gers are able to withstand temperatures as low as 60 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit) during the winter months.

Today most people in the cities live in apartments that were built by the Russians in the last few decades. Their lives are simple, and many of them live on poverty-level wages. There are only a few countries where the income level is lower than it is in Mongolia. Physicians usually receive the equivalent of $40 to $70 U.S. dollars per month for their work. Teachers earn around $50 dollars. Now that Russia has pulled out of the country, there is little industry, and most incomes are based on herding or shepherding.

The country is also famous for the bactrian camel, the main mode of animal transportation in the southern portion of Mongolia, near the Gobi Desert. Yaks, the long haired cattle, are also kept by herdsmen in Mongolia. Horses outnumber the people of Mongolia, and there are many sheep and goats in small flocks that people raise in the countryside.

Learn more about Mongolia by reading The Mongolia Political Background Report.