Anandyn Amar
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Anandyn Amar (; 1886 – July 10, 1941) was the head of state of the
Mongolian People's Republic The Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) was a socialist state that existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia. Its independence was officially recognized by the Nationalist government of Republic of China (1912†...
from 1932 to 1936 and twice served as
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
from 1928–1930 and again from 1936–1939. A widely respected politician, Amar was known for his eloquent defense of Mongolian independence in the face of increasing Soviet domination. Despite this, he proved powerless in preventing Minister of Interior
Khorloogiin Choibalsan Khorloogiin Choibalsan (8 February 1895 – 26 January 1952) was a Mongolian politician who served as the leader of the Mongolian People's Republic as the Prime Minister of Mongolia, chairman of the Council of Ministers (premier) from 1939 unt ...
and the Soviet
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...
from carrying out mass purges of nearly 30,000 Mongolians during his second term as prime minister between 1937 and 1939. Amar's popularity ultimately led to his purge by the pro-Soviet Choibalsan, who had him charged with counterrevolution in 1939. Amar was sent to Moscow for trial and executed on July 10, 1941.


Early life and career

Amar (literally meaning "peace/peaceful" in the
Mongolian language Mongolian is the Prestige (sociolinguistics), principal language of the Mongolic languages, Mongolic language family that originated in the Mongolian Plateau. It is spoken by ethnic Mongols and other closely related Mongolic peoples who are nati ...
) was born in 1886 in the present-day Khangal district of
Bulgan Province Bulgan Province () is one of the 21 provinces of Mongolia, located in the north of the country. Its capital is also named Bulgan. History Bulgan Province was established in 1937 after being separated from Selenge Province. In 1994, Orkhon Pr ...
(then called Daichin Van ''Khoshuu'' in Tüsheet Khan Province) in north-central Mongolia. The son of a poor nobleman, the "khokhi taij" or "impoverished prince" Anand, Amar studied Mongolian,
Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...
, and
Classical Tibetan Classical Tibetan refers to the language of any text written in Tibetic after the Old Tibetan period. Though it extends from the 7th century until the modern day (along with Arabic, Ge'ez, and New Persian, it is one of the handful of 'living' ...
in the ''Khoshuu'' school. He then worked his way up from being a local official to a position in the foreign ministry of Autonomous Mongolia from 1913 to 1919. He joined the
Mongolian People's Party The Mongolian People's Party (MPP) is a social democratic political party in Mongolia. It was founded as a communist party in 1920 by Mongolian revolutionaries and is the oldest political party in Mongolia. The party played an important role ...
in 1923, and was elected to the Presidium (Politburo) of the MPRP Central Committee in August 1924. He also served concurrently as a member of the 1st through 7th Little Khurals. From 1923 to 1928, Amar served as deputy prime minister while also holding various other government portfolios at different times, including minister of foreign affairs, minister of internal affairs, and president of the economic council.


Prime minister (first term)

Amar was appointed prime minister on February 21, 1928, following the death of Balingiin Tserendorj. The Soviets, already suspicious of the prestige he enjoyed in Mongolia, curtailed his authority by promptly assigning him to work in the Institute of Manuscripts. Amar's first term as prime minister ended on April 27, 1930. From 1930 to 1932, he was chairman of the science committee, during which time he authored two books: ''The Tenth Anniversary and Scientific Production'' (1931) and ''On the Development of the Mongolian National Script'' (1933). From 1932 to 1936, he served as chairman of the presidium of the Little Khural (the titular head of state).


''Short History of Mongolia''

In 1934, he authored the ''Short History of Mongolia''. In the prologue, he wrote:
"It is truly unbearably sad that the Mongol ethnicity, despite having since ancient times and especially in the time of Genghis Khan run a glorious path of development among the countries of Asia and Europe, should in these latter days have been divided into many parts, with some unable to protect and safeguard their ethnic roots, customs, land and property, revering a powerful foreign entity while not having any power or policy to carry out their own affairs or accomplish pertinent actions, not only subjecting themselves to others' authority but actually striving to accomplish the policies and interests of foreign entities. Imperialist nations such as the Manj (Manchus) and Khyatad (Chinese), who have historically tried to convert the Mongol nation into their trading shops and establish their own sole hegemony while fixing prices at their own whim for exploitative purposes, are now at this very moment fighting amongst each other to convert our own nationally identical Inner Mongolia into their trading shop. And so it is that the Mongol nation of animal husbandry (Inner and Outer Mongolia) has fallen so low as to meet the fate of becoming a trading shop of other nations."


Prime minister (second term)

Amar was appointed prime minister for the second time (and concurrently foreign minister) on March 22, 1936, following Peljidiin Genden's removal from both offices. Genden had resisted Soviet pressure to destroy Mongolia's Buddhist churches and had publicly scolded
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
at a Mongolian Embassy reception. Although Amar was the new prime minister,
Khorloogiin Choibalsan Khorloogiin Choibalsan (8 February 1895 – 26 January 1952) was a Mongolian politician who served as the leader of the Mongolian People's Republic as the Prime Minister of Mongolia, chairman of the Council of Ministers (premier) from 1939 unt ...
became Stalin's new favorite and, as head of the newly created Internal Affairs Ministry, was the ''de facto'' most powerful person in Mongolia. Choibalsan increased his power in May 1936 when he had the Internal Affairs Committee rules amended to facilitate the detention of high-ranking politicians without first consulting political superiors. Shortly after becoming prime minister in 1936, Amar and
Dansranbilegiin Dogsom Dansranbilegiin Dogsom (; 1884 – July 27, 1941) was a prominent Mongolian revolutionary leader and post-Revolution political figure in Mongolian People's Republic. He served as List of heads of state of Mongolia, Chairman of the Presidium of t ...
, the chairman of the presidium of the Little Khural, aggravated Choibalsan and Moscow alike when they pardoned prisoners implicated in the Lkhümbe Affair in honor of the fifteenth anniversary of the
revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
. Amar's enemies, particularly Choibalsan, used the event to connect him to the fictitious Lkhümbe spy ring. Amar was increasingly accused of participating in counterrevolutionary activity, causing Choibalsan to exclaim, "We must get rid of this feudal trouble maker Amar!"


Stalinist repressions

Amar was powerless to prevent the large-scale purges that Choibalsan and NKVD advisers embedded within the interior ministry unleashed on the country from 1937 to 1939. At the first show trial, staged at the Central Theater from October 18 to 20, 1937, Amar openly wept as close friends were sentenced to death.


Purged

Because of Amar's continued popularity among Mongolians, Stalin was eager to eliminate him. He instructed Choibalsan to have party leader Dorjjavyn Luvsansharav launch a propaganda campaign against the popular prime minister.Baabar 1999, p. 367 On March 6, 1939, Luvsansharav denounced Amar at an enlarged meeting of the MPRP Central Committee, saying he "had helped anti-government plotters, opposed their arrest, and neglected the defense of the borders. He betrayed his own country and was a traitor to the revolution." Once Choibalsan seconded the condemnation, opinions within the Central Committee rapidly turned against Amar. When Amar took the floor in his own defense he said:
"Although I believe in religion, the one thing that I believe in even more is that Mongolia should stand firmly on her feet to become an independent country. I love my country. I have shown this with my work. I have been among the first to devote myself to the cause of my country's development, and my heart is breaking to finally witness myself being called a traitor and being subjected to castigation."
Amar was found guilty at the end of the one-day trial. He was removed from the office of prime minister, expelled from the MPRP, and then arrested by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In July 1939, Amar's case passed to the
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...
, and Amar was sent to the Siberian town of Chita and then on to Moscow. With Amar's removal, Choibalsan was named prime minister and became Mongolia's uncontested leader, simultaneously holding the offices of prime minister, minister for internal affairs, minister of war, and Commander in Chief of the Mongolian armed forces.


Trial and execution

Ironically, while awaiting trial in Moscow, Amar was jailed with Luvsansharav, the very same person who had arrested him and who had also fallen victim to Choibalsan's purges shortly thereafter. On July 10, 1941, Amar was tried by a Soviet '' troika'' and sentenced to death. Throughout the trial, Amar insisted that, if the Mongolian People's Republic were really an independent nation, he should be tried by a Mongolian court. His last recorded words were, "It is typical that when a big power colonizes a small country, its leaders are arrested and persecuted. My personal experience demonstrates this attitude of the USSR towards Mongolia."Baabar, p. 369 He was immediately executed at the
Kommunarka shooting ground The Kommunarka firing range (), former dacha of secret police chief Genrikh Yagoda, was used as a burial ground from 1937 to 1941. Executions may have been carried out there by the NKVD during the Great Terror and until the war started; altern ...
near Moscow; his body is buried there.


Rehabilitation

On December 15, 1956, after reviewing Stalin's purges, military collegiums found no evidence of Amar's guilt. On January 25, 1962, he was rehabilitated, and on September 26, 1989, his membership in the MPRP was restored.


References


Sources

*Baabar, B., ''History of Mongolia'', 1999, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Amar, Anandyn 1886 births 1941 deaths Communism in Mongolia Executed communists Executed presidents Executed prime ministers Foreign ministers of Mongolia Great Purge victims from Mongolia Mongolian communists Mongolian expatriates in the Soviet Union Mongolian people executed abroad Mongolian People's Party politicians People from Bulgan Province Soviet rehabilitations