Banzarjavyn Baasanjav (; 1906–1940) was

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party from 1936 to 1940. 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 ...

arranged for his arrest and subsequent execution on charges of counterrevolution in 1940 to free up the party leadership role for

Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal (; 17 September 1916 – 20 April 1991) was a Mongolian politician who led the Mongolian People's Republic from 1952 to 1984. He served as General Secretary of the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party from 194 ...

Career

Baasanjav was born in 1906 in present-day

Myangad The Myangad people live in Myangad sum of Khovd Province, Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5&nbs ...

district,

Khovd Province Khovd (; ), alternatively romanized as Khobhd, is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country. Its capital is also named Khovd. Khovd province is approximately 1,580 km from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's cap ...

, Mongolia. He joined Mongolian Revolutionary Youth League (MRYL) in 1923 and from 1927 to 1928 he was a school teacher near Ulaangom. After 1928 he devoted himself full-time to the MRYL, becoming secretary of its district committee. He joined the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) in 1930 and a year later was sent to

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

to be first a MPRP Central Committee instructor and then, from 1932 to 1936, Chairman of the Khovd Provincial MPRP Committee. In October 1936 he was elected member of the Presidium and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the MRPR. He was also concurrently Chairman of Mongolian Trade Unions.

Purge

In December 1939 Choibalsan and then Deputy Minister of Finance Tsedenbal traveled to Moscow to meet with

Josef 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 ...

. Stalin made known his wishes to see the 23-year-old Tsedenbal, whom the Soviet leadership had earlier handpicked for advancement, promoted to Secretary General of the MPRP. Upon his return, Choibalsan orchestrated Baasanjav's arrest and subsequent execution on charges of counterrevolution in February 1940. Tsedenbal was elected head of the MPRP two months later at the 10th MPRP Party Congress (March 20 - April 5, 1940).

Rehabilitation

Baasanjav was rehabilitated in 1957. The official MPRP History published in 1969 stated that Baasanjav was one of several high ranking government officials who were the victims of an "out of control Interior Ministry" and that he was unjustly

slander Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making wikt:asserti ...

ed and punished.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baasanjav, Banzarjavyn 1906 births 1940 deaths Mongolian communists Mongolian People's Party politicians Executed Mongolian people Great Purge victims from Mongolia Executed communists