Mongolia

Mongolia 1 Tugrik 1955 UNC
Front: Damdin Sükhbaatar, February 2, 1893 to 20 February 1923 (aged 30)


was a Mongolian military leader in the 1921 revolution. He is remembered as one of the most important figures in Mongolia's struggle for independence. Sükhbaatar (literally meaning "Axe hero" in the Mongolian language) was born in Maimaicheng (the Chinese trading settlement some kilometers east of Ikh Khüree) as third of four children. His parents had deserted their home banner in Setsen Khan aimag, and his father lived from odd jobs and as a day labourer. When Sükhbaatar was six, the family moved to a place near the Russian consulate. It was from playing with the Russian children that he learnt to speak some Russian. At the age of 14, Sükhbaatar had the lucky opportunity to get an education, by Zaisan Jamyan. From the age of 16 onwards, he worked as a proxy Öörtöö rider (at that time, people that were obliged to render certain services to the authorities often employed other people to replace them) for several years. After Mongolia's first declaration of independence in 1911, Sükhbaatar was drafted into the new nation's army. In early 1923, amid official suspicions that a coup was planned for Tsagaan Sar, the state of alert became too exhausting for Sükhbaatar. He broke down on the night of February 14th/15th, and died on February 20th. In the 1940s under Choibalsan's reign, it was alleged that Sükhbaatar had been poisoned, but later socialist publications did not explicitly discuss Sükhbaatar's cause of death. Nonetheless, this version is still somewhat popular in Mongolia. Read more


Mongolian postage stamp of 1932 showing Sükhbaatar

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