Editing Mongolian People's Republic (1924–1992)

{{Infobox country|name=Mongolian People's Republic|image_map=Mongolia map.svg|map_width=260|official_languages=Mongolian|date_end=February 13|date_event1=March 9 1990|event1=Counterrevolution|date_pre=March 1 1921|event_pre=People's Revolution|date_start=November 26|event_start=People's Republic proclaimed|established_event1=|government_type=[[Marxist-Leninist]] state|native_name=Бүгд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс|image_flag=Mongolian People's Republic Flag.png|mode_of_production=[[Socialism]]|area_km2=1,564,116|image_coat=Emblem of Mongolia (1960–1992).svg|capital=Ulaanbaatar|population_estimate_year=1992|currency=Tögrög (₮)|population_estimate=2,318,000|year_end=1992|year_start=1924|event_end=Current constitution}}
The '''Mongolian People's Republic''' was a [[socialist state]] that existed from 1924 to 1992. Under socialism, the life expectancy increased and illiteracy was eliminated.<ref name=":0">{{Web citation|newspaper=Oktyabr|title=History of Socialism in the Mongolian People’s Republic|date=2020-07-17|url=https://oktyabrvperedi.wordpress.com/2020/07/17/history-of-socialism-in-the-mongolian-peoples-republic/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824090805/https://oktyabrvperedi.wordpress.com/2020/07/17/history-of-socialism-in-the-mongolian-peoples-republic/|archive-date=2022-08-24|retrieved=2022-09-11}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Revolution ===
{{Main article|Mongolian People's Revolution}}
[[Bogd Khanate of Mongolia (1911–1924)|Mongolia]] was [[Feudalism|feudal]] society and part of the [[Qing dynasty (1636–1912)|Qing Dynasty]] until its collapse in 1911. In 1921, with the support of the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1917–1991)|Soviet]] [[Red Army]], the Mongolian Revolutionary Army captured the capital city of Örgöö, which was renamed Ulaanbaatar. The [[Agvaan Luvsan Choijinnyam Danzan Vanchüg|Bogd Khan]] kept the title of limited monarch but no longer held actual power.<ref name=":03">{{Citation|author=A. A. Guber, et al.|year=1973|title=History of the Mongolian People's Republic|title-url=https://archive.org/details/HistoryOfTheMPR/page/n116/mode/1up|chapter=The Mongolian People's Revolution and the Proclamation of the Mongolian People's Republic|page=}}</ref><sup>:297–300</sup> 

=== Founding ===
On 1924 June 3, the Politburo of the [[Mongolian People's Party|Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party]] Central Committee created a plan for forming a republican government. After the Third Party Congress in 1924 August, elections to the Grand Hural were held. 77 delegates were elected, including 71 [[Peasantry|peasants]] (''arat''), six former [[Nobility|nobles]], 44 Party members, and six members of the [[Mongolian Revolutionary Youth League|Revolutionary Youth League]]. The Hural opened on November 8.<ref name=":03" /><sup>:315–6</sup>

On 1924 November 26, the Grand Hural approved Mongolia's first constitution and proclaimed the People's Republic of Mongolia.<ref name=":03" /><sup>:316</sup> It launched a policy of liquidating the [[aristocracy]] and [[clergy]], who still controlled 30% of the country's livestock,<ref name=":0" /> and recognized the independence of the [[Tuvan People's Republic (1921–1944)|Tuvan People's Republic]] in 1925.<ref name=":032">{{Citation|author=A. A. Guber, et al.|year=1973|title=History of the Mongolian People's Republic|title-url=https://archive.org/details/HistoryOfTheMPR/page/n160/mode/1up|chapter=The Mongolian People in the Fight for Development on Non-Capitalist Lines|page=}}</ref><sup>:320</sup>

The publication ''Ünen'' (Mongolian: ''Үнэн''), meaning "truth", was the central organ of the MPRP.<ref>Akiner, Shirin. [https://archive.org/details/mongoliatoday00akin/page/n30/mode/1up "Mongolia Today."] 1991. Kegan Paul International, Central Asia Research Forum, London.</ref><ref>[http://bse.sci-lib.com/article114222.html "Определение ""Унэн"" в Большой Советской Энциклопедии"] [Definition of "Unen" in the ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'']. ''bse.sci-lib.com'' (in Russian). [https://web.archive.org/web/20211005160953/http://bse.sci-lib.com/article114222.html Archived] from the original on 2021-10-05.</ref>

=== Construction of socialism ===
In 1925, Soviet troops left Mongolia. At this point, the nobility still controlled 30% of the country's livestock, and there were 700 monasteries with a total of 100,000 lamas. Capitalist companies controlled 60.7% of exports and 77.6% of imports in 1926.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:321–6</sup>

In 1925 and 1926, the Grand Hural created a new legal code and abolished the ''shabinar'' department<ref name=":032" /><sup>:323</sup> (serfs of the monasteries).<ref name=":02">{{Citation|author=A. A. Guber, et al.|year=1973|title=History of the Mongolian People's Republic|title-url=https://archive.org/details/HistoryOfTheMPR/page/n116/mode/1up|chapter=Mongolia under the Rule of the Manchu Conquerors|page=199}}</ref> In 1926 December, it introduced a national currency, the ''tögrög'', which weakened foreign [[capital]]. The Presidium of the Little Hural introduced a progressive [[tax]] system that exempted poor peasants from all taxes.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:323</sup>

In 1926 September, Mongolia separated the church and state. When the lamas began searching for a reincarnation of the Bogd Khan, the MPRP abolished the institution of ''chubil khans'',<ref name=":032" /><sup>:323–4</sup> the clergy leadership who had been considered "living gods" since medieval times.<ref name=":04">{{Citation|author=A. A. Guber, et al.|year=1973|title=History of the Mongolian People's Republic|title-url=https://archive.org/details/HistoryOfTheMPR/page/n82/mode/1up|chapter=Mongolia in the XIV-XVIIth Centuries|page=164}}</ref>

==== Anti-rightist struggle (1924–1928) ====
The Third Party Congress had exposed [[Soliin Danzan]] as a rightist who represented the interests of the [[Comprador|comprador bourgeoisie]]. Later rightist such as [[Tseren-Ochiryn Dambadorj|Dambadorj]] and [[Navaandorjiin Jadambaa|Jadambaa]] tried to delay the attacks against the feudal nobility and supported foreign companies in Mongolia. They promoted [[Pan-Mongolism|pan-Mongolian]] [[nationalism]] while [[Jamsaranai Sebeen]] promoted Lamaism and tried to identify [[Buddhism]] with [[Marxism]]. Their policies led poor peasants to lose their lands and herds to feudal lords.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:325–6</sup>

The Party rejected the rightist line at its Sixth Congress in 1927 September and October and purged the rightists from its Central Committee at its Seventh Congress in late 1928.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:327</sup>

==== Anti-feudal revolution ====
Between late 1929 and early 1930, over 600 of 729 large estates were confiscated and their livestock were given to poor peasants who owned no or very few cattle. By 1932 April, over 11,000 feudal estates had been redistributed. In 1930 December, Mongolia introduced a state monopoly on foreign trade, with that year capitalist exports and imports at only 26% and 9.8%, respectively. In 1931, the country redrew its administrative divisions.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:328–30</sup>

==== Ultra-leftist deviation (1930–1932) ====
After the redistribution of land and livestock, peasants formed basic [[Worker cooperative|cooperatives]]. The Eighth Party Congress in 1930 adopted a plan for full [[collectivization]] of agriculture. They rapidly formed communes that were poorly organized and lacked labor discipline, leading the country to lose 32% of its 23.5 million livestock by 1932. Extreme anti-religious policies that targeted low-ranking clergy in addition to the nobility, leading to a Lamaist rebellion in western Mongolia that was defeated in 1932. The Central Committee held a meeting in 1932 and purged [[Zolbingiin Shijee|Shijee]], [[Ölziitiin Badrakh|Badrakh]], and other [[Ultra-leftism|ultra-leftists]].<ref name=":032" /><sup>:330–3</sup>

==== New Course ====
The Party adopted the New Course in 1932 and allowed peasants to leave collective farms if they wanted to. Prime Minister [[Peljidiin Genden]] distorted this decision and dissolved voluntary peasant cooperatives. A new law allowed monasteries to keep their property but banned them from excessively exploiting peasants. In 1933, income tax was replaced by a tax based on the number of livestock owned that further lowered taxes for peasants and made poor peasants completely exempt from paying taxes.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:337–8</sup>

Monasteries were mostly empty by 1938 after the lower-ranking lamas abandoned them. Voluntary production associations reemerged, with about 90 active by 1940.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:351–3</sup>

===== Agriculture =====
The first ten mechanized haymaking stations opened in 1937 and increased to 24 stations in 1938. The area of hay harvested grew from 2,000 hectares in 1924 to 200,000 in 1940. By 1940, state farms and agricultural industry had over 160 tractors and 1,000 mowers.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:352–3</sup>

===== Industry =====
In 1933, Mongolia opened a mechanical wool-washing factory in Hatkhyl. In 1934 March, Mongolia began industrial production of leather and wool products. The number of industrial [[Proletariat|workers]] in 1934 was ten times higher than in 1928. Low-ranking lamas joined the 33 producers' associations that had over 1,000 members. The government began building roads, with car travel increasing twelve times between 1932 and 1934. In 1934, 8,000 of the country's 11,000 industrial and office workers were [[Trade union|unionized]]. In 1937, the Central Committee began competition in state and cooperative enterprises, and the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|USSR]] transferred full ownership of mixed enterprises to Mongolia.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:338–41</sup>

===== Livestock =====
In 1932, Mongolia had three state farms for livestock breeding. The number of livestock increased by 5.5 million between 1934 and 1939. By 1940, the country had 237 veterinary and medical centers and 200,000 heated livestock sheds to protect animals from freezing in the winter.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:351–3</sup>

==== New constitution ====
In 1940, the Grand Hural formed a committee of 35 members to draft a new constitution. It unanimously approved the constitution in 1940 June. The constitution stated that all natural resources belonged to the state and could not be [[Private property|privately owned]]. It allowed private property based on personal labor and established full equality for citizens regardless of property status.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:358–9</sup>

=== Second World War ===
{{Main article|Second World War}}

==== Japanese aggression ====
After the [[Empire of Japan (1868–1947)|Japanese]] invasion of [[Manchuria]], the USSR signed a mutual defense agreement with Mongolia in 1934. Mongolia's military spending grew from 34.7% of the state budget in 1934 to 52.5% in 1938, and the term of military service increased from two to three years. Genden's anti-party group tried to break the alliance between Mongolia and the USSR and falsely accused innocent people such as [[Jambyn Lkümbe]] of crimes.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:344–8</sup>

In 1935, the Ministry of Internal Affairs discovered a [[Counterrevolution|counterrevolutionary]] conspiracy based in the Yugotszar monastery and involving around 20 total monasteries near the border with Japanese-occupied China. The counterrevolutionaries had a stash of guns and were planning a pro-Japanese uprising. In 1937, the Ministry discovered another Lamaist conspiracy led by [[Enzonkhambo]] and [[Dedkhambo]].<ref name=":032" /><sup>:347–8</sup>

Due to repeated Japanese border attacks, Mongolia requested Soviet troops to return in 1937. Japanese aggression increased in early 1939, and Japan launched a full invasion on 1939 May 11. The [[Mongolian People's Army|People's Army]] fought them at the Halkhin River on May 28 and surrounded them with support from the Soviet Red Army in August. Japan lost 60,000 soldiers, 700 planes, and 340 machine guns. A peace treaty signed in [[Moscow]] took effect on September 15.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:349–50</sup>

The Soviet Union went to war with Japan on 1945 August 8 after defeating [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Germany]], and Mongolia declared war on Japan two days later.  [[Khorloogiin Choibalsan]] led the Mongolian People's Army into Japanese-occupied [[Empire of (Great) Manchuria|Manchuria]]. Japan stopped fighting on August 23 and officially surrendered on September 2. Mongolia and its allies captured over 594,000 Japanese soldiers and killed or wounded over 80,000.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:376–9</sup>

==== Support for the Soviet Union in Europe ====
On 1941 June 22, [[Fascism|fascist]] Germany and its satellite states attacked the Soviet Union without declaring war. Following its mutual defense treaty with the USSR, Mongolia reorganized its economy to support the Soviet resistance in early 1942. It sent tens of thousands of sheepskin coats, boots, and gloves to the Red Army. Many workers and peasants donated money, gold, silver, clothing, and food to the Soviet Army Aid Fund. By 1943 March, Mongolia delivered eight trainloads of supplies to the front. Mongolian breeders donated more than 30,000 horses to the Red Army and sold them 480,000 more. Mongolia increased the size of its own army by more than 200%.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:368–72</sup>

=== Early Cold War ===
In 1945 August, the [[Kuomintang]] government of China agreed to recognize Mongolia's independence if the majority of Mongolians voted to be independent in a referendum. On 1945 October 20, the people unanimously voted to maintain their independence in a vote of 487,409 to 0. Mongolia and China established diplomatic relations in 1946 February. Mongolia applied for [[United Nations|UN]] membership in 1946 but was withheld until 1961.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:382–7</sup>

==== First Five-Year Plan (1948–1952) ====
Mongolia lost six million livestock during the war. It began its first five-year plan in 1948 to recover from the war. In 1949, the Central Committee criticized bourgeois nationalist views of history and literature that glorified [[Genghis Khan|Chinggis Khan]]. In 1950, the Grand People's Hural introduced a tax on animal breeding but exempted excess animals from above the plan quota from taxation. Peasants had to pay amounts of meat, wool, fat, and milk based on the plan quotas. Worker competition increased to involve 90% of workers by 1952, and many workers exceeded their quotas by six or more times in the mining, building, and transportation industries.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:388–93</sup> The number of herders in arat production associations (APA) doubled to include 5% of total husbandries and 1.2% of total livestock.<ref name=":033" /><sup>:420</sup>

During the First Five-Year Plan, the number of horse-powered haymaking units increased by five times, and livestock shelters increased by 3.5 times. The number of livestock increased by 8.7% but did not reach the quota of 31 million. The area of land cultivated by state farms exceeded the target by 51.1%, and grain production exceeded its target by 12.5%. Industrial output in 1951 was 51% higher than in 1947 and 150% higher than in 1940. Wages for industrial workers grew by 22% during the plan and labor productivity by 28.8%. Butter production doubled, and industrial food production grew by 17.1%. The total proletarian population reached 70,000, or 14% of the country's able-bodied population, in 1952.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:394–401</sup>

==== Second Five-Year Plan (1953–1957) ====
In 1954, [[Jamsrangiin Sambuu]] was elected Chairman of the Presidium, and [[Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal]] became head of government. In 1955, Mongolia reorganized state farms under production teams. The MPRP held a congress of peasant production associations and began awarding herders who grew the size of their herds by 15% or more within two years. Industrial output increased by 69%, well above the planned growth rate of 7.8% per year. A 700-km railroad from Ulaanbaatar to Zamyn-Üüd opened in 1955. In 1957, the USSR gave free oil wells and refineries to the MPR and free access to telephone lines between [[Moscow]], Ulaanbaatar, and [[Beijing]].<ref name=":033" /><sup>:409–16</sup>

===== Collective farming =====
In 1953, the MPRP Central Committee held a meeting on the slow growth of the APAs. In 1954, the Council of Ministers recommended APAs to organize workers into teams and establish standards for output. Within one year, the area under APA production grew by 57% to reach 2,193 hectares with 979,500 livestock. In 1954, a new tax code was adopted that reduced overall taxes by 25%. Farms with up to 20 animals paid no taxes, while those with 50 to 100 paid 4 tögrög per camel, 3 per horse, 2 per head of cattle, 0.7 per sheep, and 0.25 per goat. The largest farms paid 8–10 per camel, 7–9 per horse, 6–8 per head of cattle, 1.75–2.3 per sheep, and 1.25–2 per goat. Small farms of 11 to 30 ''bodo''<ref group="note">A ''bodo'' is a measure of adult livestock equal to half a camel; one horse, cow or yak; or ten sheep or goats</ref> paid 20 kg of meat and 20 liters of milk per head of cattle and 800 grams of wool per sheep while the largest farms of over 260 ''bodo'' paid 45 kg of meat and 100 liters of milk per head of cattle and 1.5 kg of wool per sheep. APA farms, regardless of size, paid 24 kg of beef and 65 liters of milk per head of cattle; 4 kg of mutton and 1.2 kg of wool per sheep; 3 kg of meat, 200 g of wool, and 220 kg of down per goat; and 4.2 kg of wool per camel.<ref name=":033" /><sup>:420–4</sup>

In 1955, the First Republican Congress renamed APAs to Agricultural Associations (AA). All members of farm families aged 16 or older had to work at least 75 days per year, and income was based on number of days worked. Depending on the region, AA members were able to personally own up to 100 or 150 livestock depending on the region. By 1957, collective farms had 5,223,600 ''bodo'' of livestock, 28 times higher than in 1952. 33% of peasant farms had joined AAs and 22.5% of Mongolia's cattle were collectively owned.<ref name=":033" /><sup>:425–6</sup>

==== Three-Year Plan (1958–1960) ====
Between 1958 and 1960, Mongolia began growing grain in 300,000 hectares of previously uncultivated land with the help of hundreds of specialists and 2,500 tractors from the USSR. Industrial output grew by 63.8%, reaching 7.4 times the 1940 level in 1960. By 1960, all ''sums'' (counties) were had direct telephone connections to provincial (''aimag'') centers. By 1960, proletarian families made up 36.1% of the country's population and 99.3% of farms were collectivized with a total of over five million ''bodo'' of livestock. 200,000 small farms had merged into 389 large collective farms with an average population of 1,161 humans and 13,000 ''bodo''. Peasants could privately own up to 10 or 15 livestock per person or 50 to 75 per family.<ref name=":033" /><sup>:412–29</sup>

In 1960, the Grand People's Hural unanimously adopted a new constitution. The members of the Grand Hural were 35.2% collective farmers, 23.3% proletarians, and 41.5% [[Intelligentsia|intellectuals]].<ref name=":033" /><sup>:434–5</sup>

=== Sino-Soviet Split ===
In 1956<ref name=":033" /><sup>:411</sup> and 1962, the Central Committee of the MPRP criticized an alleged [[cult of personality]] around Khorloogiin Choibalsan.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:348</sup>

For the first decade after the [[Sino-Soviet split]], Mongolia was neutral. In January 1966, Mongolia and the Soviet Union signed a mutual defense treaty. In the first half of 1969, over 4,000 livestock shelters were built that were capable of protecting over 1.8 million animals from the cold.<ref>{{Citation|author=Robert A. Smith|year=1970|title=Mongolia: In the Soviet Camp|title-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2642142?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3A34573745e622e1d2daad8826b136471c&seq=1|page=25–29|publisher=University of California Press}}</ref>

==== Third Five-Year Plan (1961–1965) ====
During the Third Five-Year Plan, geologists began an extensive survey of Mongolia that lasted for 10 to 15 years. Secondary education became mandatory.<ref name=":033" /><sup>:442</sup>

===== Agriculture =====
The Third Five-Year Plan was scheduled to increase the number of tractors by 180% and the number of combine harvesters by 120% and began farming in previously uncultivated land. By 1964, the number of tractors had increased by 130% and combines by 60%. The area used to farm fodder crops increased by 2.5 times. Agricultural associations began organizing labor by teams, sectors, and branches and using labor cards to track asset contributions, work time, and payments. Mongolia had 29 state farms that covered 71.5% of the country's farmland and had 764,300 livestock.<ref name=":033" /><sup>:440–8</sup>

===== Industry =====
Mongolia planned to increase industrial production by 2.1 times over five years, with average annual growth of 16%. In 1965, 56% of industrial output was [[means of production]]. Freight transportation was scheduled to increase by 90%. Radio and telephone connections were planned between all agricultural associations and population centers and their administrative centers. Industrial output actually increased by only 60%, and electrical power generation increased by 42%.<ref name=":033" /><sup>:441–9</sup>

===== Livestock =====
The plan set the goal of increasing animal fodder by 33% and cattle population by 11%. It planned to increase the number of cross-bred livestock by 7.2 times and purebred by 2.5 times. About 2,000 centers for animal breeding were created, and pig and chicken farming began for the first time. Many heated animal sheds were created to protect livestock from the cold.<ref name=":033" /><sup>:439–40</sup>

50 million of Mongolia's 137 million hectares of pasture land had no water supply, and irrigation was scheduled to provide water to 75% of the country's pastures or 103 million hectares. The herdsman [[Ochir]] promoted fattening livestock to help them survive the winter, leading the mass of sheep to increase by 39,500 tons over the course of 1963 and 1964. By the end of the plan, 5,400 wells were dug and 30 million hectares of pasture lands were irrigated. Overall livestock population increased by 4% from 1960 to 1964 despite natural disasters in 1964 that exceeded the famine of 1944 in some areas.<ref name=":033" /><sup>:440–7</sup>

=== Counterrevolution ===
In 1990, a [[Colour revolution|color revolution]] occurred and bourgeois parties were allowed to compete in elections. The Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party still won but eventually became a [[Social democracy|social democratic]] party by 1991.<ref>{{Citation|author=Dieter Nohlen, et al.|year=2001|title=Elections in Asia: A data handbook|chapter=|section=|page=490|quote=|pdf=|city=|publisher=|isbn=0199249598|doi=|lg=|mia=|title-url=|chapter-url=|trans-title=|trans-lang=}}</ref> The current constitution of [[Mongolia]] was adopted in 1992. After the adoption of the new constitution, the name of the state became "Mongolia."<ref>[https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Mongolia_2001.pdf?lang=en "Mongolia's Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 2001."] Constitute Project. PDF generated 27 Apr 2022. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220508161003/https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Mongolia_2001.pdf?lang=en Archived] 2022-05-08.</ref>

== Government ==

=== Central government ===
''Hurals'', a rural variation of [[Soviet (governmental body)|soviets]], governed Mongolia. The Grand Hural, initially composed of 77 delegates, held supreme power and elected a 30-member Little Hural to administer between its sessions. The Little Hural elected a Presidium of five members and 12-member executive government.<ref name=":03" /><sup>:316–9</sup>

=== Local government ===
Local hurals existed in addition to the Grand Hural.<ref name=":03" /><sup>:318</sup> In 1952, Mongolians elected 49,641 to local hurals.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:401</sup>

=== Elections ===
Under the MPR's 1924 constitution, soldiers and all citizens aged 18 or older who earned a livelihood with their own [[labour]] could vote regardless of gender. Former members of the clergy and secular nobility could not vote.<ref name=":03" /><sup>:316</sup>

In 1949, Mongolia introduced the secret ballot and replaced all indirect elections with direct ones.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:401</sup>

== Demographics ==
Between 1921 and 1973, Mongolia's population almost doubled to reach 1,339,000. 40% of the population was urban and 60% was rural.<ref name=":033" /><sup>:450</sup>

== Trade ==
Mongolia joined the [[Council for Mutual Economic Assistance]] in 1962 July. In addition to trading with other socialist countries, it traded with [[Arab Republic of Egypt|Egypt]], [[Republic of Finland|Finland]], [[French Republic|France]], [[Republic of India|India]], [[Japan]], [[Kingdom of Sweden|Sweden]], [[Swiss Confederation|Switzerland]], and the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|UK]].<ref name=":033">{{Citation|author=A. A. Guber, et al.|year=1973|title=History of the Mongolian People's Republic|title-url=https://archive.org/details/HistoryOfTheMPR/page/n202/mode/1up|chapter=The Fight of the Mongolian People for the Victory of Socialism|page=}}</ref><sup>:407–8</sup>

== Education ==
In 1924, there were less than 1,000 students in secular schools in all of Mongolia. The Ministry of Public Education was founded in 1924 February. A college for training teachers was founded in 1925. In 1934, the country had 3,125 students in 59 primary schools, 600 students in five secondary schools, and 250 students at the college for teachers. At this point, only 2.7% of school-aged children attended secular schools while 13% attended religious schools.<ref name=":0322">{{Citation|author=A. A. Guber, et al.|year=1973|title=History of the Mongolian People's Republic|title-url=https://archive.org/details/HistoryOfTheMPR/page/n228/mode/1up|chapter=Cultural Construction in the MPR|page=}}</ref><sup>:459–60</sup>

By 1940, there were 331 primary and secondary schools teaching a total of 24,341 children in addition to seven specialized schools with a total of 1,332 students. The number of students studying abroad in the USSR increased from 314 in 1934 to 739 in 1940. The  first Mongolian university opened in 1942. Literacy increased but was still only 20.8% in 1940. In 1940, Mongolia adopted a new alphabet that replaced the old writing system adapted from the ancient Uyghurs. Literacy reached 43.3% in 1947, 72.2% in 1956, and 90% in 1963.<ref name=":0322" /><sup>:460–4</sup>

During the First Five-Year Plan (1948–1952), the number of students in primary schools increased by 84.4%, seven-year schools by 33.3%, 300% in ten-year schools, 27% in technical institutes, and 100% in universities. By 1952, adult literacy was 99%.<ref name=":032" /><sup>:400</sup> Universal education for at least seven years was achieved by 1961. In 1965, there were over 11,000 students at eight colleges and universities and an additional 9,700 at 11 specialized schools.<ref name=":0322" /><sup>:462</sup>

== Space program ==
In 1978, aeronautical engineer Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa was selected to participate in the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]]'s eighth international [[Intercosmos]] mission, as a researcher on the [[Soyuz 39]] mission. On March 22, 1981, he launched into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (1936–1991)|Kazakhstan]], becoming the first Mongolian cosmonaut. He spent nearly eight days in space, carrying out scientific experiments on the Soviet space station [[Salyut 6]]. Gurragcha left the space program on March 30, 1981, and was awarded the title [[Hero of the Soviet Union]].<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jugderdemidiin-Gurragcha “Jugderdemidiin Gurragcha | Mongolian Cosmonaut.”] In ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20221122045241/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jugderdemidiin-Gurragcha Archived] 2022-11-22.</ref>

== Further reading ==

* ''[[Library:History of the Mongolian People's Republic|History of the Mongolian People's Republic]]'': Part Two

== Notes ==
<references group="note" />

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Former socialist states]]