Desecration of Manzushir Monastery, 1937

The remains of Manzushir Monastery symbolize the influence of Soviet politics on religious freedom and memory in Mongolia. The shifting political, social, and cultural structures of this time have left a repressed history that was only recently allowed to exist. In particular, out of the 45,000 to 55,000 Mongolians killed during the repressions, 18,000 of them were Buddhist lamas (title for Dharma teacher). Surrounded by the serene montane forest of Bogd Khan Mountain, lies the remnants of Manzushir Monastery and a dedicated museum on a southern slope. Prior to its destruction at the hands of Mongolian communists in 1937, the monastery consisted of 21 structures and was home to over 300 lamas. Today, visitors are welcome to hike the nearby trails and view the religious stone paintings on the side of the mountains; and visit the reconstructed former pavilion-turned-museum to see exhibitions of the local wildlife.

Located 43 km (26.7 miles) from the capital, Ulaanbaatar, Manzushir monastery was first established by Luvsanjambaldanzan lama, the first incarnation of Manzushir, in dedication to the Bodhivissta of Wisdom in 1733. Therefore, the monastery has been a part of Mongolia’s changing political status since being subjugated by the Qing Empire to modern independence. From the 17th to early 20th century, Mongolia was under the Qing Empire’s rule. The Qing Empire heavily encouraged Buddhism to flourish as the primary religion in Mongolia, in opposition to the local folk religion of Mongolian Shamanism. This was ideal for the Qing Empire because Buddhist lamas, who made up a considerable portion of the male population, could not be soldiers due to their monastic duties. Rising tensions caused by economic hardship, poor imperial management, and outrage at the reveal of a plan to assimilate native Mongolian populations with ethnic Han populations (main ethnic group within the Qing Empire) led to the Mongolian Revolution of 1911. Leading up to the decision for independence there was debate among the high-ranking noblemen and lama representatives over whether or not to declare independence and to what degree. The discussion culminated in a deadlock. Of those noblemen, 18 of them met secretly outside the capital and decided that three representatives would travel to St. Petersburg to request assistance in exchange for economic concessions. Russia offered its diplomatic support and was interested in including Mongolia within its sphere of influence and also as an intermediary state between itself and China and Japan.

Although not an independent nation, Mongolia became an autonomous region of the Republic of China from 1912 to 1919. For a brief period of time, the political conditions in Russia led Mongolians to believe that there was a risk of invasion. After much deliberation, Mongolia requested assistance from the Chinese military. However, the Bolsheviks (Red Russian Army), the Communist Party, did not invade Mongolia but the Chinese troops did impose a house arrest on Bogd Khan (the theocratic leader). China contended control over Mongolia before being removed by the White Russian Army, the Anti-Communist Party, led by Baron Ungern-Sternberg. 

Prior to becoming a satellite state of the USSR, Mongolia was a feudal theocracy structured around Bogd Khan; Buddhism was deeply intertwined within the political fabric of the state. The sixth incarnation of Manzushir, Khutagt Tserendorj Sambadondog, was born in 1872 and lived in the monastery since his childhood. Tserendorj, along with Bogd Khan, the eighth Khutagt Javzandamba, were heavily involved in the 1911 Mongolian Revolution for independence. Tserendorj not only served as Chief Abbot of Mazushir Monastery but was also the prime minister during the Ungern-Sternberg occupation. This is relevant because during Ungern’s time in the capital, together with Mongolian lamas and noblemen, he helped to release the Bogd Khan from his house arrest and placed him in Manzushir Monastery as a temporary refuge. This was the first time Manzushir Monastery intertwines with the soviet political struggle within Mongolia.

The Bolshevik factions made their way into Mongolia which lead to the expulsion of the White Russian Army. The Ungern-Sternberg occupation lasted from February to July 1921 before the Mongolian People’s Republic (MPR) was established in 1924 by Mongolian Revolutionaries with the aid of the Soviet Red Army. In the summer of 1937, it was reported in the public newspaper that the Yonzon Hamba Luvsanhaimchig, Ded Hamba Damdin, and Manzushir Khutagt Tserendorj were arrested by the Internal Affairs Committee. This had been arranged by Choibalsan Khorloo, leader of the MPR, under the instruction of a soviet mentor to discredit Buddhism in a public show trial in which high-ranking lamas were persecuted by Mongolian Communists. Thereafter the lamas were executed on the grounds of conspiring against the state. Subsequently, Manzushir Monastery was ransacked of Buddhist texts and the remaining 53 lamas were either arrested or shot and executed. The monastery’s buildings were reduced to their bare foundations. The show trial was successful in instilling the populace with a fear of challenging the socialist satellite government or risking being persecuted and killed.

Present day, the remains of the Monastery are a symbol for the political discourse of the early 20th century and a reminder of the repressions of religious freedom as well as Mongolia’s own complicity in the genocides. On one hand, this is a tragic event that stepped on Mongolian culture, and on the other, it is a reminder of the “necessary” sacrifices made for independence. In exchange for escaping sinofication, Mongolians were welcomed by another form of cultural genocide.

A., Odontuya. “СУРВАЛЖЛАГА: Манзуширын Хийд vs Аглаг Бүтээлийн Сүм.” [gogo.mn](http://gogo.mn/), July 27, 2017. [https://gogo.mn/r/jj8y8](https://gogo.mn/r/jj8y8).Bradsher, Henry S. “The Sovietization of Mongolia.” *Foreign Affairs* 50, no. 3 (1972): 545–53. https://doi.org/10.2307/20037928.

Manduhai Buyandelgeriyn. “Dealing with Uncertainty: Shamans, Marginal Capitalism, and the Remaking of History in Postsocialist Mongolia.” *American Ethnologist* 34, no. 1 (2007): 127–47. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4496789.

“Manzushir Monastery.” Манзуширын хийд. Accessed October 2, 2022. [http://www.touristinfocenter.mn/cate1_more.aspx?ItemID=536](http://www.touristinfocenter.mn/cate1_more.aspx?ItemID=536).

[Mongolia-Guide.com](http://mongolia-guide.com/). “Manzushir Monastery.” Mongolia Guide. Accessed October 2, 2022. [https://mongolia-guide.com/place/manzushir-monastery](https://mongolia-guide.com/place/manzushir-monastery).

Myadar, Orhon. “In the Soviet Shadow: Soviet Colonial Politics in Mongolia.” *Inner Asia* 19, no. 1 (2017): 5–28. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44632328.

Kaplonski, Christopher. “Prelude to Violence: Show Trials and State Power in 1930s Mongolia.” *American Ethnologist* 35, no. 2 (2008): 321–37. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27667492.

Kaplonski, Christopher. *Truth, History and Politics in Mongolia: Memory of Heroes*. London: Routledge, 2012.

PEDERSEN, MORTEN AXEL. “Tarrying with Repression: Political Anecdotes and Social Memory in Northern Mongolia.” *Inner Asia* 8, no. 2 (2006): 163–81. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23615108.

Zhukov, Ye. M., A. A. Guber, G. F. Kim, B. Shirendyb, S. D. Dylukov, Sh. Bira, Kh. Perle, and Sh. Natsagdorzh, eds. *History of the Mongolian People's Republic*. 2. Vol. 2. Moscow: USSR Academy of Science, 1973.