The Country

The image represents the "Soyombo" symbol of the Mongolian independence. The SOYOMBO is divided into several symbols. Yin and Yang who retains his usual symbolic the horizontal bars, top and bottom, symbolize stability, justice and honesty.   triangles-based Superior symbolizing spears, represent the defeat and death of the enemy. They are framed by two vertical bars, recalling that the Mongolian Unit is the wall of the fortress that symbolizes both vertical ornaments. Moon (low) and sun (circle) refer to Buddhism and cover everything. Flame-three branch reminded Mongolians that renewal, family life past, present and future are the 3 flames. They exist only if they are based on the values symbolized below. Mongolia is a landlocked country in East -Central Asia . It borders Russia to the north and China to the south. Ulan Bator , the capital and largest city, is home to about 38% of the population. Mongolia's political system is a parliamentary republic At 1,564,116 square kilometres Mongolia is the nineteenth largest and the most sparsely populated independent country in the world with a population of around 2.9 million people. The country contains very little arable land as much of its area is covered by arid and unproductive steppes , with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Approximately thirty percent of the country's 2.9 million people are nomadic or semi-nomadic. The predominant religion in Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhism and the majority of the state's citizens are of the Mongol ethnicity , though Kazakhs, Tuvans , and other minorities also live in the country, especially in the west. Mongolia, since prehistoric times, has been inhabited by nomads who, from time to time, formed great confederations that rose to prominence. The first of these, the Xiongnu , were brought together to form a confederation by Modu Shanyu in 209 BC. Soon they emerged as the greatest threat to the Qin Dynasty , forcing the latter to construct the Great Wall of China , itself being guarded by up to almost 300,000 soldiers during marshal Meng Tian 's tenure, as a means of defense against the destructive Xiongnu raids. After the decline of the Xiongnu, the Rouran , a close relative of the Mongols , came to power before being defeated by the Göktürks , who then dominated Mongolia for centuries. During the seventh and eighth centuries , they were succeeded by Uyghurs and then by the Khitans and Jurchens . By the tenth century , the country was divided into numerous tribes linked through transient alliances and involved in the old patterns of internal strife. In the chaos of the late twelfth century , a chieftain named Temüjin finally succeeded in uniting the Mongol tribes between Manchuria and the Altai Mountains . In 1206, he took the title Genghis Khaan , and waged a series of military campaigns - renowned for their brutality and ferocity - sweeping through much of Asia , and forming the Mongol Empire , the largest contiguous land empire in world history. Under his successors it stretched from present-day Poland in the west to Korea in the east, and from Siberia in the north to the Gulf of Oman and Vietnam in the south, covering some 33,000,000 km² (12,741,000 sq mi), (22% of Earth's total land area) and having a population of over 100 million people. After Genghis Khaan's death, the empire had been subdivided into four kingdoms or Khanates which eventually split-up after Möngke 's death in 1259. One of the khanates, the "Great Khaanate", consisting of the Mongol homeland and China , became the Yuan Dynasty under Kublai Khaan, grandson of Genghis Khaan. He set up his capital in present day Beijing but after more than a century of power, the Yuan was replaced by the Ming Dynasty in 1368, with the Mongol court fleeing to the north. As the Ming armies pursued the Mongols into their homeland, they successfully sacked and destroyed the Mongol capital Karakorum among other cities, wiping out the cultural progress that was achieved during the imperial period and thus throwing Mongolia back to anarchy. The next centuries were marked by violent power struggles between various factions, notably the Genghisids and the non-Genghisid Oirads and numerous Chinese invasions (like the five expeditions led by the Yongle Emperor . In the early 15th century, the Oirads under Esen Tayisi gained the upper hand, and even raided China in 1449 in a conflict over Esen's right to pay tribute, capturing the Chinese emperor in the process. However, Esen was murdered in 1454, and the Genghisids recovered. In the mid-16th century, Altan Khan of the Tümed, a grandson of Batumöngke - but no legitimate Khaan himself - became powerful. He founded Hohhot in 1557 and his meeting with the Dalai Lama in 1578 sparked the second introduction of Tibetan Buddhism to Mongolia. Abtai Khan of the Khalkha converted to buddhism in 1585 and founded the Erdene Zuu monastery in 1586. His grandson Zanabazar became the first Jebtsundamba Khutughtu in 1640. The last Mongol Khaan was Ligden Khaan in the early 17th century. He got into conflicts with the Manchu over the looting of Chinese cities, and managed to alienate most Mongol tribes. He died in 1634 on his way to Tibet, in an attempt to evade the Manchu and destroy the Yellow Church . By 1636, most Inner Mongolian tribes had submitted to the Manchu . The Khalkha eventually submitted to the Qing in 1691, thus bringing all but the west of today's Mongolia under Beijing 's rule. After several wars, the Dzungars were virtually annihilated in 1757. Until 1911, the Manchu maintained control of Mongolia with a series of alliances and intermarriages, as well as military and economic measures. Ambans , Manchu "high officials", were installed in Khüree , Uliastai , and Khovd , and the country was subdivided into ever more feudal and ecclesiastical fiefdoms. Over the course of the 19th century, the feudal lords attached more importance to representation and less importance to the responsibilities towards their subjects. In addition the usurous practices of the Chinese traders, along with the collection of imperial taxes in silver instead of animals, resulted in poverty becoming rampant. With the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Mongolia declared independence in 1911. The new country's territory was approximately that of the former Outer Mongolia. The 49 hoshuns of Inner Mongolia as well as the Mongolians of the Alashan and Qinghai regions expressed their willingness to join the nascent state, to no avail. In 1919, after the October Revolution  in Russia, Chinese troops led by Xu Shuzheng  occupied the capital but their dominance was short-lived. The notorious Russian adventurer "Bloody" Baron Ungern  who had fought with the "Whites " against the Red Army  in Siberia , led his troops into Mongolia, triumphing over Chinese in Niislel Khüree . He ruled briefly, under the blessing of religious leader Boghda Khaan  before he was captured and executed by the Red Army  assisted by Mongolian units led by Damdin Sükhbaatar . These events led to abolition of the feudal system  and ensured the country's political alignment with Bolshevik Russia . In 1924, after the death of the religious leader and king Boghda Khaan, a Mongolian People's Republic  was proclaimed with support from the Soviets. In 1928, Khorloogiin Choibalsan  rose to power. He instituted collectivisation  of livestock, the destruction of Buddhist  monasteries  and the Mongolia's enemies of the people persecution  resulting in the murder of monks  and other people. The Stalinist purges  beginning in 1937, affected the Republic as it left more than 30,000 people dead. Japanese imperialism became even more alarming after the invasion of neighboring Manchuria  in 1931. During the Soviet-Japanese Border War  of 1939, the USSR  successfully defended Mongolia against Japanese expansionism. In August 1945 Mongolian forces also took part in the Soviet Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation  in Inner Mongolia. The Soviet threat of seizing parts of Inner Mongolia  induced the Republic of China  to recognize Outer Mongolia's independence, provided that a referendum was held. The referendum took place on October 20 , 1945 , with (according to official numbers) 100% of the electorate voting for independence. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China , both countries recognized each other again on October 6 , 1949 . In January 26 , 1952 , Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal  took power. In 1956 and again in 1962, Choibalsan's personality cult  was condemned. Mongolia continued to align itself closely with the Soviet Union, especially after the Sino-Soviet split  of the late 1950s. While Tsedenbal was visiting Moscow in August 1984, his severe illness prompted the parliament to announce his retirement and replace him with Jambyn Batmönkh . The introduction of perestroika  and glasnost  in the USSR by Mikhail Gorbachev  strongly influenced Mongolian politics leading to the peaceful Democratic Revolution  and the introduction of a multi-party system and market economy. A new constitution  was introduced in 1992, and the "People's Republic" was dropped from the country's name. The transition to market economy was often rocky, the early 1990s saw high inflation and food shortages. The first election wins for non-communist parties came in 1993 (presidential elections) and 1996 (parliamentary elections). Source wikipedia