Banzarjavyn Baasanjav ( mn, Банзаржавын Баасанжав; 1906–1940) was leader of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party from 1936 to 1940. Prime Minister

Khorloogiin Choibalsan Khorloogiin Choibalsan ( mn, Хорлоогийн Чойбалсан, spelled ''Koroloogiin Çoibalsan'' before 1941; 8 February 1895 – 26 January 1952) was the leader of Mongolia (Mongolian People's Republic) and Marshal (general chief com ...

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 ( mn, Юмжаагийн Цэдэнбал, ''Yumzhaagiin Tsedenbal'' ; russian: Юмжагийн Цэдэнбал, translit=Yumzhagyn Tsedenbal ; 17 September 1916 – 20 April 1991) was the leader of the Mongolian Peop ...

Career

Baasanjav was born in 1906 in present-day

Myangad The Myangad people live in Myangad sum of Khovd Province, Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China t ...

district,

Khovd Province Khovd ( mn, Ховд, Howd, ) is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country. Its capital is also named Khovd. The Khovd province is approximately 1,580 km from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital. It take ...

. He joined Mongolian Revolutionary Youth League (MRYL) in 1923 and from 1927 to 1928 he was a school teacher near

Ulaangom Ulaangom (; mn, Улаангом, ; xal, Уланһом, ) is the capital of Uvs Province in Mongolia. It is located on the slopes of the Kharkhiraa mountain, southwest from the lake Uvs Nuur shore and south from the Russian border. Descri ...

. 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 (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

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 Secretary of the MPRP. 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 Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

. Stalin made known his wishes to see the 23-year-old Tsedenbal, whom the Soviet leadership had earlier hand picked 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 the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

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