Bat-Ochiryn Eldev-Ochir ( mn, Бат-Очирын Элдэв-Очир; 1905–1937) was a prominent political figure in early years of the
Mongolian People's Republic
The Mongolian People's Republic ( mn, Бүгд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс, БНМАУ; , ''BNMAU''; ) was a socialist state which existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia in East Asia. It w ...
who, between 1928 and 1937, was one of three secretaries of the Central Committee of the
Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP). He served as the party's
First Secretary First Secretary may refer to:
* First minister, a leader of a government
* Secretary (title), a leader of a political party (especially Communist parties), trade union, or other organization
* First Secretary (diplomatic rank), a role within an emba ...
from 1929 to 1930 and again for a month in 1932. As party leader, Eldev-Ochir pushed for rapid implementation of socialist policies (forced collectivization and property confiscation) during the “Leftist” period of the early 1930s, led the persecution of institutional Buddhism in Mongolia, and backed Soviet-sponsored purges of counterrevolutionary elements, particularly
Buryat-Mongols, during the
Lkhümbe affair in 1934-1935. He died in 1937 after being injured in a car accident.
Early life and career
Eldev-Ochir was born in 1905 in Zasagt Khan Province where, from 1922 to 1925, he was leader of the local cell of the Mongolian Revolutionary Youth League (MYRL). In the mid-1920s, he was recruited by
Comintern
The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...
agents looking for younger, more radical, and preferably “rural” party members to challenge the authority of “old guard” revolutionaries such as Prime Minister
Balingiin Tserendorj, Deputy Prime Minister
Anandyn Amar
Anandyn Amar ( mn, Анандын Амар; 1886 – July 10, 1941) was the head of state of the Mongolian People’s Republic from 1932 to 1936 and twice served as prime minister from 1928–1930 and again from 1936–1939. A widely respected p ...
, and Party Chairman
Tseren-Ochiryn Dambadorj
Tseren-Ochiryn Dambadorj ( mn, Цэрэн-Очирын Дамбадорж; 1898 – June 25, 1934) was a Mongolian politician who served as Chairman of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party from 1921 to 1928. He was expelled from the part ...
. Eldev-Ochir officially joined the MPRP in 1925, enrolled in the MPRP Party School in
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 ...
, and then went on to attend the
Communist University of the Toilers of the East
The Communist University of the Toilers of the East (KUTV) (russian: link=no, Коммунистический университет трудящихся Востока; also known as the Far East University) was a revolutionary training scho ...
in the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, graduating in 1928.
At the 1928 Seventh Party Congress, Comintern agents (including the American
William F. Dunne
William Francis Dunne (October 15, 1887September 23, 1953) was an American Marxist political activist, newspaper editor and trade unionist. He is best remembered as the editor of the radical ''Butte Bulletin'' around the turn of the 1920s and a ...
) orchestrated the removal of rightist leaders and ensured the election of leftists such as Eldev-Ochir,
Peljidiin Genden
Peljidiin Genden ( mn, Пэлжидийн Гэндэн; 1892 or 1895 – November 26, 1937) was a prominent political leader of the Mongolian People's Republic who served as the country's first President (1924 to 1927; Navaandorjiin Jadambaa wa ...
, and
Ölziin Badrakh as secretaries of the party Central Committee. Eldev-Ochir was also elected to the Presidium of the MPRP, despite opposition from MYRL delegates who accused his wife of being “a true feudal.” Eldev-Ochir rejected demands that he divorce her.
Leftist deviation
From 1929 to 1932, Eldev-Ochir supported policies (advocated by the Soviets) that rapidly transitioned the country from the “democratic” to the “socialist” stage of the revolution. One third of Mongolian livestock was decimated as herders were forced onto collective farms. Private trade was suppressed and property of both the nobility and the Buddhist church was seized. Over 800 properties belonging to the nobility and the Buddhist church were confiscated and over 700 head of mostly noble households were executed.
In March 1930, Eldev-Ochir was appointed head of the
Internal Security Directorate and ordered to suppress uprisings against the government’s unpopular policies by lamas at Tögsbuyant and
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 ...
monasteries in
Uvs Province
Uvs (; mn, Увс аймаг, Uws aimag, ; xal, Увс әәмг, Uws äämg, ), is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. It is located in the west of the country, away from the national capital Ulaanbaatar. Its capital is Ulaangom whi ...
. He and a Soviet trainer commanded the fourth cavalry out of
Khovd that swiftly and brutally defeated the lamas. Eldev-Ochir ordered the on-the-spot execution of 30 leaders of the rebellion. During the fighting however Eldev-Ochir's car was overturned and he suffered a neck injury.
New Turn policy
Eldev-Ochir's swift defeat of the Uvs revolt failed to prevent further
violent uprisings from spreading across western Mongolia in 1932. In response, Moscow ordered the curtailment of socialist policies and purged several MPRP leaders (including Badrah, Shijee, and Prime Minister
Tsengeltiin Jigjidjav
Tsengeltiin Jigjidjav ( mn, Цэнгэлтийн Жигжиджав), (1894-May 22, 1933) was prime minister of Mongolia from 1930 to 1932.
Jigjidjav was born in present-day Halzan district, in Sükhbaatar Province. He graduated from the Financ ...
) as agents of “Leftist Deviation” in May 1932. Although he was party leader, Eldev-Ochir managed to avoid Soviet retribution. He and
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 ...
were portrayed as being the first to criticize of the policies' excesses.
Genden, who was also closely associated with the leftist policies, nevertheless managed to be appointed prime minister in 1932 after securing
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 ...
’s favor. Eldev-Ochir was reelected party secretary (along with
Dorjjavyn Luvsansharav
Dorjjavyn Luvsansharav ( mn, Доржжавын Лувсаншарав; 1900 – July 30, 1941) was Secretary of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) from 1932 to 1937 and served as Chief Secretary from 1933 to 1934. A central figu ...
and
Khas-Ochiryn Luvsandorj
Khas-Ochiryn Luvsandorj ( mn, Хас-Очирын Лувсандорж; 1910 – November 16, 1937) was leader of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) from 1934 to 1936. He was arrested in the summer of 1937 on charges of counterr ...
) at the Ninth Party Congress 1934 and again in 1937 (this time with Luvsansharav and
Banzarjavyn Baasanjav
Banzarjavyn Baasanjav ( mn, Банзаржавын Баасанжав; 1906–1940) was leader of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party from 1936 to 1940. Prime Minister Khorloogiin Choibalsan arranged for his arrest and subsequent execut ...
).
Lkhümbe Affair
In spring 1933 Prime Minister Genden and Eldev-Ochir consented to the arrest of party secretary
Jambyn Lkhümbe
Jambyn Lkhümbe ( mn, Жамбын Лхүмбэ; 1902 – June 30, 1934) was member of the Presidium (or Politburo) of the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) from 1930 to 1933 and served as First Secretary o ...
in the wake of spurious allegations that he was head of a Japanese spy ring plotting the government's overthrow. The subsequent investigation, known as the "
Lkhümbe Affair," implicated hundreds of Mongolians and resulted in the purge of numerous high ranking politicians and military officers, particularly
Buryat-Mongols.
Persecution of the Buddhist Church
In 1935 Eldev-Ochir took charge of an extraordinary commission on religion through which the Central Committee continued its persecution of the Buddhist Church. Laws were adopted and rigorously enforced that broke the authority and independence of the Church: disputes were now settled by public courts, religious administrations were oppressively regulated, and religious services were ordered to be read in
Mongolian rather than traditional
Tibetan
Tibetan may mean:
* of, from, or related to Tibet
* Tibetan people, an ethnic group
* Tibetan language:
** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard
** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...
. Monasteries that were found to be non-compliant were severely punished or shut down altogether. Eldev-Ochir often attended Saturday meetings at monasteries where he praised revolutionary principals or threatened monasteries with closure.
Purge of Genden
By 1935 it was clear that Genden had lost the backing of Stalin, who was unhappy with the slow pace of the MPRP's war against the lamas. At a plenary meeting of the MPRP in March 1936, Genden, accused of sabotaging Mongol-Soviet relations, was stripped of his offices of prime minister and foreign minister and sent to the USSR "for medical treatment." Under house arrest at the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
resort town of
Foros, Genden was desperate to return to Mongolia and at one point reached out to Eldev-Ochir, who was vacationing in nearby
Yalta
Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...
, for assistance. Eldev-Ochir took no action. Genden was executed in November 1937.
Death
Around the same time it is believed that Eldev-Ochir died a premature death. Although details of the last year of his life are scarce, it was originally thought that he was the victim of the large scale
Soviet purges that took place in Mongolia between 1932 and 1939. Later information suggested he had died in a Moscow hospital after falling from a moving vehicle during a hunting trip.
Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eldev-Ochir, Bat-Ochirin
1905 births
1937 deaths
Mongolian communists
Mongolian People's Party politicians
Communism in Mongolia
Road incident deaths in the Soviet Union
Communist University of the Toilers of the East alumni