Tsagaan Khas ( mn, Цагаан Хас; meaning ''white swastika'') or Dayar Mongol is a

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 to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

n neo-Nazi organisation that claims to have 3,000 members, though this claim is disputed. Other sources claim the organisation to have "more than 1,000 members". According to ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

'' in 2013, they had "only 100-plus members". Nyam Puruv, a Mongolian historian, estimated in 2009 that the group actually had only dozens of members. The organisation's electoral affiliate received 1 percent or less of the vote in the 2008 Mongolian legislative elections. The group was founded by Ariunbold Altankhuum. It was founded in the 1990s. The group came into being during Mongolia's transition to a market economy after traditional nomadic lifestyles became less viable and with a background of increasing economic inequality. According to Altankhuum, "The reason we chose this way is because what is happening here in Mongolia is like 1939, and Hitler's movement transformed his country into a powerful country." Altankhuum has also expressed a positive view of Francisco Franco and Genghis Khan. The group's co-founder, who goes by the alias "Big Brother", said, "

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

was someone we respect. He taught us how to preserve national identity ... We don't agree with his extremism and starting the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. We are against all those killings, but we support his ideology. We support

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

rather than

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

." The group's members dress in Nazi attire (such as uniforms resembling that of the

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...

) and make use of the "

sieg heil The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. Th ...

" greeting, the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

, and the Nazi eagle. They have justified their use of Nazi imagery by pointing out that the swastika has Asian origins. Big Brother has claimed that the group does not promote crime and that it expels "criminal elements" from its membership, as well as requiring all members to have a good education. One of the group's leaders is an interior designer. He has also claimed that the group works closely with other

ultra-nationalist Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...

groups in

. The group's members are characterized by their extreme

anti-Chinese sentiment Anti-Chinese sentiment, also known as Sinophobia, is a fear or dislike of China, Chinese people or Chinese culture. It often targets Chinese minorities living outside of China and involves immigration, development of national identity i ...

and opposition to

interracial marriage Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different races or racialized ethnicities. In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United States, Nazi Germany and apartheid-era South Africa as miscegenation. In 1 ...

. One follower of the group has expressed the view that, "We have to make sure that as a

nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective Identity (social science), identity of a group of people unde ...

our blood is pure. That's about our independence... If we start mixing with Chinese, they will slowly swallow us up. Mongolian society is not very rich. Foreigners come with a lot of money and might start taking our women." The group has been accused of targeting interracial couples, immigrants, prostitutes, and the LGBT community, including by promotion of violence. The group has targeted Mongolian women who have had relationships with Chinese men, shaving their hair off and sometimes tattooing their forehead. Some negative attitudes towards Chinese people in Mongolia from groups such as Tsagaan Khas may be traced to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

's policy which cast China as a threat to Mongolia, so as to receive allegiance from Mongolia. During this

Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...

, 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 ...

gave the Soviet Union its steadfast support in all matters. In 2013, they tried to shift their focus to fighting pollution resulting from mining in Mongolia.A Mongolian Neo-Nazi Environmentalist Walks into a Lingerie Store in Ulan Bator
a photo-report by

' Carlos Barria, July 6, 2013,

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

The group has appeared at mining operations, demanding to see paperwork and sometimes has sabotaged the mining operations if they are displeased with how they are managed. According to Altankhuum, the group wants to fulfill a role which they say the local authorities have failed at concerning foreign mining companies. They demand soil samples from the mining operations, in order to check for

soil contamination Soil contamination, soil pollution, or land pollution as a part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity ...

. In an interview with ''Reuters'', Altankhuum stated, " r purpose changed from fighting foreigners in the streets to fighting the mining companies." Mongolia irredentism

References

See also