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MongoliaRole of the Military
The Mongolian military establishment played only a minor role
in the political system in the late 1980s. In 1989, no Political
Bureau member or candidate member represented defense interests.
Dejid served on the Political Bureau and the Secretariat, but not
as a military leader. Rather, his responsibilities were civilian
in nature, involving preservation of party and state unity and
discipline in the course of carrying out the new programs of
openness and leadership restructuring.
Dejid's career experience was typical of military leaders who
had risen to positions of influence in party and state circles.
Dejid was a former minister of public security and chairman of
the Party Control Commission. During his active military service,
he was involved in public security, censorship, and civilian
control activities. Ancillary to these duties were his
obligations to greet visiting Soviet military delegations and to
participate in defense discussions with Soviet commanders.
The percentage of military representation on the party
Central Committee was not reported officially, but the number was
thought to be small. It was clear that military officers with
direct and primary defense responsibilities maintained a low
political profile. This was well illustrated by the fact that
Colonel General Jamsrangiyn Yondon, minister of defense in 1989,
was not a member of the Central Committee when he was selected
for the senior government defense post in 1982. The welldocumented career of Yondon's predecessor, Jorantayn Abhia, was
characteristic of a member of the Mongolian military elite. Abhia
held several key positions successively in police or militia work
and in the court and procuracy system. Senior military officers
often filled the key positions in government public security and
in the civil and criminal justice system. In 1989 the minister of
public security was Lieutenant General Agbaanjantsangiyn
Jamsranjab, and the chief of state security was Lieutenant
General B. Tsiyregdzen. Tsiyregdzen's duties included suppressing
anti-Soviet propaganda and counterespionage as well as guarding
against alleged Western subversion, particularly through
censorship of the mails.
Probably the greatest impact the military has had on the
Mongolian political process has been indirect--through its
organizational and ideological activities. Beginning with the
militarist period of leadership under Choybalsan and even in
1989, the military establishment contributed to the formation in
the popular consciousness of the concepts of state and national
polity
(see Modern Mongolia
, ch. 1). In addition, the army played
a significant role in spreading literacy, and it served as an
integrating agent by spreading the national language to minority
groups. In the 1970s and 1980s, as a result of improvements in
media and communications, the military probably has found it
somewhat easier to fulfill the goal of producing a dedicated
cadre of soldiers who will return to civilian life.
Data as of June 1989
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