Zhamyangiyn Lhagvasuren
Colonel General Lkhagvasuren Jamiyan (Mongolian: Жамъянгийн Лхагвасүрэн) was a Mongolian statesman and Deputy Commander of the Mongolian People’s Army of the Mongolian People's Republic. He also served as the Minister of Defence (1959-1969), Chairman of the General Staff of the People’s Army (1955-1956), President of the National Committee on Sport (1956-1959), President of the National Military Academy (1952-1953), Mongolian Ambassador to Bulgaria (1978-1980), Member of Parliament and Vice President of the Parliament including membership in different committees within the Parliament as well as the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (1939-1980).
Lkhagvasuren Jamiyan | |
|---|---|
| Жамъянгийн Лхагвасүрэн | |
| Minister of Defence of the Mongolian People's Republic | |
| In office 28 June 1959 – July 1969 | |
| Leader | Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal |
| Preceded by | Sanjiin Bataa |
| Succeeded by | Batyn Dorj |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 March 1912 Saikhan, Bulgan, Bogd Khanate of Mongolia |
| Died | 13 May 1982 (aged 70) Ulaanbaatar, Mongolian People's Republic |
| Citizenship | Mongolian People's Republic |
| Political party | Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party |
| Spouse | Dashtseden Tsend |
| Children | Lkhagvasuren Lkhagvaa Lkhagvasuren Lkhagvadulam Lkhagvasuren Lkhagvajav |
| Profession | Military officer |
| Nickname | "The Young commander" (Залуу жанжин) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Mongolian People's Republic |
| Branch/service | Mongolian People's Army |
| Years of service | 1936—1982 |
| Rank | Colonel General |
Lkhagvasuren Jamiyan is most notable for leading the Mongolian forces to victory against Imperial Japan in the Khalgyn Gol (Mongolian: Халхын голын дайн) and modernizing the Mongolian People’s Army into a modern motorized force during his tenure as the Minister of Defence.
Biography Edit
Early life and World War II Edit
Lkhagvasuren was born in the rural province of modern day Bulgan to herder Jamyan and his wife Dumaa, a disinherited noble heiress. According to tradition, Lkhagvasuren was sent away to receive a secular education, while his twin brother Zundui was dispatched to a Buddhist monastery for a theological education. After graduating and working for 4 years in his provincial administration, at the age of 20, Lkhagvasuren voluntarily enlisted in the Mongolian People’s Army, despite being exempt from the draft due to his education status, serving in the 15th Cavalry Division. From this point onwards, Lkhagvasuren’s life was inseparable from the armed forces and he achieved the rank of Colonel General in 1961. In 1935 he became a member of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party. For two years (1935-1937) he received military education in Moscow, graduating from courses at the Lenin Military-Political Academy. After graduation, until 1938, he continued to serve at the academy as the head of a group of Mongolian cadets.[1]
Upon returning to Mongolia in January 1939, he was appointed head of the Political Council and Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army. He took part in the Battles of Khalkhin Gol in 1939 and also participated in the hostilities of the Soviet–Japanese War.[2][3] During the battles, he, in his position as Corps Commissar of the MPRA, was Marshal Georgy Zhukov's deputy in command of the Mongolian cavalry. Towards the end of the war, he also served with General Issa Pliyev in the Soviet-Mongolian Cavalry-Mechanized Group of the Transbaikal Front.[4] In 1944, he became one of the first generals of the Mongolian Army.[5]
Following the war, Lkhagvasuren gained folk hero status among the people of Mongolia as the man who defended Mongolia’s independence from the Japanese invasion and was affectionately given the monicker “The Young Commander” (Mongolian: Залуу жанжин) by his troops and by the civilian population alike. Historian J. Boldbaatar notes that the old term which translates to “commander” was rarely used to describe 20th century military leaders, making it a unique honour.
Post-war Edit
Following his successful campaign in the Liberation War, Lkhagvasuren resumed his duties as the Deputy Minister of Defense until 1948 when he was sent to the prestigious Frunze Military Academy of Moscow, USSR from where he graduated with distinction in 1952. Upon his return to Mongolia, Lkhagvasuren was put in charge of the Military Academy of Mongolia where he enacted swift reforms to transform the school and bring it into the modern era in just a little more than a year, before returning for the third time to his post as Deputy Minister of Defence in 1953.
In 1955, as Chief of the General Staff of the People's Army, he was responsible for the renovation works at the Sükhbaatar's Mausoleum.[6] In 1956, Lkhagvasuren was appointed to head the Mongolian National Committee on Sports. During his tenure in his Sports Committee role, he oversaw a revolution in sports and fitness in Mongolia, commissioning the building of the Sports Stadium and the Sports Palace, which became the first such centres for sports and national gatherings of its size, and maintains its significance to this day. He also oversaw the development of Mongolian sports in the international competitions context, and led the efforts to bring Mongolia into the Olympics, becoming Mongolia’s first President of the Mongolian National Olympic Committee.
Around this time, in his capacity as a seasoned military leader and organizer of men, Lkhagvasuren also oversaw the construction of Mongolia’s first Electric Power Plant.
Arguably, the Young Commander Lkhagvasuren’s most significant work took place during his decade long tenure, between 1959 to 1969 as the Minister of Defence. During this time, Lkhagvasuren rapidly modernized and motorized the Mongolian People’s Army (which had previously consisted of mainly cavalry) into a mechanised, combined arms centered force. The legacy of these reforms is the continued independence of Mongolia in present day.
During the second wave of repressions in the 1960s by the People’s Party of Mongolia, Lkhagvasuren was the subject of political targeting owing to his massive popularity with the people which led to a concerted effort to remove him from his post as Minister of Defence. Eventually, in 1969, Lkhagvasuren stepped down from the position voluntarily under high political pressure to represent his constituency in the Parliament, where he served from 1969 till 1978, serving twice as the Vice President of the body. In 1978 he was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Bulgaria and served two years.
In 1980 he was elected Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Great People's Khural. He retired in March 1982 at the age of 70 and died two months later of a heart attack.
Family life Edit
J. Lkhagvasuren was married to Dashtseden Tsend. She was the adopted daughter of the State Oracle, Choijin Lama, Luvsankhaidav. He was the brother of Mongolia’s last Theocratic Monarch, Bogdo Gegen. Dashtseden grew up in the centre of Urguu (the former name of Mongolian capital city Ulaanbaatar), in Choijin Lama's temple. She had an in-house education and learned philosophy, music and languages becoming one of the highly educated women of her day.
She was artistically gifted and played the national string instruments exceptionally well, sang, and was a star of traditional dance. After the People's Revolution and death of Choijin Lama, she became a performing musician and actress in the first Mongolian National Theatre. Ts. Dashtseden was regarded as one of the intellectual powerhouses and great beauties of early 20th century Mongolia. A popular song, "Dund Golyn Nogoo", devoted to her, and praising her beauty remains in the collective memory of the nation to this day.
Lkhagvasuren and Dashtseden had three children, and nine grandchildren.
Their son, Lkhagvaa, graduated from the Aviation Academy in Moscow, USSR, being trained in aerospace engineering. For many years Colonel Lkhagvaa served as the Head of the Mongolian Civil Aviation Authority, and the CEO of the Mongolian state-owned air company "MIAT". In 1990 he established the first in Mongolia private air-company, "Hangarid". For more than a decade he's been working as an Honorary Consul of Thailand in Mongolia.
Their oldest daughter, Lkhagvadulam, is a journalist. A graduate of the Moscow Pedagogical University, Lkhagvadulam worked for the Mongolian National TV and Radio, MONTSAME National News Agency, and was a reporter and eventually Editor-in-Chief of a newspaper and a magazine both published in Russian. For translating a number of novels of Russian authors into Mongolian and Mongolian authors into Russian she was awarded the prestigious Lodoidamba Award for literary achievements in writing and translating. Lately she has translated Paulo Coelho’s best selling novel "The Alchemist" into the Mongolian language.
Their youngest daughter, L.Lkhagvajav, graduated from the Plekhanov Academy of Economics in Moscow, USSR, and worked in the field of foreign trade for over 20 years. For eight years Lkhagvajav represented Mongolia as a trade attache in the Mongolian Embassy in Poland. After the transition to democracy and free market she established her own company, "BAL". Her company organized the first charter flights between Ulaanbaatar and Seoul, South Korea, at a time when the country did not yet have established air routes to South Korea. After these charter flights were successfully conducted by the "BAL" company, the state «MIAT» air company was able to take them over and establish regular flights to and from Seoul. It is now one of the most popular air destinations to and from Ulaanbaatar.
Legacy Edit
General Lkhagvasuren was posthumously awarded the highest military honor in Mongolia, Hero of Mongolia, after years of pressure on the state and the party from supporters and admirers of the Young Commander, many of whom regarded the general as the greatest modern Hero of Mongolia despite the official decoration.
In a public opinion poll conducted by the Mongolian National Radio, Mongolia News Agency, and the leading daily newspaper, Zuuny Medee throughout the country at the turn of the millennium to name the greatest figures in the 20th century Mongolia, J. Lkhagvasuren almost unanimously, by 87% of respondents, was named the Greatest Military Hero of the 20th Century Mongolia.
A large bronze monument of the Hero of Mongolia, Colonel General Lkhagvasuren Jamyan was raised in one of the central streets of Ulaanbaatar city in 2000, the year commemorating the 55th anniversary of the end of WWII.
A street in Ulaanbaatar was also named after the Young Commander, "Janjin Lkhagvasuren Street”, and a memorial plaque was placed on the wall of the building in Ulaanbaatar where General Lkhagvasuren worked as the Deputy Commander of the Mongolian Army in 1939-1948. Another plaque was placed on the wall of the Sports Palace that he built in the 1950s.
A secondary school in his home province of Bulgan was also named after General Lkhagvasuren. Beginning in 1997 an Honorary Grant was established and personally financed by General Lkhagvasuren’s son and two daughters to support a qualified student enrolled at the Military Academy of Mongolia. This Honorary Grant has continued every year thereafter and benefited a new student each year.
Many songs and poems were written with the Young Commander as their subject and muse. But the very first and most beloved was “The “Young Commander” a military march song sung by soldiers of every generation since General Lkhagvasuren’s victory in the Khalkhyn Gol War.
In 2012, Mongolia celebrated the centenary of his birth.[7] The 167th Military Unit of the Mongolian Ground Force is named after him.[8]
References Edit
- ^ "Бидний бахархал – ҮБХИС" (in Mongolian). Retrieved 2021-05-29.
- ^ "Ж.Лхагвасүрэн жанжны "Халхын гол" ном дахин хэвлэгдлээ". MONTSAME News Agency. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
- ^ "Начальник Полевого штаба МНРА комдив Ж. Цэрэн и корпусной комиссар Ж. Лхагвасурэн". waralbum.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-05-29.
- ^ Конно-механизированная группа Забайкальского фронта. Сайт «Танковый фронт».
- ^ "Бхя Монгол Улсад Генерал Цол Бий Болсны 70 Жилийг Тэмдэглэн Өнгөрүүллээ". 29 April 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "История Улан-Батора: Мавзолей Сухэ-Батора и центральная площадь".
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2011-02-23. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
- ^ "Зэвсэгт хүчний 167 дугаар ангийг Цэргийн гавьяаны одонгоор шагнав | News.MN". News.MN - Мэдээллийн эх сурвалж (in Mongolian). 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2021-06-09.