For three decades, Mongolia was on the receiving end. Now it has written a cheque to the institution that once wrote them for us.

Mongolia has decided to contribute MNT 4.8 billion — roughly US$1.3 million — to the World Bank’s International Development Association, the concessional lending arm it borrowed from until graduating in 2020. By IDA’s standards the sum is a rounding error. By Mongolia, it is a statement: we are no longer the country that needs the help. Why now? And should Mongolia be giving out this money?

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Hosts: Anand, Dolgion, Julian

Keywords: Mongolia | World Bank | IDA | foreign aid | development finance | poverty | upper-middle-income | South Korea | aid graduation

In this episode, we discuss parliament’s latest budget hearing, where New Kharkhorum, President Khurelsukh’s planned city in the Orkhon Valley, finally faced scrutiny. MP Tsenguun calls it “an empty city where nobody lives,” yet it already has four administrative bodies on the public payroll, and MNT 7.7 billion is proposed to run them next year. From Maidar City to Oyun-Erdene’s 14 mega projects and Uchral’s green data centers, Mongolia’s grand ambitions look good on paper but too often become money sinks that leave the public holding the bill. So is New Kharkhorum a city in the making, or just another grand idea politicians need to stop pursuing?

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Three Universals: Shines

• The city on the steppe shines
• The city’s payroll shines
• But the city windows are unlikely to shine.

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Hosts: Anand, Dolgion, Julian

Keywords: Mongolia | New Kharkhorum | mega projects | Khurelsukh | state budget | Orkhon Valley | Maidar City | Erdenet | corruption | urban planning

2027 will be an interesting year for Mongolia as the presidential election kicks off. All the while there appears to be no clear incumbent on the ballot for the first time in years. Current President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa is constitutionally barred from a second term, and that vacancy has already set off quiet jockeying among the hopefuls in his party—there are few names that have been floated as potentials to represent the Mongolian People's Party.

Anand and Julian break down the field: who's in contention for the MPP, who might champion the Democratic Party, whether the HUN Party has any credible play left after neutering its own outsider image while in the coalition, and even which personalities look to be absent from contention.

Note: This episode was recorded before the dismissal of Justice Minister Amarsaikhan Sainbuyan. His candidacy is discussed here as an active possibility. As such, we will definitely revisit the topic a few more times before the election. Stay tuned for our follow-up coverage.

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Hosts: Anand, Julian

Keywords: Mongolia | presidential election 2027 | MPP | Democratic Party | Khurelsukh Ukhnaa | Battsetseg Batmunkh | Zandanshatar Gombojov | Mongolian politics

A philosopher says, "There are no such people as Mongolians." Two weeks later, he's in pretrial detention.

Molor-Erdene—a controversial Mongolian philosopher and public intellectual—was detained on September 2nd under Article 19.9 of the Criminal Code, which covers "undermining national unity," a charge carrying a sentence of five to twelve years. His alleged crime: stating on a Facebook talk show that "Mongolians" as a people don't exist, that Chinggis Khan wasn't Mongol, and that Mongolia's historical identity is a construction that holds the country back from thinking about its future.

We break down what Molor-Erdene actually argued, and was his argument were sufficient to be detained. More importantly, we examine what this case reveals about the state of free speech in Mongolia: a "national unity" law loosely used to undermine freedom of speech, a Justice Minister with a pattern of deploying legal power against critics, and a political environment where the chilling effect may already be doing its job.

We also ask: where was the Justice Minister when an MP was on attacking Mongolia's Kazakh minority with racist language? Why is abstract philosophical provocation a criminal matter, but concrete ethnic discrimination is not?

NOTE: Minister of Justice, S Amarsaikhan was dismissed on Sept. 16 on unrelated issues discussed in this episode.

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And If you have suggestions for the show get in touch at info[at]agulamedia.com

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Hosts: Anand, Dolgion, Julian

Keywords: Mongolia | free speech | national unity | Molor-Erdene | Amarsaikhan | censorship | authoritarianism | Freedom of Speech | Chinggis Khaan|

COP17 is over. Nearly 200 parties spent two weeks in Ulaanbaatar trying to turn desertification pledges into actual action. Did the parties turn their pledges into unanimous binding declarations?

We discuss how COP17 turned out, the major decisions, and the overall sentiment. We are joined by guests who know more about Rio conventions, Enkhuun Byambadorj of Breathe Mongolia, who worked with the UNCCD's Civil Society Organizations panel throughout, and Sainsanaa Amarsanaa, COP29 youth delegate and the host of the Beyond Greenhouse podcast.

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Hosts: Anand Tumurtogoo, Julian Dierkes
Guests: Enkhuun Byambadorj (Breathe Mongolia), Sainsanaa Amarsanaa (Beyond Greenhouse)
Keywords: COP17 | UNCCD | Mongolia | desertification | land restoration | civil society | drought | Ulaanbaatar

Mongolia has been facing fuel shortages since the start of summer. The conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and Ukraine's drone strikes on key Russian infrastructure have had their measure impact on Mongolia's fuel supplies. Even as reports show fuel being constantly transported into Mongolia, the country has had less than 20 days of reserves. Recently, the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources went around Ulaanbaatar cracking down on petrol businesses that have been lying about running out of fuel. This has caused major disruptions across the country. This isn't the first time Mongolia has faced fuel shortages, but should this be a wake-up call for Mongolia to plan ahead, look for alternatives -- even look towards China's booming EVs and let go of its old fears of China? We discuss this with Telmen Altanshagai, an energy security specialist, and her recent article in The Diplomat.

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Hosts: Anand, Dolgion

Guest: Telmen Altanshagai

Keywords: Mongolia | fuel shortage | energy security | Russia | Strait of Hormuz | Ukraine war | electrification | China

Simon Wickham-Smith joins us on this episode. Simon is the foremost scholar and translator of contemporary Mongolian literature into English, he's spent decades bringing Mongolian prose and poetry to readers who'd otherwise have no way in — work that culminated in Politics and Literature in Mongolia (1921-48), one of the only English-language studies of the period. Simon and we discuss his book and what Natsagdorj Dashdorj meant to Mongolians and why he is so revered and should he be revered.
Here is the link to Simon's book: Politics and Literature in Mongolia (1921-1948) | Simon Wickhamsmith |
Simon’s podcast conversation about that book on New Books Network: East Asian Studies
And here is the link to read English translation of the Tears of Venerable Lama: TEARS OF A VENERABLE LAMA | Translation Studies

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And if you're a supporter of us at Buy Me a Coffee, The Great State Mural — thank you for keeping the show going. And if you live in Mongolia you can directly support the podcast by donating to our account:

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Hosts: Anand, Julian

Guest: Simon Wickham-Smith

Keywords: Mongolia | Natsagdorj | Mongolian literature | Simon Wickham-Smith | 1921 revolution | Mongolian People's Republic | translation | poetry | Soviet literature

We sat down and spoke with Dorjpagma "Dono" from Modern Mongolia. Modern Mongolia is a page that tries to shed light on Mongolia's culture, both past and present. The page—and formerly the podcast—has helped many Mongolia enthusiasts understand the country's nuances, as well as the current developments in its culture. As this episode coincides with Mongolia's biggest holiday, it would be almost sacrilegious not to talk about Naadam: its significance for Mongolians, and how hard it can be for some of them to truly engage with the sporting events at the heart of the holiday.

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For anyone in Mongolia, you can donate to Agula Media’s Golomt Bank Account: MN790015003105153063.

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Hosts: Anand, Julian

Guest: Dorj Bagam (Dono — Modern Mongolia, @modernmongolia on Instagram)

Keywords: Mongolia | Naadam | Eriin Gurvan Naadam | wrestling | horse racing | archery | cultural heritage | Modern Mongolia | tradition | child jockeys