Oriental Studies (Dec 2022)
Federal Security Service Archives: Mongolia Documented, 1922–1936. The Note Describing E. Stulov’s 1932 Journey to Arkhangai Aimag Analyzed
Abstract
Introduction. The edition titled ‘Federal Security Service Archives: Mongolia Documented, 1922–1936’ contains a Note by Advisor to the MPR Economic Council E. Stulov on [His] Journey to Arkhangai Aimag. The document is of certain interest primarily from a perspective of the current economic and political situation in the country. Advisor E. Stulov was staying in Tsetserleg, the capital of Arkhangai Aimag, from 1 to 10 June 1932, and compiled the Note on 25 June of the same year to be marked top secret. The author mentions the main objective of the journey was to ‘investigate essentials and causes of the uprising’ in the aimag. Personal files of Evgeny A. Stulov are housed at the Russian State Archive of the Economy (Collection of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Trade as of the Year 1925). The Note can be viewed as an extended report on events to have taken place not only in Arkhangai but also in other provinces, and be structured as follows: 1) causes and essentials of the 1932 uprising, 2) economic reasons of the uprising, 3) work of the party organization in the aimag and wider — that of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party nationwide. Goals. The article attempts an analysis of Stulov’s journey to Arkhangai Aimag and examines reasons — political and economic ones — of the uprising and related riots both in Arkhangai and across the bulk of the country. Materials. The paper examines archival documents, published sources, and academic literature. Results and conclusions. E. Stulov’s Note reveals reasons of social unrests across various Mongolian estates. The journey is sure to have been crucial to that the Soviet Government undertook prompt measures to tackle the dramatic events. The unrests had begun in April 1932, and already in May the Mongolian question was being discussed at a meeting of the Politburo (VKP(b) Central Committee), which dispatched a letter to Ulaanbaatar containing proposals aimed at eliminating errors and miscounts afforded. This is why in June the Advisor to the MPR Economic Council was missioned to the country for detailed insights, and the officer’s journey note did reveal actual reasons of what had happened.
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