In the USSR, Mongolia was not called the "sixteenth
republic" without a good reason. Times have changed, and today in this
country, almost no Russian schools have remained and Russian language is losing
its position.
While Russia is not
interested, world powers are competing
for influence in Mongolia. Mikhail Shishin, Professor of Altai State Technical
University and the head of the fund "Altai 21", have visited Mongolia
every year for the last decade. His observations are sad: a little by little,
Russia will lose Mongolia forever.
Overall trend
Recent years, life in Mongolia is changing for the better.
The government is doing everything to make positive changes in all areas including western part of Mongolia, which shares the border with us. They are building
homes, commissioning airports, new school.
Mongolia is a country of children. The population boom has
led to overcrowded schools, some have three or four shifts. The families of
three or four or more children is norm.
The country has preserved the traditional way of life, a basic income for
people - cattle.Most people live in yurts, in small towns.
Current trend is young people are moving to city or even
abroad. By the way, our research discovered interesting results on priorities and value orientations of youth in
Mongolia. They prefer America, Japan,
South Korea and China - and Russia was ranked in the fifth place. So, soon we
will be forced to deal with pro-American Mongols!
Foreigners in
Mongolia
- There are many foreigners. First, tourism is actively
developing. Mongolia, with its untouched nature – is a unique country. Rock
paintings situated hundreds of
kilometers are well preserved and folk culture is thriving. This year, at
the folk festival Naadam, I saw the Swedes, Czechs, Germans – virtually everyone
from all over the world.
Secondly, Mongolia is interesting in terms of its rich
mineral resources.Leading powers except Russia are mining in Mongolia. By the
way, most of the geological exploration in Mongolia was done by Soviet
specialists! Now it is used by all. They say, that investors do not always
behave well with respect to the Mongolian land and sometimes leave behind a
devastated desert.
Third, Mongolia - the landlocked area, away from all the
oceans is very interesting place from the point of view of geopolitics.
Sometimes, the American colleagues said that Mongolia, in addition to sharing
borders with Russia and China, also shares border with a third country. A country
dominant in the world today.
Many of the actions of foreign countries, of course, are for
benefit of Mongolia, but it is still aimed at promoting foreign interests in
Mongolia. For example, Japan provided a grant to repair of one of the hotels in
Mongolia. In addition, the Japanese government gives the Mongols solar panels.
As a result, you can watch the marvelous scene: standing yurt, and next to it -
a satellite dish and solar panel. Small little things have been put on top of the antenna to dry! This is a mixture of
styles.
Switzerland donated a huge amount of books and computers to
Mongolia - they brought these in several KamAZ trucks. In Bayan-Olgii province,
there isTurkish College, its students subsequently continue their studies in
Turkish universities. US researchers
work in Hovd province among
shepherds - allegedly, to study the culture and life of the people. An
interesting example was this year's
Naadam festival. Top archery prize in
archery among women was received by a
German national who lives in Mongolia for several years.
Let’s see "our" presence. Imagine how
uncomfortable it is when you come to Mongolia with humanitarian projects, and
there is ... there is no light, because the country owes the Russian company
that supplies electricity. Mongolia is building hydroelectric power station in
order to be independent from Russian energy supply.
Russia is not there
- If you ask anyone who is not in Mongolia, it is only Russia. Several of our (Russian)
businesses are there, but their efforts are so small compared to other
countries! .. I know, for example, our business is trying to open a cannery in
Mongolia.
There is a big problem with Russian language in modern Mongolia.
Previously, it had the status of a second language of Mongolia, and taught even
in elementary school. Until now, the older generation, though bad, spoke
Russian. Today, our language is taught to only high school students, and along with English. In Hovd there is only one
school with intensive study of the Russian language, although there is interest
of local people.Governor of Hovd aimag said that the Mongols want to speak the
same language with our businessmen, tourists.
Young people have a desire to study in our universities.
However, tuition fees in Russia is exorbitant and it makes people just throw up
their hands in helplessness.
At the same time, many countries offer discounts for
Mongolian students, realizing that the country is not rich. The Japanese
government offers many scholarships, because it sees benefit in a large number
of experts with knowledge of the Japanese language. I believe our government
should be interested in helping Mongolian boys to learn: the more people in the
country speak in Russian, the more allies we have!
How the Mongols view Russia?
Michael Shishin shares his observations on this subject:
In Mongolia, people retained a keen interest in Russian
culture and the Russian people. I never met someone with aggressive, and even
indifferent attitude. I was always greeted warmly, invited into the tent, happy
to talk. For the Mongols, as well as for Russian decency, good personal relations between
people, family are very essential. And then - hospitality. Once we arrived late
at night in a Mongolian village, we lived in a Ger in one of the families. Our
hosts were doctors and good open-minded people, that immediately said that we
have to welcome you and cook dinner. And
no matter how we refused, citing the late hour, they stood firm saying “ we
have to be good to you, our neighbors, good Russian friends ..!
There are real "stars" of Russian-Mongolian
relations and I was able to meet
Luvsannon, one of them. At the beginning of the war, he and his friends,
brought giant camel caravan from western Mongolia to Russia to help the Red Army. People gathered all they
have to contribute for help to our
country. Luvsan said the people piled their clothes on the ground as they
walked through slippery passes, so the
camels could pass. And they were very happy, when they finally arrived. Now
this Luvsan is making a garden dedicated
to Genghis Khan in desert.
And there are many people like Luvsan in Mongolia.
What to do in order
keep Mongolia
Mikhail Shishin proposes:
·
To develop a tourist route "Altai - Golden
Mountains". This requires interest from travel agencies and facilitate the
border crossing (now the border crossing in Tashanta takes less than four hours
and is followed by a crazy check process).
·
Care about Russian language in Mongolia, sponsor
schools.
·
Create a single information space - a single
newspaper or column in newspapers, TV programs, radio, which to broadcast to
all border areas. This will help to get to know each other and build
relationships.
About the author
Shishin Mikhail. Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Deputy
Director of the Institute of Architecture and Design and Art critic, member of
the Russian Union of Artists since 1990, expert of the International
Coordination Council "Our Common Home Altai", head of the regional
fund "Altai 21". Doctor of Philosophy (1997), Doctor of Philosophy (2003).Published
articles in China, Mongolia, the United States and Turkey.
Source:http://www.asiarussia.ru/
0 comments:
Post a Comment