Peljidiin Genden

Peljidiin Genden ( _mn. Пэлжидийн Гэндэн, usually only Genden; 1892 - November 26, 1937) was the second President and the ninth Prime Minister of Mongolia.

His tenure as president (chairman of the State Small Khural) lasted from November 29 1924 to November 15 1927. He became one of the principal leaders behind the failed ultra-leftist policies (forced collectivization of livestock, ban of private enterprise) between 1928 and 1932 [C.R. Bawden: The Modern History of Mongolia, London 1968, p. 296] . He was appointed as Prime Minister (chairman of the Assembly of People's Commissaries) on July 2 1932, after the previous office holder had been murdered.

His opposition against the deployment of Soviet troops in Mongolia led him into conflict with the Soviet Union. Among other things, he tried to prevent the elimination of the buddhist clergy in Mongolia. During a meeting with Joseph Stalin in 1935, Genden described the Soviet Union's actions in Mongolia as "red imperialism".

Stalin and Khorloogiin Choibalsan organised a Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party plenary session in Ulan Bator, which removed him from power on March 2, 1936. Accused of sabotaging Mongol-Russian relations, he was first placed under house arrest, then deported to the Krim, until being executed by a firing squad in Moscow on November 26 1937. Only posthumously was he accused of also having been a Japanese spy. [ Ibd., p. 339f]

Genden was declared a non-person, and mentioning his name was prohibited until his rehabilitation in 1990.

His daughter Tserendulam opened the "Memorial Museum for Victims of Political Persecution" in his house in 1993. It offers information on the victims of the political prosecutions, which affected up to 14% of the population according to some estimations.

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