The President of Mongolia, a former martial arts champion, is now struggling with serious problems. Super hero, not a politician: why the President of Mongolia is the "coolest" Biography of the President of Mongolia

In the open spaces Mongolian steppe where Genghis Khan was born, appeared strong man. In the literal and figurative sense. Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga is a former world martial arts champion and still trains regularly. The President of Mongolia is a friend of Vladimir Putin and a business tycoon with a badass image.

He is also a nationalist and something of a populist. Battulga took office last year, making himself a Trump-like underdog, a champion of the poor, an opponent of a corrupt and selfish political elite.

Like the President of the United States, this is a man who says he always wins, whose campaign slogan was "Mongolia will win." But now he is struggling with a new challenge in his life.

The Mongols overthrew the authoritarian communist regime in 1990 in a peaceful democratic revolution. Almost three decades of democracy have contributed not only to progress, but also to glaring inequalities, leaving almost 30% of the population in poverty. Corruption flourishes, the dark side of the country has huge reserves of copper, coal and gold.

“I asked before the elections, and I ask this question again,” said the gruff Battulga at one of the meetings last month, “Why do people living in the country. rich in resources, still so poor?”

H. Battulga has risen from poverty to the highest post in the country, he is a successful athlete, a successful businessman, now he is trying his hand at politics, but his power as the president of the society is constantly colliding with the activities of a rival political party. Battulga plays an important role in setting the country's foreign policy, but his ambitions are much greater.

For the past three months, he has traveled around Mongolia, holding meetings in each of the country's 21 aimags, asking for popular support in the fight to improve the governance of the country.

"Do you feel like the president we have chosen is on his own?" he asked the assembled people. “It’s time to start talking about more than just the president. The president plus who? The president plus people working together for the good of society.”

Luvsandendev Sumati, director of the independent polling organization Sant Maral, draws parallels between the latest elections in Mongolia and the United States.

After the dirtiest presidential election in Mongolian history, he said, many people stood aside or threw blank ballots in protest. In the end, however, Battulga's anti-establishment status outweighed questions about his business and past allegations of corruption.

“The poor have decided that he is their president, and once people decide that, they are ready to forgive everything,” Sumati said. “Anti-establishment politicians are taking over the whole world. Why should Mongolia be different?”

This is the most sparsely populated country in the world, its territory is Texas, California and Montana combined, but only 3 million people live in this territory. And they live in the giant shadows of Russia in the north and China in the south. Culturally, Mongolia is closer to its northern neighbour, but economically dependent on its rapidly developing southern neighbor, which accounts for over 80% of Mongolian exports.

However, mistrust of China in the country is heating up, and Battulga took advantage of this to portray himself as a pro-Moscow, anti-Beijing candidate during his campaign. As president, however, he takes a more pragmatic approach, saying that Mongolia should be friends with both countries, but "rebalancing" would help reduce China's trade dominance.

The former president of the Mongolian Judo Association, Kh. Battulga, shares his love for wrestling and friendship with Putin.

Battulga in gym in Ulaanbaatar on 26 May. (Giulia Marchi for The Washington Post)

A man shows his tattoo with a portrait of H. Battulga in Ulaanbaatar. (Giulia Marchi for The Washington Post)

“Since we both practiced judo, it’s easier for us to communicate,” the Mongolian president said in an interview, noting that Putin is also “the president of a country that has been our neighbor for thousands of years.”

But Battulga also wants American support. In 1990, the United States promised to become a democratic Mongolia's "third neighbor," a statement repeated by President George W. Bush during his 2005 visit to Mongolia. Most recently, Secretary of State John F. Kerry called Mongolia "an oasis of democracy" between Russia and China.

Yet US-Mongolia defense and security ties are far stronger than economic ties, which account for less than 2 percent of Mongolian trade.

“US praises that Mongolia is an 'oasis of democracy or a model of democracy' have not made a significant contribution to the economy,” Battulga wrote in a letter to President Trump in December. “Discouraged by this fact, ordinary citizens of Mongolia are losing confidence in democracy and doubting the choice of a democratic path.”

Battulga asked for better conditions for Mongolian textile exports to the United States. Trump responded that he would be happy to explore ways to stimulate trade in a "fair and equitable manner."

H. Battulga started his business life modestly. After graduating from art school, he sold paintings to tourists in Ulaanbaatar, as well as sewing and selling jeans, and then selling electronics imported from abroad. He used the prize money and international contacts acquired from sambo tournaments to secure his start.

Taxi, TV station and nightclub, and lottery business. During the privatization of state assets, he acquired controlling shares in a hotel and a meat processing plant. But he was also forced to flee the country for 6 months after being falsely accused of smuggling alcohol, according to his friend and biographer. Dorzhkhanda Tormonkha. Another corruption investigation followed the recent appointment of a road and transport minister, but no charges were filed.

Battulga underscored his nationalist sentiments by erecting a gigantic statue of Genghis Khan on horseback in an amusement park outside the capital. He reaffirmed his populist credentials by promising to use the proceeds from mining to pay off the personal debts of ordinary Mongols.

H. Battulga on book fair on Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar. (Giulia Marchi for The Washington Post)

Today Battulga is the most popular politician in Mongolia. These are the results that polls of the Sant Maral center show. However, questions remain for many: Is the president, with his vast business empire, part of the solution or part of the problem?

As president, he must renounce party affiliation and unite the nation, but is his nationwide tour a genuine attempt to raise and resolve issues - or an attempt to seize personal power and start campaigning for his party before the 2020 parliamentary elections? He real man people or copycat?

There were numerous complaints at the meetings. These included requests to liquidate offshore accounts and funds of the political elite, as well as pleas for best conditions labor for workers. Some spoke out against Chinese workers in Mongolia, others against overcrowding in schools.

The president listened patiently for more than an hour before blaming voters for giving rival Mongolian People's Party a dominant position in the 2016 parliamentary elections.

“One party won 65 out of 76 seats,” he said. “They have seats, they have opportunities, but unfortunately they haven’t done anything in the last two years.”

At least one listener accused the president of being no better than his rivals.

"You blame the voters, saying it's our fault for electing thieves," he said. - "Look at our lives, look at the state our children live in. The Chinese are now the owners of Mongolia. The country is on the verge of disaster. I elected you. I voted for you. But Mongolia will only "win" if we get rid of both parties."

New president Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga is rapidly gaining media popularity.

Battulga was elected on July 8, 2017. As they write in the media, for the first time in the history of Mongolia, the elections of the head of the republic were held in two rounds.

Although Battulga was previously elected as a deputy, he worked in executive power- Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Industry ( the most monetary ministries -approx. author) of the Mongolian People's Republic, for some reason he is called a representative of the opposition in the press.

It is also interesting that the elected head of state positions himself as an anti-oligarchic candidate, but he himself is a business magnate and remains one of the richest people in Mongolia. His main interests are agriculture and tourism. “He is known for having built a 40-meter equestrian statue of Genghis Khan outside of Ulaanbaatar,” the media said.

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The elections were scandalous. Corruption allegations were made against all participants, which led voters to leave their ballots blank in protest.

"The turnout was the lowest in the history of the presidential election," the Mongolia Today website notes. According to the site, a little less than 1.2 million voters took part in the elections, which is less than 60% of the list.

“The elections were held in an atmosphere of division in Mongolian society, which expressed dissatisfaction with the general situation in the country, high level corruption and a drop in the standard of living, ”said one of the interlocutors of Gazeta.Ru.

Experts emphasize that the new president of the country will have to solve a complex of complex problems. Mongolia has a large amount of natural resources, which made it attractive to international investors and provided opportunities for economic growth at the beginning of economic reforms.

However, falling prices for commodity exports contributed to a reduction in foreign investment and rising unemployment. At the end of May, the country's authorities attracted a loan from the International Monetary Fund for $5.5 billion, but one of the conditions for its provision was the requirement to reduce spending and raise taxes, which caused discontent among the population. In May, just before the elections, the loan was finally approved.

In August 2016, Mongolia faced the worst economic crisis. The exchange rate of the national currency fell to a 20-year low. The main reasons are the slowdown in China's economic growth and the fall in prices for raw materials, the sale of which was the main export item from Mongolia, writes Gazeta.ru.

Billionaire Battulga, after being elected president, two weeks later, addressed civil servants, politicians and related parties. He urged them to return the money from the offshore zone to their homeland, or rather to the bank of Mongolia "MongolBank".

“There is information that 49 citizens of Mongolia have offshore accounts, among them civil servants, politicians and related parties suspected of “laundering” criminal money, state corruption and fraudulent operations,” EAD writes.

“If the aforementioned individuals do not respond to this call, we can talk about disclosing information about their accounts and bringing these individuals to justice in accordance with the law,” the source says.

The new President of Mongolia, Khaltmaagiin Battulga, refused to live in his residence in the Marshal's Padya (Ikh Tenger), next to the mansions of Parliament Chairman Miyegombyn Enkhbold and Prime Minister Jargaltulgyn Erdenebat, Mongolia Now reports.

For the last 63 years, all the leaders of Mongolia - Yumzhagiin Tsedenbal, Jambyn Batmunkh, Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, Natsagiin Bagabandi, Nambaryn Enkhbayar and Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj- lived in a strictly protected area in the mountains of Bogdo uul. According to the publication, Battulga decided to settle in small house opposite the Central Post Office, where it once was winter apartment Tsedenbala. The head of Mongolia is going to walk to work, 400 meters from home to the administration. As noted, the Presidential Administration hopes that many officials will also give up bulky SUVs and other luxuries in work and life, Tengrinews.kz writes.

The elected president of the country was a professional sportsman in the past. In 1986-1989 he was a member of the national sambo and judo team of the country. In 1995 he was awarded the title of Honored Athlete of Mongolia. In September 2006, he became president of the Judo Federation of Mongolia, according to the Asia Russia portal.

Battulga advocates the construction of railways to Russia and industrial enterprises for the processing of Mongolian minerals. He also plans to cancel a government order that prevents income from strategic deposits from reaching local banks.

It is worth noting that shortly before the elections, Battulga met with representatives of the party " United Russia”, which in a certain way speaks of the political orientation of the new president. Even on his campaign poster, Battulga used the image of the Russian president.

In the biography of the new president of Mongolia, one more “Russian trace” can be traced - the origin of his second wife.

The first wife was Mongolian, the second, as they say, Russian.

But the photo of the “Russian wife” Angelica Davain is not particularly published anywhere. There is only one photo of her on the Internet ( maybe not even herapprox. author), where a girl is sitting, more like our sugar workers.

“Davoin”, as the Internet writes, is an Izhora surname. The Izhors are an indigenous people of Finno-Ugric origin.

New President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga On Monday, he officially took office as the President of Mongolia, the Montsame agency reports.

The inauguration ceremony was held at the State Residence in the presence of deputies, the head of the Constitutional Court, other candidates who participated in the 2017 presidential election, and foreign diplomats.

In his speech, the new president promised, in particular, to pay attention to the development of foreign relations and the expansion of friendly relations with China and Russia in all directions.

Battulga, candidate of the minority Democratic Party in parliament, July 7 won in the second round of the presidential elections in Mongolia. According to preliminary calculations, Battulga scored 50.6% of the vote, turnout was 60.9%.

Battulga is a young charismatic politician, successful businessman, artist and sportsman. He is considered one of the richest people in Mongolia, is the owner of the Zhenko corporation. Speaks Russian, English, according to the ARD portal.

As political scientists point out, main bet in his policy he makes for the development of economic cooperation with Russia - " We have many untapped opportunities in relations with Russia." Battulga considers it necessary to revise a number of conditions put forward by the IMF for a state loan, and to oblige foreign companies mining companies in Mongolia to conduct transactions through Mongolian banks. The new president also intends to diversify foreign trade, reducing dependence on China.

Khaltmaagiin Battulga was born on March 3, 1963 in Ulaanbaatar. One of his hobbies is martial arts. Battulga participated in the World Sambo Championship three times and won a full set of medals - gold, silver and bronze. In 1989, he took 1st place at the Sambo World Cup, for which he received a four-room apartment from the state, which, by his own admission, he had been waiting for so long. Awarded the title of Honored Athlete of Mongolia.

In September 2006, he became the President of the Judo Federation of Mongolia. Since then, at his own expense, he has supported Mongolian judo in every possible way and donated more than 1 billion tugriks ($419,000) to the development of this sport.

He was elected a deputy, served as the Minister of Transport, then - the Minister of Industry of Mongolia.

His first wife Ts. Enkhtuyaa- Director of the company "Nүүdelchin". His current wife Angelica Dawain Russian by origin (according to Mongolian sources, she is not a citizen of Russia, but was born in Khentii aimag). The couple have two twin children.

Donald Trump is a big fan of golf, Vladimir Putin plays judo and hockey, and his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan plays football. Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga also achieved great success in politics and sports. He was engaged in sambo, sumo wrestling and attends the gym from a young age.

For inflated muscles and excellent athletic shape, the British edition of Metro called the 56-year-old Battulga not a politician, but a real superman.

From sports to business

In his younger years, the president was engaged in judo, sumo and sambo, in which he became the world champion in 1983. This victory brought the guy fame in his native Mongolia. However, he did not limit himself to sports. Khaltmaagiin Battulga is a well-known artist, studied art at the university and is an active member of the Association of Artists of Mongolia.

Having retired from sports, Khaltmaagiin Battulga went into business. First he sold jeans on the market, brought video cameras from Singapore, and then opened the Genco company, which became a large holding company decades later.

The corporation is engaged in the production and sale of food, mining, finance, design, information technology and tourism.

In 2008, Khaltmaagiin Battulga, not far from Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, built a 40-meter statue of Genghis Khan. The monument cost more than four million dollars.

In 2004, Khaltmaagiin Battulga became a member of the Mongolian parliament. He later served as Minister of Transport, Industry, Agriculture. In 2017, Battulga was nominated by the Democratic Party for the presidency, and won the election.

New president

The current Mongolian president is one of the richest people in the country, but he refused to live in a specially protected presidential residence. Instead, Battulga settled in the center of Ulaanbaatar in a small house.

Despite a busy schedule, the President of Mongolia spends several hours a day working out in the gym. Haltmaagiin personally controls the preparation of Mongolian athletes for competitions and promises rewards for victories.

The president goes to work on foot, thereby showing officials that it is time to become simpler and give up luxury. When the president's cortege nevertheless travels through the city, his cars stop at the crossings and let pedestrians through.

A descendant of the steppe Bagaturs, Battulga is now married to a Russian woman. His wife, Anzhelika (Olesya) Battulga, is Russian by nationality, a citizen of Mongolia.

President Khaltmaagiin Battulga considers his main task to be attracting investments and tourists to the country. To do this, he began the fight against the Mongolian oligarchs and improves the environmental situation in the capital Ulaanbaatar.

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Battulga used the image of Vladimir Putin in his election race.

Election poster with the inscription "President like Putin"

Khaltmaagiin Battulga, a presidential candidate from the opposition Democratic Party, won the second round of Mongolian presidential elections.

Khaltmaagiin Battulga won 610.54 thousand votes (50.6%). The representative of the ruling Mongolian People's Party, Speaker of the Parliament Miyegombyn Enkhbold won 496.84 thousand votes (41.2%). The remaining 8.14% of the ballots were thrown into the ballot boxes empty. The final election results will be announced after all votes have been counted.

The elected president of Mongolia is one of the richest people in Mongolia (heads the Zhenko corporation). He was a member of the country's parliament, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Mongolia. From 1985 to 1989 he was a member of the Mongolian sambo team. In 1989 he became the world champion in this sport. Since 2006 he has been the head of the Judo Federation of Mongolia. The second wife, Angelica Davain, is of Russian origin, gave birth to four twin boys.

Bright, rich and dangerous - this is how the Mongols speak of him.

Artist, athlete, entrepreneur, former minister, politician. Exemplary son and father. The ARD has repeatedly mentioned him on various occasions. His ideas, as a rule, are grandiose, he is considered one of the richest people in Mongolia, he is the owner of the Zhenko corporation. A few years ago, ARD also published an interview with him.

The personality of Khaltmaagiin Battulga and his activities have always caused ambiguous assessments.

In March 2016, the ARD reported that the Mongolian security forces had detained G. Tuvshinzhargal, Kh. Battulgi’s former assistant to Zhenko, and his secretary Sh. Erdenetuya, who has been working with the deputy for more than ten years.

“I myself testified with good satisfaction and long ago provided the security forces with all the relevant documents and evidence. My children were detained illegally, violating their rights. Apparently, they could not “break” the guys, so they took up women, one of whom has a baby. What do they hope to find with secretaries? And all this because our guys and I fought to prevent foreigners from taking possession of Tavan Tolgoi for 60, or even 100 years.”

In addition, last summer the Unoodor newspaper reported that he was "involved as a defendant on the issue of abuse of office and causing damage to the state on an especially large scale."

The Department for Combating Economic Crime of the Criminal Police, together with the Investigation Department of the Anti-Corruption Directorate, created working group, which is checking on the issue of providing the South Korean company Samsung C&T under the heading “an agreement on the transfer of the rights to carry out construction work on the railway branch in the direction of Ukhaa Khudag-Gashuun Suhait with a length of 267 km” without announcing a tender, as well as abuse of office and drawing damage to the state on an especially large scale as part of the implementation of the project for carrying out creative work “New Railway”.

Another scandal, in which the name of the deputy appeared, was connected with plans to build roads and railways in Mongolia. According to the Ministry of Labor, there are currently almost 180,000 unemployed and uneducated citizens under 29 in Mongolia. 90 thousand of them are men. There is always a shortage of labor for the construction of roads and railways, so foreign workers have to be hired.

To solve this problem, Mongolia plans to use the military service, that is, to mobilize 10,000 guys into the railway troops, and thus solve the issue of labor shortages for the construction of the railway and the highway, said Zandaahүүgiin Enkhbold, speaker of the VGH. One of the initiators of this project is the scandalous deputy of the VGHH H. Battulga. On this occasion, the mayor of the city of Ulaanbaatar, Mr. E. Bat-Uul, said the following:

“As I believe, Battulga will resurrect the spirit of Hitler and Stalin. He was a communist junta, and I didn't know."

Thus, the mayor hinted that MP H. Battulga wants to use forced labor of military personnel in this project. He even compared Mongolia's future railroad troops to Russian prisoners of war who built the autobahn and railroad for Nazi Germany. And he added that the railway through Mongolia and China was built by the Vlasovites on the orders of Stalin.

In fact, this project will be jointly implemented by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Labor of Mongolia. On 3 directions railway there are 10,000 jobs in Gashuun Suhait, Sainshand and Bichigt border crossing. These railway troops will work there. And as the speaker of the VGH Z. Enkhbold said, all military personnel will receive a salary. Whether Mr. Mayor knew about it, or deliberately said so, no one knows. And other people, for example, a prominent Mongolian businessman, director of the Gatsuurt company L. Chinbat, expressed dissatisfaction with the words of the mayor. He tweeted:

“Bat-Uul is a mental patient or what? These are the words of a man who has never worked. In our country, which is 50 years behind in development, work will not be superfluous for anyone for sure - everyone who can must work. And it doesn't matter who he is, a soldier or not. We must mobilize all the forces of the country. People who give money to foreigners and speculate are doing good only to themselves.”

It is obvious that the businessman clearly supports the railway troops project.

And about the positive
For now, we'll just go over the points that reveal his identity with new side. And, perhaps, they are gradually telling what is the reason for the great success of Mr. Battulga.

1. Deputy of the State Supreme Council, candidate for the presidency of Mongolia, Mr. Khaltmaagiin Battulga was born on March 3, 1963 in Ulaanbaatar. His first wife, Ts.Enkhtuyaa, is the director of the Nudelchin company. The second, current, his wife is Russian. Her name is Angelica Dawain. Apparently, Mr. Battulga protects her from the "evil eye", because her photos practically do not appear in the press. Only they say that Angelica gave him twins.

2. His father is a native of Bayantsagaan somon of Bayankhongor aimag, and his mother is from Galuut somon of the same aimag. But his parents have long since become residents of the capital. Battulga also has a younger brother and an older sister.

3. He studied at high school No. 34 of the city of Ulaanbaatar. After graduation, he entered the School of Fine Arts. There he studied "monumental art". Since 1982, Battulga began working in the Association of Artists.

4. When he was in school visual arts, then one day he sold his painting to tourists near the Bayangol Hotel, then he was just studying English language. Now the Bayangol Hotel is owned by Battulga.

5. Combat sports became another of his crafts. When he became the world champion in sambo, he was awarded an apartment in Ulaanbaatar. Battulga participated in the World Championship three times and won a full set of medals - gold, silver and bronze.

6. Finally, in 1989, he took 1st place in the Sambo World Cup and received a 4-room apartment, which, by his own admission, he had been waiting for so long.

7. His activities in sports were highly appreciated by the state and he was awarded the title of Honored Athlete of Mongolia. In September 2006, he became the President of the Mongolian Judo Association. Since then, at his own expense, he has supported Mongolian judo in every possible way and donated more than one billion tugriks to the development of this sport.

8. He is one of Mongolia's billionaires.

9. Battulga started his small business in 1990. At that time fabrics produced in Mongolia were very cheap. And Battulga sewed children's clothes. Sold it in Hungary, and then in Singapore. From there, he brought several video cameras to Mongolia. The matter is that in Singapore the video camera cost then 600 American dollars. And in Mongolia, he sold them for $1,200. This is how today's billionaire earned his first serious capital.

10. Battulga was the very first in Mongolia to launch the Millionaire lottery. Here he again made a lot of money.

11. When suddenly yellow taxis appeared on the streets of Ulaanbaatar, the first city-taxi service in Mongolia - Mr. H. Battulga also stood behind this. Also with his light hand The first yellow mini-supermarkets appeared in Mongolia. During his life, he did a lot of things and undertook to earn money. He is rightly considered hardworking, and also, compared with other deputies of the VGH, highly appreciate his business qualities and "openness".

12. Once he said that he never drank alcohol in the presence of his father. It turned out that he was generally a non-drinker, like his father and brother.

13. There is a whole story about how he made his first step into politics. In 2002 there was a very hard winter in Bayankhongor aimag. In Mongolia, such winters are called "Dzud". His parents, natives of Bayankhongor aimag, asked him to help the local shepherds who lost their livestock as a result of this natural disaster. Then he saw up close the harsh life of the common people. And, according to him, he finally decided to engage in politics.

14. Battulga is known to ARD readers for such projects as the "City of the Future Maidar Eco City" with the tallest statue of the Future Buddha in the center. Of the already implemented projects initiated by the politician - the highest equestrian statue of Genghis Khan in the world.

15. Battulga also tried himself as a TV presenter - in the spring of 2013, the then Minister of Industry and Agriculture of Mongolia agreed to host one number of the TV project “Mongol Tulgatny 100 Erkhem” together with the host P. Anuzhin.