Category Archives: Curios

Letting the Sun Shine on Garbage?

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes In thinking about economic diversification, I have previously dreamed about a long-term strategic approach for Mongolia. Such an approach would involve a taking stock of Mongolia’s riches (other than mineral resources), and then invest into applied research … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Countryside, Curios, Diversification, Garbage | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: #NONAADAM vs #YESNAADAM – Conflict Between Urban and Rural Values in Mongolia

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Usukhbold Chimedregzen During the first week of July 2021, Mongolia has seen two opposing protest groups who gathered at Sukhbaatar Square in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. On the surface, it appeared that the protestors had grievances related to celebrating … Continue reading →

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Posted in Countryside, Elections, Health, Mongolian People's Party, Naadam, Protest, Public Policy, Social Issues, Social Movements, Ulaanbaatar, Usukhbold Chimedregzen | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Mongolian Olympic Team in Tokyo 2020

Posted on August 17, 2021 by bulgan batdorj

By Zorigtkhuu Bat-Erdene  A Mongolian National Olympic Team of 43 athletes participated in the 2020 Summer Olympic Game in Tokyo, Japan in ten different sports.  Mongolian athletes have been participating in every Summer Olympic Games since 1964 in Tokyo, except … Continue reading →

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Posted in Cultural Diplomacy, London 2012, Nationalism, Olympics, Pop Culture, Society and Culture, Sports, Tokyo 2020, Wrestling, Youth, Zorigtkhuu Bat-Erdene | Leave a comment

Voting with Enthusiasm

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes There was a lot of enthusiasm on display early on June 24 as the polls opened. Expressions of enthusiasm built in part on the very active өглөө campaign that had been part of a bring-out-the-youth-vote effort.   … Continue reading →

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Posted in Curios, Ikh Khural 2020, Pop Culture, Social Media, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | Leave a comment

New to Ulaanbaatar December 2019

Posted on December 19, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes I’ve been keeping lists of things that are arriving to/disappearing from central Ulaanbaatar: June 2019 | April 2019 | December 2018 | August 2018 | October 2017 | June 2017 | May 2016 | December 2015 | May 2015 | May 2014 | October 2013 | October 2011. More informal … Continue reading →

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Posted in Change, City Planning, Curios, Fashion, Heritage, Museums, Social Change, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Doping in Mongolian Wrestling

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Zorigtkhuu B Last year, I wrote a brief blog post about some of the political issues surrounding Mongolian wrestling. For example, military titles, associational rivalry, and doping, etc. This year’s wrestling tournament has become a hot topic for the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Naadam, Wrestling, Zorigtkhuu Bat-Erdene | Leave a comment

Special License Plates

Posted on August 1, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Okay, I confess, I’m a bit of a license plate geek, but only a little bit. Maybe this is one of those things that growing up in (West) Berlin did to me. While the West German cousins … Continue reading →

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Posted in Curios, Mongolia and ..., Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

Change in the Countryside June 2019

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes For some years, I have now taken notes about visible changes in Ulaanbaatar on my periodic visits. I’ve kept a similar list for countryside changes, somewhat more regular as extended visits to the countryside don’t come nearly … Continue reading →

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Posted in Change, Countryside, Curios | Tagged | Leave a comment

New to Ulaanbaatar June 2019

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes I’ve been keeping lists of things that are arriving to/disappearing from central Ulaanbaatar: April 2019 | December 2018 | August 2018 | October 2017 | June 2017 | May 2016 | December 2015 | May 2015 | May 2014 | October 2013 | October 2011. More informal versions of these … Continue reading →

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Posted in Change, Curios, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

New to Ulaanbaatar April 2019

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes I’ve been keeping lists of things that are arriving to/disappearing from central Ulaanbaatar: December 2018 | August 2018 | October 2017 | June 2017 | May 2016 | December 2015 | May 2015 | May 2014 | October 2013 | October 2011. More informal versions of these observations also appear … Continue reading →

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Posted in Change, Curios, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

New to Ulaanbaatar December 2018

Posted on December 14, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes I’ve been keeping a list of things that are arriving to/disappearing from central Ulaanbaatar: August 2018 | October 2017 | June 2017 | May 2016 | December 2015 | May 2015 | May 2014 | October 2013 | October 2011. More informal versions of these observations also appear in the /ulaanbaatar/change/ … Continue reading →

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Posted in Change, Curios, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

Cabinet Reshuffle: Dambadorj for Foreign Education Minister

Posted on November 30, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes With all the scandals surrounding corruption in the past month and the no-confidence vote against PM Khurelsukh failing, it’s time for a re-imagining of a previous post. I’m expanding my campaign from trying to become the foreign … Continue reading →

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Camping Nomads

Posted on November 25, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Historically, Mongolians are a nation of “campers”. While perhaps less than a third of them still are mobile pastoralists, and even they are less mobile than they once were, nomadism and the movable home still play large … Continue reading →

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Posted in Countryside, Curios, Social Change, Tourism | Tagged | Leave a comment

Triggers for Upheaval: Yes, But It Depends

Posted on October 1, 2018 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan I agree with Julian on the point that Mongolia is not a violence-free state like any others, but I would make a distinction between rioting, which is a momentary violent public disturbance, and public demonstrations or mass protests. … Continue reading →

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Posted in Corruption, Human Rights, Inequality, Kazakhs, Nationalism, Wrestling, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | Leave a comment

Reducing Garbage by Re-establishing Bowl Use

Posted on September 23, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes In recent workshops we asked participants to list the most pressing policy challenges that Mongolia faced. A relatively small number of problems were listed repeatedly, by participants based in Ulaanbaatar as well as those from other aimags. … Continue reading →

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Posted in Change, Countryside, Curios, Garbage, Social Change | Tagged | Leave a comment