Umzhagiyn Tsedenbal
MongoliaBiography of Yumjagiin Tsedenbal
Yumjagiin Tsedenbal was a Mongolian political figure and a member of the Mongolian People's Republic and the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party. He held various leadership positions under H. Choibalsan and eventually became the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the MPRP. After Choibalsan's death in 1952, Tsedenbal also served as the Prime Minister of Mongolia.
Tsedenbal pursued a more lenient policy, leading to the release of many victims of Choibalsan's repressions from prisons. However, he did not officially revise Choibalsan's policies. He successfully excluded his main rivals from the Central Committee, including Dashiyin Damba (1959), Daramyn Tumur-Ochir (1962), Luvsancerengiin Tsend (1963), and the "anti-party group" consisting of Loohuuz, Nyambuu, and Surmaajav (December 1964).
His foreign policy aimed to strengthen ties with the Soviet Union, but he resisted plans to turn Mongolia into one of the Soviet republics. During the political disagreements between the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, Tsedenbal firmly sided with the Soviet Union. It was in Tsedenbal's Mongolia that Mao Zedong's disgraced comrade, Lin Biao, attempted to flee to.
Tsedenbal's wife, Anastasia Ivanovna Tsedenbal-Filatova, who was of Russian descent, played a prominent role in Mongolia's political activities. Tsedenbal met her during his party studies in Moscow. She was perceived as a powerful woman and possibly the head of the family. Interestingly, even in domestic settings, Anastasia Ivanovna referred to her husband as Tsedenbal, which was quite unusual.
Tsedenbal retired in August 1984 and moved to Moscow with his wife. Jambyn Batmunkh was elected as the new General Secretary. After Tsedenbal's death, his body was brought back to Mongolia, where he was buried.
Tsedenbal received several awards during his lifetime, including the Order of Lenin (1944, 1976), Order of Kutuzov 1st Class, Hero of Labor of the MPR, and Order of Sukhbaatar.
