Zorig Sanjaasuren was a prominent Mongolia

Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

n politician and leader of the country's 1990 democratic revolution

1990 Democratic Revolution in Mongolia

The 1990 Peaceful Democratic Revolution in Mongolia was a democratic revolution that started with hunger strikes to overthrow the Mongolian People's Republic and eventually moved towards the democratic present day Mongolia and the writing of the new constitution. It was spearheaded by mostly...

. He was called the "Golden Magpie of Democracy". His murder remains unsolved. After his death, his sister Oyuun

Sanjaasürengiin Oyuun

Sanjaasuren Oyun , also transcribed S. Oyun, is a prominent Mongolian politician. She is the leader of the Civil Will Party, and has been a Member of Parliament of Mongolia since 1998. She is also a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and is the current head of the Zorig Foundation...

 entered politics and founded the Civic Will Party.

Early life

Zorig's grandfather was a Russian geographer who had come to Mongolia as part of an expedition headed by Pyotr Kozlov

Pyotr Kozlov

Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov was a Russian and Soviet traveler and explorer who continued the studies of Nikolai Przhevalsky in Mongolia and Tibet.Although prepared by his parents for military career, Kozlov chose to join Przhevalsky's expedition. After his mentor's death, Kozlov continued travelling in...

. Zorig's grandfather was a victim of Marshal Choibalsan's purges

Stalinist purges in Mongolia

The Stalinist repressions in Mongolia had their climax between 1937 and 1939 , under the leadership of Khorloogiin Choibalsan. The purges affected the whole country, although the main focus was on upper party and government ranks, the army, and especially the Buddhist clergy. One very common...

, leaving his daughter Dorjpalam, Zorig's mother, an orphan. Dorjpalam starred in a popular Mongolian movie before marrying Sanjaasüren, a medical college professor and a Buryat

Buryats

The Buryats or Buriyads , numbering approximately 436,000, are the largest ethnic minority group in Siberia and are mainly concentrated in their homeland, the Buryat Republic, a federal subject of Russia...

 (a Mongolian ethnic minority). Zorig was the second of their three children.

From 1970 on, Zorig attended middle school No. 23 in Ulaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar

Ulan Bator or Ulaanbaatar is the capital and largest city of Mongolia. An independent municipality, the city is not part of any province, and its population as of 2008 is over one million....

, one of the city's Russian-language schools. From 1980 to 1985 he studied philosophy at Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

's Lomonosov University

Moscow State University

Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...

. Afterwards, he worked for a year as an instructor for the Mongolian Revolutionary Youth League in Ulaanbaatar, and in 1986 became lecturer for scientific communism at the Mongolian State University

National University of Mongolia

The National University of Mongolia is the oldest university in Mongolia. It hosts twelve schools and faculties in Ulaanbaatar, and runs branches in the Zavkhan and Orkhon Aimags...

. He became an accomplished chess player, later serving as president of the Mongolian Chess Federation. In 1988 he founded the "New Generation" group of young dissidents dedicated to spreading democracy in Mongolia.

Political career

In 1989 and 1990, S. Zorig played a leading role in the events that led to Mongolia's adoption of a multi-party system

1990 Democratic Revolution in Mongolia

The 1990 Peaceful Democratic Revolution in Mongolia was a democratic revolution that started with hunger strikes to overthrow the Mongolian People's Republic and eventually moved towards the democratic present day Mongolia and the writing of the new constitution. It was spearheaded by mostly...

. On December 10, 1989, a month after the fall of the Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...

, Zorig led a group of 200 activists in a public protest demanding a free-market economy and free elections. In January 1990 Zorig and his fellow Mongolian Democrat dissidents began staging weekend protests in Sükhbaatar Square

Sükhbaatar Square

Sükhbaatar Square is the central square of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It is named after and features a statue of Damdin Sükhbaatar, leader of Mongolia's 1921 revolution...

, the center of Ulaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar

Ulan Bator or Ulaanbaatar is the capital and largest city of Mongolia. An independent municipality, the city is not part of any province, and its population as of 2008 is over one million....

. The protests started small but grew into large crowds as January passed into February. Tensions increased as the crowds swelled and the Communist government debated crushing them with force. At one point when protesters were scuffling with soldiers and an outbreak of violence seemed likely, Zorig took a microphone, sat atop a friend's shoulders to make himself visible to the crowd, and called for calm. Violence was averted. The picture of Zorig addressing the protesters became a famous symbol of Mongolia's peaceful revolution. In March, the Mongolian Politburo resigned and one-party rule in Mongolia ended.

In June 1990, Zorig was elected into the People's Great Khural. In August 1991, he was the only prominent Mongolian politician to immediately denounce the coup attempt by Soviet hardliners against Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...

. He was elected into the State Great Khural both in 1992 and 1996, the first time as a minority member and the second time as a member of the Democratic Union that swept into power as Mongolia's first non-Communist government since the 1921 Communist revolution. Zorig questioned the pace of free-market reforms in Mongolia after the Democrats came to power, believing the reforms weren't fair and would push too many Mongolians below the poverty line. In 1998 he became Mongolia's Minister for Infrastructure.

1998 was a year of political crisis in Mongolia. Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj became the new Prime Minister of Mongolia

Prime Minister of Mongolia

The Prime Minister of Mongolia is the highest member of the Mongolian government's executive arm, and heads the Mongolian cabinet. The Prime Minister is appointed by Parliament, and can be removed by a vote of no confidence.-Powers:...

 in April 1998, and in one of his first decisions he sold the state-owned Reconstruction Bank to the private Golomt Bank

Golomt Bank

Golomt Bank is Mongolia's largest privately owned bank. It conducts banking business such as current and savings account, debit card, online banking, etc. It also issues Visa cards on its name. It was founded in 1995....

, which was owned by Mongolian Democrats. The Communists

Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party

The Mongolian People's Party formerly the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party is an ex-communist political party in Mongolia. The party is abbreviated MPP in English and ' in Mongolian...

 walked out in protest, and, without a working majority in Parliament, Elbegdorj was forced to resign. The parties conferred and in closed meetings agreed on Infrastructure Minister S. Zorig as a compromise candidate to be the new Prime Minister. The announcement was scheduled for Monday, October 5.

Assassination

Zorig was murdered on Friday, October 2, 1998. Two assailants entered his apartment, tied up his wife Bulgan, and waited. As soon as Zorig stepped through the door they jumped him, stabbing him sixteen times, including three stab wounds to the heart. Strangely, they stole a bottle of vinegar and a bottle of soy sauce from the refrigerator before fleeing the apartment. Four days after the murder, mourners crowded Sukhbaatar Square, holding candlelight vigils. His body lay in the Government House before his burial on Wednesday, October 7. The government crisis lingered for another two months until Janlavyn Narantsatsralt

Janlavyn Narantsatsralt

Janlavyn Narantsatsralt was a Mongol politician. He served as Prime Minister of Mongolia from 1998-12-09 until 1999-07-22.- Life :...

, the mayor of Ulaanbaatar, was finally named as the new Prime Minister in December 1998. Zorig's sister Sanjaasürengiin Oyuun

Sanjaasürengiin Oyuun

Sanjaasuren Oyun , also transcribed S. Oyun, is a prominent Mongolian politician. She is the leader of the Civil Will Party, and has been a Member of Parliament of Mongolia since 1998. She is also a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and is the current head of the Zorig Foundation...

 was elected to his seat in the Mongolian parliament soon after. She later served as Mongolia's Minister of Foreign Affairs.

His murder remains unsolved, although the timing led to speculation that someone with insider knowledge of Zorig's impending elevation to becoming Mongolia's Prime Minister took action to prevent it. Zorig's wife Bulgan came under suspicion and was briefly held by police, but no charges were ever brought. Oyun believes that her brother was murdered to prevent him from mounting an anti-corruption campaign as Prime Minister. A monument for him has been erected in Ulaanbaatar, across the street from the Central Post Office. The political party founded by his sister Oyuun

Sanjaasürengiin Oyuun

Sanjaasuren Oyun , also transcribed S. Oyun, is a prominent Mongolian politician. She is the leader of the Civil Will Party, and has been a Member of Parliament of Mongolia since 1998. She is also a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and is the current head of the Zorig Foundation...

, Irgenii Zorig Nam or Civic Will Party, bears a reference to his name. The Zorig Foundation

Zorig Foundation

The Zorig Foundation is a Mongolian non-profit, non-governmental organization which was established in October 1998 by close friends, collaborators and family members of Zorig Sanjaasuren. Zorig Sanjaasuren was a prominent Mongolian pro-democracy politician who in 1998 became the Minister of...

, founded in October 1998 shortly after S. Zorig's murder, exists today as "a Mongolian non-profit organization promoting democracy through social action, youth activities, and good governance programs."