Eighty years have passed since Mongolia executed huge numbers of Buddhist monks and other ‘enemies of the state’. The purges took place from 1937-1939 at the height of political persecution in Mongolia during the Stalinist era. Although mass arrests and executions stopped in 1939, political repression continued until 1990 when anyone branded a political dissident was  fired from their jobs and suffered discrimination.

In 1996, for first time, the Mongolian Government officially apologised to the victims’ descendants. In 1998 the Mongolian Parliament (State Great Khural) passed a law on rehabilitation and granting compensation to victims of political repression. Since then, over 18000 people, the victims of political repression and their descendants, have received compensation totalling  MNT 16.4 billion; apartments have been given to 153 people, money for buying apartments has been provided for 208 people and a total of MNT 3.4 billion aid has been offered to 357 people.

Mongolia annually observes a day of remembrance on September 10th for the country’s victims of political persecution.