D. Luvsansharav — Ex-Monk and Party Activist

Introduction. In the 20th century, Mongolia witnessed the emergence of a number of party activists and statesmen whose formally differing life paths and careers largely resulted in essentially similar repressions experienced. Those included a group of party executives with monastic backgrounds and good command of foreign languages. And it is D. Luvsansharav who had spent twenty years in Mӧrӧn Monastery that attracts special attention. It is unknown what (and whether at all) he had studied at the monastic college ― a largest one in the country ― but his party comrades (and himself) considered him to be an expert in the Lamaist question. On graduation from the Communist University of the Toilers of the East (1928–1929), he begins a political career, the pinnacle of which being his work at the Lamaist Commission that primarily aimed to eradicate reactionist Lamaist elements (i.e., the whole of Buddhist clergy as such), and his participation in the Plenipotentiary Commission (a so called ‘troika’) that put to death hundreds and even thousands of citizens, destroyed some precious items of material and traditional culture. Goals. The paper seeks to reveal the ex-monk’s impact in party arrangements, interpret certain personal motives to have underlain the transformation. Materials. The work analyzes materials stored at the Central Archive of the Federal Security Service and contained in Mongolia in Documents of the Comintern (vols. 1, 2), other scholarly sources. Results. The Mongolian Revolution of 1921 uncovered the lack of competent personnel which lead to a search of ‘individuals suitable for administrative, economic, and military work’ not only among commoners but also monks and nobility, resulting in that the recruited executives differed both in skills and worldviews. The context proved favorable enough to D. Luvsansharav who ― according to archival notes ― was quite an ambiguous and contradictive figure. His party comrades and official secretaries of the Eastern Executive Committee of the Communist International characterized him as a definitely ambitious but short-tempered, awkward, and irresolute person in a supporting role. However, the ex-cleric became a leading party activist, and such a dramatic change in his life and career may have stemmed from religious underachievement, dissatisfaction with the position he had held in the large Mongolian monastery, or some psychological aspects. Still, the harsh and severe period of national history could actually give rise to changes in his ideological views and mentality (when personal benefits and career opportunities were viewed by some as priorities).

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