Sugir
Basic information
Interviewee ID: 990046
Name: Sugir
Parent's name: Hüühendüü
Ovog: Ih Ölziit
Sex: m
Year of Birth: 1963
Ethnicity: Halh
Additional Information
Education: higher
Notes on education:
Work: sumyn zasag darga
Belief: Buddhist
Born in: Manlai sum, Ömnögovi aimag
Lives in: Manlai sum (or part of UB), Ömnögovi aimag
Mother's profession: herder
Father's profession: herder
Themes for this interview are:
(Please click on a theme to see more interviews on that topic)
education / cultural production
childhood
work
family
privatization
military
Alternative keywords suggested by readers for this interview are: (Please click on a keyword to see more interviews, if any, on that topic)
democracy
contemporary Mongolia
military service
7th meeting of the federation of cooperatives
education
boarding school
socialist awards
climate change
place names
childhood
education
army
brigade
socialism
democracy
morality
press
cultural centre
hunting
climate change
To read a full interview with Sugir please click on the Interview ID below.
Summary of Interview 080810A with Sugir
Sugirtai is one of eleven children in his family. His parents were herders. Sugirtai started elementary school at the age of nine in Manlai sum. When he was eighteen he was recruited to the army, while still in high school. After the army, Sugirtai worked in the Ögöömör brigade in his native sum for 17 years. During this time he finished the 10th grade and obtained higher education. The last 14 years he was the darga of the brigade. Since 2000 he has been working as the governor of Manlai sum.
Sugirtai discusses a broad variety of topics, including: his childhood years, the dormitory where he stayed as a schoolboy, the brigade where he worked, culture and education in socialism, his army years, hunting, climate change, his parents, socialism, democracy, and morality. He tells that in socialism times children were supposed to start elementary school at the age of eight. His parents however chose to send him later, agreeing to pay the fine of 200 tögrögs to the state, for their needed his help at home. When he finished the ninth grade, he was recruited to the army on the pretext that he was already eighteen. Sugirtai has a positive memory of state socialism. He recalls that during that time Mongolia met all its domestic demands for goods and products, people respected their elders and superiors, food in school dormitories was good, education was excellent, and there were public bathrooms in every sum. In contrast, with the beginning of democracy people started enjoying ‘too much freedom’, most of the factories closed their doors, the quality of education worsened, even food in school dormitories became worse, public bathrooms closed down. Sugirtai also says that he does not want to blame democracy as such, but want to blame the situation when people misunderstood democracy as unrestricted freedom. If people do not respect their state, how they can possibly respect their parents and siblings at home? One of the reasons why the youth became disobedient Sugirtai sees in the bad press. If the press had disseminated good and positive news, the situation would have been different.
