Bat-Ireedüi
Basic information
Interviewee ID: 990298
Name: Bat-Ireedüi
Parent's name: Lhamjav
Ovog: [blank]
Sex: m
Year of Birth: 1968
Ethnicity: Halh
Additional Information
Education: tusgai dund
Notes on education:
Work: herder
Belief: Buddhist
Born in: Bayantsagaan sum, Bayanhongor aimag
Lives in: Bayantsagaan sum (or part of UB), Bayanhongor 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
privatization
foreign relations
democracy
urban issues
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To read a full interview with Bat-Ireedüi please click on the Interview ID below.
Summary of Interview 090805A with Bat-Ireedüi
In the 1970s when Bat-Ireedui guai was a schoolboy, the children used to purchase their books and notebooks. There were rare families with a radio set. When the art brigade came from the aimag to perform in the sum, there used to be a long queue. In the weekends the sum clubs used to show films. There were only two ails with a TV set in the sum. Information was limited at that time, said Bat-Iredui guai. Also, the people couldn’t freely express their views. In case they couldn’t fulfill the planning norms, they were punished. For example, if the herders had lost many livestock, they had to go to drive the herds. After finishing secondary school 20% of the children took the entrance examination and 50-60% of them were appointed to study in the vocational school. The moment they completed it, work was assigned to all of them. Bat-Ireedui guai went to Moscow with 50 other children to study there. The time they came to Oryal city, Nini Nikache welcomed the children. The school was very clean. The students secretly took the rare goods sold in the city across the border and they traded them. Lots of vacuum flasks and marmot skins were taken from Mongolia.
In order to travel from one aimag to another the so called ‘travel paper’ was issued by the collective darga in the socialist period.
At the beginning of the democratic revolution Bat-Ireedui guai served in the military. In the period of 1991-1993 the collectives leased their cattle. And also several ‘ails’ incorporated to form a cooperative. Eventually the livestock and the buildings were privatized. The livestock were privatized estimating ten head of livestock per person. The blue and pink coupons have all been distributed to everyone who worked in the collective. Those who weren’t aware of the situation have sold the blue and pink coupons very cheaply.
In the 1990s flour grew scarce and the city shop counters had nothing else except brown salt. There was a ration of 5 kg of flour that was distributed by coupon to each ‘ail. After several years the stores had plenty of goods but the factories had all been shut therefore there were no local products.
