Gurjav
Basic information
Interviewee ID: 990337
Name: Gurjav
Parent's name: Erdenetuya
Ovog: Muj
Sex: m
Year of Birth: 1940
Ethnicity: Halh
Additional Information
Education: tusgai dund
Notes on education:
Work: retired
Belief: Buddhist
Born in: Bugat sum, Govi-Altai aimag
Lives in: Sühbaatar sum (or part of UB), Selenge aimag
Mother's profession: herder
Father's profession: herder
Themes for this interview are:
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repressions
belief
collectivization
foreign relations
democracy
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To read a full interview with Gurjav please click on the Interview ID below.
Summary of Interview 090915A with Gurjav
The monastery called Tonhil had about 1000 lamas and the lamas were arrested and sent to the governor of Uliastai.
At that time, 37,000 lamas and over 700 monasteries and temples were destroyed. In the olden times there were grand learned lamas educated in India and Gürjav guai told us about their archives and history.
After the repressions it was prohibited to become the disciples of the lamas. Loohuuz, Nyambuu and Surmaajav were sentenced for agitating against the party and deceiving the people.
It was a great responsibility to tend the collective livestock and if the plan wasn’t fulfilled, money was taken from the salary. When the collective was first established, the people with little capital joined it voluntarily . But beginning from 1960 the collective was strengthened and it became a large and self-financing. The people had a varying salary depending on the income of the collective.
When joining the collectives, the herders voluntarily collectivised their livestock and the number of the private livestock they were allowed to keep was defined as 75 in the Gobi region and 50 in the mountainous areas. Besides collectivizing the livestock the herders were discussed at the meeting and those with bad upbringings and the lazy ones weren’t accepted by the collective, delaying their applications and criticizing them. 1955 is called the period of the triumph of the collectivization movement.
The herders had consumed much Chinese tea and tobacco but with the shutting of the Chinese border and having relations with only the Russians they were forced to learn to consume Russian tea and tobacco. Only the big dargas could visit Russia with special approval, otherwise the commoners weren’t able to visit freely.
The people who were well-off protested against the collective but high tax was imposed on the people who had private livestock. In this way they have were persecuted and oppressed and in the end they joined the collective.
Gürjav guai came to Selenge in 1987 and he is one of those who help establish democracy in the country. When the hunger strike was announced in Ulaanbaatar, it was also announced in Selenge and Hövsgöl. Democracy has brought its appropriate effect and everyone has acquired freedom and private property which was a great achievement, he concluded.
The state farm dargas have dismissed their workers because of the privatization and they sold the remaining capital and have become rich.
