Oral History of Twentieth Century Mongolia

NB: Please visit the full Oral History website here

*Currently some pages on the above site including the interviews and search functions are undergoing maintenance, we will update this page when this is complete

Welcome to the Oral History of Twentieth Century Mongolia, a database of the recollections of the lives and times of Mongolians, from herders to prominent politicians as they shaped and were shaped by the events of the twentieth century, which saw Mongolia move from being a part of the Qing Empire to an aristocratic theocracy to Soviet-style socialism and democracy.

The project has collected over 600 interviews on a variety of themes and about a wide range of life experiences during Mongolia's turbulent twentieth century. The interviews range from about one hour in length to over five hours long and were conducted all across Mongolia. The oldest person interviewed was born in 1911, the youngest in 1980. Some have PhDs, some have almost no education.

All the interviews are available on-line, and searchable through a variety of means. The menus on the right should help you navigate through sections of the website that include searching / browsing the interviews themselves, viewing pictures and documents relating to the project, learning more about Mongolia, and reading about the project itself and the team that carried it out.

If you are visiting us for the first time, we'd suggest looking at the Website Tips to learn a bit more about how best to use the website, and what it offers.

The Oral History of Twentieth Century Mongolia was launched in July 2007 as a collaborative project between the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit (MIASU) of the University of Cambridge and the National University of Mongolia with funding from the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

We invite you to explore.