I was eagerly waiting for this year's V-Dem Institute's report and democracy indices update. As expected, Mongolia has finally turned the corner of democratic backsliding. Having Russia & China as neighbors is never easy & Covid also had its impact. v-dem.net/documents/75...

These days all major outlets are covering the new law on "ethnic unity" and how it will erase China's minorities & even prosecute parents who "instill" detrimental views in their children. It is a sad development, the outcomes of which are long prescribed. www.economist.com/china/2026/0...

"By restricting minority language education for most subjects, the new law ensures that "Uyghurs, Tibetans & Mongolians will no longer be entitled to use their native languages for subjects in schools and universities. Instead, they will be forced to use Mandarin Chinese" www.bbc.com/news/article...

Then @sophiedrich.bsky.social writes in @thediplomat.com about the changes to law in China around languages that continue the process of erasing minority languages such as Tibetan, Mongolian & Uyghur (The tags #MilkTeaAlliance #savemongolianlanguage appeared together a few times over the years) 16/

If the Iraq war gave CCP a chance to ride the bandwagon w/ Bush & Co & crush Uighur dissent under the "terrorism" pre-text, the new regional war in Middle East is apparently giving Beijing another opportunity to finish the cultural genocide of minorities including Mongols. www.ft.com/content/94be...

Hautala, Roman. Masters of the Earth: A History of the Golden Horde, 1219–1502. London: Reaktion Books, 2026. reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/masters... #mongolsky #tengri #medievalsky

2/ My first book, “Territorial Natures: Imperial Japan and the Mongolian Question,” is coming out with @uchicagopress.bsky.social this August 2026. You can find it here: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

CfP: Reframing Tibetan and Mongol Mapmaking Practices, due March 1 Amazing opportunity for 18th and 19th c. historians to study some exquisite 20th c. artifacts at Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/de/zentralas...

Wow 😱 "Både Bondevik, Epstein og alle de andre medlemmene av rådet fikk en årlig utbetaling på 100.000 dollar fra Mongolia, ifølge interne IPI-dokumenter." www.nrk.no/norge/terje-...

Since it is #TsagaanSar here are the screenshots of the opening and closing scenes of President of Mongolia's greetings. Both in Mongol Bichig: Wishing you all to ride through the year of fire horse with high Khiimori! ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ ᠰᠢᠨ᠎ᠡ ᠶ᠋ᠢᠨ ᠮᠡᠨᠳᠦ ᠳᠡᠪᠰᠢᠭᠦᠯᠦᠶ᠎ᠡ 🫶 🙏

Russian imperialism - the metropolitan racist elite that sucks out all the resources from the periphery & then makes the colonized poor fight its fascist wars. If you serve as the Tsar's private "oprichnina" like Chechnya does today, there is a temporary respite. But that is all to it.

This #NationalInventorsDay we want to see your favourite inventions from the past! We'll start, with the 'true frame' saddle: the sturdy frame made mounted combat easier, making this invention instrumental to the rise of Mongolian steppe cultures. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

New open-access book: 𝘙𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢: 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, edited by Ariell Ahearn, Gantulga Munkherdene, and Takahiro Ozaki. Download it as PDF or Epub on our Environment & Society Portal. #EnvHum

“It has been one year since anyone saw Hada, a Mongolian writer, bookseller, and activist who was disappeared from his hospital bed on February 6, 2025,” writes Erika Nguyen. He is one of many writers who have suffered under the constant repression by the Chinese state. More: pen.org/mongolian-wr...

I am not well versed enough to gauge the Liberal Democratic Party's factional balance and the impact on Japan's foreign policy, but... I am glad that someone like Sanae Takaichi, who pays attention to the literal erasure of Inner Mongolians, has gained resounding support from Japanese electorate.

"Mongolske gjetere samarbeider i gjetergrupper, kjent som khot ail, som har røtter fra 1100-tallet. Samarbeidsformen har fått ny relevans i møte med klimaendringer og urbanisering." www.niku.no/2026/02/mong...

"Chinese government is targeting Mongolian language & culture in certain online spaces, systematically dismantling important digital communities where Mongolian identity exists, acc to PEN America & Southern Mongolian Human Rights Info Center." #SaveMongolianLanguage www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/...

Newly announced Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces includes many indigenous names. This is a result of diligent work by the minorities themselves & criticism of the racist imperialists in "sheeps skin". pace.coe.int/en/news/1015...

Apparently, internet is crowning Team Mongolia's Winter Olympic uniform for Milano-Cortina as the BEST, again. (1&2) Again - coz we "won" that category in 2024 Paris. (3&4) It is almost turning into a tradition & perhaps somebody at our Olympic committee saw this low-hanging fruit opportunity.

"At the same time, China continues to publicly display a “sanitized” or touristic version of Mongolian culture through foreign influencers and international media in order to be able to claim to international audiences that it is supportive of Mongolians’ cultural rights." #InnerMongolia

"It was formerly possible to pursue studies from kindergarten through to university entirely in Mongolian—an academic pathway traversed by this essay’s second author. That era is over." #InnerMongolia madeinchinajournal.com/2026/01/20/r...

Galleria Borghese in Rome is hosting two works of Zanabazar - the Green Tara and his selfportrait as part of the "From Mongolia to the Global Baroque" exhibit thru Feb 22, 2026. Items loaned from the Chinggis Khan museum. #mongolsky

I always say Mongolian Gen-Z is better than its previous gens. A genre bending 8 min long clip by a rap artist ThunderZ gathers 1 mln views in just 2 days from a population of 3.5 mln. Inspired by Lodongiin Tudev's novel "A Monastery without a Spire" it is a somber reminder to our collective pain.

A new article by me on @medievalists.bsky.social on the clothing and hair of (mostly upper class) medieval Mongolian women of the empire-era has now been posted. A link to it will be in the comments below.

Just published today: www.nature.com/articles/s41.... Mongol expansion; smallpox; aDNA. Lots to work w/ here. Notice to historians: This is the intersection of documentary & genetic histories that has been forecast. What are we going to do w/ it? More comments later. #histmed #EarlyModern #TengriSky

New report by CSIS on the question of Dalai Lama, has a juicy detail of how China-friendly ex-Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai's government (2021-2025) raided & pressured 10th Bogd Jebtsundamba Khutughtu's family. It's a fact nobody in Mongolia dares to admit. www.csis.org/analysis/whe...

"Supplying cannon fodder for the war is now considered the main indicator of effectiveness for Russian governors, so the fact that Buryat authorities have not reduced military payments clearly shows where their political priorities lie" #Buryat-Mongol www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/01/05/r...

"Language is not just a medium of communication—it is the vessel of memory, poetry, and worldview. By erasing Mongolian from classrooms, the CCP ensures that future generations will think, dream, and argue in Mandarin, not Mongolian." #InnerMongolia sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/how-...

The 1911 Dec 29 must be seen as the formal end of the Manchu DaiQing Empire. From this greeting by Prime Minister of Mongolia Zandanshatar Gombojav we also see how Norwegian traveller Oscar Mamen's archives documenting the period, have quickly become part of modern Mongolian nation building project.

Happy Independence day Mongolia! On this day in 1911, Mongolia enthroned the 8th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu as the Bogd Khan thus parting ways with the Manchu DaiQing Gurun. Photos from Oscar Mamen collection of that day in Urgoo, Mongols waiting for, dismouting & bowing to the Bogd Khan's procession.

Horrified to see Mikhail Boyarsky on Norwegian Public Broadcaster in Xmas eve. In Russian art scene today you'd have search really hard to find a more pro-Putin and pro-war person. Nobody really likes him anyways in his native St.Petersburg due to his moronic behavior towards anyone he meets.

Little bittersweet. Hayseed Scholar by Brent Steele has been my favorite podcast of the last few years, but unfortunately it is coming to an end. www.duckofminerva.com/2025/12/fare...

If any1 is in London on Jan 16, 2026, the Mongolian Buddha Center is hosting Geshe Lharampa Javzandorj Dulamragchaa, Supreme Abbot and Head of Gandantegchenling Monastery at the Kensington Hall for a talk on Mongolian Buddhism. #MongolSky www.eventbrite.com/e/exploring-...

This probably counts as shameless self-advertisement, but here is an interview about my ERC project.

NEW: Mongolia produces some of the world’s finest cashmere — and is being undone by it. As brands market “sustainable” fiber, herders face debt, dying pastures and a collapsing steppe, write Aïda Delpuech, Sara Manisera and Daniela Sala for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/reportage/su...

Buryat activist Viktoriya Maladaeva on hypocricy & racism of Russia's so-called opposition led by Yulia Navalnaya. Alexei was a racist imperialist. Yulia also, condescendingly laughs at & dismisses decolonial activists while sweet talking everything "European". www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/12/09/r...

December 10, 1989 marks the official start of Mongolia's Democratic Revolution. Under the shadow of Tiananmen massacres, amid the violent transition in Romania, we managed something quite commendable. Many take it for granted but looking back - how lucky we were to have done it back then.

Don't skip this Rhyming Chaos podcast, hosted by @goldkorn.bsky.social, in which journalist Soyonbo Borjgin discusses his life in Inner Mongolia, protests against CCP ethnic minority policies, and going through re-education.

📆🎁 6. Ö'ELÜN EKE Ö'elün Eke ("Mère Ö'elün"), aussi appelée Ö'elün Üjin ("Dame Ö'elün"), est la mère de Temüjin-Chinggis Khan. Elle est un personnage clé de la vie et de la carrière du conquérant, reconnue comme telle par toutes les sources officielles. 1/17 #MongolAdvent #mongolsky #calavhist

Glad to see this essay on Foreign Policy. The racist discrimination & disproportionate mobilization of Russia's minorities hasn't stopped. We can discuss the "degree" of this essay's arguments, but the fundamentals remain true - Empires will collapse. foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/28/r...

Really enjoyed the Manchu crash course by @iskandarding.bsky.social Mongolia has quite a few Manchu experts, one of whom - Oyunjargal Ochir in her interview to Mongolian National Broadcaster would say "Manchu is the easiest foreign language to learn for Mongols". www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt64...

Take time to read Soyonbo Borjigin's personal essay on his career as a journalist in Inner Mongolia. Reads like a Murakami novel. Intimate and fluent in detailing the cultural, the political and everything else in the liminal. #mongolsky www.equator.org/articles/the...

A way to win the tournament by beating a reigning Yokozuna - Hoshoryu Byambasuren twice! As we say in Mongolian wrestling - Bokh: "You become Avarga (champ) by beating an Avarga"! May Aonishiki follow the footsteps of many Mongolian rikishi and become the next Yokozuna!

Shakily trying to recall classical Mongolian to write book inscriptions

Tenure-track position (Associate Professor/Professor) at Tohoku University, Center for NorthEast Asian Studies, Basic Research Division for Mongolian and Central Asian Studies. Need Mongolian or other CA language on top of Japanese. Deadline March 31, 2026. www2.cneas.tohoku.ac.jp/news/news251...

Physical Asia is a rare show allowing us - Asians, to see each other thru non-eurocentric gaze & it seems everyone is enjoying it. So fun to observe the different approaches to teamwork & national traits coming thru. Judging from socmed Team Mongolia is winning hearts & minds wide & deep. :)))

Lovely NHK documentary of rural Mongolian boys practicing Sumo alongside Mongol Bokh, chasing their dream to become professional rikishi one day following the footsteps of so many Mongolian Yokozunas. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg9w...

Cool PhD opportunity in Sweden at "Sociology of Authoritarian Law in Eurasia (SOCIAL) MSCA Doctoral Networks" research project, seeking Central Asia focused candidate. If were to apply I'd add CCP & United Russia's activities in CA + Mongolia as data points on SCO, EAEC. www.sh.se/om-oss/det-h...