In this episode, we discuss parliament’s latest budget hearing, where New Kharkhorum, President Khurelsukh’s planned city in the Orkhon Valley, finally faced scrutiny. MP Tsenguun calls it “an empty city where nobody lives,” yet it already has four administrative bodies on the public payroll, and MNT 7.7 billion is proposed to run them next year. From Maidar City to Oyun-Erdene’s 14 mega projects and Uchral’s green data centers, Mongolia’s grand ambitions look good on paper but too often become money sinks that leave the public holding the bill. So is New Kharkhorum a city in the making, or just another grand idea politicians need to stop pursuing?

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Three Universals: Shines

• The city on the steppe shines
• The city’s payroll shines
• But the city windows are unlikely to shine.

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Hosts: Anand, Dolgion, Julian

Keywords: Mongolia | New Kharkhorum | mega projects | Khurelsukh | state budget | Orkhon Valley | Maidar City | Erdenet | corruption | urban planning

2027 will be an interesting year for Mongolia as the presidential election kicks off. All the while there appears to be no clear incumbent on the ballot for the first time in years. Current President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa is constitutionally barred from a second term, and that vacancy has already set off quiet jockeying among the hopefuls in his party—there are few names that have been floated as potentials to represent the Mongolian People's Party.

Anand and Julian break down the field: who's in contention for the MPP, who might champion the Democratic Party, whether the HUN Party has any credible play left after neutering its own outsider image while in the coalition, and even which personalities look to be absent from contention.

Note: This episode was recorded before the dismissal of Justice Minister Amarsaikhan Sainbuyan. His candidacy is discussed here as an active possibility. As such, we will definitely revisit the topic a few more times before the election. Stay tuned for our follow-up coverage.

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Pocketcast | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Hosts: Anand, Julian

Keywords: Mongolia | presidential election 2027 | MPP | Democratic Party | Khurelsukh Ukhnaa | Battsetseg Batmunkh | Zandanshatar Gombojov | Mongolian politics

A philosopher says, "There are no such people as Mongolians." Two weeks later, he's in pretrial detention.

Molor-Erdene—a controversial Mongolian philosopher and public intellectual—was detained on September 2nd under Article 19.9 of the Criminal Code, which covers "undermining national unity," a charge carrying a sentence of five to twelve years. His alleged crime: stating on a Facebook talk show that "Mongolians" as a people don't exist, that Chinggis Khan wasn't Mongol, and that Mongolia's historical identity is a construction that holds the country back from thinking about its future.

We break down what Molor-Erdene actually argued, and was his argument were sufficient to be detained. More importantly, we examine what this case reveals about the state of free speech in Mongolia: a "national unity" law loosely used to undermine freedom of speech, a Justice Minister with a pattern of deploying legal power against critics, and a political environment where the chilling effect may already be doing its job.

We also ask: where was the Justice Minister when an MP was on attacking Mongolia's Kazakh minority with racist language? Why is abstract philosophical provocation a criminal matter, but concrete ethnic discrimination is not?

NOTE: Minister of Justice, S Amarsaikhan was dismissed on Sept. 16 on unrelated issues discussed in this episode.

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And If you have suggestions for the show get in touch at info[at]agulamedia.com

And you can support us at Buy Me a Coffee — buymeacoffee.com/greatstatemural — thank you. or Donate directly to our bank account: MN790015003105153063

Hosts: Anand, Dolgion, Julian

Keywords: Mongolia | free speech | national unity | Molor-Erdene | Amarsaikhan | censorship | authoritarianism | Freedom of Speech | Chinggis Khaan|