Peljidiin Genden - Genden Resists Stalin

Genden Resists Stalin

Weary of growing Soviet domination, Genden worked to postpone both a 1934 bilateral Gentlemen’s Agreement in which the USSR promised the Soviet protection of Mongolia in the event of an invasion as well as the 1936 “Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation” that allowed Soviet troops to be stationed in Mongolia. Genden’s foreign policy revolved around exploiting USSR-Japanese tensions to Mongolia’s benefit.

Genden likewise hesitated on Stalin’s recommendations that he elevated Mongolia’s internal affairs committee to a fully independent ministry and that he increased the size of Mongolia’s military. Ties between Stalin and Genden began to fray as early as 1934 when, at a meeting with Genden in Moscow, Stalin pressured him to destroy Mongolia’s Buddhist clergies by exterminating more than 100,000 of the country’s lamas, which Stalin called “the enemies within”.

A year later, in late 1935, Genden was called back to Moscow where Stalin again rebuked him for failing to act on his guidelines. Later, heavily intoxicated Genden publicly scolded Stalin at a Mongolian Embassy reception, shouting “You bloody Georgian, you have become a virtual Russian Czar”. Genden then allegedly snatched Stalin’s pipe and smashed it, while hinting that Mongolia was considering an alliance with Japan.