A bronze sculpture of Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan has been unveiled at Marble Arch in central London.

The 16ft tall (5m) statue captures the legendary leader wearing Mongolian armour on his steed.

The sculpture by artist Dashi Namdakov will stand next to Cumberland Gate until early September.

The artist, who had an interest in the nomadic tribes of Mongolia, wanted to honour the warrior on the 850th anniversary of his birth.

He said: “If I wanted to show him as a warrior I would have shown him as a warrior, but he is a thinker in this case. He is a divine figure in my country.”

Namdakov was born in a Siberian village and brought up in the Buryat Buddhist culture.

His village was close to the area which was historically controlled by nomadic Mongol tribes and which led to his interest in Buryat and Mongol cultures.

Westminster Council selected the statue as part of its ongoing City of Sculpture festival, which was launched in 2010.

The festival aims to install works of art across the borough in the run-up to the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the capital.

Halcyon Gallery said the sculpture was specially commissioned for Marble Arch.

The artwork captures the intricate details of the medieval Mongolian armour and dress, including the golden plaques on the livery and the plaited hair.

The decision to depict the warrior on his horse embodies “the very essence of nomadism and brings the culture of the ancient Mongols directly to the public”, the gallery said.

The sculpture’s unveiling comes ahead of an exhibition by the artist in the gallery in Mayfair next month.

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia (AP) — Scores of police arrested Mongolia’s former president, raiding a house in the capital at dawn Friday after he refused investigators’ summons to answer questions about corruption charges, law enforcement officials said.

Anti-corruption investigators initially tried to arrest Enkhbayar Nambar on Thursday night. They stopped the former president’s car but were foiled by his bodyguards who took him to a nearby compound, setting up a standoff that ended with the raid, police said.

Now an opposition politician, Enkhbayar was a formidable figure in the robust democracy of Mongolia, a resource-rich but largely poor country between China and Russia. Serving as prime minister and then president for most of a decade until losing office in 2009, he presided over a period of robust growth but also a widening wealth gap and, critics said, runaway corruption.

Enkhbayar was arrested for questioning in a serious corruption case, the head of the Independent Agency Against Corruption, E. Ambarbat, told reporters. Though he did not elaborate, the agency said the corruption involved the illegal privatization of a government-owned hotel.

“We have been investigating the corruption case involving Enkhbayar for a year. However, he never showed up for questioning. We had asked him often to come for questioning,” Ambarbat said.

While he and other authorities said the arrest was legal, having been backed by a court order, Enkhbayar’s supporters said it violated the former president’s immunity and was politically motivated.

After narrowly losing re-election as president in 2009, Enkhbayar had formed a new opposition party and was contesting a parliament seat in June elections.

Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press.

Source: UB Post, 03/05/2012

On Monday, Education, Culture and Science Minister Yo.Otgonbayar and Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Wang Xiaolong signed an agreement to organize “Culture Months” in Mongolia and in China.

In accordance of the agreement, culture month of Mongolia will be organized in China in April and culture month of China will be organized in Mongolia in August. The nations will advertise their culture for a month. The two sides will perform art performances, display of art exhibits and other arrangements.

Minister Yo.Otgonbayar stated that this campaign gives opportunity to introduce cultural rich tradition of the two nations to each other during a month of culture.

Ambassador Wang Xiaolong told that arrangements of culture months will be significant event for the two sides. It will also develop strategic partnership relations that have been signed by two nations in 2011. Cultural arrangements have aimed to improve bilateral ties and show Chinese history and culture to Mongolia.

Mongolia and China have established diplomatic relations on October 16, 1949 and the two nations have opened their embassies in Ulaanbaatar and in Beijing in 1950. Some 60 talks and negotiations are being regulated the two countries’ ties and cooperation issues at present.

The mongolian “Red List of Fishes”, which catalogs fish known to live in the counrty, states that nearly a quarter of mongolian fish species are facing a high risk of extinction and are considered threatened. A further 6% are listed as “near threatened”.
the Siberian Sturgeon, Bobi loach, Amur grayling and Taimen are just a few of the endangered species. While their habitats range from the Amur to the Onon rivers, the crisis is most critical in the waters of northern and eastern Mongolia. the Eg-Uur watershed where the 2 rivers meet in northern Mongolia is home to one of the largest populations of adult taimen (it is the largest Salmanoid sepcies and can grow to over 2 m and 50 kg. They are naturally rare).

Aditionally, the fish ressources of the Amur ruver have declined dramatically during the past century, (according to russian sources from 1910, the total catch of salmon in the Amur was over 100.000 tons. These number have decreased more than 10 fold, demonstrating the critical condition of Amur fishery).
The demand for caviar fish such as salmon and sturgeon, has inscreased in foreign markets such as China and Russia, aswell as in Mongolia. Traditionally, fish has not featured in the Mongolian diet, sidelined by domesticated livestock. However, thedemand has risen, not only because of resident and touring foreigners, but also because of the increased diversification of the mongolian diet itself.

Unregulated and illegal commercial fishing has risen in an attempt to accomodate demand, threatening the industry. Globally, overfishing has been identified as the most critical issue facing the world’s aquatic and marine ecosystems. The Mongolian Law on Hunting, established in 1995, has had a positive impact on the conservation of fish species. However, the prevention of illegal fishing is difficult, as the system of law enforcement remains inefficient and underfunded.
Organizations such as “Taimen Conservation Fund” are dedicated to preservation of the Taimen through habitat improvement, community development, and research projects.
The Mongolian Government, World Bank, and the Global Environmental Facility also support long-term projects in the hope of ensuring the Taimen will be preserved for future generations. Habitat degradation also poses a major threat. More and more of Mongolia’s land is used for private scetor mining projects. According to the “Red List”, extraction processes used in mining increase the sediment load in rivers, which can disrupt feeding, compromise reproduction, and cause habitat loss. Hard-rock mining also uses mercury or cyanide to extract gold, threatening river systems with organic pollution.

On top of Mongolia’s own issues, a predicted global reduction in the world’s fresh water sources could have a profound effect on the ecosystem. This would have grave consequences for the country’s aquatuc sepcies, particularly fish that inhabit in the Gobi desert.
According to the “Fish and Fishery Study in Mongolia”, better control and management of natural fishery resources is essential for protection of the industry. In order to maintain the country’s capacity for fishery management and development, a number of issues need to be addressed. These include the “protection of breeding stocks, improved collaboration between fishrman and fishery scientists and the balanced development of rivers systems”.
Solving Mongolia’s overfishing problems will require an assessment of the way natural resources are delegated. The ecological impacts over consumption are massive, and steps should be taken to ensure the future of Mongolia’s rich biodiversity.

(Article extracted from the UB Post, Febrary, 3rd)

if you want to know more about struggle against mining pollution, see the page of this frensh association involved in Mongolia:

http://www.leautarit.com/

“Singer from Taiga” was the first film from Mongoli to be entered in 18-years history of the festival. “I was very excited about it, said Zolijargal, but more than my excitement, I think our film showed the world that some Mongolian traditions and cultures are in danger of being forgotten. I was happy to have a chance to introduce Mongolia to so many people.”

Thousands of miles from the frozen lakes of  Huvsgul province, amidst the hustle of NY city, the story of generational divides, shifting cultures, and disappearing art forms resonated with audiences as it collected the prize for Best Documentary.
The success of the film can be attributed, at least in part, to the similarities of Zolijargal and Tsogbadrakh, filmmaker and subject. Both passionate story tellers in their own right who selflessly and tirelessly use their chosen form of expression to bring Mongolian heritage to others.

You can follow this link to see the movie trailer:

And in order to have more information about Mongolian Intangible Cultural Heritage, let’s see UNESCO pages:

http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00311&cp=MN&topic=nat_measure

Placed here with honor were coat of arms, flags, banners, a seal and helmet that were used at state ceremonies; samples of spas, seals and stamps created and revered by Vhinggis Khan, his four sons and by the Khan dynasty, as well as many other valuable exhibits related to the traditions and history of the nation. By government resolution 136 of 2005, it was decided to build the Museum as part of the Chinggis Khan complex memorial that was constructed in front of the State House.

Many members of government and parliament, whose E.Otgonbayar, Minister of education, culture and science, participated in the opening ceremony. Indeed, the government press and information service reported that the Mongol State History Museum will be a source of history and the culture of Mongolian people, of chronology of national freedom, independence, sovereignty, teritorial integrity, and the heroic deeds of ancestors.

Nevertheless, in order to make the museum open to the public, the government administration is completing draft amendments to the law on the State Palace, relevant laws and regulations, and making additional revisions.

This is a conceptual and political tendancy based on the elitism rejection toward art, and the social distinction frequently associated with artistics behaviour, especially when the installation are in a museum. Here, there is no social determination in access to art; only natural chance circumstances which can influence the contemplation’s perspective.

The Biennial will discuss a contemporary definition of what Land Art can reveal about Art and Politics. Global change in politics, the perspective of ecology in 21st century and a new vision of diversity require a creative understanding.

During the residency, (August 6-18th 2012), artists have the opportunity to realize side specific works. Artists are expected to interact with the environment of the nature reserve and free in the choice of materials and artistics expressions (installation/performance/earth art/organic art/sculpture etc).

A final exhibition including a catalogue and an according Symposium will present a documentation of the realized works in the National Mongolian Modern Art Gallery in Ulaanbaatar