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The Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (Mongolian: Mongol Ardyn Khuv'sgatt Nam, Монгол Ардын Хувьсгалт Нам) is a political party in Mongolia. The party is abbreviated MPRP in English and MAKN in the transliterated Mongolian form.
The party was the ruling party in Mongolia from 1921 until 1996 (with no other political parties allowed until 1990) and from 2000 until 2004. The current President, Natsagiyn Bagabandi, is a member of the party. The party also holds nearly half of the seats in the State Great Hural, where it is lef by former Prime Minister Nambaryn Enkhbayar, who has now become Speaker of Parliament. The party is currently in a power-sharing arrangement with the other main bloc, but does not hold the post of Prime Minister.
The party was established on March 1, 1921, and is claimed to have been the first real political party in Mongolia. It was originally known simply as the Mongolian People's Party, but added the word "Revolutionary" at a conference in 1924. The organizational structure was modeled closely on that of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which the party followed closely.
The early days of the party were marked with considerable controversy, often related to Mongolia's relationship to the Soviet Union; eventually, the pro-Soviet faction was triumphant, and more independent-minded leaders such as Dogsomyn Bodoo and Peljidiyn Genden were either sidelined or executed. Genden's fall resulted in the rise of Horloogiyn Choybalsan, who was a strong follower of Joseph Stalin and is generally regarded as the most brutal of the communist-era leaders. Many members of the party were purged during this period, primarily supporters of Genden's faction.
Choybalsan was followed by Yumjaagiyn Tsedenbal, who was Prime Minister of Mongolia for twenty-two years (the longest time served by any Prime Minister). Tsedenbal was considerably more moderate than Choybalsan, and implemented policies similar to those of new Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
In the 1990s, Mongolia began to modernize its political system, implementing many of the reforms seen in the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, the People's Revolutionary Party remained in office until 1996, when the Mongolian Democratic Union won power.
Under the leadership of Nambaryn Enkhbayar, the party modernized its image and appeared to shed many of the legacies of communism. Today, the party portrays itself as a social democratic organization, and its leader claims to be an admirer of Britain's Tony Blair. Based on this image, it won a landslide victory in the 2000 elections.
Critics of the party, however, allege that its "reform" was illusionary, and that the party's success was the result of better public relations rather than any real change. In particular, the party's critics have alleged that the People's Revolutionary Party sought to acquire and censor television and print media, and there were claims of opposition journalists being imprisoned. A number of prominent government opponents, such as General Baatar (former head of Mongolia's intelligence agency), Gundalia Lamjav (an MP), and B. Baybayar (a former finance minister), were arrested - the government claimed that they were participating in illegal acts, but others say that they were arrested for their political views.
The election of June 27, 2004, in which Mongolians voted in record numbers, saw a major defeat for the People's Revolutionary Party, which lost a total of 35 seats (47% of what it had previously held). The opposition bloc did not gain an outright majority, however, and there has been a power-sharing agreement in place between the MPRP and its opponents since August 2004.
See also
External links - Official website (http://www.mprp.mn/english/info.php) (English version)
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