Russian head of state Vladimir Putin justifies his war in Ukraine with history. However, others could also make such claims. Like the former president of Mongolia is doing now, for example.
If Putin can do it, I can do it too, the former President of Mongolia, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, may have thought. Following Russian leader Tucker Carlson’s claim that Russia has a historical claim to Ukraine, Elbegdorj via X (formerly Twitter) shows a world map showing Mongolia’s former borders. And lo and behold: large parts of today’s Russia were not Russian at all back then.
Mongolia does not make any new territorial claims
The conversation by the right-wing US moderator Carlson began with Putin’s extremely long comments on the history of Russia and Ukraine. The president argued that, from his perspective, Russians and Ukrainians are a common people. He describes the “Maidan Revolution” in Ukraine in 2014 as a “coup” that forced him to act. “Ukraine posed a threat to Crimea, which we had to take under our protection.” Since then, it has been about the denazification of Ukraine, which seems to justify an attack for the Kremlin boss.
Elbegdorj now shows world maps showing the size of the former Mongolian world empire. In addition to Asia, it also includes huge parts of what is now Russia’s western territory. Under the ruler Genghis Khan and his successors, Mongolia expanded into what was once the largest contiguous territory in world history until the 14th century. Only the British colonial empire extended over an even larger territory at the beginning of the 20th century.
No territorial claims like Vladimir Putin
Elbegdorj then rejects the idea of deriving current territorial claims from this former greatness – similar to what Putin tried to do – with the words: “Don’t worry. We are a peaceful and free nation,” which can be understood as a direct swipe at Russia’s president.
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Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
