The history of Mongolia - Russia's closest neighbor, long-time friend and reliable partner in many international affairs - is presented in an interesting and multifaceted way in a peer-reviewed monograph, the authors of which are well-known Russian Mongolian scholars: M. I. Golman, S. K. Roshchin, G. S. Yaskina, V. V. Graivoronsky, A. S. Zheleznyakov, Sh. G. Nadirov, S. G. Luzyanin and others. etc. This is the first major collective work that summarizes the views of Russian Mongol scholars on key events in the complex and sometimes dramatic history of Mongolia and Soviet-Russian relations in the twentieth century, taking into account the radical changes that have taken place in our countries since 1990. The last generalizing work on the history of Mongolia is The History of the Mongolian People's Republic (3rd ed.), prepared by Soviet and Mongolian scientists, published in 1983.

A peer-reviewed study has a number of features. First, it was the turn of new approaches to assessing the radically changing international situation during the period under review, the problems that sometimes arose in relations between Mongolia and Russia, and the transformations that took place in the life of Mongolian society. Secondly, the main narrative in the book focuses on the most important historical events of this state that took place in the XX century, which allowed the author's team to present the country's history as the result of 1) the centuries-old struggle of the Mongolian people for the restoration and development of national statehood and independence; 2) interaction with Russia and reliance on its support and assistance; 3) the process of accumulation of prerequisites for further progressive development of Mongolia in the XXI century.

The authors show that during the XX century. Mongolia has experienced three revolutions, three types of social development, several forms of government, significantly transformed the backward economy, enriched its ancient culture with new types and genres of European art and culture, and trained numerous national cadres of politicians, economists, teachers, doctors and other specialists. By the end of the century, the country has accumulated considerable experience in modernizing the political, economic and social foundations of society, and has become an active participant in the international community and a number of influential international organizations (UN, IMF, WB, ADB, etc.).

The content of the book is based on six key periods, in which the main problems of each of them are identified and investigated.

The first chapter introduces the reader to the internal and external conditions of Mongolian society at the beginning of the 20th century, the country's position within the Qing Empire, the struggle of the Mongolian people for national liberation, and the documents that defined Russian-Mongolian-Chinese relations before the Mongolian National Democratic Revolution of 1921. The experience of the movement of this Mongolian state from a theocratic monarchy to a republic, accumulated by the country during the 1921-1940s, is unique.

The second chapter deals with the establishment of an authoritarian regime in the country under the influence of the processes that took place in the Soviet Union, and with its direct participation. A milestone in the history of Mongolia was 1940, when the transition from national democracy to a socialist system took place. "A qualitatively new stage in the historical development of Mongolia was opening up" (p.112).

The third chapter is devoted to the foreign policy of the MNR in 1925-1939, the role of the Soviet Union, China, Japan, the Manchurian conference (1935, 1937), and the events on the Khalkhin Gol River that became the harbingers of World War II. As you know, August 2009 marks the 70th anniversary of the victorious end of this "undeclared war", which was a serious test for the Soviet Red Army and the armed forces of the MNR. As stated in the book, the victory at Khalkhin Gol confirmed the viability of the Soviet-Mongolian military-political alliance and the effectiveness of the security strategy of the USSR and the MNR, and contributed to deterring Japanese aggression (p. 146).

The fourth chapter (1940-1952) shows the experience of Mongolia's internal development and participation in the Great Patriotic War of the USSR and World War II, its contribution to the overall victory over the German and Japanese aggressors, the history of international recognition of the MNR as an independent, independent state in 1946, Soviet-Mongolian relations in the post-war period, development and results the first five-year plan for the development of the national economy and culture of the MNR (1948-1952).

The fifth chapter (1953-1984) is devoted to the analysis of the period of building socialism according to the Soviet model under the leadership of the permanent Mongolian leader Yu. Tsedenbal, the international situation and foreign policy of the MNR, the nature of Soviet-Mongolian relations, the specifics of the country's domestic political, economic, demographic, social and cultural development, the policy of cooperation between private Arat farms, industrialization and its results, and changes in the social structure of Mongolian society. Using a new, generally constructive-critical approach, the authors also showed many positive features of this experience, including the acquisition and strengthening of the state sovereignty of the MNR with the help of the USSR, the creation and development of national industry, the place and role of joint Soviet-Mongolian enterprises, the development of virgin lands, the creation of modern crop production, transport, communications, modern systems of education, health care, social assistance, culture, science, etc. It was during this period that Mongolia's political, economic and intellectual potential was laid down, with which it entered a new stage of its development, which began in 1990. (p. 303).

At the same time, despite the obvious successes, Mongolia failed to overcome the shortcomings of the former one-party political system, lagging behind in the main indicators of socio-economic development, and discontent and internal contradictions gradually grew in society. It is quite understandable why one of the largest sections of the book - chapter six, " The Transformation of Mongolian Society at the end of the 20th Century (1984-2000)" - is devoted to the events after the change of the country's leader in 1984, the Mongolian "perestroika" in the late 1980s, and the revolutionary events in Mongolia in the early 1990s that set the stage for a point in the theory and practice of "non-capitalist development of the country towards socialism" and opened a new perspective for the development of Mongolia in accordance with the trends of global human development. The main goals of the country, in accordance with the new Constitution, were to build a humane, civil democratic society and a market economy. This section shows the situation of Mongolia in the first years after the end of the Cold War and reveals the essence of the revolutionary events of 1990. The article traces the formation of new political parties, changes in the state system, and the implementation of economic reforms. It also assesses a new external factor in the country's democratic and economic transformation, including the new nature of Mongolia's relations with Russia, as well as with China, Japan, the United States and other leading countries of the world. As a result, it is rightly concluded that during the historical period under review, "fundamental changes took place in the life of the Mongolian people, which laid the prerequisites for improving their living standards and adapting the country to the conditions of globalization of the world community" (p.397).

Written on the basis of new, modern approaches and assessments, taking into account the huge changes that have taken place in Mongolia, Russia and other countries over the past 20 years, the reviewed book largely fills in the existing gaps in the history of Mongolia and Russian-Mongolian relations of the XX century. and it is a new major achievement of Russian Mongolian and Oriental studies, a worthy contribution to world science.

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