Sükhbaatar

When the people's government acquired formal standing on 11 July 1921 and Sükhbaatar became minister of the army, its position was far from secure. Rumours of counter-revolutionary plots multiplied, and in 1922 Bodoo, Chagdarjav, Da Lama Puntsagdorj and others were executed on charges of collusion with internal and external enemies of the new state. Russian-language accounts record that Danzan, who had pushed for their execution, was himself subsequently removed from power. Some Mongolian-language sources state that the executions at Shar Khad were carried out on Sükhbaatar's personal order, but English- and Russian-language accounts report only that the executions took place and name no ordering authority, so this is not presented here as established fact. On 10 January 1922 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In early 1923, after another alleged coup plot was uncovered ahead of Tsagaan Sar, the state of alert continued; he collapsed after inspecting the guards on the night of 14–15 February and died six days later, on 20 February, at the age of thirty. The poison allegation was raised in the 1940s under Choibalsan's rule and is still repeated by some in Mongolia, while other historians say he died of pneumonia; neither version has been officially proven. Elbeg Rinchino, then chairman of the Military Council, the highest authority in the country, presided over the funeral and burial.