Soviet-Mongolian Cooperation and Mongolia’s Aid to the USSR during the Great Patriotic War

Despite the trade and mutual assistance between the USSR and Mongolia during World War II, this topic remains understudied. However, Russian-Mongolian cooperation is a relevant issue against the background of current global challenges. The article describes the role of the city of Biysk as a strategic trade point and its branch of the All-Union State Office for Livestock Import (Skotoimport) in 1941–1945. It also focuses on the personality of Borondongiin Luvsan, a legendary Mongolian camel caravan leader. The study relied on the archive of the Biysk city administration and the archive of the Republic of Altai, as well as on various historiographical publications and monographs. Biysk, where the railway leading to the Chuya Highway began, played a crucial role in the partial processing and further transportation of goods from Mongolia. Its branch of the Skotoimport agency was essential to the cooperation between the USSR and Mongolia, providing assistance in transporting people and cargo to Biysk. The Biysk meat processing plant was an important stakeholder in this wartime cooperation. Mongolia was involved in the All-Union movement "Everything for the Front, Everything for Victory!" and expanded its cooperation throughout the war. The research revealed a lack of archival documents concerning the caravan of 1,200 camels that arrived in Biysk in the winter of 1943.

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