Mongolia Builds a New Identity

Think of a lively, but tiny, little kid living in a tough neighborhood who is about to inherit a lot of money and you have a pretty good sense of Mongolia's situation.

When outsiders think of Mongolia, and they don't very often, the image is usually picturesque images of fast horses, endless grasslands and nomadic people living in gers or yurts. The last time Mongolia mattered much to the world was during the time of the Khans – Genghis and Kublai— and their sprawling, short-lived empire. Mongolia was a hermit kingdom that ranked up with Albania and North Korea until its democratic revolution 23 years ago.