Russia's Role in the Exploration and Development of Natural Resources in Contemporary Mongolia

As a consequence of radical changes in Russia, Mongolia and the rest of the world within the last 20 years, and because of Ulaanbaatar's implementation of an open, independent, multipillar foreign policy, Mongolia now has become a crossroads at the intersection of different strategic, geopolitical, geo-economic, ecological and other interests of major international players, such as Russia, China, usa, Japan, eu, Republic of Korea (rok) and others, including their transnational giant corporations. Yet, at the same time there is no state in the contemporary world that has contributed as much as Russia to geological survey, exploration, mining and exploitation of Mongolia's natural resources (not only mineral deposits, but also lands, rivers, lakes, flora, fauna, natural pastures, wild and domestic animals, natural and historic monuments etc.) during the twentieth century and at the beginning of the new millennium. Well-known Russian-Mongolian joint ventures, such as Erdenet mining corporation llc, Mongolrostsvetmet corporation llc and some others, perform successfully and continue to be reliable pillars of Mongolia's economy. New bilateral intergovernmental agreements have been signed but their realisation is lagging behind. The process of developing Mongolia's natural resources strategy is under the influence of many internal and external factors and issues, but the final decision should be made in the interests of all Mongolian people.