BEIJING—Mongolia on Monday requested further assistance from Russia, the United Kingdom, and other nations in order to repatriate hundreds of cultural artifacts, some of which date back over two millennia.
The Mongolian government stated in a statement that key artifacts include a letter from Mongolia's first prime minister declaring independence from China's Manchu dynasty, which is presently housed at the British Library in London.
The Museum of Edinburgh also houses artifacts related with the Persian politician Rashid al-Din, who worked in the courts of various Mongol monarchs of Persia in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Many nations, notably former European imperial colonies, have demanded the repatriation of cultural and historical artifacts taken away years ago, many of which are stored in museums hesitant to cede their collections.
Mongolia has made some progress in reclaiming its cultural artifacts. The United States recovered dinosaur fossils obtained from Mongolia earlier this year, including the skull of an alioramus, a smaller counterpart of a tyrannosaurus rex that lived 70 million years ago.
Mongolia's Culture Minister Nomin Chinbat also requested Moscow's assistance in identifying and returning artifacts sent to Russia for research and restoration purposes a century ago, including artifacts from the Hunnu dynasty 2,000 years ago excavated from the Noyon Uul burial site by Russian explorer Pyotr Kozlov in the 1920s.
“I thank the countries who have supported Mongolia with this important work so far, and look forward to working with more of our international partners on these important initiatives in the spirit of friendship and mutual respect,” Ms. Chinbat said.
