An Assetto Corsa League For The Drivers, By The Drivers.
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Sunset Racing League is back with Season 8, and we're on the lookout for passionate sim racing drivers like you to join us on the grid! For Season 8 we are running 2 championships with 10 races each. We are a North American based league, so all times are in EST. Details below:

Formula 1 2010 Championship

Master the RSS 2010 Formula 1 as you battle it out on iconic tracks from the Formula 1 circuit. Races are every Tuesday, at 9 PM EST and run for 100km + 1 lap.
Formula 1 Calendar

Ferrari GT Challenge

Our drivers have chosen the Ferrari 488 GTE Evo for this season's Sports Car championship. Join us for some intense wheel to wheel action every Saturday at 7 PM EST. The Sports Car races run for 45min + 1 lap.
Ferrari GT Challenge Calendar
Whether you're a seasoned pro or a rookie looking to make a name for yourself, Sunset Racing League offers a competitive yet welcoming environment for all skill levels. Come join us in the fun of Season 8 and show us what you got!
Other league features:

• Dedicated Race Directors & Safety Car driver with the ability to call full safety cars.
• Rolling Starts for our Sports Car championship.
• Ability to suggest and vote on series for the following season - all of our series are suggested and selected by our drivers.
• A full stewarding system with anonymous incident reports & deliberation to ensure fair and safe environment for everyone.
• A chill but competitive atmosphere!

How to join us?
You can join our discord here: Join SRL Discord
Season 8 starts this Saturday, 5/4. Races are held at 9 PM EST on Tuesdays for Formula 1 and 7 PM EST on Saturdays for Ferrari GT Challenge.

Here are some of the most important things to know about Indian culture:
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https://preview.redd.it/wsbyw4nzn9xc1.jpg?width=576&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=992250ed2065a2d420b9c747901e4fc901157f65
Diversity:
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• Religion: India is incredibly diverse, with Hinduism being the predominant religion, followed by Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Understanding this religious landscape is crucial to appreciating the cultural tapestry.
• Languages: India boasts a multitude of languages, with Hindi being the official language and English widely spoken. However, regional languages like Tamil, Bengali, Telugu, and Marathi are prominent in their respective areas.

Family and Community:
​

• Importance of Family: The family unit holds immense significance in Indian culture. Extended families often live together, and respecting elders is paramount.
• Community Focus: There's a strong sense of community, with festivals and celebrations often involving extended families and neighbors.

Social Norms and Customs:
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• Greetings: The traditional greeting is a "Namaste," a slight bow with palms together near the chest. Physical greetings can vary between regions and genders.
• Dress Code: Modesty is generally valued in clothing, especially when visiting religious places. Opt for loose-fitting clothes that cover shoulders and knees.
• Food Culture: Food is a big part of Indian life, with a vast array of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. Spices are a defining characteristic, and be aware that some regions have dietary restrictions.
• Body Language: Public displays of affection are less common in India. Using your right hand for eating and receiving things is considered polite.

Religion and Spirituality:
​

• Religious Significance: Religion plays a central role in Indian life, influencing festivals, traditions, and social norms. Understanding basic religious concepts can enhance your understanding of the culture.
• Festivals: India has a vibrant calendar of festivals throughout the year, each with its unique customs and traditions. These festivals celebrate religion, harvest, and mythology.

Remember: India is a vast country with regional variations. These are general pointers, and it's always best to be respectful and observe local customs when traveling or interacting with people from India.

A very brief summary of this guide is available at the very bottom.
This guide is not for beginners that are just starting out. I assume you have basic navigational understanding of Software Inc's menus. I won't be going into detail where exactly each button is, and what each menu is for. For example, when I say "check the balance of XYZ company", I assume you know that you need to open up the "All Companies" menu, and click on "Chart". I highly recommend playing the game as intended before manipulating stocks - that's where the most of the fun lies!
The software Inc stock market is broken.
I originally came across this video on manipulating the stock market. I decided to try it out myself. After around 3 hours of gameplay, i managed to generate 218 million in company value within 10 years without actually releasing any software (and another 70 million in the next 2 years simply in stock value and dividends).
Behold, Asset Manager Inc! Just your casual multi-hundred million dollar company in an empty garage.
It's actually pretty simple, I managed to accomplish this on my first attempt. There are game mechanics which we can exploit, and the extremely high predictability of the revenue of companies simply by watching short term trends makes decision making rather risk free. So here we go!
What are Stocks?
From my understanding, stocks are a percentage of a company you can own. They initally cost money to purchase, and when the company grows, so does your stock value. For example, if you've bought $100 in stocks, and the company value doubles, your stock will now be worth $200. tada, $100 profit!
In addition, dividends are a % of profit the company pays you, as a stock owner. For example, if you own 50% of a company, then when they earn 1 million dollars, they'll pay you 500k in dividends. If there are multiple stock owners, the dividends simply get split among the stock owners based on what % of shares they own.
Before the game:
Your character can literally have any skill, any traits, any specializations. His sole purpose is to sit on the picnic table next to Garage Inc until his buttocks leave an indent on the wood over the course of 10 years (or vice versa, lmao).
Pick one day per month - you're gonna be speeding through the months.
Pick impossible mode. Don't worry if you struggle on easier modes making a software company - All the software development debuffs are useless if there is no software development to debuff in the first place. It is also because you cannot buy stocks with borrowed money. In very hard mode, all starting money is borrowed so you cannot immediately invest and that's no fun! In Medium or hard mode, the starting money is so little, the start will be very slow. Hence, Impossible mode is actually easier than Easy mode with this playstyle - the 100k starting funds gives you a lot to work with.
The starting time does not matter. Throughout examples in this guide, I picked 2010 simply because I never have before, I always pick 1980 when I actually make a software company.
Pick garage Inc - you're not gonna be making any company and you want to save as much as possible on rent.
Early Game: Starting up Software Asset Manager Inc.
Set your team arrival time to 8am and departure time to 9am - This is so that your founder clocks in and clocks out ASAP so you can skip to the next month ASAP too. You can have him arrive at 3 am if you're feeling evil!
Don't buy any furniture. They have maintenance costs. The founder is perfectly busy sitting on the picnic bench.
Invest in your first company. Ideally, you'd want either a bankrupting company, or a new startup.
Bankrupting company: The trick here is to buy all the stock available of a company that is one month before bankrupting. When they bankrupt and you have stock, their products (IP) transfer to your ownership. Then, you can sell the IP of that product (usually for 1.5 million to 3 million), and bam! millions of dollars of profit!
You'll want to buy the stock of the company for as low as possible so you maximize you net profit. Ensuring you purchase it right before they go bankrupt is the way to go. It's very easy to see, sort by lowest company worth, and checking the charts of the lowest net worth companies can easily show you trends.
https://preview.redd.it/to0vivd8k5xc1.png?width=667&format=png&auto=webp&s=6ef56b6283b54a13a400943a64340fd7638c61ae
Here, Bohn Corp is losing 4 million a month (Balance in Oct 2021 was 44 million). Since they have 40 million, I can expect them to go bankrupt 10 months later. hence, the stock price will be lowest 9 months later, and that's when I should buy it.
It's important to watch trends like you're a Hawk and the graph is your prey. Although stable and predictable, they frequently change. Bohn Corp here might release a new product and start making money again. Watch it closely!
After they go bankrupt and you acquire the IP, people usually won't be instantly interested in buying it - you'll have to wait a couple months. Make sure to try to trade it every month by clicking the "Trade IP" button.
Though this is a risky maneuver. A couple things could go wrong:
1: Nobody wants to buy the IP. usually it takes a few months to a year for someone to become interested. In one case where I acquired a Phone OS IP, nobody was interested in it. Then, 2 years later, someone finally bought it for 300k only.
2: May result in a net loss. As mentioned in the point above, I sold the IP for 300k, but bought the stock of the bankrupt company for 600k. Net loss of 300k, which, in case you can't tell, is a bad investment.
3: Sell IP, but money goes to original lead designer. I have no clue why the game does this. You can sell an IP for 3 million and get absolutely nothing in return. But it happens, and the game will give you a prompt saying that "some or all money will go to Greedy McGreedface". Grrrr.
Kickstarting our operations!
Here, I got very lucky - A company was about to bankrupt right when i started and I bought all their shares for 34k in January. After acquiring their IP, I sold it for 2.5 million immediately, which I then invested 1 million in stocks elsewhere. I got very lucky here that a company was going bankrupt so soon AND selling the IP so soon, this is the exact kind of kickstart an Asset Manager Inc. needs.
New Startup: A new company will be created by the game every time a company goes bankrupt. Hence, it's super convenient - you can get the IP of a bankrupt company and sell it, then reinvest it into the new startup that replaces the bankrupt company soon after.
A new startup will release a product the month following their founding, and their product ALWAYS succeeds*. Like, hundreds of thousands of active users kind of success. I assume this is to prevent new companies from immediately going bankrupt again and constantly generate new companies. This is the mechanic we need to exploit.
(*EDIT: I've just started up another run, and apparently this isn't always true. Sometimes, a new company won't release any product. Ever. Just a constant downward spiral into bankruptcy again. Weird. In one particular case, a startup company sold 100% of their shares to prevent bankruptcy. Then after they released a product for some reason, I, as the holder of 100% of their company, took all the revenue from their product. I have no fucking idea how that's possible, But it worked.)
Each month, the startup will list 0.4% of their shares to investors. Buy those shares every month. At this stage, they should cost next to nothing - a few thousand probably.
Then in the following month, as their product sells, the company grows. You, as a shareholder, start receiving dividends. Keep buying the 0.4% shares every month. The shares will get more and more expensive as the company grows - buy as much as you can. The value of the shares you hold will continue to compound, and your dividends will continue to grow. This generates a passive income stream for you. Leeching off of the profits of other companies and holding the moral standards we uphold close to our hearts.
Shares of a startup company - very little, but also very cheap!
But beware: A new startup may not do well for very long. Once their initial product dies out, growth could stagnate. In that case, your money is better off invested in another company so that you can keep getting dividend payouts. Sell those shares and find another small, growing company.
https://preview.redd.it/vxamvs8mk5xc1.png?width=655&format=png&auto=webp&s=580be5c032730be557f914bfdf6feddd76a150d5
For example, here, SemiSexam Digital did very well initially, but stopped growing in June. Time to dump this company and invest in another!
Keep repeating this process, until you have enough money to go into the second stage below. Don't worry about tax reports or getting an accountant to write them: Just pay the tax and the fine that comes with it. I don't think it's worth the effort.
Mid Game: Stocks, Dividends, Graphs, Short term trends and all those god dang numbers
By this stage you should have a couple million invested in growing, startup companies. This stage is all about investing those few million wisely in other places and continuously compounding it.
Earning money with Stocks is easy. there is one rule, and one rule only.
Company balance goes up = good\. That's. fucking. it.* (But there's an asterisk, of course there's exceptions. I'll come back to this later.)
I'm sure you've heard of the whole "buy low, sell high" thing. But surprise surprise, this is a video game and doesn't apply here. As long as the balance of the company you are investing in goes up, buying any number of stock will turn you a profit.
At this stage, small startups and bankrupting companies isn't going to make full use of your money. Any money that sits in your bank account idle is lost potential profit. You'll want your bank account near empty at all times to make full use of your wealth.
Look for decent sized companies - companies that are around the 6th or 7th one down the list, sorting by ascending net worth. Check their balance. What's the recent trend?
Losing money:
https://preview.redd.it/ufm5mjd0m5xc1.png?width=665&format=png&auto=webp&s=81c656922768ac088f3e4fd8f0c641d0926838a8
Simply ignore these companies. Buying their stock will simply cause your stock to lose value and thus money.
Stable/Hovering:
https://preview.redd.it/9ri4z7wdm5xc1.png?width=657&format=png&auto=webp&s=8413aa8d6e4c63aac9e743a39724f4b17727cc71
These are worth your attention. But first, try to determine why they are stable. Low sales + low bills? High sales + high bills? Salaries? Distribution?
Then, judge whenever they will grow soon. check the product releases calendar. Do they have an upcoming product to be released?
https://preview.redd.it/ehb7ctb0n5xc1.png?width=1451&format=png&auto=webp&s=6dc9ff35027a89a6c93df27e383b9ff78dd2e907
Here, Mabin Interactive has an upcoming product, but it's going to release a year later. Ideally, you'll want their next release to be within 1-3 months so you get dividend payouts ASAP. We will keep an eye on this company and note down November 2022.
https://preview.redd.it/w6m28bxjn5xc1.png?width=886&format=png&auto=webp&s=b80aa74c71eea7d328c3e2ac35a69b623393b5a4
SharkBalp Productions here is stable in the past 3 months. They have 2 games to release next month! Their 2 games might do well and they might grow. BUT DO NOT BUY THEIR STOCK YET. What you want to do is to keep a close eye on this company. Fast forward 2 months and observe whenever their game does well.
https://preview.redd.it/1u27w8q5o5xc1.png?width=665&format=png&auto=webp&s=4754cfe7c02a06594abe1b1cb91b4de2bc0fd862
Yikes, turns out their 2 games didn't sell very well. Their Balance dropped, in fact. Good thing we didn't buy their stock!
It should go without saying that if a game does do well, and you see their company balance spike up, Buy as much stock as you can.
Growing companies:
https://preview.redd.it/842wlj39p5xc1.png?width=815&format=png&auto=webp&s=e94ec3f84fecbbbb806ae69558b20e66d8a5ff30
Look at UninWare here. Straight up like a hill. You can see that I have already invested 24.5 million in them, and the value of my shares went up by 2.3%, earning me around 500k in stock value ON TOP OF the dividend payouts. That's a good investment. However, you may have noticed that I didn't receive any dividends this month. That's because, as you can see on the graph, their balance stopped increasing. Which brings me to the next section of the mid-game:
Shocks and sudden fluctuations: What the hell happened?!?!
Throughout this entire guide, I've been talking about short term trends. But those can change drastically in a short amount of time. It's important that you, as an investor, figure out why.
Did their sales drop? Why's that? Their product stopped selling? Why's that? Did a competitor release a rival product? Did it run out of stock? Did their Bills suddenly increase? Hiring costs? Salaries? Figure out why. Why why why why why.
Next, determine if the company will recover from it quickly. Is it because their game ran out of stock? That's okay, next month they'll restock the game and it'll sell just as nicely. No action needed.
Did it drop for absolutely no reason, and you can't figure out why? Well, that's a red flag. You're gonna want to keep a close eye on that company. See if they stop growing the next months. If they do, it's time to sell all your stock on this company and cash it out before it loses value.
Example:
https://preview.redd.it/9zxof9cir5xc1.png?width=825&format=png&auto=webp&s=40d3e95eb7965860ba3d0d36b0fc57c981932603
UninWare here has stopped giving me dividends. Why's that? Well, that's because their balance stopped increasing. Why's that? As you can see from the graph, the dark blue line, representing sales, plummeted ten million! Uh oh! Why's that? Well let's check their products shall we?
https://preview.redd.it/gnecmx9qr5xc1.png?width=1304&format=png&auto=webp&s=5760a7b8b80ed1937174e3ad8d34ff71e794c876
Aha. See that? In stock: 0. That's a good sign, It means their product is very popular, 3 million Active users! We might even want to buy even more of this company's shares and leech off their profits like a blood sucking vampire!
Example 2:
https://preview.redd.it/f748az3ot5xc1.png?width=806&format=png&auto=webp&s=07426f8cfa05ec6dce5e5b59c848f92650c46ea8
SkipEnive Ltd. here is about to go goddamn bankrupt. Why's that? As you can see on their chart, Their sales plummeted and they bought a bunch of stock. Why's that? Turns out, their Console OS ran out of stock. That's okay, but looking at the short term trends, they weren't growing even when the product was still in stock. Trends indicate they won't grow at all in the future. Not a good investment, don't buy their stock.
The same applies vice versa. When a company you've invested in suddenly gives you even more dividends, FIGURE. OUT. WHY. Is it because they released a new product and it's wildly successful? Then it's probably worth redirecting all your funds into that one company and get them sweet sweet dividends. Is it because another company bought a crap ton of their shares? Then it's probably not worth buying more shares because this doesn't accelerate their growth in any way.
In some particular cases, a company might stop growing, and you sell your shares in response. However, a few months later, they start growing again. That's okay, simply reinvest into them. You've avoided the risk of them potentially starting to go downhill and dragging you down with them.
Keeping all the windows of companies you have invested in is a great way to keep track of this. When a company starts paying you $0 dividends, your attention is needed. When your monthly dividends drops from 300k to 50k in a month, your attention is needed.
These principles are the Very Core of your money leeching operations. In the mid-game, it's all about managing where you are investing your assets. Any company that is doing good, you invest. Any company that is not doing good, you drop your stocks quicker than the downvotes on a controversial post in ControversialOpinions. Redirect funds, watch trends. This, is Asset Manager Inc., baby.
Remember the * I put next to the golden rule company value goes up = good? here are the exceptions. Every company, during tax season, including yours, will take a hit from tax season in March. A decrease in company balance is perfectly reasonable during this disgusting month. But here's the thing, taxes apparently don't account for dividend payouts, so even if company balance decreases during March, you still get dividend payouts! If you've invested wisely, tax season should be no problem. Just make sure you don't go bankrupt from the slap in taxes - unfortunately you're gonna need to sell some stock to pay the money you owe the government.
There are also a few exceptions on a case by case basis - perhaps the company bought/sold some stock, hiring costs went up etc. But these don't affect the gameplay too much.
Late Game: Putting entire companies under the rule of your thumb and stocks.
At this stage, you're messing with the big boys now. You've got tens of millions invested in companies. Monthly dividend payouts are in the hundreds of thousands. There's nothing much different in the late game, all the rules and skills I've mentioned in the mid-game section still apply. The range of companies you are able to invest in simply goes up.
You'll probably want to ignore startup companies and bankrupting companies here. Startup companies, although highly successful, sell so little stock it's not worth your time, attention and funds. a few thousand in dividends, although it got you up on your feet in the early game, is nothing compared to the hundred million you own right now. Same goes with bankrupting companies: the potential 1 million dollars of profit from selling IPs simply no longer outweighs the attention you need to monitor which companies are failing and the risks which I listed above.
Now, since you've got a strong foothold, it's time to start thinking about optimization. Numbers going up simply aren't good enough, why settle for that when you can have them go up FASTER?!
https://preview.redd.it/d8sh8trcw5xc1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=f7f0a9aafdf98a4f40f546dd0edc9d189b332cc3
In my current playthrough, I have all my money on two companies: UninWare, and Stole Studios. Pay attention to the precise value of my dividend payouts and the respective stock value.
We can whip out a calculator and find out the % payout of my investment. For Stole Studios, the amount of dividends as a percentage of my total investments is 273,546/255,529,900 = 0.107%. So for every 100 dollars I invest in Stole Studios, I'm getting 0.107 dollars in dividends.
For Uninware, it's 25,095/24,676,860 = 0.102%. So my assets are better invested in Stole Studios - I can get 0.005% more payout in dividends. And that's exactly what I've done, I've bought every share I can in Stole Studios.
This is a bad example though: You'll want the % dividend payout to be around 0.5%, the higher the better. 2 months ago, I was receiving 1.3 million in dividends from Stole Studios which equates to 0.510% dividend payout. Their growth has recently slowed: I should figure out why, and judge whether its worth redirecting my funds and invest in another company.
You could either invest in a lot of growing companies and reduce the risk of one particular company stopping growing by spreading out your investments, or invest in one single company doing very well. I suggest putting all your eggs in one basket and invest in one good company, as trends are highly predictable and you can always sell the shares when they stop growing. of course, that's up to you to decide.
And there you have it! Running a software company on nothing but a bank account that barely exists and a picnic bench with 10 years worth of butt imprints on it. Here's a summary of everything I've mentioned:
Before the game:

• Your founder can have any traits or specializations. He won't be doing anything anyway.
• Pick one day per month
• Pick impossible mode
• Pick whatever starting time you want
• Pick Garage Inc for your starting map

Early Game: Kickstarting everything

• Have your founder work 1 hour per day only
• Invest in either:
  • a bankrupting company: buy their stocks right before they bankrupt and sell the IPs you acquire
  • A new startup: Buy all their shares you can and exploit their guaranteed success

Mid game: stabilizing your wealth and keep growing

• Golden rule: Company value goes up = good
• Check the recent trend of their balance - is it going up, stable, or going down?
• Figure out why: are they gonna keep losing money like this?
• Judge if they will start growing later. If so, invest!
• Fluctuations and Shocks:
  • Figure out why! Why Why Why Why Why! What the hell caused the shock?
  • Judge whether the shock is temporary, or a sign of stalling growth. Redirect assets accordingly.

Late game: Optimization!

• calculate your dividends as a % of your share value: direct more resources accordingly.
• Continue to follow mid-game principles

And that's the entire guide. Phew, that took way longer than I expected to write! 3500 words holy crap! Hopefully a few people come across this and find it handy. Anyway, this is Wang, wishing you risk-free investments and high dividend payouts as you earn your wrongful place at the top of the software companies.
Thank you for reading!

Part 1. From the first preaching to the twentieth century
https://preview.redd.it/zqxsony64hwc1.png?width=700&format=png&auto=webp&s=d10cac4541e3599aa7413d6e84dbf854381d2083
Religion in modern Mongolia
The majority of Mongolians are, deep in their hearts, very religious—although they try in every possible way to distance themselves from religion both at the official level and at home, “confessing” secularism, which is fashionable today. Surprisingly, in secular Mongolia it is the intriguing exoticism of Buddhism and shamanism that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists coming here from all over the world. And if religion attracts outside observers, it must play a certain role in the lives of the Mongolians. But what role?
Indeed, according to the 1992 Constitution, Mongolia is a secular country that guarantees its citizens the freedom of religion (Article 16, paragraph 15) and does not interfere in the activities of religious organizations established by the existing legislation. Religious institutions, in turn, must not interfere in the work of the State (Article 9). Religious discrimination is prohibited by Article 14, paragraph 2 of the Constitution. [1]
The freedom to practice religion, which appeared with the transition from the ideology of State atheism to building a democratic, liberal society, led to the following statistics: If in the mid-1980s, 80.4 percent of respondents identified themselves as atheists, in 1994 71.1 percent called themselves believers.[2] In 2003, almost seventy-five percent of all Mongolians believed in God.[3]
By 2010, 61.4 percent of the country’s population over the age of fifteen were believers. Of them 86.5 percent were Buddhists—that is, fifty-three percent of the population in this age group. The remaining 38.6 percent identified themselves as “non-believers.” [4]
According to the last census conducted in the country in 2020, only 59.4 percent of Mongolians over the age of fifteen identified as religious believers, of them 87.1 percent identified as Buddhists. [5]
The Mongolian Law on the Relationship Between the State and Religious Institutions, adopted in 1993, regulates State control over the “predominant position of Buddhism”, which nevertheless is not recognized as a State religion. According to Article 4 of this Law, Mongolia “respects the dominant position of Buddhism in order to maintain the unity of the people and historical, cultural and civilizational traditions.” [6] Interestingly, according to the results of ethnosociological surveys from different years, of and personal observations, a significant number of Mongolians (between forty percent and seventy-five percent) support this position of the State. [7]
Today it is almost impossible to say that Mongolia is a country of Buddhists, as it is often portrayed in the press and in the media. Striving for dialogue based on equality and parity with all countries and cultures of the world, the country's Government, after moving away from the socialist model of development, is opening the doors to a variety of religious teachings. And in terms of religious policies the Mongolian leaders are willingly (or maybe willy-nilly) reaching the level of the Mongolian Empire of the thirteenth century, the images and symbols of which are actively used in national practices and rhetoric. The unique diversity of beliefs in the country, their peaceful coexistence with each other and with traditional religions (Buddhism, shamanism and Islam), coupled with unique local cults (for example, the veneration of sacred mountain peaks [8]), which continue to play an important role in the life of society, are a distinctive feature of modern Mongolia—something not every country can boast.
There is no doubt that a soul sincerely striving for the Truth and at the same time wandering through the “labyrinths” of various religions and beliefs is sure to find a path to the Light. This accounts for the slow yet steady awakening of interest and love in Mongolia for Orthodoxy, the history of which officially began in Mongolia 160 years ago, although its roots go deep into the imperial past of the “land of the eternally blue sky”.
A trip into the past
Tsarevich Peter hunting in the vicinity of Rostov. Scene from the icon, “St. Peter, Tsarevich of the Horde”
The first Orthodox Mongolians appeared in the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan and the first Genghisid rulers, the great Khan’s successors. It is widely known that the Mongol khans provided special protection to the Orthodox Church in Russia. It led to the establishment in 1261 in the capital of the Golden Horde by Metropolitan Cyril II of Kiev and All Russia (+1280) of the Diocese of Sarai to pastor the Orthodox faithful living in the Horde. Initially, the heads of the diocese performed two functions: liturgical and diplomatic (“representing the political interests of the Byzantine Empire at the court of the Horde Khans.” [9]
Among the medieval accounts related to Orthodoxy in Mongolia the conversion to Orthodoxy of Tsarevich Dair Kaidagul of the Horde, nephew of Khan Berke (who ruled the Golden Horde from 1257 to 1266) and great-grandson of Genghis Khan, stands out. Tsarevich Dair became interested in Orthodoxy during a visit to Sarai by St. Cyril, Bishop of Rostov and Yaroslavl (+1262), who preached in the Horde’s capital in 1253. Dair persuaded St. Cyril, who returned to the Horde a few years later, to take him to Rostov. Here he was baptized with the name Peter, and according to his Life, after an appearance of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul he built a monastery on Lake Nero in their honor. After his wife’s death, he took monastic vows and died in 1290 at the monastery he had founded. He was canonized as the Venerable Peter in 1547 under the Holy Hierarch Macarius (c. 1482–1563), Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia.
Despite the skeptical opinion in historiography that St. Peter of the Horde allegedly had to be baptized after fleeing to Russia in order not to be murdered during dynastic strife, his conversion to Orthodoxy stands apart in a series of conversions to Orthodoxy by the Horde nobility, which took place in the second half of the thirteenth and the early fourteenth centuries. Secular historians agree with this, noting that only St. Peter was baptized solely as a result of preaching (in this case, St. Cyril’s preaching) and was not guided by political, dynastic or other secular circumstances. [10]
Other major historical figures of medieval Russia partly associated with Mongolia were the holy Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky (1221–1263), whose active interaction with the Horde is widely known, and the Holy Hierarch Alexei (c. 1292/1305–1378), Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, who cured Taydula, the wife of Khan Uzbek of the Horde, of an eye disease.
Metropolitan Alexei heals Taydula Khatun, the wife of the Khan of the Golden Horde
The substantive appearance of Orthodoxy in Mongolia dates back to the nineteenth century, when it was the State religion in the Russian Empire and had certain ideological functions. For this reason Orthodox clergymen often followed diplomats to the countries (new and hitherto unknown territories) with which diplomatic ties were being established. This happened in the Qing Empire, which included what is now Mongolia’s vast expanses. The signing of the Treaties of Tianjin (1858) and, to a greater extent, of Beijing (1860) not only lifted restrictions on Russo-Mongolian trade, but also became the prologue [11] to the opening in 1861 of the first Russian consulate in Urga (now Ulaanbaatar) on the territory of Mongolia, and after it to the construction of the first Orthodox Church in honor of the Holy Trinity. According to A.A. Sizova, a specialist in the history of Russia’s consular service in Mongolia, it was “one of the consulate’s first cultural initiatives.” [12] Funds for the church were collected beginning from 1863. The initiator of the fundraising campaign and the idea of building the church was Consul Ya.P. Shishmarev (1833–1915), who served in Mongolia from 1864 for almost half a century. The Orthodox church was built between 1872 and 1875 and consecrated on August 30, 1894.
Prior to the construction of the Orthodox church, services had been celebrated in the consulate building, where the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated on March 22/April 3, 1864.[13] The service was performed by Priest (from 1876 archpriest) John Nikolsky (1831–1893)—at that time the head of the Verkhneudinsk Deanery, cleric of the Cathedral in honor of the Hodegetria Icon in the city of Verkhneudinsk (now the city of Ulan-Ude—the administrative center of the Buryat Republic, Russia). Having celebrated several services, including the Paschal Liturgy, Fr. John left Urga on April 26/May 8, 1864. Later, from 1866 to 1892, he was the rector of the Holy Resurrection Church in the city of Kyakhta (in the Buryat Republic close to the Mongolian border).
After Fr. John Nikolsky, at the request of the Beijing Ecclesiastical Mission (hereinafter: the BEM) to the Most Holy Governing Synod Hieromonk Sergei (Artamonov) was sent in 1865 to Urga on a one-year mission. Even before the end of his mission term Fr. Sergei reported to the head of the BEM in Beijing about his desire to serve in Urga for the rest of his life. But after a while, for personal reasons, he was transferred to the Holy Transfiguration Monastery at the embassy and joined its brotherhood. [14]
The next priest who was sent on a mission was Hieromonk Gerontius (Levitsky), a member of the BEM, who served in Urga from 1866 to 1868. For a short time (from October 1872 until his death on December 27 of the same year), Hieromonk Cornelius (Palikin), a BEM member, served in Urga. He was buried at the Russian cemetery in Urga. [15]
Holy Trinity Church in Ulaanbaatar
A permanent priest in Urga was appointed by decree of the bishop of Irkutsk in May 1893. The first rector of the Holy Trinity Church in Urga was Priest Nikolai Shastin (1862–?), a missionary from Tsakir stanitsa (village) of the Transbaikal Ecclesiastical Mission (today the territory of the Zakamensk district of the Buryat Republic). He served in Urga until 1895. It was he who consecrated the consulate church. The newly appointed rector arrived in Mongolia together with Reader Joseph Kornakov, who graduated from the Irkutsk Theological Seminary. In November 1895, Fr. Nikolai, who was very fluent in Chinese, was appointed BEM member and assigned to St. Alexander Nevsky Church in Hankou (now part of Wuhan, Hubei Province, China), from where about a year later he was sent to Beijing, after which he served for several years in Qiqihar. Later he resigned from the priesthood and returned to Hankou with a new family after the Revolution of 1917 “as an émigré and a refugee.”[16] Thus, despite some allegations,[17] information about Fr. Nikolai’s life can be traced after 1897 right until the dissolution of the Russian Empire; his further destiny is unknown.
The physician Pavel Nikolaevich Shastin
It should be said that in literature in connection with the biography of the Russian and Soviet doctor Pavel Nikolaevich Shastin (1872–1953), who is famous in Mongolia, two different priests are often mixed up: namely Fr. Nikolai Pavlovich Shastin, rector of the Urga church, and Nikolai Iakinfovich Shastin (1851–1909), who served in Irkutsk churches. The latter was the father of P.N. Shastin, the father of modern medicine in Mongolia, and accordingly, the grandfather of the famous Mongolist Nina Pavlovna Shastina (1898–1980).[18]
In the spring of 1895, Priest Alexei Ushmarsky (?), a missionary of Ust-Kiran stanitsa (village), which is now in the Kyakhta district of the Buryat Republic, celebrated the services according to the Typikon of Holy Week, Pascha and Bright Week in Urga.[19] Between 1897 and 1899 Priest Vsevolod Ivanov, an alumnus of St. Petersburg Theological Academy, was rector of the Holy Trinity Church.
From 1901 to 1913 the rector of the Orthodox church in Urga was Archpriest Mily Chefranov (1855-no earlier than 1913). During his relatively long ministry in Urga, Fr. Mily studied the history of Orthodoxy in Mongolia and showed great zeal in the mission, leaving a vivid description of his activities.[20]
New Hieromartyr Amphilochius (Skvortsov)
From 1912 to 1914 Hieromonk Amphilochius (Skvortsov), a private associate professor at the Kazan Theological Academy, stayed on a mission in Mongolia to study the Tibetan language, Tibetan literature and Buddhism.[21] Between 1925 and 1926 he served as Bishop of Krasnoyarsk and Yeniseisk; from 1928—Bishop of of Melekess, Vicar of the Samara Diocese; he was executed by a firing squad in 1937; in 2000 he was canonized and ranked among the holy New Martyrs and confessors of Russia for churchwide veneration.
The last rector of the consulate church (1914-1921) in Urga was Priest Fyodor Parnyakov (1870–1921), a cleric of the Irkutsk Diocese, sent to Mongolia at his own request.[22] By that time, Fr. Fyodor had proved himself an active organizer of parish schools, and since 1913 he had been a member of the East Siberian Branch of the Russian Geographical Society. Curiously enough, he married Maria Reshikova, the daughter of Priest M. Reshikov (Reshchikov?) from the village of Kudara (now in the Kabansk district of the Buryat Republic) on September 20, 1891, near Mongolia--at the Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the village of Ust-Kyakhta.[23]
In addition to celebrating services and pastoring Orthodox people in Mongolia, Fr. Fyodor took an energetic part in extra-liturgical work, setting up a parish trust under the auspices of Consul General A.J. Miller. In addition to specific parish affairs, the area of responsibility of the trust included the organization of schools and a commercial college (opened in 1916), libraries, educational lectures, concerts (a string orchestra of twenty to twenty-two instruments was organized), and the decision to construct a new church. Fr. Fyodor was also an editor of a Mongolian newspaper called The Urga Consumer Society,[24] and between 1914 and 1917 he made several trips around the country, becoming the first Orthodox priests to visit remote Russian colonies from Urga up to Uliastay, Hovd and Ulaangom.
In addition to the church in Urga, thanks to the zeal of Russian diplomats, chapels were built in the frontier town of Maimachen (now Altanbulag of the Selenga aimag/district) and in Uliastai. The construction of a church was planned in Uliastai, and fundraising began in 1916 (the Revolution prevented the implementation of this project). A prayer room was also equipped in a Russian population center in the center of Urga two and a half miles west of the consulate church. According to some information, the missionary camp was set up on Lake Khövsgöl, most likely in the north, since the camp had connections with the Nilova Pustyn health resort, located in the Tunka Valley (today the village of Nilovka in the Tunka district of the Buryat Republic—famous for its hydrotherapy—which bears the name of a monastery that once existed here).[25]
Archpriest John Vostorgov, a Synodal missionary
In July 1916,[26] in order to examine the prospects for missionary work and to promote sobriety, the Synodal missionary Archpriest John Vostorgov and the head of the Transbaikal Ecclesiastical Mission Archimandrite Ephraim (Kuznetsov; from November 1916—Bishop of Selenga, Vicar of the Transbaikal Diocese) visited Mongolia. There is evidence that the two clergymen had first met in Mongolia during their first trip in the summer of 1913, when the conditions for the “hoped for opening of an Orthodox mission” were being considered.[27] The plans were not destined to be fulfilled because of the catastrophic changes in the country. On September 5, 1918, Bishop Ephraim and Archpriest John were executed by a firing squad in Moscow, and in 2000 both were canonized as holy New Martyrs of Russia.
Fr. Fyodor Parnyakov, too, suffered a martyr's death. After being imprisoned and tortured, he was hacked to death with a saber in February 1921. The body of the murdered priest was thrown onto the bank of the Tuul Gol River.
The last recorded priest who served in Urga was Nikolai Fedotov (1879–?), who graduated from the Orenburg Theological Seminary. During the Civil War in the summer of 1918 he left his homeland and by the autumn of 1920, through the Kazakh steppes, he had reached the large Russian trading post of Tzain-Shabi (now Tsetserleg of the Arhangay aimag/district). There was a branch of the Mongolian National Bank, a post office, and a telegraph office in Zain-Shabi. Most likely, after the destruction of the trading post by the troops of Baron Roman von Ungern In early 1921,[28] Fr. Nikolai together with Ungern’s army moved to Urga, where he began to serve at the consulate church until May 1923, when the church and all church property were expropriated by the State, after which he served in a private house. N.M. Fedotov wrote that he had been “sent to Urga to serve as a parish priest.”[29] Given the difficult situation during the bloody Civil War in Mongolia and the atmosphere that prevailed around Baron Ungern, it is hard to believe the words that he had been “sent” there.
Judging by his reports in 1924 to the Renovationist structures of the “Living Churches” in Buryatia, including on the celebration of the Church feasts according to the new calendar, it can be concluded that Nikolai Fedotov was not a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church but was in a schismatic organization, or presumably, had no opportunity to contact the official Church during the hard times. Most likely, Baron Ungern (under whom Fr. Fyodor Parnyakov was executed and relative patronage was given to Nikolai Fedotov) did not get to the root of the Renovationist schism.[30]
There are two main opinions as to how and when organized Orthodox Church life stopped in Mongolia. According to the first version, it was after the martyrdom of Archpriest Fyodor Parnyakov in 1921.
Priest Nikolai Kornienko, a modern expert on the history of Orthodoxy in Mongolia, puts forward another point of view, according to which “at least until 1928 there was an Orthodox priest in Urga.”[31] His version is based on one of the last Baptisms in Ulaanbaatar performed over Nikolai Alexandrovich Brilyov, who was born in the year specified. Although, according to Fr. Nikolai, “there is no information about the assignment of other clergy to serve in Mongolia in subsequent times”[32]—that is, based on the context of the events described, after 1924.
In any case, the end of the revolutionary bloodshed in the Mongolian steppes and the proclamation of the Mongolian People’s Republic on November 26, 1924, sidelined Orthodoxy and other religions from public life into the sphere of family rituals of the country’s populace.
So, after some episodes of the Mongolians’ acquaintance with Orthodoxy (mainly the Thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries), the reemergence and spread of Orthodoxy in Mongolia began in 1864, when the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the consulate church of the Holy Trinity. Subsequently, services were celebrated by priests from the BEM who were temporarily sent on a mission there. The first permanent rector in Urga appeared in 1893—it was Priest Nikolai Shastin, who served in Mongolia for two years.
After the last rector of the church in Urga, Fr. Fyodor Parnyakov, was martyred and Priest Nikolai Fedotov, who was probably not in communion with the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, gradually gave up liturgical activity, Orthodox life in Mongolia died out until the 1990s.
To be continued…
Priest Vladislav Terentyev
1 Mongol Ulsyn Undsen huul.1992 ony 1 duguer saryn 13-ny edor [The Constitution of Mongolia.January 13, 1992] // Erh zuin madeellijn nagdsen system.Ulaanbaatar, 1992. URL: https://www.legalinfo.mn/law/details/367
2 Buran-Olziy I. Some Results of a Study of Religious Issues Conducted in the Hovd aimag / I. Buran-Olziy, N. Tsedev, G. Bayartungalag // Worldview of the Population of Southern Siberia and Central Asia in Historical Retrospective: collection of articles. Barnaul: Altai State University’s Publishing House, 2013. Iss. VI. Pp. 192-203.
3 Tsedev N.H. Some Problems of Studying the Ethnoconfessional Situation in Mongolia // Peoples and Religions of Eurasia. 2017. No. 3-4 (12-13). p. 130.
4 Ibid.
5 Hun am, oron suutsny 2020 ony ulsyn eljit toollogyn nagdsen dun (Huraanguy). Ulaanbaatar hot: Undesny statistikiyn khoroo, 2020. H. 5.
6 Tor, sum hiidiin khariltsaany tuhai Mongol Ulsyn huul. 1993 ony 11 dugeer saryn 11-nii odor [Mongolian Law on the Relationship Between the State and Religious Institutions] // Erh zuin madeellijn nagdsen system. URL: https://www.legalinfo.mn/law/details/485
7 Dashkovsky P.K. The Influence of State Policy on Ethnoreligious Processes in Mongolia (Based on the Results of Sociological Research) / P.K. Dashkovsky, E.A. Shershneva, Ts. Navaanzoch // The World of Great Altai. 2017. No. 3 (3). p. 425; Tsedendamba S. On the Question of Studying the Religiousness of Mongolian Buddhists // Social and Political Challenges of Modernization in the Twenty-First Century: materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference. Ulan-Ude, August 6-11, 2018 Ulan-Ude: Publishing House of the Buryat Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2018. p. 253.
8 To date, in Mongolia, through the publication of a number of decrees, all the presidents of the country have compiled a list of “twelve mountains of state worship” [See: Toriyn takhilgat uuls // Mongolyn tuuhiin tailbar tol. URL: https://mongoltoli.mn/history/h/44
9 Galimov T.R. On the Question of the Christian Mission of the Sarai Diocese Again (Thirteenth--Early Fourteenth Centuries) // Ancient Russia: in Time, Personalities, and Ideas. Iss. 4. 2015. p. 139.
10 Ibid. P. 147.
11 Sizova A.A. Russia’s Consular Service in Mongolia (1861-1917). Moscow: Institute of the Far East of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2015. p. 58.
12 Ibid. P. 213.
13 Rinchinova B. P.-D. The Russian Orthodox Church in Mongolia: the Main Milestones // Bulletin of the Buryat University. 2012. No. 14. p. 167; Trubach A., Archpriest. The History and Current Situation of Orthodoxy in Mongolia // Orthodoxy and Diplomacy in the Countries of the Asia-Pacific Region: materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference (Ulan-Ude, January 29-30, 2015). Ulan-Ude: Publishing House of Buryat State University, 2015. Pp. 8-9; Tsybikova A.T. Buddhist and Christian Religious Practices in Modern Russia and Mongolia // Russia and Mongolia: Historical and Socio-Cultural Dynamics: materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference (Ulan-Ude, September 30, 2016) / Academic editor: D.V. Dashibalov. Ulan-Ude: Buryat State University’s Publishing House, 2016. Pp. 213-220.
14 Kornienko N.N., Plekhanova A.M. The Russian Orthodox Church in Mongolia: History and Modern Days / Editor-in-chief: Ts.P. Vanchikov. Irkutsk: The Ottisk Publishing House, 2020. p. 81.
15 Ibid. Pp. 81, 84.
16 Sharonova V.G. The Orthodox Community in Hankou (1860-1910) // Bulletin of the History Society of St. Petersburg Theological Academy. 2020. No. 2 (5). p. 165.
17 Kryuchkova T.A. Shastin Nikolay Petrovich // Orthodox Spiritual Authors of Eastern Siberia of the Eighteenth--Early Twentieth Centuries: a Biobibliographical Dictionary / chief editor: S.V. Melnikova, academic editor: D.N. Shilov; compiler: S.V. Melnikova [et al.]; I. I. Molchanov-Sibirsky Irkutsk Regional State Universal Research Library. Irkutsk: IOGUNB, 2022. p. 397.
18 Kuzmin Yu.V. Russian Physician N.P. Shastin in Mongolia (1923-1937) // The Frontier Region in Historical Development: Partnership and Cooperation (materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference. Chita, September 17, 2021). Chita: Transbaikal State University, 2021. Pp. 43-44.
19 Kornienko N.N., Plekhanova A.M. Op.cit. P. 88.
20 Kornienko N.N. Preaching Orthodoxy in Mongolia: the History of One Note // Irkutsk History and Economic Yearbook. 2020. Irkutsk: Publishing House of Baikal State University, 2020. p. 381; Kryuchkova T.A., Melnikova S.V. Chefranov Mily Alexandrovich // Orthodox Spiritual Authors of Eastern Siberia of the Eighteenth--Early Twentieth Centuries... P. 384.
21 Uspensky V.L. Hieromonk Amphilochius’ Trip to Mongolia in 1912-1914. // Written Monuments of the East. 2006. No. 1 (4). P. 137.
22 Gavrikov A.A. Fyodor Alexandrovich Parnyakov and His Travel Notes on Russians in Mongolia // Twentieth-Century Mongolia and Russo-Mongolian Relations: History and Economics: materials of the International Scientific Conference, dedicated to the centennial of the establishment of the Russo-Mongolian diplomatic ties (Irkutsk, May 28, 2021). Irkutsk: Publishing House of Baikal State University, 2021. P. 247.
23 Mikhailova M.V. Fyodor Alexandrovich Parnyakov—a Priest and a Citizen (according to the documents of the state archive of the Irkutsk region) // The Legacy of St. Innocent (Veniaminov) and Orthodox Missionary Activity in Siberia, the Far East and Adjoining Territories: materials of the Second Scientific and Practical Conference (Irkutsk, May 15, 2015) / editor-in-chief: S. G. Stupin; academic editor: S. V. Melnikov. Irkutsk: I.I. Molchanov-Sibirsky Irkutsk Regional state Universal Research Library’s Publishing House, 2015. P. 107.
24 Kornienko N.N., Plekhanova A.M. Op.cit. P. 94.
25 Ibid. Pp. 112, 115.
26 Ibid.
27 Kosykh V.I. The Urga Parish Trust and the Promotion of Sobriety Among Russian Colonists // Region in the Border Area (International Scientific Conference dedicated to the 165th anniversary of the establishment of the Transbaikal region, the 165th anniversary of the Transbaikal Cossack army and the 95th anniversary of the establishment of the Russo-Mongolian diplomatic ties. Chita, September 9, 2016). Part 1. Chita: Publishing House of Transbaikal State University, 2016. P. 37.
28 Mikhalev A.V. The Russian Trading Post in Zain-Shabi: the Empire’s Stronghold in the Context of Political Cataclysms in Asia in the First Quarter of the Twentieth Century // Proceedings of the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The series, "Oriental Studies. International Relations". 2021, vol. 34. P. 80.
29 Mitypova G.S. Political Prerequisites for the Preservation of Orthodox Traditions in Modern Mongolia // Bulletin of the Buryat University. 2012. Special issue V. P. 60.
30 Kornienko N.N., Plekhanova A.M. Op.cit. P. 97.
31 Ibid. P. 145.
32 Ibid. P. 97.

Went 14-19 in the Horizon as Loyola, then went on to beat everyone in the conference tournament to make the tournament. I then got seeded #15 with a matchup to #2 Villanova and BEAT them, it was glorious… round two… not the greatest lol, got dropped by OU, either way, it was awesome haha.

The site has been saved a few times, maybe someone is saving it to compare the differences