Roman von Ungern-Sternberg
Roman von Ungern-Sternberg was a Baltic German aristocrat and White Russian warlord who rose to prominence during the era of the Russian Civil War.
He is recognized as a uniquely captivating historical personality who integrated European conservatism and Russian Orthodox monarchism with Vajrayana Buddhism and Mongolian shamanism.
His historical impact is primarily defined by his attempt to establish a Buddhist theocratic monarchy in Mongolia during the early 20th century. Known as the Mad Baron, he was a complex character whose leadership style was characterised as both charismatic and exceptionally brutal.
Early Life and Military Career
Born in 1886 in Graz, within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Roman von Ungern-Sternberg was the son of Theodore Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg and a German mother. His family moved to Reval, known in the modern era as Tallinn, in the Russian governorate of Estonia when he was two years of age.
During his youth, he became obsessed with the history of his ancestors, specifically the Teutonic knights and their conquest of the Baltic states, as well as the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan. He held a persistent belief that the Ungern-Sternberg lineage was related to a descendant of Genghis Khan.
His formal education was marked by rebellion and poor academic performance, leading to his expulsion from the gymnasium in Reval. He subsequently enrolled in the Imperial Naval Academy in Saint Petersburg, though he found the elite networks of the nobility distasteful, preferring the company of regular soldiers. Upon the outbreak of war with Japan in 1904, he joined the Imperial Russian Army and served in the Far East. Following this conflict, he was stationed in Transbaikalia and served as an officer among the Amur Cossacks for five years.
During World War I, he served on the Eastern Front in various Cossack units, fighting in Galicia and the Southern Caucasus against Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire.
He was known for his extreme heroism and self-sacrifice, frequently volunteering for the most dangerous cavalry charges. His bravery earned him numerous military decorations, including the Order of Saint George, which was the highest military award for commissioned officers in the Russian Empire. Despite his military success, his inability to adhere to formal etiquette and his frequent conflicts with other officers led to disciplinary measures and a period in military prison.
The Russian Civil War and Mongolian Conquest
The collapse of the Russian Empire following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 AD transitioned the region into a state of civil war. Ungern-Sternberg, a staunch monarchist, joined the white army movement to fight against the Red Army, which he viewed as a demonic and apocalyptic force. In 1919, he formed the Asiatic Cavalry Division, a multi-ethnic military unit that operated in eastern Siberia and Mongolia.
In late 1920, his forces invaded Mongolia, which was then under Chinese occupation. By February 1921, he successfully captured the capital city of Urga, despite being significantly outnumbered by approximately 7,000 Chinese troops. He utilized psychological warfare to achieve this victory, instructing his men to light numerous fires on the surrounding hills to create the impression of a vastly superior force. Following the conquest, he reinstated the Bogd Khan as the theocratic ruler of Mongolia and was awarded the title of hereditary grand duke.
His brief rule in Urga was marked by paradoxical policies. While he orchestrated violent pogroms and massacres of the Jewish population and suspected communists, he also introduced progressive measures such as the establishment of schools, a public library, and public sanitation offices.
His soldiers revered him for his air of invincibility and seemingly supernatural powers, which were reinforced by his repeated victories against numerically superior enemies.
Religious and Ideological Syncretism
The ideology of Ungern-Sternberg was a unique fusion of traditionalism and mysticism. Though raised in the framework of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, he became deeply enamoured with Tibetan Buddhism, specifically the Vajrayana branch, while stationed in Siberia and Mongolia.
He believed in reincarnation and came to view himself as the reincarnation of Genghis Khan and a god of war. This belief was shared by many Mongolians, who saw him as a divine warrior destined to liberate them from foreign oppression.
He promoted a form of military Buddhism that combined extreme discipline with esoteric mysticism. He practiced a stringent lifestyle characterised by celibacy, as he believed sexuality was spiritually weakening and detrimental to the strength required for battle. However, this aestheticism was contrasted by his heavy consumption of alcohol, hashish, and opium, which he used for both coping with the stress of war and achieving altered states of consciousness.
His worldview was also heavily influenced by a militant eschatology. He saw the Bolsheviks and Jews as spiritually malevolent agents of chaos engaged in a nefarious battle to destroy traditional Christian civilisation and imperial authority.
He explicitly blamed Jewish intellectuals and revolutionaries for the collapse of Russia and utilised The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion to justify his actions as part of a sacred religious war. He saw Jewish communities as inherently deceitful, parasitic, and subversive, not regarding them as legitimate members of the nations in which they resided but as fundamentally alien forces dedicated to the destruction of traditional morality, and a threat to the cultural purity of the White race.
Downfall and Execution
The rule of the Mad Baron was short-lived as the Red Army and Mongolian revolutionary forces began to gain the upper hand. In the summer of 1921, his attempts to invade Soviet territory failed due to a lack of local support and the superior equipment of the Bolshevik forces. As his behaviour became increasingly erratic and his mission to reach Tibet appeared suicidal, his own officers mutinied.
In August 1921, he was betrayed by his troops, captured by a Red Army detachment, and subjected to a six-hour show trial.
He was found guilty of numerous crimes and sentenced to death. On 15 September 1921, at the age of 35, he was executed by a firing squad in Novonikolaevsk. Legend states that he swallowed his military medals, including the Order of Saint George, to prevent them from being seized by the communists. His life remains a tragic emblem of the ideological extremism and revolutionary upheaval that characterised the early 20th century.