Setsen Altan-Ochir
banner
setsen.bsky.social
Setsen Altan-Ochir
@setsen.bsky.social
A mongolian killjoy stranded in Paris, focused on broken worlds, running along the Seine with fibromyalgia and depersonalization-derealization.

Earth science (MSc@ENS) & history of science (MA-in-making@EHESS) & all things Mongolia.
I am glad Marie Favereau doesn't live in UB when she conjures the following words: "Another aspect I find particularly striking—and so different from Western models—is the Mongol relationship with cities. There’s a common stereotype that nomads don’t build cities...
June 6, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by Setsen Altan-Ochir
May 5, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Hada's "case highlights the broader pattern of repression in Southern Mongolia, where communities face forced assimilation, cultural erasure, and land expropriation as part of Beijing’s systematic targeting of non-Han populations. His recent nomination for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize by U.S. and...
Over 100 rights groups call for the immediate release of Southern Mongolian Human Rights Defender -
More than 100 human rights organizations and civil society groups have jointly called on the Chinese government to immediately release Mr. Hada, a prominent
unpo.org
April 27, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Who else would have witnessed it better than a mining worker-turned-electrical engineer, who just received the Goldman Prize for conservation, turned to legal suits and activism when it was the turn of his own pastureland and home that saw what he describes as:
How a Former Herder Protected Mongolia's Vast Grasslands
Batmunkh Luvsandash has fought to protect more than a million acres of steppe lands in his native Mongolia. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he explains how, by drawing on the knowledge of l...
e360.yale.edu
April 27, 2025 at 12:06 PM
It is already stress-inducing to exist as a mongolian student in France, but the jaw-dropping stupidity of our mongolian so-called « puppy state » rivals that of the US in intensity, if not in scale montsame.mn/en/read/363183
Khurelsukh Ukhnaa: We Are Witnessing a Historic Event, the Solemn Inauguration of the Golden Statue of Chinggis Khaan
On March 1, 2025, or the starting day of the spring of the Year of the Snake, the Golden Statue of the Great Chinggis Khaan, the Sacred White Banner, and the Golden State Seal of the Mongol Empire Khasbuu were enshrined in the Great Khaan’s Urgoo [The Royal Chamber] at the Chinggis Khaan National Museum of Mongolia.
montsame.mn
March 4, 2025 at 4:57 PM
"An historian concerned with the Arabo-Latin transmission of science may not, for example, be compelled to learn about al-Biruni, one of the greatest of Islamic scientists, because al-Birimi was not known to the Latin West. I have even heard some medievalists say that they need not deal with...
Students of mongolian studies confide in me that they are told they don’t need to learn mongolian to study mongolian history. I would love to hear more. @chakarchinggis.bsky.social @nomadism.bsky.social any insights?
January 5, 2025 at 5:07 PM
My goodness, I have a déjà vu : Replace “Bishkek” with “Ulaanbaatar”, and all holds true?🤦🏻‍♀️
Bishkek is in the process of undergoing a radical topdown transformation of the urban landscape with a series of unpopular measures that will significantly alter the city:

1) The city's 73-year-old trolleybus network dismantled and scrapped
timesca.com/end-of-the-t...
End of the Trolleybus: Bishkek Authorities Abandon Eco-Friendly Transport Option - The Times Of Central Asia
In defense of the decision, Mayor Aibek Junushaliyev argued that trolleybuses no longer meet the city’s needs, citing frequent breakdowns and their inability
timesca.com
November 26, 2024 at 10:36 AM
Students of mongolian studies confide in me that they are told they don’t need to learn mongolian to study mongolian history. I would love to hear more. @chakarchinggis.bsky.social @nomadism.bsky.social any insights?
November 12, 2024 at 8:44 AM
Nathan Thrall at the Grand Continent of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, to speak about his recent book that won him the Pulitzer.
July 9, 2024 at 5:37 PM
When one’s convictions find expression in another’s words, I realise we are t least sharing the same world.
I saw someone call it mansplaining as a service, not just the unwanted explaining but the high inaccuracy and high confidence, and I do think that explains both who makes it and who is pushing it
April 28, 2024 at 9:01 PM
Our current paradigm has been dominated and created by sedentary civilizations, and various "nomads" have been unmanageable pains in the ass. Now, those deemed "uncivilized" are speaking up against them being denied the acknowledgement that "nomadic civilizations" existed on par with the sedentary..
December 1, 2023 at 4:01 PM
Find of the day. The second husband of my great-grandmother was a camel caravaner, who apparently travelled between Mongolia and Tibet.
Rare historical photo of two Mongolian caravanners (жинчид/jinchid) in 1901 with a Bactrian camel in Beijing. Photographed by S. Yamamoto.

L: colorized
R: black and white postcard version

Image credits: facebook.com/boldbaatar.d...
November 2, 2023 at 5:24 PM
When I was writing up my internship project at the IPGP 3 years ago on uranium mining site cleaning, I had not even an iota of thought that this would be happening in the near future.
Mongolia opens way for uranium mining with $1.7bn French deal
Production at southwestern site could start in 2028, says French miner Orano
asia.nikkei.com
October 13, 2023 at 12:41 PM
Reposted by Setsen Altan-Ochir
It's publication day for The Blue Machine in the US and Canada! Tell your US/Canadian friends 🙂

"I love Helen Czerski’s writing, and this is her richest work yet—as clear as springwater, yet as filled with fascinating things as the ocean itself"- Sarah Bakewell
wwnorton.com/books/978132...
#ocean 🧪
October 3, 2023 at 11:42 AM
Reposted by Setsen Altan-Ochir
As @juliebozza.bsky.social pointed out to me, today's Featured Article on Wikipedia is The Baljuna Covenant! My favourite covenant by far. Read about 'an oath sworn in 1203 by Temüjin—the future Genghis Khan—and the Baljunatu, a small group of [embattled] companions.'
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org
October 2, 2023 at 3:02 AM
New to blue sky, but not khukh tenger... How do people from minority languages manage their online presence? I personally have to choose between talking about social sciences with my french colleagues, about science-related topics with the anglo/international sphere, and all-things mng with mngs...
September 22, 2023 at 1:03 PM