Reading the Wikipedia page on him, he seems to be a very important but controversial figure in Mongolian history. "Sometimes referred to as 'the Stalin of Mongolia', Choibalsan oversaw Soviet-ordered purges in the late 1930s that resulted in the deaths of an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 Mongolians. Most of the victims were Buddhist clergy, intelligentsia, political dissidents, ethnic Buryats and Kazakhs and other 'enemies of the revolution.' His intense persecution of Mongolia's Buddhists brought about their near complete extinction in the country . . . [but during his rule] infrastructure and literacy rates improved and international recognition of Mongolia's independence expanded, especially after World War II." How do historians perceive his legacy as a Mongolian leader? How have views of him changed over time?
At the time of his death he was widely mourned as a hero, a patriot, and ultimately a martyr for the cause of Mongolian independence. Remnants of his strong personality cult, as well as successful efforts by his successor Tsendenbal to obstruct "de-Stalinization" efforts that could have shed light on Choibalsan's actions during the purges, helped solidify the positive regard many Mongolians held of their former leader.
With the end of socialist rule in 1990, however, re-examining of Choibalsan's rule has occurred, and there does seem to be an attempt by some Mongolians to come to terms the country's socialist past in a more general context. Nevertheless, Choibalsan is still not the object of strong resentment in Mongolia. That sentiment is reserved for the Soviet Union. Stalin's statue, for example, was removed from in front of the National library in 1990, shortly after the democratic revolution.Choibalsan's statue, on the other hand, still stands in front of the National University in Ulaanbaatar, an institution he helped found and that for a time bore his name. Moreover, the capital of Dornog aimag continues to carry his name.
He made lot of sacrifice he forced to kill fellow mongol brothers. in the end he sacrificed himself.
An ardent Mongolian nationalist, Choibalsan never gave up a hope of uniting all of the Mongols under the auspices of the Mongolian People's Republic
Until 1945 he had encouraged an ethnic insurgency in Eastern Xinjiang (with Stalin's support), looking to strengthening the MPR's influence in the region and possibly beyond to Gansu and Qinghai.
He saw the impending defeat of Japan as an opportunity to realize his long held dream of a "Great Mongolia" the uniting of Outer and Inner Mongolia, and he fully expected Stalin's backing as reward for Mongolia's steadfast support of the Soviets during the war.
On August 10, 1945, Mongolia declared war on Japan two days after the Soviet Union and both armies joined forces to attack Japanese strongholds in northern China during the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation. At the same time, Choibalsan unleashed a brief wave of pan-Mongolist nationalism through the press, calling for unification and encouraging a grassroots pan-Mongolist movement in Inner Mongolia. When Choibalsan ordered Mongolian troops to move south of the Great Wall as far as Zhangjiakou, Chengde and Batu-Khaalga, he was ordered by an angry Stalin to call them back. Conversely, it also marked greater Mongolia's permanent division into an independent Mongolian People's Republic and a neighboring Inner Mongolia.
Choibalsan's remains were interred in Sükhbaatar's mausoleum from 1954 until 2005.
As for Choibalsan's lasting influence, what is clear is that his aggressively pro-Russian stance and his active role in increasing Mongolia's economic, political, and social reliance on the Soviet Union turned the country into a Soviet dependency, which has had a lasting impact on modern Mongolian identity and development. His decimation of the Buddhist church and numerous monasteries also robbed Mongolia of a rich cultural heritage.