Mongolia continues to adhere to the Soviet model of 10 years of school education of which 8 are compulsory, although this is being gradually extended in the direction of the European model.
Traditionally, Mongols practiced Shamanism, worshipping the Blue Sky. However, Tibetan Buddhism (also called Vajrayana Buddhism) gained more popularity after it was introduced in 16th century.
In 1989 when communism was starting to fall elsewhere, many Mongolian weren't really ready for the change.