Preparations for the 800th anniversary of Genghis Khan's unification of the Mongol tribes in 1206 are running into trouble. Nearly every construction project is way behind schedule. Even round-the-clock shift work is unlikely to see a new national museum in Ulan Bator finished in time for the all-important Naadam festival in July. Nor will a gigantic 436,000 statue of him be ready for the scheduled unveiling.

Critics say the Mongolian government should have stumped up the money for a new film about its 13thcentury warrior. Instead the project has gone to the Japanese, although local actors have demanded an extra $1,000 because, they argue, the foreign film-makers are exploiting a Mongolian legend for their own ends.

The capital's authorities are being accused of failing to prepare the city for a hoped-for tourist invasion. Visitors face an almost complete lack of public toilets, potholed roads, cracked pavements, and rubbish everywhere.

Rehearsals for a cavalry display by 500 members of Mongolia's armed forces are, however, proceeding smoothly. Dressed as 13th-century warrior-horsemen, they will re-enact the exploits of the merciless hordes who smashed their way to world domination from Beijing to Hungary and founded the largest contiguous empire in history.

Older Mongolians hold the 'Scourge of God' in high esteem. For these people, who saw their culture stamped out and virtually every Buddhist temple destroyed by the communist purge of 1937-38, the anniversary has special significance.

Genghis Khan's achievements indirectly inspired the freedom movements of the late 1980s, and since independence in 1990, his stature has grown. There are even calls to move the capital back to Kharkhorin, the capital he created for his empire, which is now an insignificant town in the centre of the country.

But the younger generation is not even sure Genghis Khan is the sort of hero they want to celebrate. "He means little to my friends, " said Otgoo, a 23-year-old English teacher.

"He was dreadful to women too. Mongolia should be addressing the issue of corruption, not having a big celebration for a cruel man who should not be concerning us any more. What matters is that my country makes its way in the world as a democracy."

Mongolia's move to free-market economics has brought a rise in corruption. Daily demonstrations call for an end to undue foreign influence, particularly in mining. The divide between rich and poor is widening, and it is men, for whom traditional sources of employment are dwindling, who are suffering.