'Tyva Republic' (
IPA: ; ), or 'Tuva' (Тува́), is a
federal subject of
Russia (a
republic).
Geography
The Republic is situated in extreme southern
Siberia, with the capital city of
Kyzyl being located at the geographic "center of Asia". The eastern part of the republic is forested and elevated, and the west is a drier lowland.
★ ''Borders:''
★
★ ''internal:''
Republic of Khakassia (NW/N),
Krasnoyarsk Krai (N),
Irkutsk Oblast (N/NE),
Buryat Republic (E),
Altai Republic (SW/W)
★
★ ''international'':
Mongolia (S) (border line length: 1,305 km
★ Highest point:
Mount Mongun-Tayga,
★ Maximum N->S distance:
★ Maximum E->W distance: over
Time zone
Tuva is located in the
Krasnoyarsk Time Zone (KRAT/KRAST).
UTC offset is +0700 (KRAT)/+0800 (KRAST).
Rivers
There are over 8,000 rivers in the republic. The area includes the upper course of the
Yenisei River. Most of the republic's rivers are Yenisei
tributaries. There are also numerous
mineral springs in the republic.
Major rivers include:
★
Bolshoy Yenisei River (also called Biy-Khem or Bii-Khem)
★
Kantegir River
★
Khemchik River
★
Maly Yenisei River (also called Ka-Khem or Kaa-Khem)
★
Upper Yenisei River (also called Ulug-Khem)
Lakes
There are numerous lakes on the republic's territory, many of which are glacial and
salt lakes. Major lakes include:
★
Todzha Lake, a.k.a. Azas Lake (100 km²)—the largest in the republic
★
Uvs Nuur - shared with Mongolia and a
World Heritage Site
★
Kadysh Lake
★
Many-Khol Lake
Mountains
The area of the republic is a mountain basin, ca. 600 m high, encircled by the
Sayan and
Tannu-Ola ranges. Mountains cover over 80% of the republic's territory.
Mount Mongun-Tayga (3,970 m) is the highest point in Siberia.
Natural resources
Major natural resources of Tuva include
coal, iron ore,
gold, and more.
Climate
★ ''Average January temperature'': -32°C
★ ''Average July temperature'': +18°C
★ ''Average annual
precipitation'': 150 mm (plains) to 1,000 mm (mountains)
History
:''For the history of the Tuvan people before 1860, see
Tuvans#History
The historic region of
Tannu Uriankhai (), which Tuva is part of, was controlled by the
Mongols from the thirteenth (1207) to eighteenth centuries. In 1757 it was brought under Manchu rule (
Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty of China) until 1911.
During the 19th century,
Russians began to settle in Tuva, resulting in an 1860
Chinese-Russian treaty, in which the Qing Dynasty allowed Russians to settle providing that they lived in boats or tents. In 1881 Russians were allowed to live in permanent buildings. By that time a sizeable Russian community had been established, whose affairs were managed by an official in Russia. (These officials also settled disputes and checked on Tuvan chiefs.) Russian interests in Tuva continued into the twentieth century.
During the
1911 revolution in China,
tsarist
Russia formed a
separatist movement among the Tuvans.
Tsar Nicholas II ordered Russian troops into Tuva in 1912, as Russian settlers were being attacked. Tuva became nominally independent as the 'Urjanchai Republic' before being brought under Russian
protectorate as ''Uryanay
Kray'' under Tsar Nicholas II on
17 April 1914. This move was apparently requested by a number of prominent Tuvans, including the
High Lama, although it is possible they were actually acting under the coercion of Russian soldiers. A Tuvan capital was established, called
Belotsarsk (Белоца́рск; literally, "Town of White Tsar"). Meanwhile, in 1911, Mongolia became independent, though under Russian protection.
Following the
Russian Revolution of 1917 which ended the imperial autocracy, most of Tuva was occupied from
5 July 1918 to
15 July 1919 by
Kolchak's "White" Russian troops (governor was Pyotr Ivanovich Turchaninov), though in the autumn of 1918 the southwestern part was occupied by Chinese troops and the southern part by Mongol troops led by Khatan Bator Maksarzhab.
From July 1919 to February 1920 the communist
Red Army entered Tuva, but from
19 February 1920 to June 1921 it was occupied by China (governor was Yan Shichao aka Yan Shi-chao). On
August 14,
1921 the
Bolsheviks (supported by Russia) established a
Tuvinian People's Republic, popularly called ''Tannu-Tuva''. In 1926, the capital (Belotsarsk; Khem-Beldyr since 1918) was renamed
Kyzyl, meaning "Red"). Tuva was ''de jure'' an independent state between the World Wars.
The state's first ruler, Prime Minister Donduk, sought to strengthen ties with Mongolia and establish Buddhism as the state religion. This unsettled the Kremlin, which orchestrated a coup carried out in 1929 by five young Tuvan graduates of Moscow's 'Communist University of the Toilers of the East'. In 1930 the pro-Soviet region discarded the state's Tibetan-Mongol script in favor of a Latin alphabet designed for Tuva by Russian linguists, and in 1943 Cyrillic script replaced the Latin. Under the leadership of Party Secretary Toka, ethnic Russians were granted full citizenship rights and Buddhist and Mongol influences on the Tuvan state and society were systematically reduced.
[[1]]
The
USSR annexed Tuva outright in 1944, apparently with the approval of Tuva's Little
Khural (parliament), though there was no Tuva-wide vote on the issue. The exact circumstances surrounding Tannu-Tuva's incorporation into the USSR in 1944 remain obscure.
Salchak Toka, the leader of Tuvan communists, was given the title of First Secretary of the Tuvan Communist Party and became a de-facto ruler of Tuva. Tuva was made the
Tuvan Autonomous Oblast and then became the
Tuva ASSR on
October 10,
1961. Salchak Toka died in 1973, and the
Soviet Union kept Tuva closed to the outside world for nearly fifty years.
In February of 1990, the Tuvan Democratic Movement was founded by
Kaadyr-ool Bicheldei, a philologist at Kyzyl University. The party aimed to provide jobs and housing (both were in short supply), and also to improve the status of Tuvan language and culture. Later on in the year there was a wave of attacks against Tuva's sizeable Russian community, resulting in 88 deaths. Russian troops eventually were called in. Many Russians moved out of the republic during this period. To this day, Tuva remains remote and difficult to access.
[1]
Tuva was a signatory to the
March 31,
1992 treaty that created the Russian Federation. A new constitution for the republic was drawn up on
October 22,
1993. This created a 32-member parliament (Supreme Khural) and a
Grand Khural, which is responsible for foreign policy, ensuring that Tuvan law is given precedence and any possible changes to the constitution. The constitution also allowed for a referendum if Tuva ever sought independence. This constitution was passed by 62.2% of Tuvans in a referendum on
December 12,
1993. At the same time the official name was changed from Tuva (Тува) to Tyva (Тыва).
The
Republic of China (
Taiwan) has never officially recognized the Russian claim, and maps made in
Taiwan have often included Tuva (along with
Outer Mongolia) as part of China. This claim, along with the Taiwanese claim to
mainland China, has been largely ignored since the early 1990s.
Politics
The head of the government in Tuva is the Chairman of the Government, who is elected for a four-year term. The first Chairman of the Government was
Sherig-ool Oorzhak. As of 2007, the Chairman of the Government is
Kara-ool Sholban. Tuva's
legislature, the
Great Khural, has 162 seats; each deputy is elected to serve a four-year term.
The republic's Constitution was adopted on
October 23,
1993.
On
April 3rd,
2007, Russian president Vladimir Putin nominated
Sholban Kara-ool, 40, a former champion wrestler, as the Chairman of the Government of Tuva.
[2] Sholban's candidature was approved by the Khural on April 9, 2007.
[3]
Economy
Tuva has a developed mining industry (coal,
cobalt, gold, and more). Food processing, timber, and metal working industries are also well-developed. Most of the industrial production is concentrated in the capital Kyzyl and in
Ak-Dovurak.
Culture
The
Tuvan people are famous for their
throat singing.
Khuresh, the Tuvan form of wrestling, is a very popular sport. Competitions are held at the annual
Naadym festival at
Tos-Bulak.
Sainkho Namtchylak is one of the few singers from Tuva to have an international following. She is also very involved with Tuvan culture. Every year she invites western musicians to perform in Kyzyl and to learn about the country, its culture and its music. In recent years
Kongar-ool Ondar has become well-known in the West as well, in large part because of the film
Genghis Blues featuring Ondar and American
blues singer
Paul Pena.
Oral traditions
The
Tuvan people have a rich tradition of orally transmitted folklore, including many genres, ranging from very brief riddles and aphorisms, to tongue twisters, magical tales, hero tales, scary stories, and epics that would take many hours to recite. A few examples and excerpts of the epic genres, such as ''Boktu-Kirish, Bora-Sheelei'' have been published. This art form is now endangered as the traditional tale-tellers grow old and are not replaced by younger practitioners.
Religion
Three religions are widespread among the people of Tuva:
Tibetan Buddhism,
Orthodox Christianity and
shamanism. Tibetan Buddhism's present-day spiritual leader is
Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth
Dalai Lama.
In September 1992, the fourteenth Dalai Lama visited Tuva for three days.
[ Dalai Lama, Avant Art.][ Fotuva.]
The people are mainly adherents to
Tibetan Buddhism, combined with native
Shamanism.
[ Kommersant.]
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Tibetan Buddhism gained increasing popularity in Tuva.
Religious practice declined under the restrictive policies of the Soviet period but revived somewhat in the early 1990s.
[ World Heritage.] Tuva is also the only country in the world to have shamanism as an official religion.
The Tuvans' higher than average
syphilis infection rate (according to the ''Moscow Times'', 2.5% of the population) has been blamed on a Shamanist tradition of the Republic, which says a woman is more fertile if she has had a large number of sexual partners before marriage.
Some
human rights groups report problems with religious freedom for
Christians and
Muslims.
Education
The most important facilities of higher education include the
Tuvan State University and the Tuvan Institute of Humanitarian Research, both located in the capital Kyzyl.
Administrative divisions
Demographics
Tuvan family in traditional clothing
★ 'Population': 305,510 (2002)
★
★ ''Urban'': 157,299 (51.5%)
★
★ ''Rural'': 148,211 (48.5%)
★
★ ''Male'': 144,961 (47,4%)
★
★ ''Female'': 160,549 (52.6%)
★ 'Females per 1000 males': 1,108
★ 'Average age': 25.5 years
★
★ ''Urban'': 26.4 years
★
★ ''Rural'': 24.5 years
★
★ ''Male'': 25.2 years
★
★ ''Female'': 27.6 years
★ 'Number of households': 82,882 (with 299,510 people)
★
★ ''Urban'': 47,073 (with 152,542 people)
★
★ ''Rural'': 35,809 (with 146,968 people)
★ 'Vital statistics' (2005)
★
★ ''Births'': 5,979 (birth rate 19.4)
★
★ ''Deaths'': 4,326 (death rate 14.0)
Ethnic groups
According to the
2002 Census,
Tuvans, a group of
Turkic people, make up 77.0% of the republic's population. Other groups include
Russians (20.1%),
Komi (1,404, or 0.5%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population.
| census 1959 | census 1970 | census 1979 | census 1989 | census 2002 |
|---|
| Tuvans | 97,996 (57.0%) | 135,306 (58.6%) | 161,888 (60.5%) | 198,448 (64.3%) | 235,313 (77.0%) |
| Russians | 68,924 (40.1%) | 88,385 (38.3%) | 96,793 (36.2%) | 98,831 (32.0%) | 61,442 (20.1%) |
| Khakas | 1,726 (1.0%) | 2,120 (0.9%) | 2,193 (0.8%) | 2,258 (0.7%) | 1,219 (0.4%) |
| Others | 3,282 (1.9%) | 5,053 (2.2%) | 6,725 (2.5%) | 9,020 (2.9%) | 7,526 (2.5%) |
Official languages are
Tuvan and
Russian.
Miscellaneous
Tuva Stamp from 1927
★ In the 1920s and 1930s,
postage stamps from Tuva were issued. Many
philatelists, including famous
physicist Richard Feynman, have been fascinated with the far-away and obscure land of Tuva because of these stamps. The stamps were issued mainly during the brief period of Tuvan independence, and had many philatelists in a furor, as they did not conform to various standards. Feynman's efforts to reach Tuva are chronicled in the book ''
Tuva or Bust''.
★ Tuva was featured prominently in the award-winning documentary ''
Genghis Blues''.
★ Tuvan stamps are mentioned in a line of
Gregory Corso's poem Marriage.
★
Sergey Shoygu, Russia's Emergencies minister, is Tuvan.
★ According to Ilya Zakharov of
Moscow's Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, genetic evidence suggests that the modern Tuvan people are the closest genetic relatives to the
native peoples of North and South America.
[2]
See also
★
Tuvans
★
Tuvan language
★
List of Tuvans
★
Tuvinian People's Republic
★
Music of Tuva
Notes
1. Tuva and Sayan Mountains
2. "Central Asian Origins of the Ancestor of First Americans", by I. Zakharov
References
★ DONAHOE, Brian 2002. "Hey, you! Get offa my taiga!": Comparing the sense of property rights among the Tofa and Tozhu-Tyva. Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology working papers, nº 38. Halle/Saale: Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. ISSN 1615-4568.
Sources and external links
★
Тува-Онлайн - Новости Республики Тыва
★
Tuva-Online - News of Tuva
★
WorldStatesmen- Russia
★
Singing Stones -The Republic of Tuva
★
Website of Tuva.
★
Official website of Tuva.
★
Tuva Discussion Group on Yahoo! Groups.
★
Friends of Tuva website.
★
Friends of Tuva, Japan.
★
Some Tuvan stamps issued in 1920s/1930s.
★
''Genghis Blues'', official movie site.
★
Animated slideshow presentations of Tuva.
★
More completed collection of Tuva Stamps(1926-1943).
★
★
The Tuva Trader; Tuva and Richard Feynman media, products and information.
★
Buga-shadara A traditional Tuvan boardgame.
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