Tuva
The
Tuva Republic (;
Tuvan: Тыва Республика) is a
federal subject of
Russia (a
republic). The direct
transliteration of the Russian name of the republic is
Respublika Tyva . Since
1993, the republic's official name is
Tyva Republic.
|
Tuvan family in traditional clothing |
As per the 2002 census,
Tuvans (or Tuvinians), a group of
Turkic people, at 235,313 make up 77% of the population. The rest, primarily in urban areas, mainly consider themselves ethnic
Russians (61,442 or 20.1%) although, all in all, 101 distinct ethnic groups are listed for the republic (the only two exceeding 1,000 residents being the
Komis, at 1,404, and the
Khakas, at 1,219).
Official languages are
Tuvan and
Russian.
*
List of Tuvans*
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)
The historic region of
Tannu Uriankhai (), which Tuva is part of, was controlled by the
Mongols from the
13th (1207?) to
18th centuries. It established itself as a khanate in the
15th century until
1757 when it was brought under Chinese
Manchu rule to
1911.
During the
19th century Russians began to settle in Tuva, resulting in an
1860 Chinese-Russian treaty, in which China 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
20th 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
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 south-western part was occupied by Chinese troops, the southern part by Mongol troops led by Khatan Bator Maksarzhab.
From July 1919 to February 1920 the communist
Red Army enters Tuva, but from
19 February 1920 to June 1921 it was once more re-incorporated into 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. Toka's rule was characterized by a concerted effort to introduce collectivism and to destroy Tuvan culture, especially that of a religious nature. Salchak Toka died in
1973.
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.
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 Tyva 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 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.
The head of the government in Tuva is the Chairman of the Government, who is elected for a four-year term.
As of 2005, the Chairman of the Government is
Sherig-ool Oorzhak, who was re-elected on
March 17,
2002. Tuva's
legislature, the Grand Khural, has 162 seats; each deputy is elected to serve a four-year term.
The republic's Constitution was adopted on
October 23,
1993.
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.
Tuvans 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 only 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, however,
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
Tuvans 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.
Three religions are widespread among the people of Tuva:
Tibetan Buddhism,
Orthodox Christianity and
shamanism. Buddhism's present-day spiritual leader is the 14th
Dalai Lama. In September 1992, the 14th
Dalai Lama visited Tuva for 3 days. [
2][
3]The people are mainly adherents to
Tibetan Buddhism, combined with native
Shamanism. [
4]During the 16th and 17th 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. [
5]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.
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.
*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 small 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.
*
Sergey Shoygu, Russia's Emergencies minister, is Tuvan.
* According to a recent study by Ilya Zakharov, deputy director of Moscow's Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Tuvans are more closely genetically linked to Native American peoples like the
Eskimo,
Navajo and
Apache than any other group.
*
Tuvans*
List of Tuvans*
Tuvinian People's Republic*
Music of Tuva*
Khoomei (Tuvan throat singing)
*
Genghis Blues documentary about Tuva and Tuvan throat singing
*
WorldStatesmen- Russia*
Official website of Tuva.
*
Tuva Discussion Group on Yahoo! Groups.
*
Friends of Tuva website.
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Friends of Tuva, Japan.
*
Tuvan 1920s–1930s stamps.
*
Genghis Blues, official movie site.
*
Animated slideshow presentations of Tuva.
*
Stamps of Tuva.
*
TyvaWiki:Main Page*
The Tuva Trader; Tuva and Richard Feynman media, products and information.
*
Buga-shadara A traditional Tuvan boardgame.
