Tuva
Tuva (1990 est. pop. 366,000) is a constituent republic of Russian Federation, 170,500 km2 (65,830 sq mi), located in extreme S Siberia, bordering the Upper Altai Republic on W, Khakassia Republic, Krasnoyarsk Kray and Irkutsk Oblast on N, Buryat Republic on E and Mongolia on S. Kyzyl is the capital.
Geography
The area is a mountain basin, ca. 600 m (2,000 ft) high, encircled by the Sayan and Tannu-Ola ranges. The eastern part is forested and elevated, and the west is a drier lowland. The area includes the upper course of the Yenisei River. There are numerous glacial lakes.
Demographics
Tuvans (or Tuvinians), a group of Turkic people, make up about two thirds of the population, and Russians (who live primarily in urban areas) the rest. Before the pogroms in 1930s, Tuvans were predominantly Buddhists. The traditional religion of Tuvans is animism, which is still widely practiced alongside Buddhism. The Tuvan language belongs to the Northern or Siberian branch of the Turkic language family.
History
Tuva, also known as Tannu Uriankhai, was controlled by the Mongols from the 13th to 18th centuries, then under Manchu rule from 1757 to 1911. During the 1911 revolution in China, tsarist Russia fomented a separatist movement among the Tuvans, whose territory became nominally independent before being made a Russian protectorate in 1914.
The chaos accompanying the Russian Revolution of 1917 allowed the Tuvans to again proclaim their independence; but in 1921 the Bolsheviks established a Tuvinian People's Republic, popularly called Tannu-Tuva. It was annexed by the USSR in 1944 as an autonomous region and became an autonomous republic in 1961. It was a signatory to the March 31, 1992, treaty that created the Russian Federation.
Culture
Tuvans are famous for their throat singing. See also: Ezengileer, Kargyraa, Sygyt, Xoomii.
Miscellaneous
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.
Tuva was featured prominently in the award-winning documentary Genghis Blues.
See also: Subdivisions of Russia
External Links
- http://www.compulink.co.uk/~ossystems/rfmbs/tuva.htm
Referenced By
David Hykes | Districts in Russia | Eurasia Party | Extinct countries | Extinct countries, empires, etc. | Extinct political countries, empires, etc. | Extint countries | Ezengileer | Federal districts of Russia | Feynman | Flashman | Flashman Papers | Fourth world | Gilyak | Harry Flashman | Harry Paget Flashman | History of ROC | History of Republic of China | History of Republican China | History of extinct nations and states | History of the ROC | History of the Republic of China | ISO 3166-1:RU | Inuit throat singing | Kargyraa | Katajjaq | Khoomei | List of China-related topics M-Z | List of Mongolia-related topics | List of Russian Federation administrative units | List of capitals of subnational entities | List of ethnic groups | List of extinct countries, empires, etc. | List of folk music genres | List of genres of music (A-M) | List of genres of music (N-Z) | Mongolian music | Music of Mongolia | Music of Russia | Provincial capital | R.P. Feynman | Regional capital | Richard Feynman | Richard Feynmann | Richard P. Feynman | Russia | Russian Federation | Russian music | Scythia | Scythian | Scythians | Siberian Federal District | State capital | Subdivisions of Russia | Sygyt | Tatary | Throat-singing | Throat Singing | UNPO | Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation | Xoomii
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