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Tuvan People's Republic Tьвa Arat Respuвlik
Satellite state of the Soviet Union
← 1921–1944 30px →
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem Tuvan Internationale
Tannu Tuva
Capital	Kyzyl
Language(s)	Tuvan, Russian, Mongolian
Religion	Tibetan Buddhism, Shamanism
Government	Socialist republic
President	Mrs. Khertek Anchimaa-Toka (Head of State) Mr. Salchak Toka (Head of Government)
Historical era	Interwar period
- Established	August 14, 1921
- Annexed	October 11, 1944
Area
- 1944	170,500 km2 (65,830 sq mi)
Population
- 1944 est.	95,400
Density	0.6 /km2  (1.4 /sq mi)
Currency	Tuvan akşa

Tuvan People's Republic's location (in modern boundaries)

The Tuvan People's Republic (People's Republic of Tannu Tuva; Tuvan: Tьвa Arat Respuвlik, Тыва Арат Республик, Tyva Arat Respublik) (1921–1944) was an independent state in the territory of the former Tuvan protectorate of Imperial Russia (though part of the Qing Empire until its collapse in 1911), also known as Uryankhaisky Krai (Russian: Урянхайский край). It was a satellite state of USSR. The Tuvan People's Republic is now formally known as Tuva Republic within the Russian Federation.

History[link]

Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Communist troops took Tuva in January 1920. The chaos accompanying this era allowed the Tuvans to again proclaim their independence. On 14 August 1921, the Bolsheviks (supported by Russia) established a Tuvan People's Republic, called Tannu Tuva until 1926. The capital Khem-Beldir was eventually renamed Kyzyl ('Red' in Tuvan; in Tuvan and Russian: Кызыл; in 1922-26 named "Красный", Krasnyy, 'Red' in Russian). A treaty between the Soviet Union and the Mongolian People's Republic in 1926 affirmed the country’s independence. No other countries formally recognized it, although it appeared on maps and globes produced in the United States.

Map of Asia made in the US, ca. 1932-36, showing the Tuvan People's Republic

Tuva’s first Prime Minister was Donduk Kuular of the Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party. Kuular made Buddhism the state religion and tried to limit settlers and propaganda coming from Russia. He also tried to establish ties with Mongolia. The Soviet Union became increasingly alarmed by these initiatives and in 1929 Prime Minister Kuular was arrested and later executed. In the USSR meanwhile (in 1930) five members of the Communist University of the Toilers of the East (KUTV), the same group that executed Kuular, were appointed "commissars extraordinary" for Tuva. Staunchly loyal to Joseph Stalin's government, they purged the Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party of about a third of its members and pushed collectivisation in the traditionally nomadic cattle-breeding country. The new government set about trying to destroy Buddhism and shamanism in Tuva, a policy encouraged by Stalin. Evidence of the success of these actions can be seen in the decline in the numbers of lamas in the country: in 1929 there were 25 lamaseries and about 4,000 lamas and Shamans; in 1931 there was just one lamasery, 15 lamas, and approximately 725 shamans. The attempts at eradicating nomadic husbandry were more difficult. A census in 1931 showed that 82.2% of Tuvans still engaged in nomadic cattle breeding. Salchak Toka, one of the commissars extraordinary mentioned above, was made General Secretary of the Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party in 1932. He stayed in power in Tuva until his death in 1973.

Tuva entered World War II with the USSR on 25 June 1941, three days after the German attack on the Soviet Union. On 11 October 1944, at the request of Tuva's Small People's Khural (parliament), Tuva became a part of the Soviet Union as the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast of the Russian SFSR by the decision of Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The Small People's Khural formalized the annexation at its final session on 1 November 1944. Salchak Toka was given the title of First Secretary of the Tuvan Communist Party. Tuva remained an autonomous republic (Tuvan ASSR within the Russian SFSR) from 10 October 1961 until 1992.

The area that was the Tuvan People's Republic is now known as Tyva Republic within the Russian Federation. Over 75% of population of Tuva are ethnic Tuvans.

Heads of Institutions[link]

Flag of the Tuvan People's Republic, 24 November 1926–28 June 1930. The text is ᠪᠦᠭᠦᠳᠡ ᠨᠠᠶᠢᠷᠠᠮᠳᠠᠬᠤ
ᠲᠢᠸᠠ ᠠᠷᠠᠳ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ

Heads of state[link]

• Chairman of the Constituent Khural
  • Mongush Buyan-Badyrgy (14 August 1921 - 15 August 1921)
• Chairmen of the Presidium of the Little Hural
  • Nimachyan (Nimazhav) (18 September 1924 - 4 February 1929)
  • Chuldum Lopsakovi (5 February 1929 - 5 November 1936)
  • Adyg-Tulush Khemchik-ool (6 November 1936 - February 1938)
  • Oyun Polat (2 March 1938 - 4 April 1940)
  • Khertek Anchimaa-Toka (6 April 1940 - 11 October 1944)

Heads of government[link]

• Chairman of the Central Council
  • Sodnam Balchir Ambyn-noyon (15 August 1921 - 28 February 1922)
• Chairmen of the Council of Ministers
  • Lobsang-Osur (1 March 1922 - 15 August 1922)
  • Idam-Syurun (Sürun) (15 August 1922 - 19 September 1923)
  • Mongush Buyan-Badyrgy (20 September 1923 - 18 September 1924)
  • Soyan Oruygu (18 September 1924 - 1925)
  • Donduk Kuular (1925 - January 1929)
  • Adyg-Tulush Khemchik-ool (January 1929 - 6 November 1936)
  • Sat Churmit-Dazhi (6 November 1936 - February 1938)
  • Bair Ondar (Aleksey Shirinmeyevich Bair) (1938 - 1940)
  • Saryg-Dongak Chymba (Aleksandr Mangeyevich Chimba) (6 April 1940 - 11 October 1944)

Heads of party[link]

• General Secretaries
  • Nimachyan (Nimazhav, Nimazhap) (1921 - 1923)
  • Lobsang-Osur (1923)
• President
  • Oyun Kursedy (9 July 1923 - 15 March 1924)
• General Secretary
  • Shagdyr (April 1924 - January 1926)
• First Secretaries
  • Mongush Buyan-Badyrgy (January 1926 - February 1927)
  • Sodnam Balchir Ambyn-noyon (February 1927 - January 1929)
  • Irgit Shagdyrzhap (January 1929 - March 1932)
• General Secretary
  • Salchak Toka (6 March 1932 - 11 October 1944)

Population[link]

^*: Russian population declined due to the conscription ("call up") to the Red Army in the Second World War period

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tuvinian People's Republic

• Tannu Uriankhai
• Postage stamps and postal history of Tannu Tuva
• Tuvan akşa – the national currency
• Mongolian People's Republic

References[link]

• Toomas Alatalu. "Tuva: A State Reawakens." Soviet Studies. 44. 5 (1992); 881-895.

External links[link]

• The World at War - Tannu Tuva 1911-1944

Coordinates: 51°41′53″N 94°23′24″E / 51.698°N 94.390°E / 51.698; 94.390

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010)

Look up people's republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

People's Republics:

  Current

  Former

People's Republic is a title that has often been used by Marxist–Leninist governments to describe their state. The motivation for using this term lies in the claim that Marxist–Leninists govern in accordance with the interests of the vast majority of the people, and, as such, a Marxist–Leninist republic is a people's republic. Many of these countries also called themselves socialist states in their constitutions; Albania, for instance, used both terms, "socialist" and "people's," in its official name from 1976 to 1991.

In the West, countries governed by Marxist–Leninists are referred to as "Communist states," though they never actually used this name for themselves and used the term countries of people's democracy. In the 1990s, many of the self-styled "People's Republics" of Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria) and Mongolia dropped the term and became known simply as "Republics" as they adopted liberal democratic systems of government — the term "People's Republic" being associated with the former Communist regimes.

Western Media may sometimes use just The People's Republic to refer to the People's Republic of China. When western media cover news which is reporting about Cross-Strait relations, they may sometimes use just the People's Republic to differentiate between the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China (Mainland China), though more often they simply say "Taiwan" and "China". However in Chinese media and scholars on both sides, usually refer to the People's Republic of China as "Mainland" and Republic of China as "Taiwan" to avoid referring to them directly as countries and getting caught up in a debate on their political status.^{[citation needed]}

Marxist–Leninist People's Republics[link]

Three current communist states include the words People's Republic in their full names:

•  People's Republic of China
•  Democratic People's Republic of Korea
•  Lao People's Democratic Republic

Historical examples include:

• People's Republic of Albania (1946–1976) and Socialist People's Republic of Albania (1976–1992)
• People's Republic of Angola (1975–1992)
• People's Republic of Benin (1975–1990)
• People's Republic of Bulgaria (1946–1990)
• People's Republic of the Congo (1970–1992)
• People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1987–1991)
• Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989)
• People's Republic of Kampuchea (1979–1989)
• Mongolian People's Republic (1924–1992)
• People's Republic of Mozambique (1975–1990)
• People's Republic of Poland (1952–1989)
• Romanian People's Republic (1947–1965)
•  Tuvan People's Republic (1921–1944)
• People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (1967–1990)
• Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (1946–1963)

Other titles commonly used by Marxist–Leninist states are Democratic Republic (e.g. the German Democratic Republic or the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia between 1943 and 1946), and Socialist Republic (e.g. the Socialist Republic of Vietnam).

Non-communist People's Republics[link]

However, neither of the two titles mentioned above, nor the term "People's Republic" itself, are unique to Marxist–Leninists. All three of them have also been used by a number of countries which are/were not Marxist–Leninist. The reason for this is the rather generic nature of the titles in question. Marxist–Leninists are by no means alone in claiming to be democratic, socialist or popular.

Thus, at the present time, there are two People's Republics which do not subscribe to Marxism–Leninism:

•  People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
•  People's Republic of Bangladesh

Historical examples include:

• Ukraine is the only country which named itself "People's republic" twice, these being the Ukrainian People's Republic (founded in 1917, covering approximately the territory of the pre-1939 Ukrainian SSR) and the West Ukrainian People's Republic (founded in 1918, covering the lands of the later Austria-Hungary which were inhabited predominantly by Ukrainians). The UPR was the world's first People's Republic.
• Belarusian People's Republic (1918–1919)
• Libya was officially called Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya between 1977 and 2011.

Other uses[link]

The term People's Republic is sometimes used by critics and satirists to describe areas perceived to be dominated by leftwing politics. Examples are The People's Republic of Madison, Wisconsin, "The People's Republic of New Jersey",^[1] the People's Republic of Berkeley, the People's Republic of Montclair, "The People's Republic of Taxachussetts" (Massachusetts), the "People's Republic of South Yorkshire" or "The People's Republic of Chicago".^[2][3] "People's Republic of California",^[4] and "People's Republic of Boulder."

See also[link]

• List of socialist countries
• Islamic republic
• List of Republics

References[link]

Tuvans
Тывалар

Kongar-ool Ondar, Tuvan throat singer.
Total population
over 280,000
Regions with significant populations
Tuva
Russia 237,000 [1]  Mongolia 31,823 (5,169 Tuvans; 26,654 Uriankhai)  China ~3,900 [1]
Languages
Tuvan, Russian, Mongolian
Religion
Predominantly Tengriism with Tibetan Buddhism ("Lamaism").
Related ethnic groups
Tofalar, Soyots, several other Turkic peoples and Uriankhai Mongols

The Tuvans or Tuvinians (Tuvan: Тывалар, Tyvalar; Mongolian: Tuva Uriankhai) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group living in southern Siberia. They are historically known as one of the Uriankhai, from the Mongolian designation.^[2] Tuvans' recent ethnic history is rooted in Mongol, Turkic, and Samoyedic groups of peoples.

Tuvans have historically been cattle-breeding nomads, tending to their herds of goats, sheep, camels, reindeer, cattle and yaks for the past thousands of years. They have traditionally lived in yurts covered by felt or chums covered with birch bark or hide that they relocate seasonally as they move to newer pastures. Traditionally Tuvans divided into nine regions called Khoshuun, namely the Tozhu, Salchak, Oyunnar, Khemchik, Khaasuut, Shalyk, Nibazy, Daavan & Choodu, and Beezi. The first four were ruled by Uriankhai Mongol princes, while the rest were administered by Borjigit Mongol princes.^[3]

History[link]

Besides prehistoric rock-carvings to be found especially along the Yenisei banks, the first internationally important archaeological findings have been near Arzhan, in the north central Tuva. Here Scythian kurgan burials are being researched, revealing the earliest (7th, 6th century BC) and easternmost remains of these people who spread all the way to Europe. They may be the origin of the occasional and remarkable blond, freckled, green- and blue-eyed Tuvans. Their story and fantastic gold treasures can be appreciated in the National Museum in Kyzyl.

The Xiongnu ruled over the area of Tuva prior to 200 AD. At this time a people known to the Chinese as Dingling inhabited the region. The Chinese recorded the existence of a tribe of Dingling origin named Dubo in the eastern Sayans. This name is recognized as being associated with the Tuvan people and is the earliest written record of them. The Xianbei defeated the Xiongnu and they in turn were defeated by the Rouran. From around the end of the 6th century, the Göktürks held dominion over Tuva up until the 8th century when the Uyghurs took over.

Map showing extent of Uyghur Khanate and placement of Kyrgyz in 820 AD.

Tuvans were subjects of the Uyghur Khanate during the 8th and 9th centuries. The Uyghurs established several fortifications within Tuva as a means of subduing the population. There are plans being discussed to restore the remains of one of these fortresses, Por-Bazhyn in lake Tere-Khol in the southeast of the country.^[4] The memory of Uyghur occupation could still be seen up until the end of the 19th century due to the application of the name Ondar Uyghur for the Ondar Tuvans living near the Khemchik river in the southwest.^[5] Uyghur dominance was broken by the Yeniseian Kyrgyz in 840 AD, who came from the upper reaches of the Yenisei.

In 1207, the Oirat prince Quduqa-Beki led Mongol detachments under Jochi to a tributary of the Kaa-Khem river. They encountered the Tuvan Keshdims, Baits, and Teleks. This was the beginning of Mongol suzerainty over the Tuvans. Tuvans came to be ruled for most of the 17th century by Khalka Mongol leader Sholoi Ubashi's Altyn-Khan Khanate. It was at this time in 1615 that the first Russians, V. Tyumenets and I. Petrov, visited Tuva as emissaries to the Altyn-Khan.^[6] Russian documents from this time record information about different tribal groups that contributed to the composition of modern Tuvans. Tyumenets and Petrov describe the Maads, who became Russian subjects in 1609, living in the Bii-Khem basin, a 14 day's ride from Tomsk. The Maads travelled to the area of the Khemchik and Ulug-Khem next to the lands of the Altyn-Khan near the lake Uvs Nuur. The ambassadors also described the Sayan raising reindeer with the Tochi (Todzhi) from the Sayan to the Altai mountain ranges. The descendants of the Ak-Sayan and Kara-Sayan live mostly around Tere-Khol rayon.

The state of the Altyn-Khan disappeared due to constant warring between the Oirats and the Khalka of Jasaghtu Khan Aimak. The Tuvans became part of the Dzungarian state ruled by the Oirats. The Dzungars ruled over all of the Sayano-Altay Plateau until 1755. It was during this time of Dzungarian rule that many tribes and clans broke up, moved around, and intermingled. Groups of Altayan Telengits settled in western Tuva on the Khemchik and Barlyk rivers and in the region of Bai-Taiga. Some Todzhans, Sayans, and Mingats ended up in the Altay. Other Tuvans migrated north across the Sayan range and became known as Beltirs (Dag-Kakpyn, Sug-Kakpyn, Ak-Chystar, Kara-Chystar). The languages of the Beltirs and Tuvans still contain common words not found in the language of the other Khakas (Kachins or Sagays).^[7] Other Russian documents mention Yeniseian Kyrgyz (Saryglar and Kyrgyz), Orchaks (Oorzhaks) and Kuchugets (Kuzhugets) moving into Tuva from the north.

Besides the Turkic tribes mentioned above, there is indication that modern Tuvans are descended also from Mongolic, Samoyedic, and Kettic groups of peoples. Of the extinct Southern Samoyed groups, Mator, Koibal, Kamas, and Karagas were assimilated mostly into the eastern Tuvans such as the Todzhins, Tofalars, Soyots, and Dukha. The Irgit tribe is also suggested as being from Samoyedic ancestors.^[8] The Tuvan name for the Yenisei river may stem from an ancient Samoyedic name.^[9] Tribes such as Tumat, Mingat, Mongush, and Salchak are recognized as having a Mongolic origin.^[10]

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 Indigenous peoples of the Americas.^[11]

[edit] The name Uriankhai

There doesn't seem to exist a clear ethnic delineation for the application of the name Uriankhai. Mongols applied this name to all tribes of Forest People. This name has historically been applied to Tuvans. In Mongolia there are peoples also known by this name. A variation of the name, Uraŋxai, was an old name for the Sakha.^[12] Russian Pavel Nebol'sin documented the Urankhu clan of Volga Kalmyks in the 1850s.^[13] Another variant of the name, Orangkae (오랑캐), was traditionally used by the Koreans to refer indiscriminately to "barbarians" that inhabited the lands to their north.

Currently, Tuvans form a large majority of the population in Tuva Republic. According to the 2010 Russian census, there was a total of 249,299 Tuvans who resided within Tuva. This represented 82.0% of the total population of the republic. In addition, Tuvans have a much higher fertility rate than Russians and the other Slavic peoples, while the median age of the Tuvan population is much lower than Russians. This basically ensures that the Tuvan population would continue to grow during the forseeable future.

Geography[link]

Today's settlement areas of the Tyva in Russia and the Dukha in neighbouring Mongolia.

There are two major groups of Tuvans in Tuva: Western Tuvans and Tuvans-Todzhins (Тувинцы-тоджинцы). The latter ones live in Todzhinsky District, Tuva Republic and constitute about 5% of all Tuvans.

A people similar by language to Tuvans live in Oka District of Buryatia (autonym: Soyots (сойоты), sometimes referred to as Oka Tuvans).

Mongolia[link]

A noticeable proportion of Tuvans lives in Mongolia. The Dukha live in Khövsgöl Aimag. The largest population of Tuvans in Mongolia are the Tsengel Tuvans.^[14] Around 1,500 live in Tsengel Sum of Bayan-Ölgii Aimag. Other Tuvans live in Khovd Aimag and in Ubsunur Hollow.

China[link]

Tuvans in China, who live mostly in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, are included under the Mongol nationality.^[14] Some Tuvans reportedly live at Lake Kanas in the northwestern part of Xinjiang in China where they are not officially recognized, are counted as a part of the local Oirat Mongol community that is counted under the general label 'Mongol'. Oirat and Tuvan children attend schools in which they use Chakhar Mongolian and Chinese, native languages of neither group.

Culture[link]

Shaman of Kyzyl, 2005. Tuvan shamanhood is being preserved and revitalized

Language[link]

The Tuvan language belongs to the Northern or Siberian branch of the Turkic language family. Four dialects are recognized: Central, Western, Southeastern and Northeastern (Todzhinian). The written language is based on Cyrillic.

Religion[link]

The traditional religion of Tuvans is a type of Tengriism, or Turkic animistic shamanism. The religion is still widely practiced alongside Tibetan Buddhism.

Music[link]

A unique form of music exists in Tuva commonly known as throat singing or khoomei. There are various techniques of khoomei, some giving the effect of multiple tones by emphasizing overtones. Some famous groups from Tuva who feature throat-singing are Huun-Huur-Tu, Chirgilchin and the Alash Ensemble.

A documentary called Genghis Blues was made in 1999 about an American blues/jazz musician, Paul Pena, who taught himself overtone singing and traveled to Tuva to compete in a throat-singing competition.^[15]

See also[link]

• List of indigenous peoples of Russia
• List of Tuvans
• Tuva
• Tannu Uriankhai
• Por-Bazhyn

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Reindeer People" Resort to Eating Their Herds (about the Dukha) with Photo gallery
• Tuva - Sayan Mountains
• Singing Stones - The Republic of Tuva

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2009)

Kongar-ol Ondar

Kongar-ol Ondar (Tuvan: Ондар Коңгар-оол) is a master Tuvan throat singer and a member of the Great Khural of Tuva. Ondar was born in 1962 near the Khemchik River in western Tuva. Considered a living treasure by the Republic of Tuva, Ondar is granted a stipend and an apartment for the musical skills he possesses. Jovial and personable, Ondar is probably the best-known face of khöömei (Tuvan: хөөмей) throat singing to Westerners, appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman and in interviews for CNN and other networks.

In the Central Asian tradition of self-fulfilling child naming, Kongar-ol literally translates to "loud boy."

Ondar is also known outside Tuva for inviting American blues musician Paul Pena to Tuva. Pena, who had learned throat singing before coming to Tuva, was the subject of the documentary Genghis Blues in which Ondar was also featured.

He also appears on the Béla Fleck and the Flecktones albums Outbound, album/DVD Live at the Quick, and Jingle All the Way.^[1] He released one album on Warner Bros. Records titled Back Tuva Future.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kongar-ol Ondar's homepage
• Kongar-ol Ondar at Allmusic

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