Tuva#Politics

{{Main article|History of Tuva}}

{{See also|History of the Tuvan people}}

File:Tuva republic map.png

The territory of Tuva has been controlled by the Xiongnu (209 BC{{snd}}93 AD) and the Xianbei state (93–234), Rouran Khaganate (330–555), Tang dynasty (647–682), Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate (7th–13th century), Mongol Empire (1206–1271), Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), Northern Yuan dynasty (1368–1691), Khotgoid Khanate and Zunghar Khanate (1634–1758).History of Mongolia, Volume II, 2003. Medieval Mongol tribes, including Oirats and Tumeds, inhabited areas which are now part of the Tuvan Republic.

From 1758 to 1911, Tuva was part of China's Qing dynasty and administered by Outer Mongolia.{{cite journal|last1=Shurkhuu|first1=D.|title=Similarities and Differences between Mongolia and Tuva in the Evolution of Bilateral Ties|journal=Senri Ethnological Studies|date=2014|volume=86|pages=127–144|access-date=14 May 2015|url=http://ir.minpaku.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10502/5337/1/SES86_12.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518092845/http://ir.minpaku.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10502/5337/1/SES86_12.pdf|archive-date=18 May 2015|url-status=dead}} During the Xinhai Revolution in China, Tsarist Russia formed a separatist movement among the Tuvans while there were also pro-independence and pro-Mongol groups.L. Zhazhmsran. 1995 Tsar Nicholas II agreed to the third petition by Tuva's leadership in 1912, establishing a protectorate over the then-independent state. Some Russians, such as merchants, travellers, and explorers, had already settled in Tuva at that time.{{cite web|url=http://megabook.ru/article/%D0%A3%D1%80%D1%8F%D0%BD%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9%20%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B9 |title=Статья в Мегаэнциклопедии Кирилла и Мефодия |website=megabook.ru |access-date=19 December 2020 |language=ru}} Tuva became nominally independent as the Uryankhay Republic before being turned into a Russian protectorate as Uryankhay Krai under Tsar Nicholas II, on 17 April 1914.{{cite book|title=Robertson's Book of Firsts: Who Did What for the First Time|author=Robertson, P.|date=2011|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781608197385|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2TEEaCrPiWsC&pg=PT932|access-date=19 December 2020}}

A Tuvan capital was established, called Belotsarsk (Белоца́рск; literally, "(Town) of the White Tsar").{{cite web|title = Kyzyl city, Russia info, features, photos|url = http://russiatrek.org/kyzyl-city|website = russiatrek.org|access-date = 2015-11-03}} Meanwhile, in 1911, with the collapse of the Qing, Mongolia seceded from China, entering Russia's sphere of influence. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 that ended the imperial autocracy, most of Tuva was occupied from 5 July 1918 to 15 July 1919 by Alexander Kolchak's White Russian troops. Pyotr Ivanovich Turchaninov was named governor of the territory. In the autumn of 1918, the southwestern part was occupied by Chinese troops and the southern part by Mongol troops led by Khatanbaatar Magsarjav.{{Cite book|last=Shuldyakov |first=V.A. |title=Сибирские казаки в Урянхайском крае (1918–1919): неизвестная страница Гражданской войны |edition=Современные научные исследования: теория, методология, практика: Сб. науч. тр. профессорско-препод. состава по итогам отчетов кафедры обществен-ных наук по НИР за 2007 г. Вып. 2. |location=Omsk |publisher=ANO VPO "Omsk Economic Institute" Press |year= 2008 |volume= 3 |pages=114–132 |language=ru}}

From July 1919 to February 1920, the communist Red Army controlled Tuva but from 19 February 1920 to June 1921 it was occupied by China (governor was Yan Shichao [traditional, Wade–Giles transliteration: Yan Shi-ch'ao]), until their expulsion by the Bolsheviks in 1921. On 14 August 1921, the Bolsheviks established the Tuvan People's Republic, popularly called Tannu-Tuva. In 1926, the capital (Belotsarsk; Khem-Beldyr since 1918) was renamed Kyzyl, meaning "red". The Tuvan People's Republic was de jure an independent state between the World Wars. The state's ruler, Chairman Donduk Kuular, sought to strengthen ties with Mongolia and establish Tibetan Buddhism as the state religion. This unsettled the Soviet Union, which orchestrated a coup carried out in 1929 by five young Tuvan graduates of Moscow's Communist University of the Toilers of the East.{{cite book |last=Forsyth |first=James |date=1994 |title=A History of the Peoples of Siberia: Russia's North Asian Colony 1581–1990 |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=281 |isbn=052-147-771-9}}

In 1930, the pro-Soviet regime discarded the state's Mongol script in favor of a Latin alphabet designed for Tuva by Russian linguists. In 1943, Cyrillic script replaced Latin. Under the leadership of Party Secretary Salchak Toka, ethnic Russians were granted full citizenship rights and Buddhist and Mongol influences on the Tuvan state and society were systematically curtailed.{{cite web|url=http://www.fotuva.org/misc/mcmullen.html|title=Tuva: Russia's Tibet or the Next Lithuania?|access-date=22 February 2018}}

Tuva was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1944, with the approval of Tuva's Little Khural (parliament), but without a referendum on the issue. It became the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast, within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, after the Soviet victory in World War II.{{cite web|url=http://www.hubert-herald.nl/RossTuva.htm |website=hubert-herald.nl |title=ТЫВА Tuva |access-date=5 November 2020}} Salchak Toka, leader of the Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party, was given the title of First Secretary of the Tuvan Communist Party and became the de facto ruler of Tuva until his death in 1973.{{cite web|url=https://www.tuva.asia/journal/issue_1-2/132-toka.html |title=Сын своего времени |website=tuva.asia |access-date=19 December 2020 |language=ru}} The territory became the Tuvan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on 10 October 1961.

File:Vladimir Putin in Tuva 2007-54.jpg in Tuva in 2007]]

In February 1990, the Tuvan Democratic Movement was founded by Kaadyr-ool Bicheldei, a philologist at the Kyzyl State Pedagogical Institute. The party aimed to provide jobs and housing (both in short supply), and improve the status of the Tuvan language and culture. Later in the year, there was a wave of attacks against Tuva's sizeable Russian community, including sniper attacks on trucks, and attacks on outlying settlements, with 168 murdered.Mark R. Beissinger, Nationalist Mobilization and the Collapse of the Soviet State, Cambridge University Press, 2002, [https://books.google.com/books?id=QNAiofG_-e0C&dq=tuva+riots+1990&pg=PA230 pg. 230] Russian troops were eventually called in. Many Russians moved out of the republic during this period. Tuva has remained remote and difficult to access.{{cite web|url=http://www.geographicbureau.com/russia/info/siberia/tuva|title=Tuva|publisher=Geographic Bureau — Siberia and Far East/Tuva|access-date=4 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126095830/http://www.geographicbureau.com/russia/info/siberia/tuva|archive-date=26 November 2015|url-status=dead}}

Tuva was a signatory to the 31 March 1992 treaty that created the Russian Federation. On 22 October 1993, a new constitution was drawn up for the republic, creating a 32-member parliament (Supreme Khural) and a Grand Khural, which deals with local legislation.{{cite web |url=http://gov.tuva.ru/content/1538/21501/ |title=Конституция Республики Тыва |website=gov.tuva.ru |language=ru |access-date=9 May 2019 |archive-date=9 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809122811/http://gov.tuva.ru/content/1538/21501/ |url-status=dead }} The constitution was approved by 53.9% (62.2% according to another source) of Tuvans in a referendum on 12 December 1993."Tyva republic approves own constitution", BBC Monitoring Service, December 15, 1993. At the same time, the official name was changed from Tuva (Тува) to Tyva (Тыва).{{cite web|url=http://www.khural.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=114:konstitucziya-respubliki-tyva&catid=47:status&Itemid=134&limitstart=1 |title=Конституция Республики Тува — ОСНОВЫ КОНСТИТУЦИОННОГО СТРОЯ Статья 1. п 2. |access-date=19 December 2020 |language=ru |quote=The names Republic of Tuva and Tuva are equivalent}}

{{More citations needed|section|date=June 2018}}

File:Центр Азии август 2015г.jpg

The Tyva Republic is situated in the far south of Siberia. Its capital city is Kyzyl, located near the geographic "center of Asia". The eastern part of the republic is forested and elevated, while the western part is a drier lowland.

• Borders:
• internal: Khakassia (NW/N), Krasnoyarsk Krai (N), Irkutsk Oblast (N/NE), Buryatia (E), Altai Republic (SW/W)
• international: Mongolia (Bayan-Ölgii Province, Khövsgöl Province, Uvs Province and Zavkhan Province) (S) (border line length: {{convert|1305|km|sp=us}})
• Highest point: Mount Mongun-Tayga, {{convert|3970|m|sp=us}}
• Maximum N–S distance: {{convert|450|km|sp=us}}
• Maximum E–W distance: over {{convert|700|km|sp=us}}
• Area: {{convert|170,427|km2|sp=us}}

There are over 8,000 rivers in the Tuvan Republic, including the upper course of the Yenisei River, the fifth longest river in the world. Most of the republic's rivers are Yenisei tributaries. There are also numerous mineral springs in the area.

Major rivers include:

• Yenisei River (also called Ulug-Khem)
• Kantegir River
• Khemchik River
• Maly Yenisei River (also called Ka-Khem or Kaa-Khem)
• Upper Yenisei River (also called Biy-Khem or Bii-Khem)

File:Озеро Азас, Тоджинского района Тувы.jpg

There are numerous lakes in Tuva, many of which are glacial and salt lakes, including Todzha Lake, a.k.a. Azas Lake (100 km²) – the largest in the republic, and Uvs Lake (shared with Mongolia and a World Heritage Site).

File:Счастье не за горами, счастье в горах!.jpg

The Tuva Republic is made up of a mountain basin, about 600 m high, encircled by the Sayan and Tannu-Ola mountain ranges. Mountains and hills cover over 80% of its territory. Mongun-Tayga ("Silver Mountain", 3,970 m) is the highest point in the republic and is named after its glacier.

{{Main|Administrative divisions of the Tuva Republic}}

Population: {{ru-census|p2021=336651|p2010=307,930|p2002=305,510|p1989=309,129}}

{{Historical populations|7=1959|8=171928|9=1970|10=230864|11=1979|12=266453|13=1989|14=309129|15=2002|16=305510|17=2010|18=307930|19=2021|20=336651|type=|footnote=Source: Census data}}

• Average life expectancy: Tuva: 56.5 (average male and female, UNDP data); Russia: (UN data) Male 59 (world rank 166); Female 73 (127)

According to the 2021 census,{{cite web|title=Национальный состав населения|url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/Tom5_tab1_VPN-2020.xlsx|publisher=Federal State Statistics Service|accessdate=30 December 2022}} Tuvans make up 88.7% of the population. Other groups include Russians (10.1%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population.

File:Этническая карта Республики Тывы по населённым пунктам.png}}{{Legend|#adff2f|Tozhu Tuvans}}{{Legend|#ff0000|Russians}}]]

During the period from 1959 to 2010, there was more than a doubling of ethnic Tuvans. The Russian population growth slowed by the 1980s and decreased by 70% since 1989. The official languages are Tuvan (Turkic) and Russian (Slavic).

Outside Kyzyl, settlements have few if any Russian inhabitants and, in general, Tuvans use their original language as their first language. However, there is a small population of Old Believers in the Republic scattered in some of the most isolated areas. Before Soviet rule, there were a number of large ethnic Russian Old Believer villages, but as atheism spread, the believers moved deeper and deeper into the taiga in order to avoid contact with outsiders. Major Old Believer villages are Erzhei, Uzhep, Unzhei, Zhivei and Bolee Malkiye (all in the Kaa-Khemsky District). Smaller ultra-Orthodox settlements are found further upstream.{{cite web |url=http://condor.depaul.edu/rrotenbe/aeer/v17n2/Fridman.pdf |title=ESCAPING WITHIN: LOST IN THE BOUNDARIES: A REPORT FROM THE FIELD|website=condor.depaul.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110909103142/http://condor.depaul.edu/rrotenbe/aeer/v17n2/Fridman.pdf |archive-date=9 September 2011}}

Ethnic Russians make up 27.4% of the population (as of the 2021 census) in Kaa-Khemsky District, one of the most remote regions in Tuva. The population is mostly Old Believers.{{cite web|url=http://www.rodonews.ru/news_1288530624.html|script-title=ru:Староверы Республики Тыва. Фото|publisher=Rodonews.ru|access-date=16 November 2012|language=ru|archive-date=13 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313212935/http://rodonews.ru/news_1288530624.html|url-status=dead}} Russians account for 18.9% of the population in Piy-Khemsky and 16.4% in Kyzyl.{{cite web|url=https://www.tuva.asia/journal/issue_30/8674-kan.html|script-title=ru:Этносоциальный профиль тувинцев|publisher=tuva.asia|date=2 June 2016|language=ru}}

File:TIVALI URUGLAR.JPG|A girl and a boy riding their horses

File:Сай хонаш посетители.jpg|Tuvans in 2016

{{Bar box

|title=Religion in Tuva as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas)[http://sreda.org/en/arena "2012 Arena: Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia"]. sreda.org; retrieved February 22, 2018.[http://c2.kommersant.ru/ISSUES.PHOTO/OGONIOK/2012/034/ogcyhjk2.jpg 2012 Arena Atlas Religion Maps]. "Ogonek", № 34 (5243), August 27, 2012; retrieved February 22, 2018. [https://web.archive.org/web/20170421154615/http://c2.kommersant.ru/ISSUES.PHOTO/OGONIOK/2012/034/ogcyhjk2.jpg Arena Atlas Religion Maps (archived)]

|float=right

|bars=

{{Bar percent|Buddhism|Yellow|61.8}}

{{Bar percent|Atheism and irreligion|Black|11.8}}

{{Bar percent|Tengrism and Tuvan Shamanism|Red|8}}

{{Bar percent|Spiritual but not religious|DarkSlateGray|7.6}}

{{Bar percent|Other and undeclared|Gray|7.2}}

{{Bar percent|Other Christians|DeepSkyBlue|1.4}}

{{Bar percent|Protestantism|Navy|1.4}}

{{Bar percent|Russian Orthodoxy|DarkOrchid|0.8}}

}}

Two religions are widespread among the Tuvan people: Tibetan Buddhism and shamanism. Tibetan Buddhism's present-day spiritual leader is Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama. In September 1992, Tenzin Gyatso visited Tuva for three days.{{cite web|url=http://www.avantart.com/tuva/dalailama.html|title=Dalai Lama|publisher=Avantart.com|access-date=16 November 2012}} On September 20, he blessed and consecrated the yellow-blue-white flag of Tuva, which had been officially adopted three days before.The World Encyclopedia of Flags; {{ISBN|1-84038-415-8}}

The Tuvan people – along with the Yellow Uyghurs in China – are one of the only two Turkic groups who are primarily adherents to Tibetan Buddhism, which coexists with native shamanistic traditions.{{cite web|url=http://www.kommersant.com/tree.asp?rubric=5&node=451&doc_id=-110|title=Russia's Daily Online|publisher=Kommersant|access-date=16 November 2012|archive-date=4 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404122833/http://www.kommersant.com/tree.asp?rubric=5&node=451&doc_id=-110|url-status=dead}}

Tuvans were first exposed to Buddhism during the 13th and 14th centuries, when Tuva entered into the composition of the Mongol Empire. The earliest Buddhist temples uncovered by archaeologists in the territory of Tuva date to the 13th and 14th centuries.{{Cite journal|last=Zhukovskaia|first=N. L.|date=2001-04-01|title=Lamaism in Tuva|journal=Anthropology & Archeology of Eurasia|volume=39|issue=4|pages=48–49|doi=10.2753/AAE1061-1959390448|s2cid=144636457|issn=1061-1959}} During the 16th and 17th centuries, Tibetan Buddhism gained popularity in Tuva. An increasing number of new and restored temples are coming into use, and there has been an upward trend in the number of novices being trained as monks and lamas in recent years. Religious practice declined under the restrictive policies of the Soviet period, but is now flourishing.{{cite web |url=http://worldheritage.heindorffhus.dk/frame-RussiaUvsNuur.htm |title= Russia – Uvs Nuur Basin|website=worldheritage.heindorffhus.dk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830173444/http://worldheritage.heindorffhus.dk/frame-RussiaUvsNuur.htm |archive-date=30 August 2006}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8254398.stm|title=Tyvans keen to protect traditions|publisher=BBC News|date=19 September 2009|access-date=16 November 2012}}

According to a 2012 survey, 61.8% of the population of Tuva adheres to Buddhism, 8% to Tengrism or Tuvan shamanism, 1.5% to the Russian Orthodox Church, the Old Believers or other forms of Christianity, 1% to Protestantism. In addition, 7.7% follow other religions or did not give an answer to the survey. 8% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious" and 12% to be atheist.

File:Буддийский храм "Цеченлиг".jpg|Buddhist temple of Kyzyl (Цеченлиң/Tsechenling)

File:Воскресенский кафедральный собор в Кызыле в январе 2017 года.jpg|Resurrection Cathedral in Kyzyl

{{more citations needed|section|date=August 2022}}

File:Подписания соглашения.jpg (right) in 2016]]

The present flag of Tuva – yellow for prosperity, blue for courage and strength, white for purity – was adopted on 17 September 1992. The Republic's Constitution was adopted on 23 October 1993.

The head of Tuva is the chairman of the government and serves a five-year term which can be renewed. The first Chairman of the Government was Sherig-ool Oorzhak. On 3 April 2007, Russian president Vladimir Putin nominated Sholban Kara-ool, 40, a former champion wrestler, as the Chairman of the Government of Tuva.{{cite web |title=Tuva-Online: New Head for Tuva Chosen by President Putin |url=http://en.tuvaonline.ru/2007/04/04/sholban.html |access-date=16 November 2012 |publisher=En.tuvaonline.ru}} Kara-ool's candidacy was approved by the Khural on 9 April 2007.{{cite web |title=Tuva-Online: 40-year-old Head of Tuva Backed by Parliament |url=http://en.tuvaonline.ru/2007/04/09/sholban.html |access-date=22 December 2017 |publisher=tuvaonline.ru}} Kara-ool served from 2007 until 2021. The third and current Tuvan head of government is Vladislav Khovalyg.

Tuva's legislature, the Great Khural, has 32 seats as of 2023; each deputy is elected to serve a five-year term.

In the 2024 Russian presidential election, which critics called rigged and fraudulent, President Vladimir Putin won 95.37% of the vote in Tuva.{{cite news |date=20 March 2024 |title=The extent of fraud in Russia's presidential election begins to emerge |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/03/20/the-extent-of-fraud-in-russia-s-presidential-election-begins-to-emerge_6638830_4.html |work=Le Monde}}{{Cite web |date=18 March 2024 |title=Итоги выборов президента России |url=https://ria.ru/20240317/vybory-1924359788.html |website=РИА Новости |language=ru |archive-date=17 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317220041/https://ria.ru/20240317/vybory-1924359788.html |url-status=live }}

In Tuva, there are a total of approximately 7,400 unemployed, which gives a 5.9% unemployment rate {{cite web | url=https://madeinrussia.ru/en/news/13005 | title=The unemployment rate in Tuva has almost halved in six months }} and is above the overall Russian unemployment rate of 4.9% {{cite web | url=https://www.globaldata.com/data-insights/macroeconomic/the-unemployment-rate-of-russia-220152/ | title=Unemployment rate of Russia (2018 - 2026, %) }}

Mining is a crucial element of the Tuvan economy. The Ulugh-Khem coal basin is located in Tuva.{{Cite journal |last1=Dabiev |first1=D.F. |last2=Ayunova |first2=O.D. |date=10 November 2021 |title=State and prospects of the development of the Ulug-Khem coal basin |url=https://www.ugolinfo.ru/index.php?article=202111045 |journal=UGOL |volume=10 |pages=45–49|doi=10.18796/0041-5790-2021-11-45-49 }} It is estimated that in 2020, there were 40 million metric tonnes of coal produced in Tuva,{{cite web | url=https://www.russia-briefing.com/news/the-republic-of-tuva-and-the-state-of-russian-coal-exports.html/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAnnual%20coal%20production%20in%20Tyva%20may%20reach%2040,steel%20producer%2C%20said%20in%20an%20interview%20with%20Bloomberg. | title=The Republic of Tuva and the State of Russian Coal Exports | date=14 March 2012 }} which accounts for approximately 9.4% of Russia's average annual coal production of 423 million metric tonnes.{{cite web | url=https://www.worldometers.info/coal/coal-production-by-country/ | title=Coal Production by Country - Worldometer }}

Tuva does not have a railway, although famous postage stamps in the 1930s, designed in Moscow during the time of Tuvan independence, mistakenly depict locomotives as demonstrating Soviet-inspired progress there.{{cite web|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/projects-infrastructure/single-view/view/tuva-coal-line-ppp-plan-revised.html|title=Tyva coal line PPP plan revised|publisher=Railway Gazette|access-date=16 November 2012|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128235706/https://www.railwaygazette.com/news/projects-infrastructure/single-view/view/tuva-coal-line-ppp-plan-revised.html|url-status=dead}} The Kuragino–Kyzyl railway line is scheduled to be completed in 2026.[http://www.siberianclub.ru/News/article/334 President said the railway to Tuva will be built] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928060046/http://www.siberianclub.ru/News/article/334 |date=2007-09-28 }}, Siberianclub.ru; accessed 22 December 2017.

Tuva is served by Kyzyl Airport.

{{see also|Music of Tuva}}

File:Yurt in Tos Bulak.jpg in Tos Bulak]]

File:Конгар-оол на родовом месте.jpg Kongar-ool Ondar]]

Traditionally, the Tuvan people are a Central Asian yurt-dwelling nomadic culture, with distinctive traditions in music, cuisine, and folk art. Tuvan music features Tuvan throat singing (khoomei), in which the singer sings a fundamental tone and an overtone simultaneously. This type of singing can be heard during performances by the Tuvan National Orchestra, at events such as the 'International Khoomei Day' held at the National Tuvinian Theatre in Kyzyl.{{Cite journal|date=2016|title=The Republic of TUVA, travel guide|url=http://img.2r.ru/files/2017/07/%D0%BF%D0%BE%20%D0%A0%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B5%20%D0%A2%D1%8B%D0%B2%D0%B0.pdf|journal=ИПК «ПЛАТИНА»|volume=1|page=50|access-date=24 July 2017|archive-date=3 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303034244/http://img.2r.ru/files/2017/07/%D0%BF%D0%BE%20%D0%A0%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B5%20%D0%A2%D1%8B%D0%B2%D0%B0.pdf|url-status=dead}}

The Tuvan craft tradition includes carving the soft stone, agalmatolite. A frequent motif is hand-held-sized animals, such as horses.{{cite web | url=http://factsanddetails.com/russia/Minorities/sub9_3e/entry-5125.html | title=TUVANS | Facts and Details }}

Important archaeological excavations in Tuva include Arzhaan-1 and Tunnug 1,{{Cite journal|last1=Caspari|first1=Gino|last2=Sadykov|first2=Timur|last3=Blochin|first3=Jegor |last4=Hajdas |first4=Irka|date=2018-09-01|title=Tunnug 1 (Arzhan 0) – an early Scythian kurgan in Tuva Republic, Russia|journal=Archaeological Research in Asia|volume=15|pages=82–87|doi=10.1016/j.ara.2017.11.001|s2cid=135231553|issn=2352-2267}} dating to the ninth century BC.{{cite book | chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/1-4020-2656-0_24 | doi=10.1007/1-4020-2656-0_24 | chapter=Horse Remains from the Arzhan-1 and Arzhan-2 Scythian Monuments | title=Impact of the Environment on Human Migration in Eurasia | series=NATO Science Series: IV: Earth and Environmental Sciences | year=2005 | last1=Bourova | first1=N. | volume=42 | pages=323–332 | isbn=1-4020-2655-2 }} and Arzhaan-2, where Scythian animal art in great variety, and over 9,000 decorative gold pieces were unearthed.{{cite web|url=https://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/f0212-focus-on-tuva-stunning-treasures-and-macabre-slaughter-in-siberias-prehistoric-valley-of-the-kings/ |title=FOCUS ON TUVA: Stunning treasures – and macabre slaughter – in Siberia's Valley of the Kings |publisher=Siberiantimes.com |date= |accessdate=2022-03-19}} A collection of gold jewelry from this site is on display at the National Museum Aldan-Maadyr in Kyzyl.

Festivals celebrating Tuvan traditions include the ecological film festival "The Living Path of Dersu", the Interregional Festival of National Cultures "Heart of Asia". It has become a tradition to hold the international festival of live music "Ustuu-Khuree", the International Symposium "Khoomei – the Phenomenon of the Culture of the Peoples of Central Asia", the Regional Competition-Festival of Performers on National Instruments "Dingildai", the International Felt Festival "Patterns of Life on Felt" Pop songs "Melodies of the Sayan Mountains".{{cite web|url=http://gov.tuva.ru/region/culture/1322|script-title=ru:Культура Республики Тыва – Официальный портал Республики Тыва|website=gov.tuva.ru |language=ru|access-date=24 July 2017|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729044906/http://gov.tuva.ru/region/culture/1322/|url-status=dead}}

Tuva is one of the few places in the world where the original form of shamanism is preserved as part of the traditional culture of Tuva. Shamanism presupposes the existence of good and evil spirits inhabiting mountains, forests and water, as well as the heavens and the underworld. The mediator between man and the spirits is the shaman. It is believed that with the help of spirits the shaman is able to cure patients and predict the future.

In Tuva, shamanism peacefully coexists with Buddhism. Buddhism is associated with many folk rituals, calendar holidays, and folk medicines in Tuva. Centers of Buddhism in Tuva are Khuree – temples, temple complexes; the temple complex Tsechenling in Kyzyl is the residence of Khambo Lama, head of Buddhism in Tuva. Treasures of the old Slavonic culture in the Asian Tuva saved along with the values of other peoples – children's folklore ensemble "Oktay" from the city of Kyzyl in the course several ethnographic expeditions in the old believers ' settlements were able to collect an extensive collection of samples of ancient singing art.

{{Main|Music in the Tuva Republic}}

Bandy, a sport similar to ice hockey, is played in Tuva.{{cite web|url=http://www.bandynet.ru/v1/node/17109&sandbox=1|title=|publisher=bandynet.ru|access-date=22 February 2018}}{{dead link|date=October 2023}} Mongolian-style wrestling is very popular, as are most martial arts.{{clarify|date=February 2024}}{{cite web |url=http://gov.tuva.ru/press_center/news/children/31187/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=9 May 2019 |archive-date=9 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809150412/http://gov.tuva.ru/press_center/news/children/31187/ |url-status=dead }} Horse riding related sports are also predominant in the area.{{cite web |url=http://gov.tuva.ru/press_center/news/konkursy/37307/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=9 May 2019 |archive-date=9 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809151029/http://gov.tuva.ru/press_center/news/konkursy/37307/ |url-status=dead }}

File:Stamp Tannu Tuva 1927 2k.jpg

• In the 1920s and 1930s, postage stamps from Tuva were issued. Many philatelists have been fascinated with Tuva because of these stamps. The stamps were issued mainly during the brief period of Tuvan independence and were not accepted by serious collectors until recently as they were thought to be produced in Moscow and not to represent a genuine postal service.{{cite web |url = http://ttcs.netfirms.com/ducklings1.htm |title = Philately's Ugliest Ducklings: Rehabilitating the 1934–36 Issues of Tannu Tuva |access-date=2011-07-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110714165959/http://ttcs.netfirms.com/ducklings1.htm |archive-date=14 July 2011 }} by James Negus at TTCS. Originally published in The Philatelic Journal, July–September 1960.
• 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.{{Cite web|url=http://macroevolution.narod.ru/zaharov_indians.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310231205/http://macroevolution.narod.ru/zaharov_indians.htm|url-status=dead|title="Central Asian Origins of the Ancestor of First Americans", by I. Zakharov|archivedate=10 March 2007}}
• Physicist Richard Feynman details in his autobiographical works that he became fascinated with Tuva as a child and was able to make limited contact with the country despite the constraints of the Soviet period. His unsuccessful attempts to visit were detailed in Ralph Leighton's book Tuva or Bust!
• The Sayan Mountains in Tuva were featured in Bear Grylls' Man vs Wild adventure TV show.{{cite web |url=//www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NSRNY4kZ1g |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/8NSRNY4kZ1g| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title = Man Vs Wild Siberia 1–5 |website=YouTube |date=27 November 2008 |access-date=16 November 2012 }}{{cbignore}}

{{see also|List of Tuvans}}

• Sainkho Namtchylak (born 1957), throat and experimental singer
• Kongar-ool Ondar (1962–2013), throat singer and a member of the Great Khural of Tuva.
• Stepan Saryg-Ool (1908–1983), Soviet Tuvan poet, writer, folklore specialist, and politician.
• Sergei Shoygu (born 1955), former Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation and current Secretary of the Security Council of Russia.
• Rōga Tokiyoshi (born 1999, name Amartuvshin Amarsanaa), a professional sumo wrestler, wrestling for the Futagoyama stable. He is the only wrestler from Russia currently competing in professional sumo.

• Altai-Sayan region
• List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies
• Tuva horse

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist|40em}}

{{refbegin}}

• DONAHOE, Brian [http://www.fotuva.org/misc/get_off_my_taiga.pdf "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], 2002; {{ISSN|1615-4568}}.
• {{cite Russian law

|ru_date = 6 мая 2001 г.

|ru_title = Конституция Республики Тыва

|ru_amendment_type = Конституционного закона

|ru_amendment_number = 748 ВХ-2

|ru_amendment_date = 7 июля 2008 г

|en_date = May 6, 2001

|en_title = Constitution of the Tyva Republic

|en_amendment_type = Constitutional Law

|en_amendment_number = 748 VKh-2

|en_amendment_date = July 7, 2008

}}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikivoyage|Tuva}}

• [https://rtyva.ru Official website of Tuva] {{in lang|ru}}
• [http://tyvanet.com Website of Tuva] {{in lang|ru}} ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218105649/http://tyvanet.com/ |date=18 December 2014 }})
• [https://russia.travel/tyva/ Tuva in Russia.Travel] {{in lang|ru}} ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206085851/https://russia.travel/tyva/ |date=6 December 2019 }})
• [http://www.tarbagan.net/fotj/ Friends of Tuva, Japan] {{in lang|en|ja}}
• [http://www006.upp.so-net.ne.jp/tuva/ More complete collection of Tuvan Stamps (1926–1943)] {{in lang|en|ru|ja|eo}} ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050829182551/http://www006.upp.so-net.ne.jp/tuva/ |date=29 August 2005 }})

{{Subdivisions of Russia}}

{{Tuva}}

{{TURKSOY}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1992 establishments in Russia

Category:Observer members of the International Organization of Turkic Culture

Category:Republics of Russia

Category:States and territories established in 1992