Tuva

  

Republic of Tuva Тыва Республика Республика Тыва бүгд найрамдах тува 图瓦共和国
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Tooruktug Dolgay Tangdym
Capital and largest city	Kyzyl
Official languages	Tuvan Russian Mongolian Chinese
Demonym(s)	Tuvan
Government	Unitary semi-parliamentary constitutional republic
• President	Igor Zhang
• Prime Minister	Aleksey Chulydum
Legislature	Great Khural
Independence  from Russian Empire
• Declared	1923
• Recognized	1923
• First constitution	1923
Area
• Total	170,500 km2 (65,800 sq mi)
Population
• 2010 census	307,903
GDP (PPP)	TBD estimate
• Total	TBD
HDI (TBD)	TBD
Currency	Tuvan akşa (k)
ISO 3166 code	TUV
Internet TLD	.tuv

Tuva, officially the Republic of Tuva, is a landlocked sovereign nation located in North Asia. It borders Russia to the north and west, and China to the east and south. The capital and largest city of the country is Kyzyl.

Tuva is a unitary republic following its semi-parliamentary system. The President is the head of state while Prime Minister is the head of government. The national legislature is the unicameral Great Khural.

Tuva was encountered by some colonizers such as Mongols, imperial Chinese, and Russians. In 1207, the country was conquered by the Mongols under Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan. The country itself was a part of Tannu Uriankhai from the 1207 to 1527. It became a part of Qing dynasty from 1757 to 1911. During Xinhai Revolution and Mongolian Revolution of 1911, the short-lived Uryankhai Republic was established by the Tuvan separatist movement. It became a Russian protectorate from 1914 until its independence in 1921.

Tuva is a member of League of Nations.

Etymology

The name "Tuva" probably derives from a Samoyedic tribe, referred to in 7th-century Chinese sources as Dubo or Tupo, who lived in the upper Yenisei region. These people were known to the Chinese and Mongolians as Uriankhai. Most scholars trace the name to the Uriankhai of the Greater Hinggan Range, a Jurched people who as a result of extensive migrations gave their name to several peoples living in the region from east Siberia and Manchuria to the Altai mountains.

History

Early history

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. 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.

The indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Tuva are a Turkic-speaking people of South Siberia, whose language shows strong Samoyedic and Mongolian influences. The name "Tuva" probably derives from a Samoyedic tribe, referred to in 7th-century Chinese sources as Dubo or Tupo, who lived in the upper Yenisei region. These people were known to the Chinese and Mongolians as Uriankhai. Most scholars trace the name to the Uriankhai of the Greater Hinggan Range, a Jurched people who as a result of extensive migrations gave their name to several peoples living in the region from east Siberia and northeast China to the Altai mountains.

Mongol rule

In 1207, Tuva was conquered by Mongols under Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan. This was the beginning of Mongol suzerainty over the Tuvans. Tuvans were ruled by the Khalka Mongol leader Sholoi Ubashi's Altyn-Khan Khanate until the 17th century.

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 the Sayano-Altay Plateau until 1755.

The historic region of Tannu Uriankhai, of which Tuva is a part, was controlled by the Mongols from 1207 to 1757, when it was brought under the rule of the Qing dynasty, the last dynasty of China, until 1911.

It then came under the dominion of the Yuan dynasty of China (1271–1368), and with the fall of the Yuan it was controlled by the Oirats until the end of the 16th and early 17th centuries. Thereafter, the history of western Mongolia, and by extension Tannu Uriankhai, is a story of the complex military relations between the Altan Khanate (Khotogoit tribe) and the Oirots, both competing for supremacy in western Mongolia. The territory of current Tuva has been ruled by the Xianbei state (93–234), Rouran Khaganate (330–555), Mongol Empire (1206–1271), Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), Northern Yuan dynasty (1368–1691) and Dzungar Khanate (1634–1758).

Independence

On March 22, 1923, the same date that State Duma of Russia proclaimed the Tsar's resignation, Tuva declared independence from Russia. The independence was formally recognized by Russia on March 30, 1923 and the first constitution was adopted on the same day. Mongush Buyan-Badyrgy became the first president of Tuva while Donduk Kuular became the first prime minister of the country.

Government and politics

Government

Tuva is a semi-parliamentary constitutional republic, wherein the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister head of government. The President is elected directly by the people for four-year term and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces whereas the Prime Minister including the cabinet members are appointed by the President. The legislative branch is the unicameral Great Khural, it consists of 44 members of the legislature and represented of each provinces (including two independent cities and three component cities). The component cities had elected its own legislative members, but these cities are still part of their respective provinces.

Administrative divisions

Provinces

Provinces of Tuva

No.	Flag	Name	Map	Capital	Area	Population
1		Barun		Mazhalyk	7,922.82 km2
2		Baytayg		Teeli	6,290 km2
3		Chaa		Chaakhol	2,900 km2
4		Chedi		Khovuaksy	3,707 km2
5		Dzun		Chadan	6,484.56 km2
6		Erzin Province		Erzin	11,081.45 km2
7		Kaasep		Sayrgsep	25,726.04 km2
8		Kyzyl North		Karakhaak
9		Kyzyl South		Kaakhem
10		Mongun		Moguraksy	4,414.20 km2
11		Ovyur		Khandagayty	4,400 km2
12		Piykhem		Turan	9,200 km2
13		Sutkhol		Sugaksy	6,691.25 km2
14		Tandin		Baykhaak	5,091.70 km2
15		Terekun		Kungurtug	10,050 km2
16		Teskhem		Samagaltay	6,680 km2
17		Todzhin		Toora	44,800 km2
18		Ulug		Shagonar	5,335.40 km2

Political parties

Tuva had traditionally had a two-party system since its independence, but it transformed into a multi-party system in 1990's. These two parties dominating the Tuvan parties are the center-left People's Party and the center-right Liberal Democratic Party—one of which has won every Tuvan presidential election and controlled the Great Khural. The People's Party have civil liberty stance whereas the Liberal Democrats has consistently held conservative stance towards social issues. Economically, the People's Party platform have centered around social democracy and progressivism. Liberal Democrats favor a fiscally conservative approach towards economics.

Several minor parties are also operated in Tuva and from time to time elect someone in local offices. Some of the parties are Civic Platform, National Patriotic Union, Solidarity and Justice Party, Social Justice Party, Renewal Party, and National Revolutionary Party. In the recent years, the Civic Platform and Social Justice Party have few seats in the Great Khural and provincial legislations.

Demographics

Ethnic groups

The Tuvans are the largest ethnic group, constituting 36.3% of the population, are are politically dominant. Buryats are the second largest group (13.6%), followed by Russians (12.8%), Chinese (11.2%), Daurs (7.6%), Mongolians (5.1%), Altais (3.2%), and Khakas (2.5%). The remaining 7.7% of the population are belong to the minor ethnic groups.

Most of the Russian population in Tuva are living outside Kyzyl especially in Kaasep and Piykhem provinces. However, here is small population of the Old Ritualists scattered most in the most isolated areas. The Chinese people living in Tuva are the descendants of the opponents of the communist government in China prior to the Beijing Spring.

Religion

Buddhism is the largest religion in Tuva with 43.2% of the population. Tengrism is the second largest religion with 21.4% of the population. The nation has a large irreligious population with 14.1%. The believers of other religion is in 8%. The remaining percentage of the population adheres Avignonese Catholic, Russian Orthodox Church, Protestantism, and other forms of Christianity.

Education

Tuva has a high literacy rate, consistently rated in 98%. For comparison, the World Bank, which supports the above figure, puts Tuva’s more prosperous neighbor China’s literacy rate at 91%. Tuva benefited from compulsory primary education following its independence from Russia in 1957, continuing in a similar form today. The Tuvan government's non-formal distance education programs also provide opportunities for citizens to learn to read and write. The use of seasonal boarding schools for children of nomadic families can help to increase the literacy rate in the country.

Primary and secondary education formerly lasted ten year, but was expanded to twelve years since the 2009–2010 school year. Since 2006, English is taught in all secondary education schools across Tuva. Foreign languages such as Chinese, Mongolian, German, Turkish, Japanese, Korean, and other languages are taught in bsome foreign-themed private schools.

The three major universities of Tuva are University of Tuva, Tuvan University of Technology and Management, and Tuvan Agricultural University.

Culture

Mass media

The newspapers in Tuva are written in both Tuvan and Russian. The most prominent Tuvan newspapers are Izvestia Tyva, Tuvinskaya Zvezda, and Tsentral'naya Gazeta. There are also variety of newspapers that are written in other languages. Tuwa Ribao and Zhongyang Wanbao are the well-known Chinese newspapers in the country. While Ödör Bür Elch is the popular Mongolian newspaper in Tuva. There are few English newspapers in Tuva that are exclusive for expatriates, foreign residents, and English-speaking tourists such as The Kyzyl Times and Tuvan Inquirer.

TTV is the state-owned television network in Tuva and it was the sole network in the country before the early 1980's. The three major commercial television networks in the country are TBC, UBS, and KRTN. The Tuvan television was supposed switched from analog to digital in 2014 but it was postponed until 2017 after the approval of the Digital Broadcasting Act.

Music

Tuvan throat singer Artysh Khertek

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.

Traditionally, Tuvan music was only a solo effort. The musician's intention was usually to emphasise timbre and harmonics over rhythm. Performances were often in places with good natural acoustics, such as caves, cliffs, and rivers, with the performer taking long pauses to allow nature the chance to converse back. Modern Tuvan music usually involves ensembles of musicians playing multiple instruments, and tends to be more pulsatile than traditional forms.

In parallel with traditional music, modern genres of music developed in Tuva since the 1970s. These were mainly pop and rock music, as well as fusions of these genres with khoomei.

Sports

Bandy, a sport similar to ice hockey, is played in Tuva. It is the most popular sport in the country and most people played it during winter. Twenty to thirty bandy players representing different provinces and independent cities competed annually in the national bandy competition. It is the only sport in which Tuva has finished first place at the Asian Winter Games in 2011 and 2017. It led to being chosen as the best Tuvan sports team of the two consecutive years.

The traditional sports in Tuva is usually played during the Naadam festival. Mongolian-style wrestling is very popular, it is the highlight of the Three Manly Games of Naadam. Horse riding related sports are also predominant in the area. The long-distance races that are showcased during Naadam festivals.

Freestyle wrestling and amateur boxing has been practiced in since 1959 in Tuva. The athletes of these two sports had won the most Olympic medals since the formation of its national team in 1960. Professional boxing began in Tuva in 1990s.

See also

This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Tuva, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).