page_title: Tuva
section_title: Miscellanea
hierarchical_section_title: Tuva / Miscellanea
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Министр Российской Федерации по делам гражданской обороны, чрезвычайным ситуациям и ликвидации последствий стихийных бедствий С. К. Шойгу на встрече с Председателем Правительства Российской Федерации В. В. Путиным Deutsch: Sergei Kuschugetowitsch Schoigu (* 21. Mai 1955), russischer Politiker, Armeegeneral, seit 2012 Verteidigungsminister. Inhaltsverzeichnis [Anzeigen]
context_page_description: Tuva or Tyva, officially the Tyva Republic, is a federal subject of Russia.
  The Tuvan republic lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Altai Republic, the Republic of Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia and Mongolia to the south. It has a population of 307,930. Its capital is the city of Kyzyl.
  From 1921 to 1944, Tuva constituted a sovereign, independent, but partially recognized nation, acknowledged only by its neighbors the Soviet Union and Communist Mongolia. It was known officially as Tannu Tuva until 1926 and thereafter as the Tuvan People's Republic.
  A majority of the population are ethnic Tuvans who speak Tuvan as their native tongue, while Russian is spoken natively by the Russian minority; both are official and widely understood in the republic. Tuva is governed by the Great Khural, which elects a chairman for a four-year term.
context_section_description: In the 1920s and 1930s, postage stamps from Tuva were issued. Many philatelists, including the physicist Richard Feynman, 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.
  Feynman's efforts to reach Tuva are chronicled in the book Tuva or Bust! and the video The Quest For Tannu Tuva: Richard Feynman – The Last Journey of a Genius (1988) which can be viewed online on YouTube. Project Tuva was named in honor of his efforts.
  Tuva was featured prominently in the award-winning documentary Genghis Blues.
  United Nations Human Development Index: Russian Federation – Republic of Tyva, rank: 79/79 (the lowest).
  Tuvan stamps are mentioned in a line of Gregory Corso's poem Marriage.
  Tuvan Sergey Shoygu, Russia's Minister of Defense, and previously Minister for Emergency Situations since 1994, is Russia's longest-serving minister, and used to be a leader of the political party 'Unity'.
  Tuvans make wishes each morning, sprinkling milk on the ground, to the north, south, east and west, with a special wooden spoon with nine small hollows for the various milk products made.
  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.
  Some Tuvans, even near Kyzyl, still live in traditional yurts, round, demountable and portable dwellings with sectional lath trellis walls, decorated pole roofs and covered with white felt and canvas, with colorful cloth lining. There is a central smoke-hole above the hearth or stove. It is used to tell the time as the sunlight moves around inside the yurt. The interior is arranged with the man's side to the left, the woman's to the right of the door facing East, with the altar cupboard facing that.
  Tuvans, as traditional nomads, knew no fixed national borders, which has led to small numbers being in areas outside the present Republic's boundaries, including as follows.
  China – Xinjiang: Tuwa people by Lake Kanas, Altay Prefecture.
  Russia – Irkutsk Oblast: Tofa people adjacent to north-east Tuva; Buryatia: Soyot people of the Upper Oka river.
  Mongolia – northern: Tsaatan people; north-western: Dukha/Duva people; western: Tsengel people.
  The Sayan Mountains in Tuva were featured in Bear Grylls' Man vs Wild popular adventure TV show.
  Tuva's territorial boundaries are not recognized by the Taiwan based Republic of China, and it's claimed by the ROC as part of the Mainland area. Tuvans are eligible for the Taiwan passport, but not residency rights to live in Taiwan.
caption: Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu in 2012.
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