Tuvan People ' s Republic The Tuvan People ' s Republic ( or People ' s Republic of Tannu Tuva ; Tuvan : Tьвa Arat Respuвlik , Тыва Арат Республик , " Tyva Arat Respublik " ; 19211944 ) was a partially recognized independent state in the territory of the former Tuva n protectorate of Imperial Russia also known as Uryankhaisky Krai ( ) . It was a satellite state of the Soviet Union that is now known as the Tuva Republic within the Russian Federation . The Soviet Union and the Mongolian People ' s Republic were the only countries to recognize its independence . History . 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 . " Tannu " refers to the Tannu - ola Mountains while " Tuva " is derived from the ethnicity " Tuvan " . 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 . 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 lama s 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 .