TUVA : RUSSIA'S UNEXPLORED BORDERLAND

                                                Tuva : Russia's Unexplored Borderland                     

This week i  discusses on the Tuva Republic.It is a territory which lies on the southern part of Russian Siberia and just north of modern republic of Mongolia.Traditionally Tuvans were Turkic speaking Mongol  herdsmen.They followed and still follows Mahayana  Buddhism.Or in other words, Tuvans are the only Turkic group which follow Buddhism as their prime religion.Besides traditional shamanic culture also has significant influence over Tuvan mindset.Here, I am going to discuss on the events which happened in between 1912 and 1992-1995.The more recent developments will discuss later.

 Tuva deserves attention.yes, it is small.but Tuva, this lost corner of Central Asia, is eminently relevant to the understanding of the natives of the Soviet Union.

                                                                        Otto Manchen - Heifen, German Scholar in 1929.

Even 80 years after the Heifen's statement Tuva still deserves attention. First of all it is one of the non-Russian republic which was never part of Tsarist empire for most part of its existence and in contrast to its neighbors, it also enjoyed independence from 1921 to 1944. Many ways it's development was closer to the Baltic republics than its own Asian neighbours. Ethnic Slavs never got majority in Tuva and it also bypassed Stalin's collectivization movement which made havoc in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Tuva was annexed to Soviet Union only in 1944 during the Second World War. It is very much alive in the minds of  Tuvans that their land was free for quite long time.Moreover, it was one of the five republic where the first Russian president Boris Yeltsin got defeated. Yeltsin received just 15% of vote in Tuva. Among the Russia's Asian republics Tuva shares  strong cultural relationship with both China and Mongolia.

In 1914 Tsar Nicholas II declared Tuva as a Russian protectorate. Tuva was an independent unit under Chinese Empire.Under Qing, Tuva was ruled by ambyn-noyoon elected from among the local elites. Romanov dynasty ended in 1917, so Tuva again found it's  independence.But into this vacuum Bolsheviks entered but not directly like  other parts of Tsarist Empire but discreetly. Tuva already had significant number of Russian settlers from the 19th century gold diggers times to the newly arrived one during the final days of Tsarist rule.They already formed self-governed Russian labour colony which was under Russian Communist Party (Siberian Branch).The mine workers also declared Tuva as a Soviet colony.But mainly due to the deadly civil war and other local disturbances,Bolsheviks were not able to stop the independence of Tuvans. It declared its independence on 14 August 1921 as Tannu-Tuva People's Republic. The term Tannu (means taiga) omitted  in 1926 and the country became the People's Republic of Tuva. The last ambyn-noyoon, Sodnam Baltsyr became the head of the state.But he resigned just after one month. It was the end of traditional rule in Tuva.

Tuva's independence was recognized by its both neighbours : Soviet Russia and Mongolia. It  also adopted its new currency Aksha in 1933-34. Tuva  issued  postage stamps and also passed a national constitution and criminal code. In 1935 Moscow even transferred the goldmines to Tuva which had been under its control. Russian settlers continued in Tuva with partial rights.They were not yet citizens.Most of them accepted it because through that they managed to escape the atrocities of Stalin in USSR as part of massive collectivization movement.The first Prime Minister of Tuva, Dunduk Kuular declared Buddhism as state religion with an overt support of lamas and lamaseries.According to contemporary Soviet ethnologist l.P Potapov: Tuvans were in complete political and economic and also spiritual dependence on the feudal and theocratic aristocracy. More than 5,000 lamas employed in about 30 khure ( lamaseries) and more than 1,000 shamans were the 'teachers' and 'tutors' of the working peasantry.Meanwhile Soviets were able to form a native version of Communist Party named Tuvan's People Revolutionary Party in 1922 with its powerful ideologue, Salchak Toka ( the confidant of Moscow for next 40 years).Moscow was not happy with the developments in Tuva. So it orchaestred a coup through five Tuvan students from Moscow's Communist University of the Toilers of East.The new rulers replaced the traditional Tuvan script with Latin one which was developed under Soviet linguists.Under Toka's tutelage, the collectivization started in Tuva but less vigorous fashion than in Stalin's Russia. Toka also crushed the power of lamas and lamaseries.

The new Prime Minister Churmit Dazy was pro-Tuvan. So under him (especially1932-38), Tuva witnessed a radical shift in its policies in comparison with Russia and Mongolia. Buddhist church revived under him and he also reversed the policies of Stalin. In Tuva nomads continued with their traditional way of life.But again through clever manipulation and strategy Moscow and it's Tuvan lieutenant Toka were able to remove most of it's opponents.The next premier Kh Anchima was pro-Moscow in character.Under her almost all pro-independent Tuvan leaders were executed (including Churmit-Dazy).Tuvans joined with the war efforts of Soviet Union.It was also the right time for Tuva to join the union.Story developed as according to the script which was written by Moscow and it also implemented by Toka in Tuva. Officially Tuvan parliament (Khural) sent appeal to Moscow for unification.At last 1944 Tuva entered into Soviet Union.It had been given the status of an autonomous region in the USSR.

Tuva's suppressed feeling resurfaced under Mikhail Gorbachev.His rule also witnessed the Tuvan-Russian clash. Tuvans still retained their majority status in the republic. The period of perestroika and glasnost also caused for the formation of Tuvan democratic movement  known as Popular Front with Tuva's future president Kadyr-ool Bicheldei as the leader.There were mainly two factions in Tuva  after the disintegration of Soviet Union:1) Nationalist- it demanded the staus quo (supported by ex-nomenclatura), 2) Nationalist- democratic faction led by Bicheldei which favoured maximum autonomy and if possible independence (not very strictly).Democratics also demanded liberal policies from Moscow. Tuva refused to conduct the Russian presidential referendum. But it participated in all union referendum on March 1991.Similarly Tuvan parliament dropped the constitutional amendment which further reduces the power of ethnic republics (minority national).As i pointed before Yeltsin lacked support here and Sh.Oorzhak became Prime Minister on 15 March 1992.

It is difficult to predict the future of Tuva. Vladimir Putin's power vertical ideology may get successful in this Siberian borderland.Scholars prefer to compare Tuva with Tibet and Lithuania.It shares lot in common with these two geographical entities.In the case of Tibet, it shares religion and like Tibet it was also an autonomous entity under Qing. Tibet resists China not so successfully like Tuva to Russia.Like Lithuania Tuva also got independence during First World War but occupied again during Second World War.Soviet Union's decline started in Lithuania.Will Russian Federation's fall start with Tuva?

References :

1) Altalu, Toomas (1992), "Tuva- A State Reawakens," Soviet Studies,44(5) : 881-895.

2) Mc Mullen (1993), " Tuva : Russia's Tibet or the Next Lithuania ?",Friends of Tuva (www.fotuva.org).

3) Khisamiev,Nail & Robert Coalson (2012), "Ramblings In The Republics : New Russian Nationalities Policy Sparks Outcry", RFE/RL.

4) Tuva - Online/ Latest news from Tuva,  en.tuvaonline.ru.