TheSoviet Union andMongolia were the only countries to formally recognize it during its existence, in 1924 and 1926 respectively.[11][12] After a period of increased Soviet influence, in October 1944, the politywas absorbed into theRussian SFSR (the largestconstituent republic of the Soviet Union) at the request of the Tuvan parliament, ending 23 years of independence.
During the subsequentRussian Civil War,the Whites fought against soldiers sent by theBeiyang government tore-occupy Mongolia and Tuva. The successful Whites then lost to the incomingBolsheviks and their Mongolian allies. The Bolsheviks had, by December 1920, taken the capital ofKhem-Beldyr and had, by March 1921, seized all of Tuva. On 14 August 1921, the "Tannu Tuvan People's Republic" ("Tannu" refers to theTannu-Ola mountains) declared independence and the newly createdTuvan People's Revolutionary Party (TPRP) became the ruling party.[16][17] The first chapter of the first constitution of the newborn country stated that "...in international affairs, the state acts under the auspices of Soviet Russia."[17]
The first official Tuvan delegation to Moscow in June 1925, signing a “Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Tuva and the USSR”.
In the beginning of February 1922, the first meeting of the TPRP took place and a government was created, which began to work on 3 March the same year. The Soviet-Tuvan border was defined in January 1923 andRed Army divisions on Tuvan territory were withdrawn in accordance with an agreement from 1921.[18] The first Great Khural (People's Congress) was held on 12 October 1923 and, in the second one, on 28 September 1924, a new constitution proclaimed that the country would develop alongnon-capitalist lines with the TPRP being theonly party and the Tuvan section of theCommunist International.[17]
In the summer of 1925, the Soviet Union initiated the “Agreement between theRussian SFSR and the Tannu Tuvan People’s Republic on the Establishment of Friendly Relationships”, which was signed by the two countries, strengthening their relations. The treaty stated that the Soviet government "[did] not consider Tannu-Tuva as its territory and [had] no views on it."[18]
In 1926, the government adopted their first officialflag andemblem,[17] changed the name of its capital from "Khem-Beldyr" to "Kyzyl" (meaning "Red"),[15] and the name of the country to simply "Tuvan People's Republic".[16] It also signed a “Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Recognition” with theMongolian People's Republic, another Soviet satellite state.[15][16] Much of this work was done byPrime MinisterDonduk Kuular, a formerLama monk with strong ties to the country's many lamas. Kuular sought to establish stronger ties with Mongolia and to makeBuddhism thestate religion while trying to limitSoviet influence andpropaganda. The Soviet Union responded with alarm to Kuular'stheocratic andnationalist leanings and policies, which were considered in opposition to the communist principles ofstate atheism andinternationalism.[15][19]
Kuular's theocratic, nationalist andanti-Soviet policies led to a Soviet-backedcoup d'état in 1929. While Kuular was implementing his policies, the Soviet Union had laid foundations for a new leadership – staunchly loyal toJoseph Stalin – including the creation of the "Tuva Revolutionary Youth Union" where members received military training. Five young Tuvan graduates from theCommunist University of the Toilers of the East were appointed "Extraordinary Commissioners" and overthrew the government in January 1929 during the 2nd Plenary Session of the Central Committee.[20]
Following the coup, Kuular was removed from power and executed, and about a third to half the members of the TPRP were also purged. Kuular's policies were reverted and the country's traditionally nomadic cattle-breeders were put incollectivization programs. Similarly to theStalinist repressions in Mongolia, Buddhist lamas,aristocrats, members of theintelligentsia and otherpolitical dissidents were purged, and Buddhist temples and monasteries were destroyed.[21][22][20][23] As part of this process, the written language in Tuva was changed from theMongolian script to theLatin-based alphabet in June 1930. Religious symbols, such as theKhorlo, were also removed from the flag and emblem.[17] Evidence of the effect of these actions can be seen in the decline in the numbers oflamas in the country: in 1929, there were 25 lamaseries and about 4,000 lamas and shamans; in 1931, there were 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.[citation needed]
In July 1932, with mediation from the Soviet Union, Tuva signed an agreement and received a substantial territorial gain from Mongolia as a fixed border was created between the two countries. Mongolia was forced to sign under Soviet pressure and did not ratify the agreement in theMongol Great Khural.[17][18] The new territory notably includedDus-Dag [ru] mountain, the only source ofsalt mining for Tuva. The border between Tuva and Mongolia remained controversial during the 1930s, with Mongolia referring to Qing dynasty documents to argue their ownership of the mountain.[18]
Map of western Mongolia and part of Tannu Tuva in 1935.Map of Mongolian-Tuvan border changes.
The debate continued to flare up in the following years, and Mongolian leadership demanded the return of the mountain "arbitrarily captured by Tuvans", criticizing the 1932 agreement as unjust due to Soviet pressure for Mongolia to sign. Soviet authorities reiterated their official position that Mongolia had no reason to revise the 1932 agreement and did not need the salt mountain, asking Tuva not to revise the agreement. Mongolia promised not to raise the issue again, but relations between it and Tuva became very strained. The Tuvan government made concessions to avoid conflict with its neighbor, and in 1940, the two governments signed a new agreement "On the border based on historical materials and documents". However, while Tuva sought to clarify the border established in 1932, Mongolia sought to revise it completely; this led to irreconcilable positions and the ratification of the new agreement was stopped.[18]
Both parties turned to the Soviet Union for mediation, but with the outbreak ofWorld War II, Soviet authorities insisted on ceasing any discussion regarding the border dispute, especially in regard to Mount Dus-Dag. In 1943, the Mongolian ambassador said "The Salt Mountain has been exploited by the Tuvans for about ten years now and is also located in disputed territory, so the demand for the Tuvan government to return it is too harsh." This more or less ended the controversial issue, but some minor disputes continued until the absorption of Tuva into the Soviet Union in 1944, at which point Mongolia ratified the original 1932 agreement (and even then, border protection such as alarmed fences had to be introduced in the area in 1946).[18]
The current building ofUlaanbaatar City Museum inUlaanbaatar used to house the Embassy of the Tuvan People's Republic in the Mongolian People's Republic.
In the 1930s, theEmpire of Japan undertook several aggressive actions againstChina. This included theinvasion of Manchuria and the creation of theManchukuo puppet state, and culminated in afull-scale war against China in 1937. The Tuvan government undertook measures to strengthen theTuvan People's Revolutionary Army, and the 11th Congress of the TPRP, held in November 1939, instructed the Central Committee to fully equip the Tuvan Army in the next two to three years and to further raise combat readiness. The Ministry of Military Affairs was created in late February 1940 and immediately started equipping the army with new weapons and equipment, as well as improving training of officers and army units.[25] The Soviet Union assisted the Tuvans with significant assistance in materiel and technical development. The middle-ranking and high-ranking commanders of the Tuvan Army were trained in Soviet military academies, including theFrunze Military Academy and theGeneral Staff Academy.[25]
AsGermany and otherAxis powers launched theirinvasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, the 10th Great Khural of Tuva declared that "The Tuvan people, led by the entire revolutionary party and government, not sparing their lives, are ready by any means to participate in the struggle of the Soviet Union against the fascist aggressor until their final victory over it."[26]
Despite its relatively small size, Tuva helped the Soviet Union in substantial ways, transferring its entire gold reserve of ~20,000,000 Rbls to the Soviet Union, with additional extracted Tuvan gold worth around 10,000,000 Rbls annually.[27] Between June 1941 and October 1944, Tuva supplied the SovietRed Army with 700,000livestock, of which almost 650,000 were donated. In addition, 50,000war horses, 52,000 pairs of skis, 10,000 winter coats, 19,000 pairs of gloves, 16,000 boots and 67,000 tons of sheep wool as well as several hundreds tons of meats, grain, carts,sledges,horse tacks and other goods totaling 66,500,000 Rbls were sent. Up to 90% were donated.[28][27]
In March 1943, 10Yakovlev Yak-7 fighters were built with funds raised by the Tuvans and placed at the disposal of theSoviet Air Forces.[29] Also during 1943, Tuva mustered 11 volunteer tankers and 208 volunteer cavalrymen. The tankers and 177 of the cavalrymen were assigned to the Red Army and served on theEastern Front from early 1944, especially aroundUkraine.[27][30][31][32]
Decree "On the Admission of the Tuvan People's Republic to the USSR", issued on 11 October 1944.
Tuvan orientation towards Moscow intensified during the war. In September 1943, the written language was again changed, this time from the Latin to theCyrillic script, the standard alphabet in the Soviet Union. By 1941, the national symbols, such as the flag and emblem, had been changed to the same style as various Soviet regions.[16][17] Tuva then underwent intenseSovietization of society as well as economy, resulting in the virtual eradication of those who opposedStalinist policies. The Soviets desired the mineral resources of the republic and a permanent end to Mongolian-Chinese geopolitical intrigues in the region. This process culminated in the absorption of Tuva in 1944, under the rule ofGeneral SecretarySalchak Toka and his wife,Head of StateKhertek Anchimaa-Toka.[33]
On 7 August 1944, the Central Committee of the TPRP decided to subsume Tuva into the Soviet Union. This was supported on 15 August by the 9th Plenary Session. On 17 August, the 7th Extraordinary Session of the Little Khural created a "Declaration of the Accession of the Tuvan People's Republic to the Soviet Union". Finally, on 11 October 1944, at a meeting of thePresidium of the Supreme Soviet, Khertek Anchimaa-Toka read out the declaration detailing the desire for Tuva to join the USSR, which was accepted.[34] The decision went into effect on 1 November 1944, and the Tuvan People's Republic thus became theTuvan Autonomous Oblast, a part of theRussian SFSR (the largestconstituent republic of the Soviet Union).[15][16][17]
On 10 October 1961, the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast became theTuvan ASSR, still within the Russian SFSR, and remained so until 1992. The area that was the Tuvan People's Republic is now known as theTuva Republic within theRussian Federation.[15][16][17]
^The name was sometimes partially translated as theTuvan Arat Republic[7] or theTuva/Tuvinian Arat Republic[8] (Russian:Тувинская Аратская Республика)[9] and abbreviatedTAR.
^Its official name was theTannu Tuva People's Republic (TRPR) until 1926.
^abV.A.Grebneva "Geography of Tuva". Kyzyl, 1968(in Russian)
^Новые исследования Тувы.Электронный журнал «Новые исследования Тувы» (in Russian).Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved18 August 2018.
^Istoriya Tuvy [History of Tuva], v. 1, pp. 354–355.
^abcdefg"ТЫВА Tuva".hubert-herald.nl.Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved10 August 2019.
^abcdefgCahoon, Ben."Tannu Tuva".worldstatesmen.org.Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved8 August 2019.
^abcdefghiRussian Centre of Vexillology and Heraldry."Республика Тыва".vexillographia.ru.Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved8 August 2019.
^abcdefMinaev, Alexander."Tuva far and near".old.redstar.ru.Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved10 August 2019.
^Denys J. Voaden:Mongolian and Tuvan aid to wartime Russia, in: M. Gervers/U. Bulag/G. Long (eds.):History and society in Central and Inner Asia, Toronto 2007, pp. 273–277 (here: p. 276).
.svg)
.svg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_Map_2_(of_3)_Central_Border_Section.png)
