Tuvan People's Revolutionary Army
Тываның Араттың Революстуг Шерии
A 1942 stamp honoring the TNRA.
Active	25 September 1924–14 October 1944
Country	Tuvan People's Republic
Headquarters	Kyzyl
Engagements	World War II Eastern Front
Commanders
General Secretary of the Central Committee	Mongush Nimachap(first) Salchak Toka(last)
Notable commanders	Seren Kuzhuget[1]

TheTuvan People's Revolutionary Army (TNRA) (Russian:Тувинская народно-революционная армия;Tuvan:Тываның Араттың Революстуг Шерии) was the military wing of theTuvan People's Revolutionary Party which constituted the armed forces of theTuvan People's Republic.

The first militarized formations of Tuva appeared during theRussian Civil War on the territory of the formerRussian Empire. In 1921, a war ministry in the new republic was formed. A small messenger detachment was formed, which after the abolition of the war ministry the following year, became subordinate to the Ministry of Justice. In the spring of 1924, the government decided to create a regular army, which was approved on 24 September of that year. By September 1925, the messenger detachment was transformed into asquadron, which reachedcompany size. It was named the Tuva Arat Red Army (TAKA). In late 1929, the TAKA's first squadron was doubled and transformed into a cavalrydivizion, consisting of two squadrons with a total strength of 402 soldiers. Three years later it was upgraded to a regiment consisting of five squadrons, including two saber squadrons, a heavy machine gun squadron, as well as an artillery department and a regimental school. Theinterior ministry was founded in 1932, and two years later, the military was renamed to the Tuva People's Revolutionary Army.

The first major attempt to raise the republic's combat readiness took place in the late 30s, at a time when theEmpire of Japan undertook militaristic actions against theRepublic of China that included theJapanese invasion of Manchuria and theSecond Sino-Japanese War 1937. As a result, the 11th Congress of the TPRP (held in November 1939), instructed the Central Committee to begin the process of equipping the TNRA for the next 2–3 years. A year later, in late February 1940, the Ministry of Military Affairs was created, which resulted in the improvement of officer training.^[2][3]

DuringWorld War II, Tuva and its military worked on the side of theAllied Powers, and specifically, they were on the side of the large neighbor, theSoviet Union, with the Great Khural of Tuva declaring that Tuva is "ready by any means to participate in the struggle of the Soviet Union against the fascist aggressor until their final victory over it."^[4] They joined the war within a month of theinvasion of the Soviet Union, doubling its military personnel to 1,136 soldiers from around 400 by the end of 1941. In March 1943, it was announced that Tuvan forces would go to theeastern front as volunteers under the command of military formations in the SovietRed Army. That same month, tenYakovlev Yak-7 planes were built by the Tuvan military and were gifted to theSoviet Air Force.^[5] By early 1944, eleven tankers and 177 out of 208 cavalrymen were assigned to the Soviet command of the2nd Ukrainian Front in and around theUkrainian SSR (nowUkraine).^[6][7][8][9] The tankists were trained at the Radiansk Tank School and served under theSoviet 52nd Army, under the command of Colonel GeneralKonstantin Koroteyev. In September 1943, the second batch of volunteers were enlisted into the 8th Cavalry Division, where it took part in a raid on theWehrmacht inWestern Ukraine. The Germans had since used the term "Schwarzer Tod" ("Black Death") to refer to the cavalrymen of Tuva.^[10]

In total, about 8,000 military personnel from the TNRA fought in the war, with 20 being recipients of theOrder of Glory.^[11] After the Tuvan People's Republic was dissolved on 14 October 1944, and became theTuvan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic under Soviet control, the TNRA was transformed into the 7th Independent Cavalry Regiment of theSiberian Military District, which was dissolved in 1946. One part of the regiment was transferred to the127th Rifle Division stationed inKrasnoyarsk, and the other became part of the10th Rifle Division inIrkutsk.

• Internal Directorate of the Protection of the Country (1927–1936)
• Military Council (1936–1938)
• Government (1938–1940)

From 1928 to 1931, the TAKA was housed in a two-story barracks, which stood on the site of the modern building of the Tuva Regional Museum named after Aldan-Maadyr. In the second half of 1931, amilitary townlet was built on the outskirts of Kyzyl, where the TNRA was stationed until January 1946. After 1946, the barracks was transferred to the 29th Border Detachment of theNKVD.^[12]

The Soviet Union assisted in the development in its military, with many in the middle and high command of the TNRA being sent to train atSoviet military institutions of higher education such as theFrunze Military Academy and theLenin Military-Political Academy.^[2] In December 1930, a six-month training school for junior commanders of 20 people was created, holding its first graduation in June 1931 and working without interruption until 1946.^[12] In 1925, ten soldiers were sent to theTver Cavalry School, graduating in 1929.^[13]

The ranks and insignia were completely identical to the Soviet ones.^[14]

High commanders

Rank group	High commanders and chiefs
Collar insignia[15]
Service category	К-14	К-13
Tuvan	Полку даргазы Polku dargazy	Штап даргазы Štap dargazy

Senior and medium commanders

Rank group	Senior commanders and chefs	Medium commanders and chefs
Collar insignia[15]
Service category	К-7	К-5	К-3
Tuvan	Эскадрон даргазы Eskadron dargazy	Взвот даргазы Vozvot dargazy	Старшына Staršyna

Junior commanders and enlisted men

Rank group	Junior commanders and chefs		Enlisted men
Collar insignia[15]
Service category	К-2	К-1	-
Tuvan	Взвот даргазыныӊ дузалакчызы Vozvot dargazynyň duzalakchyzy	Салбыр даргазы Salbyr dargazy	Пулемет даргазы Pulemet dargazy

The new rank insignia (collar tabs) were elongated and narrowed at the top. In addition to the collar tabs, commissioned officers and generals also had wedge-shaped sleeve insignia of red color where the ranks were distinguished by the number of golden stripes and availability or absence of golden piping.

The ranks were based on the Soviet system but used different rank emblems. Collar tabs were of elongated triangular shape. The most common color was blue (cavalry).^[16]

Officers

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
Tuvan People's Revolutionary Army
							Дайын сайыды Dajyn sajydy												Улуг лейтена́нт Ulug leytenánt		Лейтена́нт Leytenánt		Биче лейтена́нт Bičii leytenánt

The following were rank insignia for commissioned officers for the Tuvan People's Revolutionary Army. As the TPRA was organized with Soviet assistance, its ranks generally followed theRed Army precedent.

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
Tuvan People's Revolutionary Army[17] v t e
																			Улуг лейтена́нт Ulug leytenánt		Лейтена́нт Leytenánt		Биче лейтена́нт Bičii leytenánt

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
Tuvan People's Revolutionary Army[17] v t e
							Старшына Staršyna		Улуг сержант Ulug seržant		Сержант Seržant						Бичии сержант Bičii seržant						Ефрейтор												Рядовой

• In May 2010, on the 65th anniversary ofVictory Day, a new memorial was opened in the Tuvan capital, with the names of all the Tuvan military volunteers engraved there.^[18]
• Today, the Brass Band of theGovernment of Tuva, which was created on 24 March 2008 from a student band, is the only civilianmounted band in theRussian Federation, reviving the traditions of the Horse Brass Band of the Tuva People's Revolutionary Army, which was active from 1929 to 1944. The first performance of the band was on horseback during aVictory Day Parade in 2008.^[19] Many of its performances are done with musicians dressed in the combat uniforms of the TNRA.

• Mongolian People's Army

• Boris Mongush. Rank insignia of the Tuvan People's Revolutionary Army and the Ministry of Interior. 1932–1941.

• History of the Tuvan People's Republic
• 20th-century military history of Russia
• Disbanded armies
• Disbanded armed forces
• Military units and formations of the Soviet Union in World War II
• Military units and formations established in 1924
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1944
• 1924 establishments in Russia
• 1944 disestablishments in the Soviet Union

• CS1 Russian-language sources (ru)
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• Articles containing Tuvan-language text
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