The Tuvan People's Republic (TPR), known simply as Tannu Tuva, was a partially recognized socialist republic that existed between 1921 and 1944 in

North Asia North Asia or Northern Asia () is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geography, geographical terms and consists of three federal districts of Russia: Ural Federal District, Ural, Siberian Federal District, Siberian, and the Far E ...

. It was located in the same territory as the former

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

of Uriankhai Krai, northwest of Mongolia, and now corresponds to the Republic of Tuva, a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

were the only countries to formally recognize it during its existence, in 1924 and 1926 respectively. After a period of increased Soviet influence, in October 1944, the polity was absorbed into the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

(the largest

constituent republic Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

of the Soviet Union) at the request of the Tuvan parliament, ending 23 years of independence.

History

Establishment

Since 1759, Tuva (then called Tannu Uriankhai) had been part of

, which in turn was a part of the territory of the Manchu

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. As the Qing dynasty fell in the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

of 1911, revolutions in Mongolia were also occurring, leading to the independence of both

and the Tuvan Uryankhay Republic. After a period of political uncertainty, the new republic became a

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in April 1914, known as Uryankhay Krai. After the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917 and the establishment of the

Russian Republic The Russian Republic,. referred to as the Russian Democratic Federative Republic in the 1918 Constitution, was a short-lived state which controlled, ''de jure'', the territory of the former Russian Empire after its proclamation by the Rus ...

, both it and Uryankhay Krai reaffirmed its status as a Russian protectorate. During the subsequent

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, both Russian

Whites White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view. De ...

and Reds,

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

, as well as Chinese soldiers seeking to retake Mongolia and Tuva, were engaged in combat in the region. In the 5th Congress of the Russian population in Uryankhay Krai in the summer of 1918, it was decided that the power would be transferred to the ''Uryankhay Regional Council of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers' Deputies'', and with backing from the

, that a Soviet power would be established and would recognize the Tuvans and allow them to create their own national state. On 26 January 1920, Ivan Smirnov – Chairman of the Siberian Revolutionary Committee – sent an encrypted telegraph regarding Tuva to Moscow stating: "''The Mongols have entered the province and ejected our ussianpeasants from the villages. These peasants fought against Kolchak and were independent of him. The Soyoty uvansare a nomadic tribe oppressed by both Mongols and Russians. Do you consider it necessary to allow the Mongols possession of the Uryankhay uvanregion or to take it by force of arms or to organise an Uryankhay Soviet Republic on the Bashkir pattern? Let me know.''" The Reds had, by December 1920, taken the capital of Khem-Beldyr and had, by March 1921, taken all of Tuva. On 14 August 1921, the "Tannu Tuvan People's Republic" ("Tannu" refers to the Tannu-Ola mountains) declared independence and the newly created Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party (TPRP) became the ruling party. 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.''"

Early independence

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 and

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

divisions on Tuvan territory were withdrawn in accordance with an agreement from 1921. 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 along non-capitalist lines with the TPRP being the only party and the Tuvan section of the

Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...

. In the summer of 1925, the Soviet Union initiated the “Agreement between the

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 " idnot consider Tannu-Tuva as its territory and adno views on it." In 1926, the government adopted their first official

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

and

emblem An emblem is an abstract art, abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a monarch or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' ...

, changed the name of its capital from "Khem-Beldyr" to " Kyzyl" (meaning "Red"), and the name of the country to simply "Tuvan People's Republic". It also signed a “Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Recognition” with the

Mongolian People's Republic The Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) was a socialist state that existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia. Its independence was officially recognized by the Nationalist government of Republic of China (1912� ...

, another Soviet satellite state. Much of this work was done by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Donduk Kuular, a former

Lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

monk with strong ties to the country's many lamas. Kuular sought to establish stronger ties with Mongolia and to make

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

the state religion while trying to limit Soviet influence and

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

. The Soviet Union responded with alarm to Kuular's

theocratic Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's daily a ...

and

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

leanings and policies, which were considered in opposition to the communist principles of

state atheism State atheism or atheist state is the incorporation of hard atheism or non-theism into Forms of government, political regimes. It is considered the opposite of theocracy and may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments ...

and internationalism.

Sovietization

Kuular's theocratic, nationalist and

anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism or anti-Soviet sentiment are activities that were actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the Soviet Union. Three common uses of the term include the following: * Anti-Sovietism in inter ...

policies led to a Soviet-backed

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

in 1929. While Kuular was implementing his policies, the Soviet Union had laid foundations for a new leadership – staunchly loyal to

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

– including the creation of the "Tuva Revolutionary Youth Union" where members received military training. Five young Tuvan graduates from the Communist 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. 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 in collectivization programs. Similarly to the

Stalinist repressions in Mongolia The Stalinist repressions in Mongolia () was an 18-month period of heightened political violence and persecution in the Mongolian People's Republic between 1937 and 1939. The repressions were an extension of the Stalinist purges (also known as ...

, Buddhist lamas,

aristocrats Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

, members of the

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

and other political dissidents were purged, and Buddhist temples and monasteries were destroyed. As part of this process, the written language in Tuva was changed from the

Mongolian script The traditional Mongolian script, also known as the Hudum Mongol bichig, was the first Mongolian alphabet, writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most widespread until the introduction of Cyrillic script, Cy ...

to the Latin-based alphabet in June 1930. Religious symbols, such as the Khorlo, were also removed from the flag and emblem. Evidence of the effect of these actions can be seen in the decline in the numbers of

lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

s 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. One of the five Extraordinary Commissioners, Salchak Toka, became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the TPRP in 1932 and would be the de facto leader of Tuva until his death in 1973.

Border dispute with Mongolia

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 the Mongol Great Khural. The new territory notably included mountain, the only source of

salt mining Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite Formation (geology), formations. History Before the advent of the moder ...

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. Txu-pclmaps-oclc-8607404-mongolia-west

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. Both parties turned to the Soviet Union for mediation, but with the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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).

World War II

In the 1930s, the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

undertook several aggressive actions against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. This included the invasion of Manchuria and the creation of the

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

puppet state, and culminated in a full-scale war against China in 1937. The Tuvan government undertook measures to strengthen the Tuvan 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. 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 the Frunze Military Academy and the General Staff Academy. As

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and other

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

launched their invasion 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.''" 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. Between June 1941 and October 1944, Tuva supplied the Soviet

with 700,000

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

, of which almost 650,000 were donated. In addition, 50,000 war 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,

sled A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners ...

ges,

horse tack Tack is equipment or accessories equipped on horses and other equines in the course of their use as domestication of the horse, domesticated animals. This equipment includes such items as Saddle, saddles, Stirrup, stirrups, Bridle, bridles, Halter, ...

s and other goods totaling 66,500,000 Rbls were sent. Up to 90% were donated.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). In March 1943, 10 Yakovlev Yak-7 fighters were built with funds raised by the Tuvans and placed at the disposal of the

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

. 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 the Eastern Front from early 1944, especially around

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Absorption into the USSR

Tuvan orientation towards Moscow intensified during the war. In September 1943, the written language was again changed, this time from the Latin to the

Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, Mongolic, Uralic languages, Uralic, C ...

, 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. Tuvan underwent intense Russification of social and economic practices, and virtually all remaining opposition to Stalinist policy was eradicated. 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 of

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

Salchak Toka and his wife,

Head of State A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

Khertek Anchimaa-Toka. 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 the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet () was the standing body of the highest organ of state power, highest body of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).The Presidium of the Soviet Union is, in short, the legislativ ...

, Khertek Anchimaa-Toka read out the declaration detailing the desire for Tuva to join the USSR, which was accepted. The decision went into effect on 1 November 1944, and the Tuvan People's Republic thus became the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast, a part of the

(the largest

of the Soviet Union). Salchak Toka's position changed from "General Secretary of the TPRP" to " First Secretary of the Oblast Committee of the CPSU of the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast" (changed to "Republican Committee" in 1961) and continued his rule of the region until his death in 1973. On 10 October 1961, the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast became the Tuvan ASSR, still within the Russian SFSR, and remained so until 1992. The area that was the Tuvan People's Republic is now known as the

Tuva Republic Tuva (; ) or Tyva (; ), officially the Republic of Tyva,; , is a republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the federal subjects of the Altai Republic, Buryatia, Irkutsk ...

within the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Population

Notes

References

External links

The World at War – Tannu Tuva 1911–1944
{{Authority control China–Soviet Union relations Communism in Russia

Tuva Tuva (; ) or Tyva (; ), officially the Republic of Tyva,; , is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Federal subjects of Russia, federal sub ...

Former unrecognized countries Post–Russian Empire states States and territories established in 1921 States and territories disestablished in 1944 History of Tuva 1921 establishments in Asia 1944 disestablishments in Asia Former countries of the interwar period 1944 by country Soviet satellite states