1929-1944 History of Touva since 1991





Touva 1944-1991



In 1944, Tannu Touva was annexed into the USSR, and within her into the RSFSR. In 1961 the Tuvinian ASSR was established within the RSFSR. The collectivization of farmland and, more importantly, livestock herds, severely affected the Tuvinians' traditional lifestyle; the Communist leadership attempted to root out Buddhism and Shamanism.
The Russians developed hydroelectric power stations, 47 by 1970. In 1968 the country had 198 elementary schools, 5 technical colleges and Kyzyl Teachers College, which had opened in 1956; in 1995 it was to be upgraded into Tuva State University. Also hospitals were built; an airfield constructed near the Tuvinian capital of Kyzyl. he main communication between Kyzyl and the remainder of the USSR was conducted by a steamer on the Yenissei, and by busses / trucks along overland roads. A considerable number of Russians took up residence in Tuva; the census of 1979 established 60.5 % Tuvinians, 36.2 % Russians. During the Soviet era, urbanization also took place - capital Kyzyl, founded only in 1914, by 1989 had 80,000 inhabitants (out of a total population of 309,000); the majority of the population being ethnic Russians. Soviet education and policy may have affected the status of women in Tuvinian society; when elections were held for the Supreme Soviet in 1985, 53 of the 130 Tuvinian delegates were women.
Tuva would have been forgotten by the outside world, were it not for the colourful stamps issued in 1927-1944, and Tuvinian throat singing; the book "Tuva or Bust" describes the effort of Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton to access the remote region, out of pure curiosity.
During the democratization of the USSR under Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-1991), in 1990 the Tuvan Democratic Movement was founded. When the USSR disintegrated on December 30th 1991, Russia became independent; Tuva gained the status of an (no longer Soviet socialist) autonomous republic within the Russian Federation.



EXTERNAL
FILES 		Land of the Shamans, by Erik Flesch
Article History of Tuva, from Wikipedia
History, from Tuva State University
History of Kyzyl, from Wikipedia
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE Article : U.S.S.R. : Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1970-1971, p.1415 (data of 1969-1970) [G]
Article : U.S.S.R. : Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1975-1976, p.1420 (data of 1974-1975) [G]
Article : U.S.S.R. : Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1978-1979, p.1237 (data of 1977-1978) [G]
Article : U.S.S.R. : Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1980-1981, p.1242 (data of 1979-1980) [G]
Article : U.S.S.R. : Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1983-1984, pp.1246-1247 (data of 1982-1983) [G]
Article : U.S.S.R. : Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1984-1985, p.1244 (data of 1983-1984) [G]
Article : U.S.S.R. : Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1985-1986, p.1245 (data of 1984-1985) [G]
Article : U.S.S.R. : Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1987-1988, pp.1247-1248 (data of 1986-1987) [G]
Article : U.S.S.R. : Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1988-1989, pp.1251-1252 (data of 1987-1988) [G]
Article : U.S.S.R. : Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1989-1990, pp.1257-1258 (data of 1988-1989) [G]
Article : U.S.S.R. : Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1990-1991, pp.1260-1261 (data of 1989-1990) [G]
Article : U.S.S.R. : Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1991-1992, p.1260 (data of 1990-1991) [G]
Article : Tannu Tuva, in : Americana Annual 1946 p.709 (on events of 1945) [G]
Article : Tuvinian Autonomous Region, in : Americana Annual 1947 p.714 (on events of 1946) [G]



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on November 5th 2006

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