Tuvan History

There is evidence that people have been living in the Tuva region since Paleolithic times, but the first identifiable culture found in the region has been termed the Kazylgan Culture that flourished in the 7^th to 3^rd centuries BC. These early peoples followed a semi-nomadic, pastoral way of life that still continues today. At that time as well as now, the Tuvinian people were a mix of Mongoloid and European tribes. It was not until the invasions of the Huns in the second century AD that the majority of Tuvinians were of Mongoloid type. To add future to the ethnic mix, Turkish tribes who specialized in animal herbing arrived in the region and left clear evidence of a nomadic life-style in the form of wool tents — yurts — and specialized saddles for herbing.

In 1207 Tuva came under the subjugation of Genghis Khan and would remain under Mongolian and Chinese authority until 1911 Chinese Communist Revolution. It was in this period that splinter group of Russian Orthodox colonized some of back-country areas of Tuva, in order to practise a life of simplicity. Now referred to as “Old Believers”, descendents of this group continue to live in Tuva, completely rejecting the 20^th century. The second wave of Russian Settlers in the region was peasants from surrounding areas who came to Tuva around 1885. After Tuva was freed from Chinese rule it became a Russian protectorate until 1921 when Tuvinian People’s Republic was declared with Kyzyl as the capital city. This republic followed a path of socialist government and in 1961 was included in the former Soviet Union (now — Russia).