republic · China, Tibet and Mongolia

Tuvan People's Republic

1921 CE – 1944 CE · capital Kyzyl

A nominally independent Soviet satellite in southern Siberia, recognised only by the USSR and Mongolia, which was quietly annexed in 1944.

Origins

After years of civil war on the upper Yenisei, Tuvan leaders with Soviet support proclaimed the People's Republic of Tannu Tuva in August 1921, replacing the Russian protectorate of Uryankhay Krai. Its capital, renamed Kyzyl, lay near the geographical centre of Asia.

Rule and society

Under Prime Minister Buyan-Badyrgy in the 1920s the state followed a moderate, Buddhist-friendly course. Moscow had him removed and later executed, and from 1932 Salchak Toka, leader of the Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party, ran a Stalinist regime: herds were collectivised, monasteries closed and lamas persecuted. A Latin alphabet for Tuvan was introduced in 1930.

Decline and legacy

During the Second World War Tuva gave horses, gold and volunteers to the Soviet Union. In October 1944 it was admitted to the USSR as an autonomous oblast of the Russian SFSR; Salchak Toka remained its party leader until 1973.

Lineage

Uryankhay Krai 1914 CE – 1921 CETuvan People's RepublicSoviet Union 1922 CE – 1991 CE

More states of China, Tibet and Mongolia →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Tuvan People's Republic. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tuvan-peoples-republic
MLA
“Tuvan People's Republic.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tuvan-peoples-republic. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Tuvan People's Republic.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tuvan-peoples-republic.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Tuvan People's Republic’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tuvan-peoples-republic (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻