Tuvan People's Republic

The Tuvan People's Republic, usually called simply Tuva, was a partially recognised socialist state in North Asia that existed from 1921 to 1944. It occupied roughly the same territory as the former Russian protectorate of Uryankhay Krai, north-west of Mongolia, and corresponds to the present Republic of Tuva within Russia. Tuva had been part of the Qing empire through Mongolia since 1759; after the collapse of the Qing in 1911 it became a Russian protectorate, and after the revolutions of 1917 it passed through years of civil war and foreign occupation. The republic was proclaimed in August 1921 with its capital at Kyzyl, and in 1926 it adopted the name Tuvan People's Republic. Only the Soviet Union and Mongolia extended formal recognition, in 1924 and 1926 respectively, while the rest of the world treated it as part of Russia. Soviet advisers and the local revolutionary party steadily tightened their control and collectivised the pastoral economy. In October 1944 the Tuvan parliament requested incorporation into the Russian SFSR, ending twenty-three years of nominal independence and beginning the republic's integration into the Soviet Union.