ABSTRACT
This chapter describes ethnic tensions and ethnopolitical mobilization in Tuva, analyze their causes, and consider ways that ethnic tensions might be managed more effectively in the future. The Republic of Tuva is a remote, mountainous area of eastern Siberia located on the basin of the Upper Yenisei River along Russia's southern border with Mongolia. It is surrounded by two mountain ranges the Sayans to the north and the Altai to the south. The cultural distance between ethnic Tuvinians and Russians is significant. Tuvinians speak a Turkic language, and they are culturally very close to the Mongolians to their south. Their traditional religion, which many still practice despite years of repression under the Soviets, is an amalgam of Tibetan Buddhism and shamanism. If federal and Tuvinian authorities make clear that they appreciate, and are trying to respond to, the concerns and grievances of both ethnic Tuvinians and ethnic Russians, interethnic tensions in Tuva should prove manageable.
