The Pre-Soviet History of Buddhism in Tuva

Introduction to Tuva

Tuva (Mong. Uriankhai, Tib. thang-nu) is an autonomous republic in Siberia, Russia. It lies north of Western Mongolia, bordering the western Altai Region. It is at the southernmost reaches of the Yenisei River. The Tuvans are not a Mongolic people, but are Turkic, and are therefore related to the Altaians, Uighurs and Kazakhs. Thus, the Tuvan language is a Turkic language but with about 20% to 30% of its vocabulary derived from Mongolian loan words.

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