Tuva Republic, Russia

My first experience of Russia was the Tuva Republic, which borders northern Mongolia. It’s best known for throat-singing (khoomei) and for being the geographical center of Asia. Although, because of debates over the geographical definition of Asia and the many ways to represent the world’s layout on different map projections, China also makes the same claim saying it’s somewhere near Ürümqi, Xinjiang Province. These Tuva photos cover my 2015 trip to the area. Russia’s pull on me began back in 2010, while I was in Central Asia on a climbing expedition to make a first ascent in Kyrgyzstan’s Tien Shan Mountains. Over the five years that followed, I ventured further into more remote corners of Central Asia and into countries existing on the perimeter of modern-day Russia.

Each place I visited and the unique people I encountered fuelled my fascination with the region: a camo-clad Siberian driving through the western Mongolian town of Olgii, heading towards the Altai Republic with two freshly shot adult wolves lashed to the hood of his UAZ 4×4, blood trickling from their noses on to the streets; two Russians who bombed their way enthusiastically across the eastern Kazakh steppes in an old beater car to cheerily greet my friend and I with a toast of vodka as we journeyed across Kazakhstan on horseback in 2013; or Radik, a boisterous and good-humoured man originally from Russia who became a camel breeder and herder in the Kyzyl Kum desert of northern Uzbekistan. My interest in the world’s largest country grew with each new incident.

Apart from viewing these Tuva photos, you can learn more about the republic by watching Kushkash-Ool (Bird Boy) shot in 2011 by Tuvan filmmaker Vladimir Kopush. The ethnographic film explores the life of Sean Quirk, an American who has been living in Tuva for many years, speaks fluent Tuvan and managed the Alash Ensemble — one of Tuva’s most famous throat-singing bands.

A section of the Yenisei River with a tug boat in the distance used for crossing the river.
A Tuvan woman with a young girl sat on her knee, outside of their yurt.
A yurt on the forest edge with a blue door and stove pipe coming out of its roof.
Far shot of four disused Soviet-era buildings.
The Yenisei River with stormy skies overhead.
A landscape shot of a Tuvan taiga forest.
The dirt road to Huun Huur Tu and the rocky outcrops covering distant mountains.
Black and white image sat in a wooden longboat in Azas Lake.
A wide angle image of cloud shining over empty, grassy mountains.
A Tuvan family sat outside of their yurt doing daily chores.
An experimental image of a dancer with a white dress jumping in the air, inside of an industrial unit.
An Old Believer village on the banks of the Yenisei River.
A traditional shamanic ceremony with a shaman beating a drum around a fire.
Black and white photo of a Scythian-era standing deer stone in Tuva with a moustached faced carve on it.
Three men next to a green Russian jeep chopping wooden logs.
Autumnal coloured ground, pine forest, blue skies and a sprinking of snow.
Sunset of a snow-dusted plateau in Tuva.
A photo of the Yenisei River from a high mountain point, with an Old Believer village beside it.
Landscape of Tuva from the Yenisei River on a sunny day.
Far shot of two hikers ascending in to the wild mountains of Siberia.
The rocky ridgeline leading to the summit of Munghulik.
The north side of Munghulik Mountain in Tuva with an icy, snow-filled gully in the middle face.
A hiker in red jacket and wearing a yellow bag walking through the snow.
A Tuvan musician with handlebar moustache coolly leaning against his accordion.
Photo of Yenisei River showing reflect of mountains in the water.
Landscape photo of lightly snow-covered mountains with forests on the slopes.
Two hikers walking through deep snow.
Landscape image of western Tuva on an overcast day with a pine forest.
A Tuvan musician wearing a blue traditional outfit sat next to a pine tree.
A man paddling a blue packraft descends the Yenisei River with snow-covered mountains behind.
An older man with checked shirt carrying cut logs in his hand.
Sunset over a yellow and green plateau in western Tuva.
A yurt and wooden goat pen with a sloping, sun-kissed plateau in the distance.
Black and white photo of an abandoned bread factory with destroyed windows.
Two abandoned factory towers behind a rusty fence.
Late afternoon, overcast landscape photo of mountain plateau and rock peaks in background.
A Tuvan farmer crouched down next to a hand-crank milk pasteurising machine.
An abandoned factory somewhere in Tuva with an industrial conveyor belt descending from the top floor.
A hike with a heavy backpack ascends up a steep hillside.
A shaman in traditional clothes with his eyes closed speaking to the forest spirits.
A UAZ Buhanka off-road vehicle in remote Tuva.
Two young men in an open open milking horned cattle.
Close up photo of a white Russian man drunkenly pointing at the camera lens.
A bridge made of logs slowly sinking into the silt of Huun Huur Tu lake.
A small mountain with a rocky ridgeline near the Yenisei River.
Two backpack-wearing hikers ascending a steep hill above a pine forest in Tuva.
A white Russian hunter in camouflage tows a green inflatable to the shoreline.
A close up photo of an adventure huddled in the dirt and making a fire.
An image from the middle of the Yenisei River with mountains either side and clouds overhead.
A high and wide view looking down at the Yenisei River.
A two-floored house tucked away in a green forest overlooking Azas Lake.
A nomad family's pink coloured tent with stove pipe coming out the roof.
An open topped truck next to a log hut, loaded up with equipment.
Upper section of the Yenisei River and rapids at dusk.
Black and white photo of a cameraman crouched beside his tent and fiddling with the lens.
The Yenisei River on a still day with clouds rolling over the Sayan Mountains.
A little boy wearing yellow dungarees stands beside a door with a beam of light shining through it.
Portrait of Tuvan teenager with short hair and red shirt, inside of his colourful yurt.
Two happy looking girls smiling for the camera, wearing pink and blue t-shirts.
Two Tuvan mountaineers in red clothing at their campsite near Munghulik.
A white Russian man approaches an island in a motorised longboat in Azas Lake, Tuva.
A brother and his sister smile for the camera sat inside their yurt.
A mid-shot of a Tuvan shaman conducting a traditional fire ceremony outside of Kyzyl.
A look into a remote mountain valley leading to Mongolia.
A man with blue cap and blue-white checked shirt smiles in front of a white horse.
A Tuvan boy wearing athletic clothing leaning on the door of a log mountain hut.
A wool-maker and craftswoman wearing a pink top poses for the camera.
The crumbling remains of a disused factory in Tuva.
Black and white photo of a woman stood next to a jeep loaded up with logs in the trunk.
Autumn forests covered in light snow next to the Yenisei River.
A little Tuvan boy with yellow shirts and blue sweater.
Four Tuvan teenagers sat inside of a yurt.
A Tuvan guy wearing a cowboy hat and holding a pot outside of a wooden hut.
Yenisei River near the mouth of the Khemchik River.
The tall towers and grain silo of a disused bread factory in Kyzyl, Tuva.
A herd of horses walking through a grassy plateau next to the Sayan Mountains in Tuva.
A Tuvan mountaineer wearing blue trousers and red jacket sat on a rock posing for the camera.

My photography has been published in the following outlets:

Russia Beyond the Headlines logo.
Men's Running black text logo.
The New York Times logo.
Alpinist Magazine's logo.
ExplorersWeb online adventure news outlet logo.
Love Nature's logo with multiple colours and textures.
Russian Life logo in blue text.
Sidetracked Magazine logo in black and white.
Ripcord Adventure Journal logo in red, black and white.
Trek & Mountain Magazine's logo.
Geographical Magazine logo in white text with black background.
Action Asia Magazine logo.
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