Tuva Republic, Russia

My first experience of Russia was in the Tuva Republic, which borders northern Mongolia. Tuva is best known for its distinctive throat singing (khoomei) and for being the geographical centre of Asia. This claim is contested — China also stakes a claim to the title, locating it near Ürümqi in Xinjiang Province, depending on how Asia’s boundaries are defined and which map projection is used. These Tuva photos are from my 2015 trip to the region.

My interest in Russia began in 2010, during a climbing expedition in Kyrgyzstan’s Tien Shan Mountains. Over the following five years, I ventured deeper into remote corners of Central Asia and the peripheries of modern-day Russia, drawn by the landscapes and the people I encountered. Among the moments that left an impression were: a Siberian hunter driving through Ölgii, western Mongolia, with two freshly shot wolves lashed to his UAZ 4×4; two Russians in an old beater car, crossing the eastern Kazakh steppes to greet my friend and me with vodka toasts during a 2013 horseback journey; and Radik, a warm, boisterous Russian man who became a camel breeder in Uzbekistan’s Kyzyl Kum Desert. Each meeting deepened my fascination with the region.

Beyond these Tuva photos, you can learn more about the republic through Kushkash-Ool (Bird Boy), a 2011 ethnographic film by Vladimir Kopush. The film follows Sean Quirk, an American who has lived in Tuva for many years, speaks fluent Tuvan, and managed the Alash Ensemble, one of the region’s most renowned throat-singing bands.

The north side of Munghulik Mountain in Tuva with an icy, snow-filled gully in the middle face.
A shaman in traditional clothes with his eyes closed speaking to the forest spirits.
Black and white photo of a Scythian-era standing deer stone in Tuva with a moustached faced carve on it.
A Tuvan woman with a young girl sat on her knee, outside of their yurt.
A man with blue cap and blue-white checked shirt smiles in front of a white horse.
Upper section of the Yenisei River and rapids at dusk.
A man paddling a blue packraft descends the Yenisei River with snow-covered mountains behind.
A Tuvan guy wearing a cowboy hat and holding a pot outside of a wooden hut.
The crumbling remains of a disused factory in Tuva.
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.
A white Russian hunter in camouflage tows a green inflatable to the shoreline.
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.
Far shot of two hikers ascending in to the wild mountains of Siberia.
A two-floored house tucked away in a green forest overlooking Azas Lake.
A landscape shot of a Tuvan taiga forest.
Black and white photo of a cameraman crouched beside his tent and fiddling with the lens.
A Tuvan musician with handlebar moustache coolly leaning against his accordion.
Two abandoned factory towers behind a rusty fence.
An Old Believer village on the banks of the Yenisei River.
A traditional shamanic ceremony with a shaman beating a drum around a fire.
A high and wide view looking down at the Yenisei River.
An experimental image of a dancer with a white dress jumping in the air, inside of an industrial unit.
A brother and his sister smile for the camera sat inside their yurt.
Two backpack-wearing hikers ascending a steep hill above a pine forest in Tuva.
Photo of Yenisei River showing reflect of mountains in the water.
Autumn forests covered in light snow next to the Yenisei River.
An open topped truck next to a log hut, loaded up with equipment.
Two hikers walking through deep snow.
Three men next to a green Russian jeep chopping wooden logs.
A yurt on the forest edge with a blue door and stove pipe coming out of its roof.
Close up photo of a white Russian man drunkenly pointing at the camera lens.
A herd of horses walking through a grassy plateau next to the Sayan Mountains in Tuva.
The Yenisei River with stormy skies overhead.
A Tuvan mountaineer wearing blue trousers and red jacket sat on a rock posing for the camera.
A yurt and wooden goat pen with a sloping, sun-kissed plateau in the distance.
A white Russian man approaches an island in a motorised longboat in Azas Lake, Tuva.
An image from the middle of the Yenisei River with mountains either side and clouds overhead.
A Tuvan family sat outside of their yurt doing daily chores.
The dirt road to Huun Huur Tu and the rocky outcrops covering distant mountains.
A hike with a heavy backpack ascends up a steep hillside.
A little Tuvan boy with yellow shirts and blue sweater.
A section of the Yenisei River with a tug boat in the distance used for crossing the river.
A nomad family's pink coloured tent with stove pipe coming out the roof.
Landscape photo of lightly snow-covered mountains with forests on the slopes.
Black and white photo of an abandoned bread factory with destroyed windows.
A small mountain with a rocky ridgeline near the Yenisei River.
The Yenisei River on a still day with clouds rolling over the Sayan Mountains.
A mid-shot of a Tuvan shaman conducting a traditional fire ceremony outside of Kyzyl.
A bridge made of logs slowly sinking into the silt of Huun Huur Tu lake.
A photo of the Yenisei River from a high mountain point, with an Old Believer village beside it.
Portrait of Tuvan teenager with short hair and red shirt, inside of his colourful yurt.
Yenisei River near the mouth of the Khemchik River.
Sunset of a snow-dusted plateau in Tuva.
Four Tuvan teenagers sat inside of a yurt.
A close up photo of an adventure huddled in the dirt and making a fire.
Black and white photo of a woman stood next to a jeep loaded up with logs in the trunk.
The rocky ridgeline leading to the summit of Munghulik.
Landscape of Tuva from the Yenisei River on a sunny day.
The tall towers and grain silo of a disused bread factory in Kyzyl, Tuva.
A wool-maker and craftswoman wearing a pink top poses for the camera.
A wide angle image of cloud shining over empty, grassy mountains.
Landscape image of western Tuva on an overcast day with a pine forest.
A hiker in red jacket and wearing a yellow bag walking through the snow.
A Tuvan musician wearing a blue traditional outfit sat next to a pine tree.
Far shot of four disused Soviet-era buildings.
An older man with checked shirt carrying cut logs in his hand.
Sunset over a yellow and green plateau in western Tuva.
A little boy wearing yellow dungarees stands beside a door with a beam of light shining through it.
A look into a remote mountain valley leading to Mongolia.
Black and white image sat in a wooden longboat in Azas Lake.
Autumnal coloured ground, pine forest, blue skies and a sprinking of snow.
An abandoned factory somewhere in Tuva with an industrial conveyor belt descending from the top floor.
Two young men in an open open milking horned cattle.
A UAZ Buhanka off-road vehicle in remote Tuva.
A Tuvan boy wearing athletic clothing leaning on the door of a log mountain hut.

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