A huge kurgan wit a diameter of more than 100 meters, where, possibly, the very same people are resting who raised Arzhaan-2  - that is the so-called elite funerary-memorial complex Chinge-Tei I.  South-Siberian archeological expedition headed by Konstantin Vladimirovich Chugunov has been occupied with study of this historical monument already for three years.

This year, 25 scientists have been working on excavations of this monument. So far, only a small proportion of the work has been finished. In three years, a small part on the edge of the kurgan has been dug up, it is still far from the center, and to excavate that, technology has to be brought in.  Financing of the project, performed by the State hermitage is not that large, and the work moves only slowly. However, the scientists are glad: nobody hurries them, and it is possible to study the object in  scrupulous detail.  There is plenty to study. The kurgan is interesting both by its structure and by the finds. Chugunov himself speaks of the results of his studies willingly, even though he does not consider them to be something special.

"Today I see your look is especially sad, and your arms are so slender, hugging your knees.

Listen: far, far away by Lake Chad, an elegant giraffe is wandering in the breeze."

There, to Africa, to Lake Chad, where Nikolai Gumilev's elegant giraffe is still wandering, is where Elisabeth Gordon wanted to go from Australia - to study musical traditions of Nigeria.

But she ended up on another continent: in Russia, in Tuva, where there are no African drums, but instead there is women's khoomei, the mystery of which bewitched  the young Australian woman.

The first constitution of Republic Tannu-Tuva ulus (Uriangkhai nation), was adopted 90 years ago, on 15 August 1921. This article about that event  is based on archival materials.

The Pan-Tuvan Founders' khural (Congress), which took place from 13 to 16 August 1921 in Sug-Bazhy near Russian village Atamanovka (now Kochetovo), two projects of the Foundation Law, similar in content and intent,  were evaluated. On 14 August 1921, a third project was reviewed, concerning the Constitution of Tannu-Tuva ulus.

It is possible that this is the first time in Tuva that a poacher will be punished to the full extent of the law. The State Commission for Hunting and Fishing of RT submitted documentation to state prosecutor, concerning a resident of the republic, now a defendant, who broke the laws of nature protection.

The incident happened in march. Inspectors, together with the police, arrested a hunter, now a defendant, during a routine raid not far from a town where fans of illegal hunting often go : an open steppe, and the animal has nowhere to hide from the bullet.

We are presenting to the readers' attention some excerpts from Laws on marriage and family, which are kept in the Central State Archive of Republic Tyva.

Section I. About marriage.

Paragraph 1. Any woman and man can become man and wife according to their wish.

Note. Even though parents and relatives prepare the dowry and such, and organize the wedding celebrations, they should not go against the wishes of their children and should not use force towards them.

Two golden domes now crown the orthodox church which is under construction in Tuva. On 1 August, the complicated task of  installing the uppermost dome in place was performed. The top of the crest reaches the height of almost 50 meters. A special crane was obtained from Japan by OOO "Selstroi" with the help of Government of RT just for this purpose. Light and elegant in appearance, the 54-meter giant can lift loads 1.5 times heavier than itself. And it weighs 37.8 tons. It is fully equipped with electronics - one computer on the chassis, one on the arm, yet another in the cabin.

During joint raid activities of  Tuvan police and State Hunting and fishing commission of Tuva, an air vessel AN-2  was arrested  in Soorug on the Azas preserve of Todzha. The airplane had no registration number or other   markings.

It was established that the airplane belongs to one of  companies registered in Kuragino district of Krasnoyarsk Krai. The pilot, a 60-year-old resident of Achinsk and a passenger - a 55-year-old resident of Petropavlovsk of Krasnoyarsk Krai were on board.  The pilot's flying license was expired.

Today 25 paratroopers from air forest security of Tuva flew to Yakutia, where there are raging forest fires. 36 of their colleagues, who are fighting forest fires in Republic Komi  since 11 July, will soon be going to Archangelsk region, where they are also having a complicated situation with forest fires. The government of Archangelsk region approached head of Tuva Sholban Kara-ool with the request for help in the framework of interregional cooperation and maneuvering of the firefighting forces. The approximate length of the shift will be 20 days.

Archeological excavations along the construction of Kyzyl-Kuragino railway, acting under the grant of Russian Geographical Society are going strong. Every week brings new finds. Scientists found a cast bronze bit, consisting of two parts - a part of horse harness. This find helped the archeologists to determine that the kurgan dates to Scythian era - 9^th-6^th centuries before our era. The scientists believe that the bit was made specially for the burial.