Abnormally prolonged period of strong freeze has put the animal herders of Central Asian regions into a difficult position. For example, in neighboring Mongolia, already more than one million heads of cattle have died from cold and dzut (ground frozen so hard that animals can’t feed. hj). The weather has caused similar problems for the herders in several districts of Tuva. As of today, already more that one thousand heads of small horned cattle and about 300 of large horned cattle have died in the republic as a result of the deep freeze. Mostly this involves young animals born last year.

Exhibition of national dishes, contest for the tastiest pelmeni, best horse outfit, fastest speech, lifting rocks (kodured dash), mass sledding from hills, chess games, khuresh wrestling – all that will be going on in Tec-Khem kozhuun during the Lunar New Year celebrations. On the evening before Shagaa, which is coming with the first rays of the sun on February 14, “cholukshulga”, an ancient ceremonial expression of respect to the elders of the community takes place.

Amadu Mamadakov will come back to Tuva again

The poster of a Moscow theatre introduces him as Merited Artist of Republic Tuva, yet he has been to Tuva only once. He is a great teacher and a talented director, but he is mostly known as an actor. He lives and works in Moscow, but his whole soul belongs to Gornyi Altai. He was born in a tiny village, but the whole country knows him.

He is a son of his nation, yet all the Asian republics consider him one of their own. The list of works of Amadu Mamadakov, the Merited Artist of Republics Altai and Tuva shows many theatre roles, yet he is remembered for films “Zvezda” (Star) and “9 rota”.

This winter is very cold in Tuva – the air temperature has been staying below -40 degrees centigrade for already the second month.

Yesterday and today morning, the local media announced that the temperature is -44 degrees, but the actual thermometers of Kyzyl inhabitants were registering -50 degrees.

Two recent free days, when the thermometers registered only -35 degrees, were welcomed as a serious warming.

It is interesting that the station “Taiga” is much warmer, with its -18 degrees.

A filming group from the TV channel “Rossiya” has arrived to Tuva.

“We will travel throughout Tuva in search of Genghis Khan’s grave, - announced the leader of the filming team, Nina Baklanova. And, smiling, she explained: - That is, provisionally speaking, the theme of our future documentary film, around which we will, so to speak, dance. But that is, I repeat, provisional. Of course, in the first place we are interested in that which you consider the heritage of Tuva, which makes Tuva different from other regions of Russia. I mean throat singing, Buddhists, shamans, and many other things.”

In the summer of 2010, the group “Albert Kuvezin and Yat-Kha” will depart on a promo-tour of Europe and North America with a new album “Poety i mayaki” (Poets and Lighthouses). The solo album of the legendary Siberian rocker, which was recorded in the summer of 2008 in Scotland on the island of Jura in the private studio of musician and producer Giles Perring, is now completely ready to come out. It is interesting that the illustrious writer George Orwell wrote his last novel, “1984” on this same island.

1206 items of Nikolai Konstantinovich and Nadia Rushevs, were given to the National Museum of Republic Tuva.

100 of Nadia’s drawings, more than 200 of Nikolai Rushev’s paintings, photograph albums, booklets, posters, and also pins, which Nadia Rusheva used to collect as a schoolgirl, were donated to the museum by the young artist’s mother, the first ballerina of Tuva, Natalia Azhikmaa-Rusheva.

The director of the TV channel “Rossiya 2” (formerly “Sport”), Aleksandr Papyn, will be among those who provide direct broadcasting of competitions which involve Russian athletes from the Olympics in Vancouver.

On February 13, exactly at the eve of the Lunar New Year – Shagaa, Aleksandr will be working at the opening of the Olympic games. This way, the necessary condition for the year of Metallic Tiger to be successful, that is, wakefulness during the night before Shagaa, will be completely inescapable for Aleksandr.

The series of ethno-activities in the club 16Tonn continues, and is growing every minute.

On February 9, there was a premiere: Tuvan singer, who combines throat singing with electronic elements and free-jazz, supported by famous multi-instrumentalists – Sergei Letov, and the founder of the Night Prospect, Aleksei Borisov; neither needs an introduction, and they quarantee serious interest in how all this looks and sounds live.

In February-March of 2010, under the aegis of the WWF of Russia, the workers of the biosphere nature reserves “Sayano-Shushenskiy” and “Ubsunurskaya kotlovina” will be carrying out a census of the key groupings of the snow leopard (irbis), in the south of Krasnoyarskii Krai and in Soutwest of Tuva.