The best artistic collectives of Tuva will perform on December 29 in a benefit concert in support of building a monument to the founder of Tuvan statehood, Mongush Buyan-Badyrgy, an educator, philosopher, poet, and statesman. The head of the large Daa-kozhuun, Buyan Badyrgy was one of the first Tuvan noyons to ask for Russian support and protection on October 26, 1913. Later he took part in working out the first constitution of Tuva, and in preparation and realization of the centralized meeting of People's Republic Tannu-Tuva in August of 1921.
The coming year - 2011 - is the year of 90th anniversary of TNR. This date is, first of all, the year of historical summaries, the debt of respect to the founders of Tuvan state, to those who built the foundations of a strong friendship between nations, and prepared the ground for Tuva's entrance into the system of multi-national Russia.
The monument to Buyan-Badyrgy will be one of the contributions of the current generation of the republic to preservation of historical memory. The initiators of the project, head of Tuva Sholban Kara-ool and the leader of the legendary group Huun-Huur-Tu, national khoomeizhi Kaigal-ool Khovalyg, conductors of National Orchestra Ayana Mongush and of Wind instrument Orchestra Timur Dulush shared their plans for collection of the means for raising this monument at a briefing for journalists.
"This task is both simple and complicated at the same time, - emphasized premier Sholban Lara-ool. - The date itself, as you know, has a great historical significance. At the beginning of the last century , when both China and Mongolia watched the territory of Tuva with such greed, Mongush Buyan-Badyrgy together with Innokentiy Safianov found a way out of a very complicated situation, and thanks to their wise decision, the Tuvan ethnos was not mired in a civil war; the process of the unification of the nation had a bloodless course. As far as the idea of a benefit concert is concerned, it is not done just to collect the money. We want our public to act in the role of both the initiator and the participant of the project of building the monument. So that everybody would feel himself to be a part of the lustration process. Buyan-Badyrgy was shot in 1932 with the silent complicity of the people."
"The benefit concert will have a great educational meaning, - added Ayana Mongush. - As carriers of spirituality, we have to address the nation with a challenge to extract moral lessons from history, which, as we know, is not always consistent. The main idea is the idea of unification, of consolidation of the society."
"There are forces in the society, which are striving to cause dissidence. If even only on a level of daily existence, sometimes there are calls for opposition of the nations. For example Buyan-Badyrgy; his friendship and closeness with another great person - Safianov - secured peace and calm in our country. And the fact that now more than 100 different nations and ethnoses live on the territory of our republic, and that there is no inter-ethnic dissent is their great merit. The young should remember it, - finished the director of Tuvan State Philharmony, Igor Dulush, who will act as the coordinator of the concert.
As far as the project of the monument is concerned, the model was made by famous sculptor Ondar Tovarishtai. The sculptor himself, unfortunately, is not among the living anymore, but his work is continued by his students. One of them, a graduate of Russian Surikov Academy of Arts, Baiza Ondar, who lives and works in Moscow, is ready to take up the realization of this project, to finish the work started by his teacher.
Buyan-Badyrgy was an adopted son of prominent noyon of Daa-kozhuun, Khaidyp, who built the monastery complex Ustuu-Khuree in 1905-1907. He received excellent education, and knew Tuvan, Russian, Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese languages. With his participation, Tuvan constitutions of 1921, 1923, 1924 and 1926 were written and approved.
Buyan-Badyrgy was arrested in 1929 and kept in prison. In March of 1932 at the TNRP Politburo meeting he was accused of "counter-revolutionary banditry and plundering activities", of taking part in the Khemchik revolt of "yellow-black" feudal lords (1924), and executed by shooting.
By decree of Chairman of the Government of Tuva, Sholban Kara-ool, Buyan-Badyrgy was rehabilitated in July of 2007.