The 8^th International Festival of Ethnic Music "Sayan Ring" that took place on 8 - 10 July in Shushenskoye had about 31 thousand visitors, as the regional ministry of culture announced.

34 groups and solo performers from various regions of Russia took part. The audiences had an opportunity to appreciate the art of laureates of the ethnic music festival 'Sayan Ring" of 2003-2005, and  by recipients of the "Zolotaya Iriya" 2007-2010 ethnic music award of Siberia.  Internationally famous performers and ensembles performed in the capacity of honored guests of the festival, among them Nina Nastasia (USA), Sainkho Namtchylak (Austria-France)...

According to information from Russian Geographic Society, excavations of next kurgan began in Tuva, at the Eerbek-10 archeological site. The work is led by TIGI archeologist Nikolai Smirnov. A burial of Kok-el culture(i.e.  Hunnic-Sarmatian era, approximately 2^nd-6^th century of Common Era, just before the Turkic period).  The burial yielded human bones - a young woman or a young man, who was presumably covered with a skin of a horse ( horse skull and bones were found as indirect evidence). It is already obvious that the site was partially robbed.  It is planned to finish the preliminary study of the finds several days, and to provide a more accurate date.

The nations won't forgive us

– Zoya Bairovna, the fundamental series "Monuments of Folklore of peoples of Siberia and Far East" has three Tuvan volumes . How did this immense work originate?

– It is more accurate to say: not how, but who. Doctor of philological sciences, Professor Soktoyev started it all.

In 1983, Alexander Badmayevich moved from Buryatia to Novosibirsk, and be3came the organizer of the Siberian people's folklore section, the first director of Philology institute of the Siberian section of Russian Academy of Sciences. And he founded the series "Monuments of Folklore of peoples of Siberia and Far East"; the plan was for sixty volumes.

She is one of those who know what to do with their life and what to do in this life to fill it with meaning and content.

Literaturologist and folklorist Zoya Samdan is not a desk scholar. She has spent thirty-seven years collecting oral Tuvan folk art - tales and myths.

And Tuvan story-tellers, speaking in their native language and in Russian, have added their voices to members of other nations in the multi-volume series "Monuments of Folklore of Peoples of Siberia and Far East" - a huge project of Russian scholars from various republics that was begun in 1983 and continues to this day.

The epic connected with her work on two volumes of this series - "Tuvan folk tales" and "Myths, legends and traditions of Tuvans" - she considers a gift of fate.

Leonid Pavlovich Potapov, Doctor of historical sciences, Professor, Merited Scholar of Russian Federation and Tuvinian ASSR, Laureate of Stalin and State prizes of USSR. Today marks the 106^th anniversary of the scholar's birth. The 100^th anniversary of the legendary ethnographer was celebrated modestly in 2005 - only in the narrow circle of scholars in Altai, the researcher's native country.

On 13 July, the 13^th International Festival of Live Music and Faith "Ustuu-Khuree" will open in Tuva. Among the headliners of  one of the most famous music venues of Siberia are Sainkho and Garlo (France), GenDos and Svatava Drichkova (Czech Republic), Albert Kuvezin (Tuva), Sofia (Kara-ool-Dulush and Wind Instrument Orchestra of the Government of Republic Tyva, and group "Khartyga". On the opening day, there will be horse races, dedicated to 90^th anniversary of the republic and an evening concert at Chadan stadium. The concert program will be started off by Sainkho and Garlo(?).

On 20 July in Ulan-Ude in Buryatia, there will be a performance by the prominent Tuvan group Huun-Huur-Tu at the Third international festival  "Voice of the Nomads". Baikal-Buryatia".

This group has been called the model of high taste and style, which is why the group became a world-scale star, firmly entrenched within the elite of World music of the planet.  "Novaya Buryatiya" presents an interview with Radik Tyulyush - soloist of the group, with which he has been working for six years.

The history of musical instruments stolen from Tuvan ethno-group "Alash" has not died down after their departure from the USA. The police of Albuquerque (New Mexico) offered a reward of $1000 for any information about the perpetrators and the stolen items. Today, the vice-mayor of the city, Tito Madrid notified about it the producer of the group, Sean Quirk and the Ministry of Culture of Tuva. Mr. Madrid offered apologies in the name of the mayor of Albuquerque and expressed confidence that with the help of the citizens, who are no less incensed about the incident, the stolen items will be found and returned to their owners.

Ministry of culture of Tuva announced the start of a contest to compose a new state national anthem of the republic. The decision was made today by a task-group created by the government of RT, which includes composers and culture workers of the republic. As the Minister of culture of Tuva Vyacheslav Dongak announced, the group will be accepting works for the contest until 11 July. No later than 15 July the selected alternatives of the anthem will be presented to the government of the republic for review.

In Tuva, along with celebrations of the 90^thanniversary of Tuvan Statehood, there will also be the International Felt Festival - felt is a cultic material for nomadic nations.

It will take place on 13-15 August in Kyzyl. This was annou8nced today by the Ministry of Culture of Tuva, the organizer of the celebrations.

The entire festival will be designed around felt products and the ancient craft of their manufacture.