The Supreme Court of the Republic of Tuva came to a conclusion that there had been evidence of bribery in the actions of Nikolay Dubrovskiy, president of the Tyva State University, deputy of the House of Representatives of the Great Khural (Tuvan parliament).

In early September a wide range of events will be held in Tuva to support the forthcoming public prayer about longevity of Dalai Lama, which Russian Buddhists plan to hold in Tibetan residence of their spiritual leader in Dharamshala in November.

As the official Web site of the Tuvan Government reported, sand mandalas of Medicine Buddha, who protects living beings from sickness, will be made in the republic as part of preparation for the forthcoming prayer. Some important Tantric rituals, where residents and guests of the republic will be able to take part, will be held in Tuva. The sand mandalas of Medicine Buddha will be built by monks of the Gyudmed Tibetan Tantric Monastery, who had been rendering assistance to Tuva in the revival of Buddhist traditions. The Gyudmed monks will hold the ceremony of the big praying drum, which they had built for donations last year.

President Vladimir Putin and Monaco's Prince Albert II traded opulent imperial settings in St. Petersburg for an 8th century fortress and a Mongolian nomadic tent in a southern Russian region Monday, as the Monegasque prince continued his vacation in Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prince Albert II of Monaco have arrived at the Tuva republic. Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu and head of the Tuva government Sholban Kara-ool were meeting them at Kyzyl airport. From the airport Putin and Albert II flew by helicopter to the Por-Bazhyn fortress.

Tuvan music expert Valentina Suzukei defended Doctorate 'Cultural Historical Roots of Musical Heritage of Tuvans, its Present State and Modernisation in XX Century' and became a doctor in cultiral studies. Her multifacetous study of Tuvan music culture in the XXth century was published in a monography issued in early 2007. The scientist takes a closer look at the Tuvan musical phenomenon, analyses it in the context of the nomadic world perception, gives a full account of the ritual and labour musical practices, songs, instrumental music, Tuvan traditional instruments, makes a survey of both positive and negative consequences of the attempts to 'adapt' Tuvan music to European standards.

Today a republican scientific conference devoted to the 115th anniversary of Buyan-Badyrgy Mongush, last feudal ruler of Tuva, founder of the Tannu-Tyva state in 1921, opens in Chadan, his motherland. The conference is held within the framework of the 9th Ustuu-Khuree Festival of live music visited by over 500 guests from many regions of Russia and foreign countries. The festival and the conference are backed by the Tuvan government. The festival is aimed at reconstruction of the Ustuu-Khuree monastery ruined in 1930-ties. Villa Khaslavskaya, author of the reconstruction project, is this year honourable guest.

The Stan Rogers Folk Festival has come and gone for another year and by all accounts it was a successful one. I heard great music, met great people and stayed (reasonably) dry. One of the big stories of the festival was the weather that stayed rain and fog free until late Sunday afternoon. Even then, it was only a fairly brief set of showers, nothing compared to the heavy rain they had leading up to the weekend.

The sky was clear and the “blue” moon was out all three nights.