A journey

In southwest Siberia in Tuva, between Mongolia and Altai, the mountain massif Mongun-Taiga spread its shoulders - the mountain ridges, glittering with glaciers of the Silver Mountain. It is a harsh land of wind-blown high-altitude meadows, stony slopes and icy rivers. Only strong and tough people survive here, Tuvans of Turkic roots, living a nomadic life with their herds of sheep and yaks. They are kind to their guests, but guests are rare - it is not an easy road to the remote mountain pastures. But those who had made the trip fell in love with the simple beauty of its wild nature and the people living in harmony with it.

The Tuvan State University of Kyzyl, Republic of Tuva is organizing a summer study program for foreigners, from June 30 - July 14, 2013 called “Two Weeks of Tuva”.

Participants will study the Tuvan language four academic hours (three actual hours) a day, Monday through Friday, in groups of 3-6 students.  By the end of the 40-academic-hour program, participants will know basic words, simple phrases, and how to talk about themselves, their family and their home.

The once war-torn republic of Chechnya is among Russia’s prospective economic powerhouses if its environmental potential is factored in, according to a study of Russian regions released on Tuesday.

The North Caucasus region only lost to the Siberian republic of Altai in the first Economic-Environmental Index of Russian Regions, prepared jointly by RIA Novosti and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and presented in Moscow.

Prohibition of amateur, sport, or commercial hunting for three years was passed in Tuva: ungulates - in Pii-Khem district, Siberian goat (mountain goat) in Dzun-Khemchik, Sut-Khol, Chaa-khol and Ulug-Khem districts. All types of hunting of all game resources are prohibited for the same term in Kaa-Khem district in certain areas. The decision was made by the government of the republic on the initiative of the State Hunting and Fishing Commission. The goal of the new limits is to secure suitable conditions fro re-establishment of the animal populations. In the opinion of specialists,, even though the dynamics of the numbers of the animals in the republic is in general positive, some territories are experiencing great pressure from hunters, and a three-year "break" is necessary.

Redefining epic poetry for the 21st century, a native of the Siberian Republic of Tuva composed a heroic tale recounting the career of Tuvan politician Sergei Shoigu in an exalted medieval style.

The idea was hatched after the far eastern nation of Chukchi voiced its plans to compose an epic poem about billionaire Roman Abramovich, who was Chukotka governor from 2001 to 2008, said Shoigu’s bard Aibek Soskal.

The Abramovich epic poem was actually a tongue-in-cheek proposal by spin doctor Gleb Pavlovsky from 2006, which never materialized.

A team of 10 teachers of Tuvan and English has finished the first stage of their work at forming Tuvan-English automatic translator, a part of a large-scale Internet project run by K David Harrison, an associate professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College and a National Geographic Fellow. David Harrison is a connoisseur of Tuvan and its active promoter. The Tuvan part of work would be finished within a year, linguists believe. Earlier this year  BBC reported that Facebook, YouTube and even texting will be the salvation of many of the world's endangered languages, scientists believe.

As a result of the accident, nine people were injured moderately, four killed, among which a 4-year-old and 9-year-old children.

Small woebegone figures were lying on the dirty garage floor. Legs tied up, "camo' feather pattern on the chest, and helmet-like hoods on their heads made them resemble captive soldiers. Soldiers, who have lost their war.

Speed and relentlessness

An attacking falcon represents approximately one kilogram of steel muscles and unbreakable bones, charging at a speed of more than 200 km/hour. He strikes with his whole body and claws, braking slightly at the last moment, so that he would not be crushed himself. This beautiful bird of prey has no natural enemies.

The genes of Alan-Goa, the mythological great-grandmother pf Genghis Khan and his son Jochi, were discovered by Kazakh geneticists in contemporary Todzhans - descendants of "Royal" Scythians.

When I found out that my genetic tree, which was kindly worked up for me by the molecular genetics laboratory in Alma-Ata, contains the genetic group "Rib", which is typical for representatives of descendants of the Celts (Irish, Scottish, and other Western Europeans) as well as Basques and Bashkirs, I was very surprised at first, because there were no migrants from Western Europe among my ancestors.