Economic terminology in the documents of the People’s Republic of Tuva (1921–1944)

The article analyzes the terminology of economics as it appears in the documents of the People’s Republic of Tuva (PRT, 1921-1944) preserved at the State Archives of the Republic of Tuva. The Archives hold the unique collection of over 6000 documents dating back to the PRT. One of the features of book-keeping under the PRT was the parallel use of three languages in different scripts – Old Mongolian, Tuvan and Russian. Prior to 1930, texts in Tuvan were written in Latin script, and since 1941, in Cyrillic. The rise of the PRT was a complex process informed by both longstanding historical preconditions and the new political situation. The young state had to build its own system of governance which would help the society achieve sustainability both ideologically and economically. The Soviet Union provided comprehensive assistance to the PRT. Large-scale reforms in every sphere of life, the rise of new branches of economy, industrial production, new forms of business, the arats’ (nomadic farmers) transition to sedentary life, the establishment of the national bank, the introduction of taxation and of the aksha (PRT’s currency), as well as the new organs of public administration, helped reinvigorate lawmaking in order to regulate the new political and economic relations, and also to introduce a whole set of new terms and notions. This systemic change contributed to the arrival of a new business style in communication, which now had an important economic constituent. Economic terminology finds its way into the documents of such bodies of public and state administration as the Cabinet of Ministers, the Small Khural or the Ministry of Finance. Analyzing their resolutions, decrees, circular letters and other documents has allowed us to systematize the terminology into three categories: words of Tuvan origin, words combining Russian/Tuvan or Tuvan/Russian elements, and finally, Tuvinized Russian words. The potential use of archival documents of the PRT as sources for studying the development of its economy and finance during the period is far from exhausted and can form the basis of further research. The author believes that the economic terminology which appeared in the days of the PRT could be revived and reintroduced onto the pages of contemporary documentation, thus expanding the boundaries of present-day business Tuvan.