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Where is it? The Chuvash Republic is smack in the center of the European side of Russia, about 400 miles east of Moscow. It is bordered by the republics of Mari El and Tatarstan, and the regions of Nizhny Novgorod, Mordovia and Ulyanovsk. It is in the Moscow time zone. It is called a republic and it has its own president, but Chuvashia, as it is also known, is not fully independent from Russia. It did, however, have autonomous status within the Soviet Union as early as 1925.
What’s the biggest city? Cheboksary, which is the capital city and chief industrial center. It accounts for about 454,000 of the republic’s 1.2 million people. Novocheboksarsk is another major city and, like Cheboksary, it is also located on the Volga River.
Who lives here? Ethnic Chuvash, a Turkic people, outnumber ethnic Russians by about two to one. But unlike the Tatars of neighboring Tatarstan, who are Sunni Muslims, the Chuvash are mostly Orthodox Christians. They speak a language call Chuvash, which is related to the language now spoken in Turkey, but they also often speak Russian and Tatar.
What do they do here? Chuvashia is the beer belly of Russia, thanks to its steady harvests of hops. There’s a diversified industrial base and a lot of jobs in rail, road, river and air transportation
Does it have any English-language news sources? None that I have found.
How do I see what it looks like? . There are several photos of Chuvash dancers in the portfolio of shots on the region on Flickr.
How do I get here? The “express” train from Moscow takes about 14 hours. If you’re in more of a hurry, Chebosary Airport can reportedly handle a range of passenger aircraft such as Tupolev 134s and 154s, Ilyushin 76s and comparable foreign planes, but I haven’t been able to find a full list of carriers.
Which adoption agencies work here? Gift of Life Adoption Services out of Rhode Island and Gladney Center for Adoption.
Who has been here? Adoption.com member KatieIC brought home a son in 2006. There two tiny Yahoo! groups, ChuvashKids and Chuvashfam.
Truly trivia: The name Chuvash may have its origins in the Turkish word yavaş, which means “gentle, mild, docile”.
Need more information? “Way To Russia” bypasses Chuvashia for now. The city’s official English-language Web site is here. Kommersant has a solid profile. The weather is a on the chilly side.
Image Credit: A girl’s singing group, by Sarah Seigel
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My husband and I are adopting a 6 yo boy from Chuvashia right now. I’m really looking forward to seeing it – I’ve heard it’s a beautiful region.