Collage of Taisiya Tashney from images from the STARHIT.RU website and from the archive of Anna Budaeva

The Chuvash people's website previously reported that two girls from Chuvashia will take part in the Miss Russia contest this year. Recall: Anna Budaeva and Yana Galanina took part in the beauty contest. The contest was held on July 25.

Of the 25 girls who participated in the competition, Anna Linnikova from Orenburg was awarded the title of the most beautiful girl. Anna Budaeva from Chuvashia won the title of first vice-miss.

Anna Budaeva is studying to be a programmer, developer of web and multimedia applications at Cheboksary Electromechanical College. She works as a model, develops websites in her spare time, and plays basketball. Cooperating with the volunteer center of Chuvashia, we help homeless animals.

A few days ago a wooden pillar erected near Cheboksary's Kanash road was vandalised. They tried to topple the pillar and chop it up by axes. Luckily the vandals failed to finish their act - they were either tired or scared away.

Hӗvetӗr Madurov told the crime was committed by vandals recently, he had been told by people who work nearby that the pole was fine.

The pillar has been attacked a few other times already. Somebody tried to cut it with axe, dig it out, etc.

Hӗvetӗr Madurov has reported the act of candalism to the police and hopes to learn who did this unlawful act.

Hӗvetӗr Madurov is the author of the sculpture. The pillar was erected for ceremonies and rituals of Inem (traditional faith organization Tura), which is associated with Chuvash neopaganism and irreligion.

According to the statement released by the rating agency Fitch on June 10 the Russian Chuvash Republic's (Chuvashia) Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) are at 'BB+', with Negative Outlooks, and Short-Term Foreign Currency IDR at 'B'. The agency has also affirmed the republic's National Long-Term Rating at 'AA(rus)' with a Negative Outlook.

Read the report at Reuters

Social Organization Haval and Chuvash National TV have started a new project for children and youth. The show named "We Study Chuvash" has featured teacher of Language for Success School’s teacher Marina Andreeva. She is joined by schoolchildren of Cheboksary.

The Chuvash language lessons are told to be easy for children, but useful even for adults.

The first episode of the new show aired on April 29. It is viewable from the group page of Haval in the social network Vk.com.

Here is a snippet of a lovely article about Cheboksary in the UK’s Daily Mail:

"A loved-up girlfriend showed her affection for her boyfriend by covering his car with graffiti saying: 'Marry me!'

Pedestrians stopped to take photos of the white car, which was spotted covered with some very fetching pink spray-paint in the city centre of Cheboksary in central Russia's Chuvash Republic.

A large gleaming pink heart dominated the car bonnet while even the wing mirrors were given a flesh lick of sassy pink."

Read more and see more images: here

A new book is published by Chuvash Book Publishing House. It's a second book of a fantasy novel by Vladimir Stepanov called The Sword of Tengri. The first book enjoyed spotlight among books written in the quite popular genre which blends plots and themes of folktales, mythology and legends and borders with science fiction.

The book introduces a special ethnic Chuvash flavor to the fantastic category and identifies itself as ethofantasy.

The plot is based on the universal struggle of good versus bad. The protagonists are Ruslan Murovets and Hӑva (Willow*) who come to join the cosmic battle taking place in different time and place dimensions.

The novel takes you to the time when the Hunnic alliance - ancient ancestors of the Chuvash - has just been formed in the steppes of Central Asia.

The official presentations and signing will take place in the National Library (Cheboksary, Lenina 15) at 3 pm. on April 19.

* It is also worth mentioning that the actual recorded Chuvash name Hӑva is derivative of biblical Eve

Edward Mochalov, editor-in-chief of Chuvash newspapers Sӗtev (Bribe) and Samana (Time) was beaten up during a raid on Sӗtev office which is based in Murkash region of Chuvashia.

A group led by local MP D A Kurakin raided the newspaper office at around midnight on April 9, thrashed it, broke windows, and physically harmed Mr. Mochalov. The victim believes the assault was motivated by somebody's dislike of what he has published in connection to them.

On April 15 past midnight, somebody threw a rock into Nikolai Makarov's house, who is the management administrator of Mr. Mochalov.

Both assaults were reported to the police, who the publishers complain of doing nothing to little about the raids and harassments.

Sӗtev (Bribe) is a grass-roots independent newspaper with high circulation. Edward Mochalov is a former businessman tuned "crusading journalist", who's brought up many cases of corruption by officials, and who is known nationalwide in Russia.

Chuvash athlete Natalia Khlestkina participated in the 2016 European Weightlifting Championships held in Førde, Norway April 10-16.

Natalia lifted 222 kg in total throughout the competition, she showed her best result in the 63 kg event. Her biggest competition was teammate Diana Akhmetova.

An article in the Jerusalem Post tells the story of a feisty woman who despite being just a cleaning lady finds a way to get a healing treatment for Kirill, who would otherwise have "died a regretfully terrible death".

Osteopetrosis is a condition which makes pourous parts of bones turn solid and is otherwise known as Marble Bone Disease. It is common to Chuvashia where out of 4000 newborns one is born with the condition. There is no treatment for this disease in Russia, but in Israel.

Here is the link to the article:

The Human Spirit: Osteopetrosis and our little Israel

Russia’s Investigative Committee has charged Nikolai Egorov, 62, a resident of Chuvashia, with incitement of national hatred by reposting an open letter of publicist Boris Stomakhin in Russian social network Vkontakte. The crime goes back to May 8, 2014. The abovementioned post had been declared extremist - however it is freely accessible on the Internet, its author remains imprisoned for his political views.

Egorov contended that no online publications had been made by him and attributed the access to the publication from his page to his incompetence in Internet specifics, said his attorney.