Mufti of Moscow, Central Region and Chuvashia, member of the Russian Public Chamber Ali Krganov found the Richard Wagner's Tannhauser staged in the Novosibirsk Opera Theatre unacceptable in a press statement released on March 13.

He pointed out anything that has connection to Jesus (Prophet Isa) and the mother Mary (Mariam) are holy in Islam. Krganov considers staging Tannhauser in Great Lent is an attempt by liberal public to destablilize situation, and expressed that Muslims are against the discrediting of religious values and symbols regardless of which confession.

Novosibirsk prosecutors brought administrative charges of public desecration of religious and church literature, holy relics, symbols and attributes against Mr. Kulyabin, who staged Wagner's Tannhauser. The case was initiated by Metropolitan Tikhon of Novosibirsk and Berdsk.

Old locks and keys

There is someone in Vӑrmar raion of Chuvashia who appreciates old items and collects them rather than throw away. Meet Sergei Grachev.

He has a real collection now. Made up of 19th century coins and banknotes, wooden tableware, bells, and keys... His countryside house turned into a museum.

An amazing person is Sergei Grachev. Someone who had a key to no lock would have thrown it away long time ago, but Sergei finds value in all old items.

His parents taught Sergei to appreciate antique from an early age. "There is no future without past", he was taught. And that is what brought up Sergei's passion for old stuff.

Many items in the "museum" are from grandma's treasure chest, such as şӑpata footwear, a loom, a drop spindle...

These items were passed down to Sergei Grachev from his father, who in return received them from his ancestors and relatives. The coins for instance are from 1811 and 1816. He was offered to sell them, but "How can you sell memories?" says Sergei. To him they are invaluable and he won't dare sell them because of his father who saw decided to keep them.

Sergei Grachev's friends and relatives always pleased come to see "the museum", and before the visit they raid their closets and cupboards and chests to see find something Sergei might value?

Vitalii Rodionov, PhD

Famous literary critic Vitalii Rodionov, PhD, expressed in Irӗklӗ Sӑmah his concern over the the national newspaper Hypar's editor-in-chief Valeri Turkai publishing a debasing pamphlet about the 1990s Chuvash leader Atner Husankai, who had given an interview earlier in December to online newspaper Vremya Chuvashii. Atner Husankai expressed his discontent with the political regime and freedomlessness in the country, also nefatively characterized the present-day situation of arts and culture in Chuvashia, which according to him have come to play secondary role in the society, also praised the girls from Pussy Riot for generating a scandal and a 'smart provocation' without which art is as lively as dead.

In his pamphlet the editor-in-chief and poet created a similar provocation by reducing the name of Petӗr Husankaj, stellar Chuvash poet and activist, father of Atner Husankaj to a PH, which could easily be read as 'shit' in Chuvash. The provocateur of a major Chuvash newspaper bickered about how some people are Forever Discontent, and have no respect for establishment.

Irӗklӗ Sӑmah reminds us that Valeri Turkai was oone of the trusted man of Mr. Putin in the latest elections. According to Turkai both Chuvash culture and nation are feeling well in Russia.

Professor Rodionov states that Turkai's article reminds us both with its title and content those printed by obverse sociologists from years of repression. Vitalii Rodionov wonders if time came for totalitarianism in Chuvash society when far-reaching and respected names of Chuvash culture are brutally 'beaten' in not Turkai's but Chuvashes' most important newspaper.

Liubov Petrushkina from the town of Şӗnӗ Tutarkassi, Shupashkar Chuvashia creates traditional Chuvash accessories: hushpu, tuhja, masmak… She's the head of local women's council and director of a singing club.

Liubov has had passion for handcrafts for her entire life. The first traditional headgear she made was her friends. After a few years she started working at the town's culture center. The vocal ensemble of the village needed costumes to perform in, and that's when Lubov's talent met real demand.

Other ensembles also want the beautiful creation's of Lubov. But she doesn't hurry to turn her very pleasurable hobby into a profitable business. Of course, handcrafted accessories are expensive, but she only makes them for her ensemble. And she never creates a hushpu for sale. It's just only when Chuvash pop artists come and see and fall in love with her work she lets them have the accessories for a reward.

Women of the town gather in the handicraft club Kil Ӑšši (Warmth of Home), where they can learn from Liubov.

Hushpu is a cylindrical hat, decorated with silver coins and beads, traditionally warn by married women over surpan, a scarf or a turban that had to cover their hair, masmak is a decorated headband worn instead of hushpu over or under the turban. Tuhja is a version of hushpu for unmarried women, unlike hushpu it's top is pointed and while it covered ears and forehead the hair of the maiden didn't have to be covered with turban.

Artists, photographers, geographers and other experts take a fascinating and indepth look at two neighboring republics in the Volga region, Mari El and Chuvashia.

Photographer Ivan Mihailov based his word on the theme of reflection of old Chuvash animistic religiıos traditions in todays architecture and visual landscape. Photographer Sergei Novikov takes the viewers through ten years of Cheboksary transformaion.

Winzavod. White Hall. 4th Syromyatnichesky Pereulok, Bldg. 6. Metro Chkalovskaya, Kurskaya.

A special lecture devoted to the studies of Chuvash language history was read in the Chuvash National Library on February 26 by a Moscovite researcher Aleksandr Saveliev.

The young linguist explained how the Chuvash language is related to other languaged based on etymological (study of origins of vocabulary) findings. As an example he pointed to Bulgaric loanwords in Russian which could be traced back both either to Dunai or Volga Bulgarias. Also he stated that based on the absence of Kypchak loanwords in the other regional languages from the Volga Bulgarian period and the simple fact of Kypchak peoples residing in other realms he called the theory so ardently pushed forth by Tatar researches of there being Kypchak speaking people in the population of Volga Bulgaria bogus.

While explaing that some Chuvash words sound strikingly similiarly in other languages, the hail from different origin, but still pointed that the English 'girl' and 'body' could ın fact be cognates of the related turkısh words.

The lecture was taped by Iltımer Studıo and will be later publicly available.

Aleksandr Savelyev ıs a young researcher of the Chuvash Language, PhD, work in The Russian Academy of Sciences in the Lınguistics Department.

Melinda Takacs

Turns out the Chuvash Language is very well respected for its importance in Hungary, a fact now proven by Melinda Takacs. The 28-year-old came to Chuvashia to study the language.

Melinda habituated herself to speaking Russian. She is a graduate student in the University of Szeged, Hungary. Melinda is an archeologist, also intersted in the studies of atheism.

Melinda Takacs states that Chuvash is the only Turkic language surviving in the western world. According to her some 400 Chuvash words were borrowed by the Hungarian language,

e.g. these words still sound the same

cv. pӑru - hu. borjú 'calf'

cv. şil - hu. szél 'wınd'

cv. sysna - hu. disznó 'swine'

cv. šӑpӑr - hu. seprű 'sweeper'

This makes Hungarians believe of the close relationship with the Ancient Hungarian Bulgarians.

Upon arriving in Cheboksary Melinda registered for the Language of Success' Chuvash course. While attending the mentioned classes, she goes to Chuvash State Humanities Institute and libraries to conduct studies. Melinda is especially interested in the Chuvash agricultural terminology, which she wants to include in her Master's thesis. Melinda believes she is always pressed for time while in Hungary - she has to attend and read lectures, edit books… But in Cheboksary her Chuvash studies are interrupted by nothing and nobody. She began studying the grammar on her on while in the home country, but mastering speaking and reading turned out more difficult. Recently she also started studying the languages of Volga Bulgaria.

Melind Takacs won a grant in the University of Szeged for traineeship in the city of Shupashkar. The young lady came to Chuvashia for a three-month period. When she eventually goes back to Hungary she intends to get another visa to visit Shupashkar again.

Melinda Takacs

Turns out the Chuvash Language is very well respected for its importance in Hungary, a fact now proven by Melinda Takacs. The 28-year-old came to Chuvashia to study the language.

Melinda habituated herself to speaking Russian. She is a graduate student in the University of Szeged, Hungary. Melinda is an archeologist, also intersted in the studies of atheism.

Melinda Takacs states that Chuvash is the only Turkic language surviving in the western world. According to her some 400 Chuvash words were borrowed by the Hungarian language,

e.g. these words still sound the same

cv. pӑru - hu. borjú 'calf'

cv. şil - hu. szél 'wınd'

cv. sysna - hu. disznó 'swine'

cv. šӑpӑr - hu. seprű 'sweeper'

This makes Hungarians believe in their close relationship with the Ancient Hungarian Bulgarians.

Upon arriving in Cheboksary Melinda registered for the Language of Success' Chuvash course. While attending the mentioned classes, she goes to Chuvash State Humanities Institute and libraries to study. Melinda is especially interested in the Chuvash agricultural terminology, which she wants to include in her Master's thesis. Melinda believes she is always pressed for time while in Hungary - she has to attend and read lectures, edit books… But in Cheboksary her Chuvash studies are interrupted by nothing and nobody. She began studying the grammar on her own while in her home country, but mastering speaking and reading turned out more difficult. Recently she also started studying the languages of Volga Bulgaria.

Melind Takacs won a grant in the University of Szeged for traineeship in the city of Shupashkar. The young lady came to Chuvashia for a three-month period. When she eventually goes back to Hungary she intends to get another visa to visit Shupashkar again.

Corrupt Chuvash Oligarch Ischin

The Supreme Court of the Chuvash Republic upheld the verdict of the Moscow district court of Cheboksary imposed against the former businessman and former deputy chairman of Cheboksary City Assembly Vladimir Ischin.

Former oligarch Chuvashia was sentenced to six years in prison. Once ranked among the richest people of Chuvashia, Ischin was found guilty of attempted fraud on a large scale.

Investigation Division of Federal Security Service of Russia in the Chuvash Republic and the court found that at the beginning of January 2014 Ischin became aware of the litigation Construction Company "Firm TriAsS" (hereinafter - LLC "TriAsS") with prosecutors and others. He asked one of the representatives of the said construction firm and offered him a bribe of 10 million rubles (2 million rubles in cash and 3 apartments with a total value of 8 million rubles) to phase out the prosecution of claims against "TriAsS" associated with building Cheboksary neighborhood "Sugutka."

January 30 last year Ischin under the guise of an intermediary received from the representative of "TriAsS" part of a bribe of 1 million rubles. On February 22 when transferring the remainder of illegal remuneration Ischin was detained by officers of Federal Security Service of Russia in the Chuvash Republic.

On February 18, activists of Kazan's Husankaj Chuvash Culture Center welcomed Chuvash language researcher guests from Turkey.

Bülent Bayram, Ph.D., stated that it is easy for a turkophone to also acquire fluency in Chuvash. He first heard Chuvash spoken in the city of Kazan, it is there his interest in the language was sparked. Since then he even managed to produce a Chuvash-Turkish Dictionary.

Turkish researches aim to publish a collection of rare poems of famous poet Gennady Aygi who they claim have left in Turkey some poems in Chuvash and Russian. The book will be shipped both to Tatarstan and Chuvashia.

The assembly was held solely in Chuvash, attendees were impressed by the eloquence of Turkish delegates, considering the decline of Chuvash in Kazan.

Bülent Bayram, Ph.D. invited Chuvash youth to study in his university (Kırklareli University, Turkey) to strengthen the international relations.