Chuvash- people of Turkic origin living in both Chuvashia, where its main population is, and beyond its borders.
Regarding the etymology of the name Chuvash there are eight hypotheses. It is assumed that the self-name Chăvash goes back directly to the ethnonym of a part of the “Bulgar-speaking” Turks: *čōš → čowaš/čuwaš → čovaš/čuvaš. In particular, the name of the Savir tribe (“Suvar”, “Suvaz” or “Suas”), mentioned by Arab authors of the 10th century. (ibn-Fadlan), is supposed to be considered the source of the ethnonym chăvash - “Chuvash”: the name is considered simply a Turkic adaptation of the name of the Bulgarian “Suvar”. According to an alternative theory, chăvash is a derivative of the Turkic jăvaš - “friendly, meek”, as opposed to şarmăs - “warlike”. The name of the ethnic group among neighboring peoples also goes back to the self-name of the Chuvash. The Tatars and Mordovians-Moksha call the Chuvash “chuash”, the Mordovian-Erzya - “chuvazh”, the Bashkirs and Kazakhs - “syuash”, the mountain Mari - “suasla mari” - “a person in the Suvazian (Tatar) way.” In Russian sources, the ethnonym “Chavash” first appears in 1508.

From an anthropological point of view, most Chuvash belong to the Caucasoid type with a certain degree of Mongoloidity. Judging by the research materials, Mongoloid features dominate in 10.3% of the Chuvash, and about 3.5% of them are relatively pure Mongoloids, 63.5% belong to mixed Mongoloid-European types with a predominance of Caucasoid features, 21.1% represent various Caucasian types are both dark-colored and light-haired and light-eyed, and 5.1% are sublaponoid types, with weakly expressed Mongoloid characteristics.
From a genetic point of view Chuvash are also an example of a mixed race - 18% of them carry the Slavic haplogroup R1a1, another 18% - the Finno-Ugric N, and 12% - the Western European R1b. 6% have the Jewish haplogroup J, most likely from the Khazars. The relative majority - 24% - bears haplogroup I, characteristic of northern Europe.
The Chuvash language is a descendant of the language of the Volga Bulgars and the only living language of the Bulgar group. It is not mutually intelligible with other Turkic languages. for example, it is replaced by х, ы by e, and з by х, as a result the word “girl”, which sounds like kyz in all Turkic languages, sounds like хер in Chuvash.

Chuvash are divided into two ethnic groups: the upper (Viryal) and the lower (Anatri). They speak different dialects of the Chuvash language and in the past they differed somewhat in their way of life and material culture. Now these differences, which continued to persist especially persistently in women's clothing, are becoming more and more smoothed out every year. The Viryals occupy predominantly the northern and northwestern parts of the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and the Anatris occupy the southeastern part. At the junction of the settlement territory of the upper and lower Chuvash, a small group of middle lower Chuvash (anatenchi) lives. They speak the dialect of the upper Chuvash, and in clothing they are close to the lower Chuvash.

In the past, each group of Chuvash was divided into subgroups according to their everyday characteristics, but their differences have now been largely erased. Only among the lower Chuvash the so-called steppe subgroup (Khirti), living in the southeastern part of the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, is distinguished by some originality; In the life of the Khirti, there are many features that bring them closer to the Tatars, next to whom they live.
. The self-name of the Chuvash, according to one version, goes back to the name of one of the tribes related to the Bulgars - Suvar, or Suvaz, Suas. Mentioned in Russian sources since 1508.
At the end of 1546, the Chuvash and mountain Mari rebels against the authorities of Kazan called on Russia for help. In 1547, Russian troops ousted the Tatars from the territory of Chuvashia. In the summer of 1551, during the founding of the Sviyazhsk fortress by the Russians at the confluence of the Sviyaga and the Volga, the Chuvash of the mountain side became part of Russian state. In 1552-1557, the Chuvash, who lived on the meadow side, also became the subjects of the Russian Tsar. By the middle of the 18th century Chuvash were mostly converted to Christianity. Part of the Chuvash who lived outside Chuvash and, having converted to Islam, became a Tatar. In 1917 Chuvash received autonomy: AO since 1920, ASSR since 1925, Chuvash SSR since 1990, Chuvash Republic since 1992.
Main traditional occupation Chuvash– agriculture, in ancient times – slash-and-burn, until the beginning of the 20th century – three-field farming. The main grain crops were rye, spelt, oats, barley; wheat, buckwheat, and peas were sown less frequently. From industrial crops Chuvash They cultivated flax and hemp. Hop growing was developed. Livestock farming (sheep, cows, pigs, horses) was poorly developed due to a lack of forage land. For a long time Chuvash were engaged in beekeeping. Wood carving (utensils, especially beer ladles, furniture, gate posts, cornices and platbands of houses), pottery, weaving, embroidery, patterned weaving (red-white and multi-color patterns), sewing with beads and coins, handicrafts - mainly woodworking: wheelwork, cooperage, carpentry, also rope and matting production; There were carpenters', tailors' and other artels, and small shipbuilding enterprises arose at the beginning of the 20th century.
Main types of settlements Chuvash- villages and hamlets (yal). The earliest types of settlement are riverine and ravine, the layouts are cumulus-cluster (in the northern and central regions) and linear (in the south). In the north, the village is typically divided into ends (kasas), usually inhabited by related families. The street layout has been spreading since the 2nd half of the 19th century. From the 2nd half of the 19th century, dwellings of the Central Russian type appeared.

House Chuvash decorated with polychrome painting, saw-cut carvings, applied decorations, the so-called “Russian” gates with a gable roof on 3-4 pillars - bas-relief carvings, later painting. There is an ancient log building - a log building (originally without a ceiling or windows, with an open hearth), serving as a summer kitchen. Cellars (nukhrep) and baths (muncha) are common.

Men have Chuvash They wore a canvas shirt (kepe) and trousers (yem). The basis of traditional clothing for women is a tunic-shaped shirt-kepe; for Viryal and Anat Enchi, it is made of thin white linen with abundant embroidery, narrow, and worn slouchily; Anatri, until the mid-19th - early 20th centuries, wore white shirts flared at the bottom, later - from a motley pattern with two or three gathers of fabric of a different color. Shirts were worn with an apron, the Viryal had it with a bib, decorated with embroidery and appliqué, the Anatri had no bib, and was made of red checkered fabric. Women's festive headdress - a toweled canvas surpan, over which the Anatri and Anat Enchi wore a cap in the shape of a truncated cone, with earmuffs fastened under the chin, and a long blade at the back (khushpu); Viryal fastened an embroidered strip of fabric on the crown of the head (masmak) with surpan. A girl's headdress is a helmet-shaped cap (tukhya). Tukhya and khushpu were richly decorated with beads, beads, and silver coins. Dudes They also wore scarves, preferably white or light colors. Women's jewelry - back, waist, chest, neck, shoulder slings, rings. The lower Chuvash are characterized by a sling (tevet) - a strip of fabric covered with coins, worn over the left shoulder under the right hand; for the upper Chuvash - a woven belt with large tassels with strips of red, covered with embroidery and appliqué, and bead pendants. Outerwear is a canvas caftan (shupar), in the fall - a cloth undercoat (sakhman), in winter - a fitted sheepskin coat (kerek). Traditional shoes are bast sandals and leather boots. The Viryal wore bast shoes with black cloth onuchs, the Anatri wore white woolen (knitted or made of cloth) stockings. Men wore onuchi and foot wraps in winter, women - all year round. Men's traditional clothing is used only in wedding ceremonies or folklore performances.
In traditional food Chuvash plant products predominate. Soups (yashka, shurpe), stews with dumplings, cabbage soup with seasonings made from cultivated and wild greens - hogweed, hogweed, nettle, etc., porridge (spelt, buckwheat, millet, lentil), oatmeal, boiled potatoes, jelly from oatmeal and pea flour, rye bread (khura sakar), pies with cereals, cabbage, berries (kukal), flatbreads, cheesecakes with potatoes or cottage cheese (puremech). Less often they prepared khupla - a large round pie with meat or fish filling. Dairy products - turah - sour milk, uiran - churning, chakat - curd cheese. Meat (beef, lamb, pork, among the lower Chuvash - horse meat) was a relatively rare food: seasonal (when slaughtering livestock) and festive. They prepared shartan - a sausage made from a sheep's stomach stuffed with meat and lard; tultarmash - boiled sausage stuffed with cereal, minced meat or blood. They made mash from honey, and beer (sara) from rye or barley malt. Kvass and tea were common in areas of contact with the Tatars and Russians.

Rural community Chuvash could unite residents of one or several settlements with a common land plot. There were nationally mixed communities, mainly Chuvash-Russian and Chuvash-Russian-Tatar. Forms of kinship and neighborly mutual assistance (nime) were preserved. Family ties were steadily preserved, especially within one end of the village. There was a custom of sororate. After the Christianization of the Chuvash, the custom of polygamy and levirate gradually disappeared. Undivided families were already rare in the 18th century. The main type of family in the 2nd half of the 19th century was the small family. The husband was the main owner of family property, the wife owned her dowry, independently managed income from poultry farming (eggs), livestock farming (dairy products) and weaving (canvas), and in the event of the death of her husband, she became the head of the family. The daughter had the right of inheritance along with her brothers. In economic interests, the early marriage of a son and the relatively late marriage of a daughter were encouraged, and therefore the bride was often several years older than the groom. The characteristic of Turkic peoples the tradition of minorat, when the youngest son stays with his parents and inherits their property.

Grassroots Chuvash of the Kazan province, 1869.

Modern Chuvash beliefs combine elements of Orthodoxy and paganism. In some areas of the Volga and Urals regions, villages have been preserved Chuvash-pagans. Chuvash they revered fire, water, sun, earth, believed in good gods and spirits led by the supreme god Cult Tur (later identified with the Christian God) and in evil creatures led by Shuitan. They revered household spirits - the “master of the house” (khertsurt) and the “master of the yard” (karta-puse). Each family kept home fetishes - dolls, twigs, etc. Among evil spirits Chuvash they especially feared and revered the kiremet (the cult of which continues to this day). Calendar holidays included the winter holiday of asking for good offspring of livestock, the holiday of honoring the sun (Maslenitsa), the multi-day spring holiday of sacrifices to the sun, the god of Tours and the ancestors (which then coincided with Orthodox Easter), the spring plowing holiday (akatuy), and the summer holiday of remembrance of the dead. After sowing, sacrifices were carried out, a ritual of causing rain, accompanied by bathing in a pond and dousing with water; upon completion of harvesting grain, prayers were made to the guardian spirit of the barn, etc. Young people organized festivities with round dances in the spring and summer, and gatherings in winter. The main elements of the traditional wedding (the groom's train, a feast in the bride's house, her taking away, a feast in the groom's house, dowry, etc.), maternity (cutting the umbilical cord of a boy on an ax handle, a girl - on a riser or the bottom of a spinning wheel, feeding a baby, now - lubricating the tongue and lips with honey and oil, transferring it under the protection of the guardian spirit of the hearth, etc.) and funeral and memorial rites. Chuvash-pagans buried their dead in wooden logs or coffins with their heads to the west, placed household items and tools with the deceased, placed a temporary monument on the grave - a wooden pillar (for men - oak, for women - linden), in the fall, during general commemorations in the month of Yupa Uyih (“month of the pillar”) they built a permanent anthropomorphic monument from wood or stone (yupa). His removal to the cemetery was accompanied by rituals simulating burial. At the wake, funeral songs were sung, bonfires were lit, and sacrifices were made.

The most developed genre of folklore is songs: youth, recruit, drinking, funeral, wedding, labor, lyrical, as well as historical songs. Musical instruments - bagpipes, bubble, duda, harp, drum, and later - accordion and violin. Legends, fairy tales and tales are widespread. The Chuvash, like many other peoples with an ancient culture, in the distant past used a unique writing system, which developed in the form of runic writing, widespread in the pre-Bulgar and Bulgar periods of history.
There were 35 (36) characters in the Chuvash runic letter, which coincides with the number of letters of the ancient classical runic letter. By location and quantity, style, phonetic meanings, due to the presence of a literary form, the signs of Chuvash monuments are included in common system runic writing of the eastern type, which includes writing Central Asia, Orkhon, Yenisei, North Caucasus, Black Sea region, Bulgaria and Hungary.

Arabic writing was widespread in Volga Bulgaria. In the 18th century, writing was created based on Russian graphics of 1769 (Old Chuvash writing). Novochuvash writing and literature were created in the 1870s. The Chuvash national culture is being formed.

According to one hypothesis, the Chuvash are descendants of the Bulgarians. Also, the Chuvash themselves believe that their distant ancestors were the Bulgars and Suvars, who once inhabited Bulgaria.

Another hypothesis says that this nation belongs to the associations of Savirs, who in ancient times migrated to the northern lands due to the fact that they abandoned generally accepted Islam. During the time of the Kazan Khanate, the ancestors of the Chuvash were part of it, but were a fairly independent people.

Culture and life of the Chuvash people

Basic economic activity The Chuvash practiced settled agriculture. Historians note that these people succeeded in land management much more than the Russians and Tatars. This is explained by the fact that the Chuvash lived in small villages with no cities nearby. Therefore, working with the land was the only source of food. In such villages there was simply no opportunity to shirk work, especially since the lands were fertile. But even they could not saturate all the villages and save people from hunger. The main crops grown were: rye, spelt, oats, barley, wheat, buckwheat and peas. Flax and hemp were also grown here. To work with agriculture, the Chuvash used plows, roe deer, sickles, flails and other devices.

In ancient times, the Chuvash lived in small villages and settlements. Most often they were erected in river valleys, next to lakes. Houses in villages were lined up in a row or in a heap. The traditional hut was the construction of a purt, which was placed in the center of the yard. There were also huts called la. In Chuvash settlements they played the role of a summer kitchen.

The national costume was clothing typical of many Volga peoples. Women wore tunic-like shirts, which were decorated with embroidery and various pendants. Both women and men wore a shupar, a caftan-like cape, over their shirts. Women covered their heads with scarves, and girls wore a helmet-shaped headdress - tukhya. Outerwear a canvas caftan - shupar - served. In the autumn, the Chuvash dressed in a warmer sakhman - an underwear made of cloth. And in winter, everyone wore fitted sheepskin coats - kyoryoks.

Traditions and customs of the Chuvash people

The Chuvash people take care of the customs and traditions of their ancestors. Both in ancient times and today, the peoples of Chuvashia hold ancient holidays and rituals.

One of these holidays is Ulakh. IN evening time young people gather for an evening meeting, which is organized by the girls when their parents are not at home. The hostess and her friends sat in a circle and did needlework, and at this time the guys sat between them and watched what was happening. They sang songs to the music of an accordion player, danced and had fun. Initially, the purpose of such meetings was to find a bride.

To others national custom is Savarni, the festival of farewell to winter. This holiday is accompanied by fun, songs, and dances. People dress up the scarecrow as a symbol of the passing winter. Also in Chuvashia, on this day it is customary to dress up horses, harness them to festive sleighs and give children rides.

Mancun holiday is Chuvash Easter. This holiday is the purest and brightest holiday for the people. Before Mancun, women clean their huts, and men clean up the yard and outside the yard. They prepare for the holiday, fill full barrels of beer, bake pies, paint eggs and cook National dishes. Mancun lasts seven days, which are accompanied by fun, games, songs and dances. Before Chuvash Easter, swings were installed on every street, on which not only children, but also adults rode.

(Painting by Yu.A. Zaitsev "Akatuy" 1934-35.)

Holidays related to agriculture include: Akatui, Sinse, Simek, Pitrav and Pukrav. They are associated with the beginning and end of the sowing season, with the harvest and the arrival of winter.

The traditional Chuvash holiday is Surkhuri. On this day, the girls told fortunes - they caught sheep in the dark to tie a rope around their necks. And in the morning they came to look at the color of this sheep; if it was white, then the betrothed or betrothed would have blond hair and vice versa. And if the sheep is motley, then the couple will not be particularly beautiful. In different regions, Surkhuri is celebrated on different days - somewhere before Christmas, somewhere on New Year, and some celebrate on the night of Epiphany.

The Chuvash people are quite numerous; more than 1.4 million people live in Russia alone. Most occupy the territory of the Republic of Chuvashia, the capital of which is the city of Cheboksary. There are representatives of the nationality in other regions of Russia, as well as abroad. Hundreds of thousands of people each live in Bashkiria, Tatarstan and the Ulyanovsk region, a little less in Siberian regions. The appearance of the Chuvash causes a lot of controversy among scientists and geneticists about the origin of this people.

Story

It is believed that the ancestors of the Chuvash were the Bulgars - tribes of Turks who lived from the 4th century. on the territory of the modern Urals and in the Black Sea region. The appearance of the Chuvash speaks of their kinship with the ethnic groups of Altai, Central Asia and China. In the 14th century, Volga Bulgaria ceased to exist, the people moved to the Volga, to the forests near the Sura, Kama, and Sviyaga rivers. At first there was a clear division into several ethnic subgroups, but over time it smoothed out. The name “Chuvash” has been found in Russian-language texts since the beginning of the 16th century, it was then that the places where these people lived became part of Russia. Its origin is also associated with the existing Bulgaria. Perhaps it came from the nomadic tribes of the Suvars, who later merged with the Bulgars. Scholars were divided in their explanation of what the word meant: a person's name, a geographical name, or something else.

Ethnic groups

The Chuvash people settled along the banks of the Volga. The ethnic groups living in the upper reaches were called Viryal or Turi. Now the descendants of these people live in the western part of Chuvashia. Those who settled in the center (anat enchi) are located in the middle of the region, and those who settled in the lower reaches (anatari) occupied the south of the territory. Over time, the differences between subethnic groups have become less noticeable; now they are the people of one republic, people often move and communicate with each other. In the past, the way of life of the lower and upper Chuvashes was very different: they built their homes, dressed, and organized their lives differently. According to some archaeological finds it is possible to determine which ethnic group the item belonged to.

Today, there are 21 districts in the Chuvash Republic, and 9 cities. In addition to the capital, Alatyr, Novocheboksarsk, and Kanash are among the largest.

External features

Surprisingly, only 10 percent of all representatives of the people have a Mongoloid component that dominates their appearance. Geneticists claim that the race is mixed. It belongs predominantly to the Caucasian type, which can be seen from the characteristic features of the Chuvash appearance. Among the representatives you can meet people with brown hair and eyes of light shades. There are also individuals with more pronounced Mongoloid characteristics. Geneticists have calculated that the majority of Chuvash have a group of haplotypes similar to that characteristic of residents of countries in northern Europe.

Among other features of the appearance of the Chuvash, it is worth noting the short or average height, hair hardness, more dark color eyes than Europeans. Naturally curly hair is a rare phenomenon. Representatives of the people often have epicanthus, a special fold at the corners of the eyes, characteristic of Mongoloid faces. The nose is usually short in shape.

Chuvash language

The language remained from the Bulgars, but differs significantly from other Turkic languages. It is still used in the republic and in surrounding areas.

There are several dialects in the Chuvash language. The Turi living in the upper reaches of the Sura, according to researchers, are “okai”. The ethnic subspecies anatari placed greater emphasis on the letter “u”. However, clear features currently not available. Modern language in Chuvashia, it is rather close to that used by the Turi ethnic group. It has cases, but lacks the category of animation, as well as the gender of nouns.

Until the 10th century, the runic alphabet was used. After reforms it was replaced by Arabic symbols. And since the 18th century - Cyrillic. Today the language continues to “live” on the Internet; even a separate section of Wikipedia has appeared, translated into the Chuvash language.

Traditional activities

The people were engaged in agriculture, growing rye, barley and spelt (a type of wheat). Sometimes peas were sown in the fields. Since ancient times, the Chuvash raised bees and ate honey. Chuvash women were engaged in weaving and weaving. Patterns with a combination of red and white flowers on fabric.

But other bright shades were also common. The men carved, cut dishes and furniture from wood, and decorated their homes with platbands and cornices. Matting production was developed. And since the beginning of the last century, Chuvashia began to seriously engage in the construction of ships, and several specialized enterprises were created. The appearance of the indigenous Chuvash is somewhat different from the appearance of modern representatives of the nationality. Many live in mixed families, marry with Russians, Tatars, and some even move abroad or to Siberia.

Suits

The appearance of the Chuvash is associated with their traditional types clothes. Women wore tunics embroidered with patterns. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the lower Chuvash women have been wearing colorful shirts with ruffles from different fabrics. There was an embroidered apron on the front. For jewelry, Anatari girls wore tevet - a strip of fabric trimmed with coins. They wore special caps on their heads, shaped like a helmet.

Men's trousers were called yem. In the cold season, the Chuvash wore foot wraps. As for footwear, leather boots were considered traditional. There were special outfits worn for the holidays.

Women decorated their clothes with beads and wore rings. Bast sandals were also often used for footwear.

Original culture

From Chuvash culture many songs and fairy tales, elements of folklore remain. It was customary for the people to play instruments on holidays: the bubble, the harp, the drums. Subsequently, a violin and an accordion appeared, and new drinking songs began to be composed. Since ancient times, there have been various legends, which were partly related to the beliefs of the people. Before the annexation of the territories of Chuvashia to Russia, the population was pagan. They believed in different deities, spiritualized natural phenomena and objects. At certain times, sacrifices were made as a sign of gratitude or for the sake of a good harvest. The main deity among other deities was considered the god of Heaven - Tur (otherwise - Torah). The Chuvash deeply revered the memory of their ancestors. The rituals of remembrance were strictly observed. Columns made of trees of a certain species were usually installed on the graves. Linden trees were placed for deceased women, and oak trees for men. Subsequently, most of the population accepted Orthodox faith. Many customs have changed, some have been lost or forgotten over time.

Holidays

Like other peoples of Russia, Chuvashia had its own holidays. Among them is Akatui, celebrated in late spring - early summer. It is dedicated to agriculture, the beginning of preparatory work for sowing. The duration of the celebration is a week, during which time special rituals are performed. Relatives go to visit each other, treat themselves to cheese and a variety of other dishes, and pre-brew beer from drinks. Everyone sings a song about sowing together - a kind of hymn, then they pray for a long time to the god of Tours, asking him for a good harvest, the health of family members and profit. Fortune telling is common during the holiday. Children threw an egg into the field and watched whether it broke or remained intact.

Another Chuvash holiday was associated with the veneration of the sun. There were separate days of remembrance of the dead. Agricultural rituals were also common when people caused rain or, conversely, wished it to stop. Large feasts with games and entertainment were held for the wedding.

Dwellings

The Chuvash settled near rivers in small settlements called yalas. The settlement plan depended on the specific place of residence. On the south side, houses were lined up. And in the center and north, a nesting type of layout was used. Each family settled in a certain area of ​​the village. Relatives lived nearby, in neighboring houses. Already in the 19th century, wooden buildings similar to Russian rural houses began to appear. The Chuvash decorated them with patterns, carvings, and sometimes paintings. As a summer kitchen, a special building (la) was used, made of logs, without a roof or windows. Inside there was an open hearth on which they cooked food. Baths were often built near houses; they were called munches.

Other features of life

Until Christianity became the dominant religion in Chuvashia, polygamy existed in the territory. The custom of levirate also disappeared: the widow was no longer obliged to marry the relatives of her deceased husband. The number of family members was significantly reduced: now it included only spouses and their children. The wives took care of all the household chores, counting and sorting food. The responsibility of weaving was also placed on their shoulders.

According to the existing custom, sons were married early. On the contrary, they tried to marry off their daughters later, so often the wives were married older than husbands. The youngest son in the family was appointed heir to the house and property. But girls also had the right to receive an inheritance.

The settlements could have mixed communities: for example, Russian-Chuvash or Tatar-Chuvash. In appearance, the Chuvash did not differ strikingly from representatives of other nationalities, therefore they all coexisted quite peacefully.

Food

Due to the fact that livestock farming in the region was poorly developed, plants were mainly consumed as food. The main dishes of the Chuvash were porridge (spelt or lentil), potatoes (in later centuries), vegetable and herb soups. The traditional baked bread was called hura sakar and was baked with rye flour. This was considered a woman's responsibility. Sweets were also common: cheesecakes with cottage cheese, sweet flatbreads, berry pies.

Another traditional dish is khulla. This was the name of a circle-shaped pie; fish or meat was used as filling. The Chuvash were preparing different types sausages for the winter: with blood, stuffed with cereals. Shartan was the name of a type of sausage made from a sheep's stomach. Basically, meat was consumed only on holidays. As for drinks, the Chuvash brewed special beer. The resulting honey was used to make mash. And later they began to drink kvass or tea, which were borrowed from the Russians. The Chuvash from the lower reaches drank kumys more often.

For sacrifices they used poultry that was bred at home, as well as horse meat. On some special holidays, a rooster was slaughtered: for example, when a child was born new member families. Scrambled eggs and omelettes were already made from chicken eggs. These dishes are eaten to this day, and not only by the Chuvash.

Famous representatives of the people

Among those who have characteristic appearance Famous personalities also met Chuvash people.

Vasily Chapaev was born near Cheboksary, in the future famous commander. His childhood was spent in a poor peasant family in the village of Budaika. Another famous Chuvash is the poet and writer Mikhail Sespel. Wrote books on native language, was at the same time public figure republics. His name was translated into Russian as “Mikhail”, but in Chuvash it sounded Mishshi. Several monuments and museums were created in memory of the poet.

A native of the republic is also V.L. Smirnov, a unique personality, an athlete who became the absolute world champion in helicopter sports. He trained in Novosibirsk and repeatedly confirmed his title. There are also famous artists among the Chuvash: A.A. Coquel received an academic education and painted many stunning works in charcoal. He spent most of his life in Kharkov, where he taught and was involved in the development of art education. A popular artist, actor and TV presenter was also born in Chuvashia