Khertek Anchimaa-Toka facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Khertek Anchimaa-Toka
Хертек Анчимаа-Тока |
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| Chairwoman of the Presidium of the Little Khural of the Tuvan People's Republic | |
| In office 6 April 1940 – 11 October 1944 |
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| Preceded by | Oyun Polat |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 January 1912 Bay-Tayginsky, Uryankhay Republic, Republic of China |
| Died | 4 November 2008 (aged 96) Kyzyl, Tuva, Russia |
| Political party | Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party |
| Spouse |
Salchak Toka
(m. 1940; died 1973) |
| Alma mater | Communist University of the Toilers of the East |
Khertek Amyrbitovna Anchimaa-Toka (Russian: Хертек Амырбитовна Анчимаа-Тока΄ Tuvan: Анчимаа-Тока Хертек Амырбит уруу, romanized: Anchimaa-Toka Khertek Amyrbit uruu; born January 1, 1912 – died November 4, 2008) was an important politician from Tuva, a region in Central Asia. From 1940 to 1944, she was the Chairwoman of the Little Khural of the Tuvan People's Republic. This made her the first non-royal woman to lead a country. She was married to Salchak Toka, who was the main leader of the Tuvan People's Republic from 1932 to 1973.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Khertek Anchimaa was born in 1912 in what is now the Bay-Tayginsky District of Tuva. This area was near the settlement of Kyzyl-Dag. At that time, Tuva was becoming independent from China.
Khertek was the third child in a family of hunters. In 1918, a serious illness called smallpox took her father and one of her sisters. Her mother had to raise Khertek and her four other siblings alone. To help the family, six-year-old Khertek went to live with a wealthier part of her family.
Learning to Read and Write
In 1914, Russia took control over Tuva. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Tuva became a battlefield. But by 1921, the Tuvan People's Republic was formed with support from the Soviet Union.
The new government worked hard to improve education. At a time when very few Tuvans, especially women, could read, Khertek learned to read and write in the Mongolian language. When the first Tuvan alphabet was created, she was one of the first to learn it. She was then chosen by the government to teach others. She joined the Revolutionary Youth Union (Revsomol), which was the youth group of the Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party (TNRP).
Studying in Moscow
A year later, Khertek worked as a clerk, helping to manage local businesses and teaching people to read. Her hard work caught the attention of local leaders. She joined the TNRP and was sent to study at the Communist University of the Toilers of the East in Moscow, Russia. This was a very long journey of about 5,000 kilometers.
When asked if she knew where Moscow was, Khertek admitted she didn't, but said, "If you send me, I will know where it is." The government paid for her education and living costs. Studying was tough because the Tuvan students had little basic education and had to learn Russian quickly. Khertek was one of only 11 Tuvan students who successfully graduated.
Political Career
After returning in 1935, Khertek Anchimaa was given important political roles because of her education in Moscow. She first led the propaganda department of Revsomol. In 1938, she became the head of the Women's Section of the Central Committee of the TNRP. In these roles, she worked to improve life for women, focusing on teaching them to read and helping them find jobs and get an education.
Rising in the Party
While Khertek was studying, Tuva went through big changes. The government took away much of the wealth and power from the local leaders and Buddhist monasteries. The country also started to organize farms like the Soviet Union did. The Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party (TNRP) became very close to the Soviet Union.
During this time, Salchak Toka, who strongly supported the Soviet leader Stalin, became the head of the TNRP. Khertek Anchimaa, as a leading party member, played a role in these political changes. The party became fully controlled by those who supported Moscow.
Becoming Head of State
In April 1940, Khertek Anchimaa became the Chair of the Presidium of the Little Khural. This made her the head of state for the Tuvan People's Republic. She was the first non-royal woman in modern history to hold such a high position. She achieved this before Alexandra Kollontai, who became the world's first female government minister in 1917.
However, because the Tuvan Republic was not widely recognized by other countries and was very isolated, her achievement went unnoticed for some time. Khertek Anchimaa also held the record for the longest-serving non-royal female head of state until Vigdís Finnbogadóttir of Iceland broke it in 1985.
In 1940, Khertek Anchimaa married Salchak Toka, the General Secretary of the TNRP. She kept her maiden name, which was common among communists at the time, and only changed it after her husband passed away in 1973. Their marriage brought together two of Tuva's most powerful political figures, and they led Tuvan politics for the next thirty years.
Tuva During World War II
As Chair of the Presidium, Khertek Anchimaa worked closely with Soviet leaders. Her time as head of state happened during World War II. She played a key role in getting Tuva's resources and people to help the Soviet Union fight against the German invasion. Within two years, over 200 volunteers from Tuva joined the Red Army, and Tuva's economy focused entirely on supporting the war effort.
During the war, Tuva became even more connected to Moscow. The Cyrillic alphabet replaced the Latin alphabet for writing Tuvan, and many social and economic practices became more like Russia's. In 1944, Salchak Toka and Khertek Anchimaa led the effort for Tuva to join the Soviet Union. The Soviets agreed, wanting Tuva's natural resources. The Tuvan People's Republic officially became part of the USSR in November 1944.
After Tuva joined the Soviet Union, the TNRP became a local branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), which Salchak Toka continued to lead. Khertek Anchimaa became the deputy chair of the Tuvan CPSU branch. She continued to play a major role in social affairs, working on art and literacy. In 1962, she became the vice-chairwoman of the Tuvan Council of Ministers, the second-highest position in the Tuvan Soviet government. She was in charge of social welfare, health, education, culture, sports, and public information.
Later Life
Khertek Anchimaa-Toka retired in 1972. After her husband died in 1973, she took on the family name "Anchimaa-Toka." She lived a quiet life until she passed away on November 4, 2008, in Tuva, at the age of 96.
