Sholban Valeryevich Kara-ool is a Russian politician of Tuvan ethnic origins. He was the Head of the Republic of Tuva, a Russian republic.
Official portrait, 2009
Tuva or Tyva, officially the Republic of Tuva, is a republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Altai Republic, Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and Buryatia in Russia, and shares an international border with Mongolia to the south. Tuva has a population of 336,651. Its capital is the city of Kyzyl.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tuva in 2007
The geographic "center of Asia", 2015
Azas Lake
Mountains of Tuva