Hi Stephen,
With regards the name "Tuva", do you know the "Tuva or Bust!" story
by Ralph Leighton about he and friend Richard Feynman?
A wonderful little book.
See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuva_or_Bust!
Apart from the book, there was also a touching BBC documentary about it
called "The Quest for Tannu Tuva".
Someone has transcribed it to YouTube here :-
https://youtu.be/fuqm4FGzo20