The story
Verkhovye Russian Culture Festival on the Little Yenisei in Sizim/Erzhey
Verkhovye unfolds along the Little Yenisei River across the villages of Sizim and Erzhey rather than in a single city venue, centering on a competition where folk ensembles and solo singers perform traditional repertoire for a panel of cultural jurors. Held in July, the festival reopens a meeting place for Russian folk culture in Tuva after a long pause, with music carrying over open riverbank ground into the evening.
You arrive in Sizim or Erzhey and the river is already doing half the work, throwing cool air across the bank while voices rise from the stage and carry over the grass.