evidence: The capital city of Tuva, Kyzyl, is some 4,658 kilometers east of Moscow. There are no major megapolises there and no business hubs or active tourism, either. Around 80 percent of the republic is taken up by mountains, with the remainder of the area being predominantly steppes. The territory is four times the size of Switzerland, yet it is only inhabited by some 332,500 people. [...] Kyzyl is one of the great geographical centers of the Asian continent - a fact that is marked by a tall obelisk on the capital’s embankment. It is the most densely populated city in the republic - and the first to surpass visitors’ expectations: "Once arriving in the capital city, I was surprised to see that it wasn’t all yurts and men on horseback. I’m joking about this, but a small part of me still believed that they lived in the past, like no internet and everyone only wore traditional clothing. Kyzyl is a fairly modern city. I actually had better cell service throughout Tuva than I had in parts of the United States." [...] Speaking of Tuva, he expresses certainty that this isn’t a place for everyone. The people that travel there are usually interested in throat singing and shamanism - the two things are considered to be the region’s biggest draw, he believes.