I will tell you my version of the origin of the names “Cheboksary” and “Shupashkar.” Let’s dive into Turkic history and understand why these two names are not just translations of each other, but two equivalent names for the same city.

Research Method

In my research on the origin of the names “Cheboksary” and “Shupashkar,” I used linguistic analysis based on the Turkish language, as well as Turkish historical chronicles.

Why is this the case? Of all the Turkic-speaking peoples, it is the Turks who have preserved the historical memory of the meaning of certain Turkic words, and they are all easily accessible.

By the way, the Chuvash have no historical memory of many words in the Chuvash language, and they should not have any. The reason is that the Chuvash language is the result of the Turkification of the sedentary population after the arrival of the Turkic nomads. The sedentary Chuvash were and still are mostly members of the Finno-Ugric genetic group. And probably before oturechivaniya their language was different.

About the origin of the name “Cheboksary”

The word “Cheboksary” consists of three roots:

• che
• бок
• сары

Let’s analyze them in order.

Che

Che – it would be more correct to write “chӑ”. Where the Turkic sound of the letter “ӑ” sounds like something in between the Russian “a”, “o”, “e”.

Chӑ is short for “chӑvash”, which means “Chuvash” in Russian.

Bok

Bok is correctly spelled as “bӑk”. The Turkic sound of the letter “ӑ” is similar to the Russian sounds “a”, “o”, and “e”.

Bӑk is a full-fledged word that means “bek” or “bey” in Russian. Bek is a powerful title, the Turkic equivalent of the Russian prince.

Sary

Sary – translated into Russian means: a capital structure made of stone. The most famous borrowing in Russian is the word “saray”.

In the nomadic Turkic culture, it was customary to live in tents. And capital structures were, as a rule, two categories of buildings:

• Palaces of beks, beys, sultans, khans, khagans and similar nobles.
• Caravanserais are small fortresses and at the same time inns on trade routes, along which caravans moved.

Cheboksary = Palace of the Chuvash Bek

So, I have finally brought to the fact that the name “Cheboksary” literally means “Palace of the Chuvash Bek”.

Pronunciation of the name “Cheboksary”

An interesting fact: the word “Cheboksary” even now is pronounced in a special way – in Turkic. This is clearly visible in the syllable “bok”. If you pronounce it according to the rules of Russian phonetics, the syllable should be pronounced as follows:

• either “ak”,
• or “ok”.

However, this is not how it is pronounced.

The syllable is pronounced as the Turkic “bӑk”. To make it more clear, I recommend listening to the pronunciation. When listening, it is important to pay attention to the syllable “bok”, which is pronounced as “bӑk”.

Other cities with a similar name

In addition to Cheboksary, another city that contains the syllable “sary” in its name is Bakhchisaray. Its name literally means “Palace-Garden,” because “Bakhchi” is the Turkic word for “garden” or “orchard.”

In the Chuvash language, “garden” or “orchard” is pronounced as “pakhcha.”

The origin of the name “Shupashkar”

The word “Shupashkar” consists of two roots:

• shupash
• kar

Let’s analyze these roots as well.

Shupash

The Turkish equivalents of the word “shupash” are the full word “obase” and its shortened form “oba.” In Russian, they mean a nomadic camp made up of tents covered with animal skins. It is important to note that the Turkish words “obase” and “oba” are currently considered outdated, and it is unlikely that they can be found in modern online dictionaries. However, they can be found in historical chronicles on Turkish resources.

By the way, the Russian language has borrowed the mentioned words, such as the word “shuba,” which refers to a well-known item of clothing made from animal skins.

Kar

In Turkish, “kar” means “protection” or “safe.”

In Russian, there is a well-known borrowed word, “karavan.” It consists of two roots: “kar” and “avan”, and literally means “going forward under protection”.

Shupashkar = Protected Nomadic Camp

And here I have finally led to the fact that the name “Shupashkar” literally means “Protected Nomadic Camp”.

Shupashkar is not a translation of the word Cheboksary

It is commonly believed that “Shupashkar” is a translation of the name “Cheboksary” into the Chuvash language. This is because the Chuvash themselves called this city “Shupashkar.” However, the word “Shupashkar” is not a translation of the name “Cheboksary.”

Indeed, the indigenous population of Chuvashia, the Chuvash, historically referred to this settlement as “Shupashkar.” It is also true that visitors referred to it as “Cheboksary.” Here’s why.

The Chuvash paid taxes to the Chuvash bek, allowing them to freely engage in trade both within the settlement and throughout Chuvashia. And when they went to the city on business, they would say, “We’re going to Shupashkar,” which means “a protected nomadic camp.”

However, the Chuvash bek did not collect taxes from the newcomers. Therefore, in order to trade and conduct business in Chuvashia, one had to visit the person who granted permission to do so, which was the Chuvash bek. Let me remind you that in those days, doing business in any territory without the permission of the authority that controlled it could lead to much more severe consequences than it does in our time – they could simply take away all the goods.

And where was the bek located? That’s right, in his palace. And I’ve already hinted that the phrase “the palace of the Chuvash bek” sounded like “Cheboksary.” And when external visitors went on business to any place in Chuvashia, they first went to the palace of the Chuvash bek and said, “We are going to Cheboksary.”

That’s why the locals inside Chuvashia called the city in question Shupashkar, while visitors from outside called it Cheboksary.

I have explained how the names “Cheboksary” and “Shupashkar” came to be. These are Turkic words, and both have the right to exist as names for the same city.