 Within two years over 200 volunteers had joined the Red Army and the republic's economy was entirely dedicated to serving the cause of the war.Tuvan orientation towards Moscow intensified during the war, with Cyrillic script replacing the Latin alphabet for the writing of Tuvan, Russification of social and economic practices, and virtually all opposition to Stalinist policy eradicated.These trends culminated in 1944 in the petition, masterminded by Toka and Anchimaa, for the republic's annexation to become a constituent state of the USSR.