Mari El - Citizendia

Mari El Republic (English) Республика Марий Эл (Russian) Марий Эл Республик (Mari)
Location of the Mari El Republic in Russia
Coat of Arms	Flag
Coat of arms of Mari El	Flag of Mari El
Anthem: National Anthem of the Mari El Republic
Capital	Yoshkar-Ola
Established	November 4, 1920
Political status Federal district Economic region	Republic Volga Volga-Vyatka
Code	12
Area
Area - Rank within Russia	23,200 km² 72nd
Population (as of the 2002 Census)
Population - Rank within Russia - Density - Urban - Rural	727,979 inhabitants 66th 31. Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. A flag is a piece of Cloth, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used Symbolically for signaling or identification A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's The National anthem of Mari El has lyrics in three languages The two versions of Mari, and Russian. Yoshkar-Ola ( Mari and Йошка́р-Ола́ is a city in Russia and is the capital of the Mari El Republic. Events 1333 - Flood of the Arno River, causing massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar Russia is a Federation which consists of 83 subjects. These subjects are of equal federal rights in the sense that they have equal This article is about an administrative division of the federal government of Russia Russia is divided into twelve economic regions (экономи́ческие райо́ны ekonomicheskiye rayony, sing The Russian Federation is divided into 83 federal subjects (constituent units 21 of which are Republics. Volga (Privolzhsky Federal District (Приво́лжский федера́льный о́круг tr Volga-Vyatka economic region (Во́лго-Вя́тский экономи́ческий райо́н tr Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of Russia 's area is about 17 million square kilometers (65 million sq Russian Census of 2002 (Всеросси́йская пе́репись населе́ния 2002 го́да was the first Census of the Russian Federation carried 4 inhab. / km² 63. 1% 36. 9%
Official languages	Russian, Mari
Government
President	Leonid Markelov
Chairman of the Government	Leonid Markelov
Legislative body	State Assembly
Constitution	Constitution of the Mari El Republic
Official website
http://gov.mari.ru/

Mari El Republic (Russian: Респу́блика Мари́й Эл; Mari: Марий Эл Республик) is a federal subject and republic of Russia. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages The Mari language (Mari chm марий йылме marii jylme, марийский язык spoken by more than 600000 people belongs to the Finno-Ugric Leonid Igorevich Markelov (Леонид Игоревич Маркелов (born 1963 is the President of the Mari El republic in Russia. Leonid Igorevich Markelov (Леонид Игоревич Маркелов (born 1963 is the President of the Mari El republic in Russia. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The term basic law is used in some places as an alternative to " Constitution " implying it is a temporary but necessary measure without formal enactment A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages The Mari language (Mari chm марий йылме marii jylme, марийский язык spoken by more than 600000 people belongs to the Finno-Ugric Russia is a Federation which consists of 83 subjects. These subjects are of equal federal rights in the sense that they have equal The Russian Federation is divided into 83 federal subjects (constituent units 21 of which are Republics. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The direct romanization of the republic's Russian and Mari names are Respublika Mariy El and Marii El Respublika, respectively. The Romanization of the Russian alphabet is the process of transliterating the Russian language from the Cyrillic alphabet and The republic is also sometimes called Mariy El or Marii El in English. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

Geography

The Republic is located in the eastern part of the East European Plain of the Russian Federation, along the Volga River. The East European Plain (also Russian Plain) is a Plain comprised of a series of river basins in Eastern Europe. The swampy Mari Depression is located in the west of the republic. The Mari Depression is a depression at the left side of the Volga, from the western borders of the Mari El to the Bolshaya Kokshaga River. 57% of the republic's territory is covered by forests.

Area: 23,200 km²
Internal Borders: Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (SW/W/NW/N), Kirov Oblast (N/NE/E), Republic of Tatarstan (SE/S), Chuvash Republic (S)
Highest point: 278 m

Time zone

Mari El is located in the Moscow Time Zone (MSK/MSD). Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (Нижегоро́дская о́бласть Nizhegorodskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an Oblast Kirov Oblast (Ки́ровская о́бласть Kirovskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an Oblast) Republic of Tatarstan (Респу́блика Татарста́н Татарстан Республикасы|Tatarstan Respublikası is a federal subject of the Russian Chuvash Republic (Чува́шская Респу́блика Чăваш Республики or Chuvashia (ru Чува́шия is a federal subject Moscow Time (Моско́вское вре́мя is the Time zone for the city of Moscow, Russia and most of western Russia including Saint Petersburg UTC offset is UTC+3 (MSK)/UTC+4 (MSD). UTC+3 is used in the following locations Moscow Time Eastern European Summer Time West Asian Summer Time UTC+4 time zone is used as Moscow Summer Time Iraq Summer Time Azerbaijan Time Single zone countries

Rivers

There are 476 rivers in Mari El. Most of them are considered to be minor: 10-50 m wide and . 5-1. 4 m deep. They usually freeze from mid-November till mid-April. Major rivers include:

Bolshaya Kokshaga River
Buy River
Ilet River
Iravka River
Kundysh River
Lazh River
Malaya Kokshaga River
Maly Kundysh River
Nemda River
Rutka River
Urzhumka River
Vetluga River (navigable)
Volga River (navigable)
Yushut River

Lakes

There are over 200 lakes in Mari El, most of them with an area less than 1 km² and depth of 1-3 m. The Bolshaya Kokshaga (Кугу Какшан Kugu Kakšan; Больша́я Кокша́га literally Great Kokshaga is a river in Kirov Oblast and Mari Ilet (Илеть Илләт|İllät Элнет Elnet) is a river in Mari El, Russia. Kundysh River may refer to Bolshoy Kundysh River Maly Kundysh River The Malaya Kokshaga (Изи Какшан Izi Kakšan; Малая Кокша́га literally Little Kokshaga is a 194 km-long river in Mari El, a left tributary Maly Kundysh (Малый Ку́ндыш literally Little Kundysh, Изи Кундыш Izi Kundyš) is a river in Mari El, Russia The Rutka (Рӹде Rÿde; Рутка is a river in Kirov Oblast and Mari El, Russia. Vetluga (Ветлу́га Вӱтла Vütla) is a river in the Kirov Oblast, Kostroma Oblast, Mari El Republic and Nizhny Novgorod Yushut (Юшут Ӱшӱт Üšüt) is a river in Mari El, Russia, a right Tributary of the Ilet River. Many lakes are located among swamps. Swamps cover large areas (10-70 km², up to 100 km²), and usually freeze in December. Average depth of the swamps is . 5-1. 5 m (up to 3 m), but they are impassable in fall and spring due to flooding.

Major lakes include:

Karas Lake
Kichiyer Lake
Yalchik Lake
Tair Lake
Cheboksary Reservoir

Natural resources

There are virtually no natural resources of industrial significance in the republic. Karaś is a Lake in the Masurian Lake District of north-eastern Poland, from the town of Iława in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Lake Yalchik ( Cyrillic: Яльчик Jalčik) is the largest Lake in Mari El, Russia, located in the Marii Chodra Other resources include peat, mineral waters, and limestone. Peat is an accumulation of partially Decayed Vegetation matter. In many places mineral water is often colloquially used to mean Carbonated water (which is usually carbonated mineral water as opposed to tap water Limestone is a Sedimentary rock composed largely of the Mineral Calcite ( Calcium carbonate: CaCO3

Climate

Climate is moderately continental. Continental climate is a Climate that is characterized by Winter Temperatures cold enough to support a fixed period of Snow cover each Year Winters are moderately cold and snowy. Summers are warm and often rainy.

Average January temperature: −13°C
Average July temperature: +19°C
Average annual precipitation: 450–500 mm

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Mari El

Demographics

Main article: Mari people

Population: 727,979 (2002)
- Urban: 459,687 (63. In Meteorology, precipitation (also known as one class of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric The Mari are a Volga-Finnic people who have traditionally lived along the Volga and Kama rivers in Russia 1%)
- Rural: 268,292 (36. 9%)
- Male: 338,485 (46. 5%)
- Female: 389,494 (53. 5%)
Females per 1000 males: 1,151
Average age: 36. 7 years
- Urban: 36. 7 years
- Rural: 36. 7 years
- Male: 34. 0 years
- Female: 39. 0 years
Number of households: 263,382 (with 717,938 people)
- Urban: 173,246 (with 455,006 people)
- Rural: 90,136 (with 262,932 people)
Vital statistics (2005)
- Births: 7,475 (birth rate 10. 5)
- Deaths: 12,256 (death rate 17. 2)
Ethnic groups

The Mari did not have a designated territory before Russian Revolution of 1917. See also Russian Revolution (1905 The Russian Revolution of 1916 refers to a series of popular revolutions in Russia, and the events surrounding them According to the 2002 Census only 51. Russian Census of 2002 (Всеросси́йская пе́репись населе́ния 2002 го́да was the first Census of the Russian Federation carried 7% of the Mari within Russia live in Mari El, while 17. 5% live in Bashkortostan. Republic of Bashkortostan (Респу́блика Башкортоста́н Башҡортостан Республикаһы or Bashkiria (ru Башки́рия During the last Soviet Census (1989) 4% of the Mari of the Soviet Union lived outside of Russia.

According to the 2002 Census, Russians make up 47. Russian Census of 2002 (Всеросси́йская пе́репись населе́ния 2002 го́да was the first Census of the Russian Federation carried The Russian people (Русские— Russkie) are an East Slavic Ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries 5% of the republic's population, while the ethnic Mari make up 42. The Mari are a Volga-Finnic people who have traditionally lived along the Volga and Kama rivers in Russia 3%. Other groups include Tatars (6. Tatars ( Tatar: Tatarlar/Татарлар sometimes spelled Tartars, are a Turkic -speaking ethnic group or multiple ethnic groups 0%), Chuvash (1. The Chuvash ( Chuvash Чǎвашсем Russian Чуваши Tatar: Çuaşlar Чуашлар are a Turkic -speaking people 0%), Ukrainians (5,097, or 0. Ukrainians (Українці Ukrayintsi,) are an East Slavic Ethnic group primarily living in Ukraine, or more broadly— Citizens 7%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0. 5% of the total population. 2,911 people (0. 4%) did not indicate their nationalities during the Census.

	census 1926	census 1939	census 1959	census 1970	census 1979	census 1989	census 2002
Mari	247,979 (51. 4%)	273,332 (47. 2%)	279,450 (43. 1%)	299,179 (43. 7%)	306,627 (43. 5%)	324,349 (43. 3%)	312,178 (42. 9%)
Russians	210,016 (43. The Russian people (Русские— Russkie) are an East Slavic Ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries 6%)	266,951 (46. 1%)	309,514 (47. 8%)	320,825 (46. 9%)	334,561 (47. 5%)	355,973 (47. 5%)	345,513 (47. 5%)
Tatars	20,219 (4. Tatars ( Tatar: Tatarlar/Татарлар sometimes spelled Tartars, are a Turkic -speaking ethnic group or multiple ethnic groups 2%)	27,149 (4. 7%)	38,821 (6. 0%)	40,279 (5. 9%)	40,917 (5. 8%)	43,850 (5. 9%)	43,377 (6. 0%)
Chuvash	2,184 (0. 5%)	5,504 (0. 9%)	9,065 (1. 4%)	9,032 (1. 3%)	8,087 (1. 1%)	8,993 (1. 2%)	7,418 (1. 0%)
Others	1,703 (0. 4%)	6,674 (1. 2%)	10,830 (1. 7%)	15,433 (2. 3%)	14,015 (2. 0%)	16,167 (2. 2%)	19,943 (2. 7%)

History

Mari El map

Ancient Mari tribes were known since the 5th century. Later their area was a tributary of Volga Bulgaria and the Golden Horde. Volga Bulgaria or Volga-Kama Bolghar, is an historic state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of This article refers to the medieval Turkic state For the Irish rock band see The Golden Horde (band. In the 1440s it was incorporated into the Khanate of Kazan and was occupied by Russia after the fall of Kazan in 1552. The Kazan Khanate (Казан ханлыгы|Qazan xanlığı|قازان خانليغى Russian: Казанское ханство tr: Kazanskoe khanstvo Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Kazan (Каза́нь Казан tt Qazan) is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and one of Russia's largest cities

Mari Autonomous Oblast was established on November 4, 1920. Mari Autonomous Oblast was created 1920-11-04,as a part of RSFSR. Events 1333 - Flood of the Arno River, causing massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar It was re-organized into Mari ASSR on December 5, 1936. Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ( Mari ASSR) was the successor of Mari Autonomous Oblast. Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

In its present form the Mari El Republic was formed on December 22, 1990. Events 1790 - The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar)

Politics

The head of government in the Mari El Republic is the President. As of 2007, the president is Leonid Igorevich Markelov, who was elected in January of 2001. Leonid Igorevich Markelov (Леонид Игоревич Маркелов (born 1963 is the President of the Mari El republic in Russia.

The ethnic Mari people are under heavy Russification and Leonid Markelov has ordered many Mari language newspapers to close. Many ethnic Mari activists live under fear of violence. The Mari activist and chief editor Vladimir Kozlov was badly beaten after he published criticism toward Leonid Markelov's politics.

The Marla faith of the Mari people have had some troubles. The Marla faith is the traditional Religion of the Mari people of the republic of Mari El, Russia. The Mari are a Volga-Finnic people who have traditionally lived along the Volga and Kama rivers in Russia Vitaly Tanakov was charged with inciting religious, national, social and linguistic hatred after publishing the book The Priest Speaks^[1].

Economy

The most developed industries are machine construction, metal working, timber, woodworking, and food industries. Most of the industrial enterprises are located in the capital Yoshkar-Ola, as well as in the towns of Kozmodemyansk, Volzhsk, and Zvenigovo

Transportation

Traveling cheaply and quickly to various towns and villages in Mari El is made possible through a network of fifteen train stations, fifty-three bus stations, and numerous marshrutki. Kozmodemyansk (Козьмодемья́нск Hill Цӹкмӓ Cÿkmä; Meadow Mari Чыкма Čykma; Chuvash: Чикме Cikme; Finnish Volzhsk ( Mari: Юлсер-Ола Волжск is a town in the Mari El Republic, Russia. Zvenigovo (Звени́гово is a town in the Mari El Republic, Russia, located on the left bank of the Volga River 90 km south of Marshrutka ( Bulgarian, маршру́тка mɘr'ʂrutkɘ from marshrutnoye taksi (Mаршрутное такси is a Share taxi in The republic is connected to different regions throughout Russia by daily trains to and from Moscow and Kazan, an airport located near Yoshkar-Ola, and a port on the Volga River in Kozmodemyansk. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Kazan (Каза́нь Казан tt Qazan) is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and one of Russia's largest cities There are also four other minor river ports in Mari El.

Communication

Telephony, Internet service, and cable television are provided by Volga Telecom. In Telecommunication, telephony (təˈlɛfəni or teh-LEH-fuh-nee encompasses the general use of equipment to provide voice communication over distances specifically An Internet service provider ( ISP, also called Internet access provider or IAP) is a company which primarily offers their customers access to the Internet VolgaTelecom () is one of the Russian telecommuncations companies that was formed after the Svyaz'invest Company in Moscow decided to reorganize 72

Culture

There are many museums located throughout the Mari El territory. The largest ones include the National Museum, the Museum of History, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Yoshkar-Ola; the Museum of Arts and History, the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum, and the Merchant Life Museum in Kozmodemyansk; and the Sheremetevo Castle Museum-reserve in Yurino. There are also museums dedicated to the poet Nikolay Mukhin and the composer Ivan Klyuchnikov-Palantay in Yoshkar-Ola and the house-museum of writer Sergei Chavayn in Chavaynur.

Five theaters are located in Yoshkar-Ola with performances in both the Russian and Mari languages.

Education

The most important facilities of higher education are Mari State Technical University and Mari State University, both located in Yoshkar-Ola. There are also more than 900 primary and secondary schools located throughout the republic.

For the past few years, the Mari El Republic has been participating in the national project "Education" ("Oбразование"), which is designed to improve education throughout Russia by bringing new technology into the classroom, improving material conditions in schools, and providing financial awards to extraordinary students and teachers.

Religion

The most common religions in Mari El include Russian Orthodoxy, Old Believers, and Islam. See also Eastern Orthodox Church Structure and organization The Slavic Orthodox Church is organized in a hierarchical structure Introductory summary of origins In 1652 Nikon (1605 – 1681 Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church from 1652 to 1658 introduced a number of ritual and textual For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. The traditional Mari pagan faith is still present, as is the Marla faith, which is a combination of these traditional beliefs and modern Christianity. The Mari are a Volga-Finnic people who have traditionally lived along the Volga and Kama rivers in Russia The Marla faith is the traditional Religion of the Mari people of the republic of Mari El, Russia.

Tourism

Mari El is one of the more ecologically pure areas of the European part of Russia with numerous lakes, rivers, and forests. As a result, it is a popular destination for tourists looking to enjoy nature. One of the most popular destinations is Marii Chodra national park in the Ilet valley, where visitors can enjoy various activities such as boating, horseback riding, fishing, and mushrooming. Marii Chodra ( Mari and Марий Чодра Marij Čodra; Mari for The Mari Forest) is a National park, located largely in Morki Another is the Bolshaya Kokshaga National Reserve, where visitors can walk through virgin forests and observe local wildlife.

Mari El is also the site of several mineral springs, many of which are located in the Ilet valley. Many small resorts and children's camps are also located on the various lakes throughout the republic.

Crime

There have been allegations that Mari El, and in particular its capital city Yoshkar-Ola, is a centre of operation for a number of international criminal gangs who obtain money from people by fraudulent means. Yoshkar-Ola ( Mari and Йошка́р-Ола́ is a city in Russia and is the capital of the Mari El Republic.

A number of dating scams are said to originate in Mari El, whereby criminals will place profiles on dating sites, often using fake identities and photographs (although the profiles will typically state that they come from a variety of locations in Russia and other former Soviet Union states). Young women typically establish a correspondence with people, "fall in love" in a very short time, and then attempt to obtain money on various pretexts. ^[2]

Reports vary as to the extent of the problem, with some sources indicating that as many as 50% of the male and 90% of the female profiles on dating sites are bogus. Other sources are more conservative, however, and estimate that only about 10% of the profiles are false. The extent of fraud will vary from site to site, as some dating sites carry out more stringent checks and vetting procedures than others.

Arrests

13 September 2006

More than a hundred people were detained in the course of a special police operation, which had been held on September 13, 2006 by the Federal Security Service Department of Mari El. The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation ( FSB) ( Russian: ФСБ Федера́льная слу́жба безопа́сности Federalnaya The operation was aimed at capturing the Internet scammers who posted introduction profiles on different sites, portraying themselves as women who wanted to get married to foreigners. In those profiles they used other people's photos illegally. Such Mari "fiancees" regularly tapped money from their men, motivating this with the necessity to learn English or paying for the driving lessons.

According to the special services, this criminal business was built on the following scheme. Organizers rented apartments in the quietest districts of Yoshkar-Ola, turned them into small offices, equipping them with satellite Internet access and several computers. The role of "fiancees" corresponding with the foreigners were mostly played by students, who received 10 or 15% of the amount they managed to tap from the clients.

August 2006

It was the application from a German citizen, who had transferred 26,000 euros to his future fiancee's bank account in Yoshkar-Ola, that helped the police officers from "K" department to find the traces of the criminals. "The scammer did not appear to meet her future husband, she also never returned the money, and stopped corresponding. Later it was found out that the German citizen was sent a photo of a famous Russian ballet dancer instead of a picture of his possible fiancee", informs the press center.

Having checked up the information, officers of "K" department, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Mari El republic found out that the correspondence was carried on from a so-called "office" settled in an apartment in Yoshkar-Ola, where the seven members of the criminal group were arrested. Also, the police established the identity of the two organizers of the criminal business and the two women with a good knowledge of English, who helped with phone talks with foreigners.

During the search there were found 16 computers, a large amount of money, correspondence in foreign languages, bank tickets about money transfers from foreign citizens and other exhibits.

References

External links

(Russian) Official website of the Mari El Republic

(Russian) A short Meadow Mari-English dictionary at http://www.uta.fi/~km56049/mari/mariengvocab.html

(Russian) Meadow Mari-Russian-Japanese dictionary at http://www.kmatsum.info/mari/mardic/mar0Aa.html

(Russian) Kimberli Mäkäräinen's Meadow Mari Grammar at http://www.uta.fi/~km56049/mari/indexmari.html

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