The Mari El Republic (Russian: Респу́блика Мари́й Эл, Respublika Mariy El; Mari: Марий Эл Республик, Marii El Respublic) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). Its capital is the city of Yoshkar-Ola.
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[edit] Geography
The republic is located in the eastern part of the East European Plain of Russia, along the Volga River. The swampy Mari Depression is located in the west of the republic. 57% of the republic's territory is covered by forests.
- Area: 23,200 km2 (9,000 sq mi)
- 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[12]
[edit] Rivers
There are 476 rivers in the republic. Most of them are considered to be minor: 10–50 m wide and 0.5-1.4 m deep. They usually freeze from mid-November till mid-April. Major rivers include:
- Bolshaya Kokshaga River
- Ilet River
- Kundysh River
- Malaya Kokshaga River
- Maly Kundysh River
- Nemda River
- Rutka River
- Urzhumka River
- Vetluga River (navigable)
- Volga River (navigable)
- Yushut River
[edit] Lakes
There are over two hundred lakes in the republic, most of them with an area less than 1 km² and depth of 1–3 m. 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:
[edit] Natural resources
There are virtually no natural resources of industrial significance in the republic. Other resources include peat, mineral waters, and limestone.
[edit] Climate
Climate is moderately continental. Winters are moderately cold and snowy. Summers are warm and often rainy.
- Average January temperature: −13 °C (8.6 °F)
- Average July temperature: +19 °C (66.2 °F)
- Average annual precipitation: 450–500 mm
[edit] Administrative divisions
[edit] Demographics
The republic's indigenous Mari people are undergoing what most neutral observers see as ethnic persecution, with noted foreign leaders and diplomats, the European Parliament and the UNHCR calling for inside and outside pressure to end this repression.[13][14][15]
- Population: 727,979 (2002)
- Urban: 459,687 (63.1%)
- 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
- Source: Russian Federal State Statistics Service
| Births | Deaths | Birth rate | Death rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 10,505 | 6,364 | 15.3 | 9.3 |
| 1975 | 11,816 | 7,190 | 17.0 | 10.3 |
| 1980 | 13,169 | 8,091 | 18.5 | 11.4 |
| 1985 | 14,198 | 8,529 | 19.5 | 11.7 |
| 1990 | 11,953 | 7,775 | 15.8 | 10.3 |
| 1991 | 10,578 | 7,786 | 14.0 | 10.3 |
| 1992 | 9,227 | 8,330 | 12.2 | 11.0 |
| 1993 | 8,019 | 9,622 | 10.6 | 12.7 |
| 1994 | 7,851 | 10,788 | 10.4 | 14.2 |
| 1995 | 7,337 | 9,999 | 9.7 | 13.2 |
| 1996 | 6,952 | 9,495 | 9.2 | 12.6 |
| 1997 | 6,782 | 9,625 | 9.0 | 12.8 |
| 1998 | 6,657 | 9,623 | 8.9 | 12.8 |
| 1999 | 6,597 | 10,674 | 8.8 | 14.3 |
| 2000 | 6,784 | 11,040 | 9.1 | 14.9 |
| 2001 | 6,832 | 11,434 | 9.3 | 15.5 |
| 2002 | 7,300 | 12,105 | 10.0 | 16.6 |
| 2003 | 7,515 | 11,861 | 10.4 | 16.4 |
| 2004 | 7,715 | 12,098 | 10.7 | 16.8 |
| 2005 | 7,475 | 12,256 | 10.5 | 17.2 |
| 2006 | 7,550 | 11,286 | 10.6 | 15.9 |
| 2007 | 8,306 | 10,745 | 11.8 | 15.2 |
| 2008 | 8,620 | 10,699 | 12.3 | 15.2 |
- Ethnic groups
Though the Mari people have lived in the area for millennia, they did not have a designated territory before the Russian Revolution of 1917. According to the 2002 Census only 51.7% of the Mari within Russia live in the republic, while 17.5% live in Bashkortostan. During the last Soviet Census (1989) 4% of the Mari of the Soviet Union lived outside of Russia.
Since World War II, more ethnic Russians and Tatars have moved into the area. According to the 2002 Census, Russians make up 47.5% of the republic's population, while the ethnic Mari make up 42.3%. Other groups include Tatars (6.0%), Chuvash (1.0%), Ukrainians (5,097, or 0.7%), 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 (43.6%) | 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 (4.2%) | 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%) |
[edit] History
Ancient Mari tribes were known since the 5th century, though archeologists suspect Mari culture to be much older in its roots. Later their area was a tributary of Volga Bulgaria and the Golden Horde. In the 1440s it was incorporated into the Khanate of Kazan and was occupied by the Tsardom of Russia (governed by Ivan the Terrible) after the fall of Kazan in 1552.
After the Russian Revolution, under Bolshevik regime, Mari Autonomous Oblast was established on November 4, 1920. It was re-organized into Mari ASSR on December 5, 1936, same as the enactment of the 1936 Soviet Constitution, a.k.a. "Stalin Constitution". In its present form the Mari El Republic was formed on December 22, 1990.
[edit] Politics
The head of government in the Mari El Republic is the President. As of 2008, the president is Leonid Markelov, who was elected in January 2001.
The ethnic Mari people are under heavy Russification and Leonid Markelov has ordered many Mari language newspapers to close.[citation needed] 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. Other Mari leaders have been the subjects of violence, legal persecution and intimidation[14]
The Marla faith of the Mari people has encountered hostility as well. Vitaly Tanakov was charged with inciting religious, national, social and linguistic hatred after publishing the book The Priest Speaks.[16]
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) in an exhaustive 2006 report "Russian Federation: The Human Rights Situation of the Mari Minority of the Republic of Mari El," found widespread evidence of political and cultural persecution of Mari people, and of "a broader trend of repression of dissidents in the republic." They note that because of the relative obscurity of the Mari people and culture in the global context, no major NGOs have yet taken up the cause of protecting their rights.[17]
[edit] 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
[edit] Transportation
Traveling cheaply and quickly to various towns and villages within the republic is made possible through a network of fifteen train stations, fifty-three bus stations, and numerous marshrutkas. 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. There are also four other minor river ports in the republic. Regional automobile code is 12.
[edit] Communication
Telephony, Internet service, and cable television are provided by VolgaTelecom.
[edit] Culture
There are many museums located throughout the territory of the republic. 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, though it should be noted that the Mari National Theater, a major ethnic institution, was closed by the government. The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) in their 2006 report "Russian Federation: The Human Rights Situation of the Mari Minority of the Republic of Mari El", reported "The closure of the Mari National Theater, which had been a key element of Mari cultural life ever since its foundation in 1919, was perceived as a direct attack on Mari culture."
[edit] 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.
Despite the fact that Mari language is officially a state language, Mari educators and administrators have been forced from their positions in recent years and Mari-language education has been defunded, according to the U.S. State Department,[18] the European Union and others.[19]
[edit] Religion
The most common religions in the republic include Russian Orthodoxy, Old Believers, and Islam. The traditional Mari pagan faith is still practiced to some degree by many Mari people, as is the Marla faith, which is a combination of these traditional beliefs and modern Christianity. The Mari religious practices have come under increasing pressure, according to human rights groups.[20]
[edit] Tourism
The territory of the republic 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. 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.
(copy of wikipedia)
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