Mari El (Russian: Марий Эл; Meadow Mari: Марий Эл; Hill Mari: Мары Эл), officially the Mari El Republic,^{[lower-alpha 1]} is a republic of Russia. It is in the European region of the country, along the northern bank of the Volga River, and administratively part of the Volga Federal District. The republic has a population of 696,459 (2010 Census).^[12] Yoshkar-Ola is the capital and largest city.

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Mari El Republic
Republic
Республика Марий Эл
Other transcription(s)
• Meadow Mari	Марий Эл Республик
• Hill Mari	Мары Эл Республик
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "State Anthem of the Mari El Republic"[1]
Coordinates: 56°42′N 47°52′E
Country	Russia
Federal district	Volga[2]
Economic region	Volga-Vyatka[3]
Capital	Yoshkar-Ola
Government
• Body	State Assembly[4]
• Head[4]	Yury Zaitsev[5]
Area [6]
• Total	23,375 km2 (9,025 sq mi)
• Rank	72nd
Population  (2021 Census)[7]
• Total	672,093
• Estimate  (2018)[8]	682,333
• Rank	64th
• Density	29/km2 (74/sq mi)
• Urban	68.4%
• Rural	31.6%
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK [9])
ISO 3166 code	RU-ME
License plates	12
OKTMO ID	88000000
Official languages	Russian;[10] Mari (Meadow and Hill variants)[11]
Website	https://mari-el.gov.ru/

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Mari El, one of Russia's ethnic republics, was established for the indigenous Mari people, a Finno-Ugric nation who have traditionally lived along the Volga and Kama Rivers. The majority of the republic's population are ethnic Russians (52.5%), with a significant Mari minority (40.1%), and smaller minority populations of Tatars and Chuvash. The official languages are Russian and Mari. Mari El is bordered by Nizhny Novgorod Oblast to the west, Kirov Oblast to the north, Tatarstan to the east, and Chuvashia to the south.

The Republic is located in the eastern part of the East European Plain of Russia, along and mostly to the north of the Volga River. The swampy Mari Depression is in the west of the Republic, contrasted by hillier landscapes in the east where the highest point of the Republic (at 278 metres (912 ft)^[13]) is located. The Republic borders with Kirov Oblast in the north and east, the Republic of Tatarstan in the southeast and south, the Chuvash Republic in the south, and with Nizhny Novgorod Oblast in the west and north.^{[citation needed]}

There are 476 rivers in the Republic, with the Volga and its tributaries being the major water arteries. Most rivers are considered to be minor—10–50 m (33–164 ft) wide and 0.5–1.4 m (1 ft 8 in – 4 ft 7 in) deep—and usually freeze between mid-November and mid-April. There are over 700 lakes and ponds; many located in the swampy areas and have areas of less than 1 km² (0.39 sq mi) and depths of 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in). Lake Yalchik, occupying 150 hectares (370 acres), is the largest by area, while Lake Tabashinskoye is the deepest. Swamps cover large areas—10–70 km² (3.9–27.0 sq mi) and up to 100 km² (39 sq mi)—and usually freeze in December. While swamps tend to be shallow, with an average depth of 0.5–1.5 m (1 ft 8 in – 4 ft 11 in), they are impassable in fall and spring due to flooding.^{[citation needed]}

Climate is moderately continental, with moderately cold and snowy winters and warm and often rainy summers. The average temperatures range from 18–20 °C (64–68 °F) in summer to −18 – −20 °C (0 – −4 °F) in winter. November is the windiest month of the year. Annual precipitation varies from 450 to 500 mm (18 to 20 in).

There are virtually no natural resources of industrial significance in the Republic. Other resources include peat, mineral waters, and limestone. About 50% of the Republic's territory is forested, although the level of forestation varies significantly from one district to another.^{[citation needed]}

Ancient Mari tribes were known since the 5th century, though archaeologists suspect that the Mari culture is 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 the Bolshevik regime, the Mari Autonomous Oblast was established on 4 November 1920. It was re-organized into the Mari ASSR on 5 December 1936, at the same time as the enactment of the 1936 Soviet Constitution. In its present form, the Mari El Republic was formed on 22 December 1990. On 21 May 1998, Mari El alongside Amur, Ivanovo, Kostroma, and Voronezh Oblast signed a power-sharing agreement with the federal government, granting it autonomy.^[14] This agreement was abolished on 31 December 2001.^[15]

The name of the republic is based on the ethnic self-designation of its indigenous population – Марий, "Mari" (from мари, "man, husband"), and эл, "country, land".^[16]

The head of government in the Mari El Republic is the Head (formerly President). As of 2017, the Head was Alexander Yevstifeyev, who was appointed in April 2017.^[17]

The government of Mari El has been pursuing Russification in recent years, with the former head of the republic, Leonid Markelov, ordering many Mari language newspapers to close.^{[citation needed]} Many ethnic Mari activists live in fear of violence. The Mari activist and chief editor Vladimir Kozlov was badly beaten after he criticized Markelov's government. Other Mari leaders have been subject to violence, legal persecution, and intimidation.^[18]

The Mari people's native religion, based on the worship of the forces of nature, has encountered hostility as well. Vitaly Tanakov was charged with inciting religious, national, social, and linguistic hatred after publishing the book The Priest Speaks.^[19]

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and the 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".^[20]

Population: 696,459 (2010 Census);^[12] 727,979 (2002 Census);^[21] 749,386 (1989 Census).^[22]

The most developed industries are machine construction, metalworking, 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.^{[citation needed]}

The largest companies in the region include Mariysky Oil Refinery (revenues of $502.2 million in 2017), Mari Pulp and Paper Mill ($137.12 million), Shelanger Chemical Plant "Siver" ($14.52 million), Marbiopharm ($14.02 million).^[32]

This section does not cite any sources. (September 2017)

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 Sheremetyev 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.

• Valentin Kolumb, poet
• Shabdar Osyp, author
• Andrei Eshpai, composer, pianist

• Mari National Rebirth Party "Ushem"