'Republic of Mordovia' (;
Moksha/
Erzya: Мордовия Республикась) or 'Mordvinia' is a
federal subject of
Russia (a
republic). The direct
romanization of the republic's name is ''Respublika Mordoviya'' in Russian.
Geography
The Republic is located in the eastern part of the
East European Plain of the Russian Federation. The western part of the republic is situated in the
Oka Don Plain; its eastern and central parts in the
Volga Elevation.
★ ''Area'':
★ ''Borders'':
★
★ ''internal'':
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (N),
Chuvash Republic (NE/E),
Ulyanovsk Oblast (E/SE),
Penza Oblast (S/SW),
Ryazan Oblast (W/NW)
★ ''Highest point'': (crossing of the road from
Bolshoy Maresev with the roads to
Mokshaley,
Pyaigiley, and
Picheury)
Time zone
Mordovia is located in the
Moscow Time Zone (MSK/MSD).
UTC offset is +0300 (MSK)/+0400 (MSD).
Rivers
There are 114 rivers in Mordovia. Major rivers include:
★
Alatyr River (Erzya: Rator)
★
Issa River
★
Moksha River
★
Satis River
★
Sivin River
★
Sura River
★
Vad River
Lakes
There are approximately 500 lakes in Mordovia.
Natural resources
Natural resources include
peat,
mineral waters, and others.
Climate
Climate is moderately
continental.
★ ''Average January temperature'': −11°C
★ ''Average July temperature'': +19°C
★ ''Average annual
precipitation'': ~500 mm
Administrative divisions
Demographics
★ 'Population': 888,766 (2002)
★
★ ''Urban'': 531,478 (59.8%)
★
★ ''Rural'': 357,288 (40.2%)
★
★ ''Male'': 408,556 (46.0%)
★
★ ''Female'': 480,210 (54.0%)
★ 'Females per 1000 males': 1,175
★ 'Average age': 38.7 years
★
★ ''Urban'': 36.8 years
★
★ ''Rural'': 41.3 years
★
★ ''Male'': 35.9 years
★
★ ''Female'': 41.2 years
★ 'Number of households': 332,995 (with 866,749 people)
★
★ ''Urban'': 197,923 (with 525,808 people)
★
★ ''Rural'': 135,072 (with 340,941 people)
★ 'Vital statistics' (2005)
★
★ ''Births'': 7,394 (birth rate 8.6)
★
★ ''Deaths'': 14,823 (death rate 17.2)
★ 'Ethnic groups'
The Mordvin people are a
Finnic group speaking two related languages,
Moksha and
Erzya, the two languages have been dealt with at various times as dialects of one Mordvinian language. In reality there are two orthographies with parallel newsmedia in the Republic of Mordovia where approximately only one third of all Mordvinian live.
According to the
2002 Census,
Russians make up 60.8% of the republic's population, while ethnic
Mordvins are only 31.9%. Other groups include
Tatars (5.2%),
Ukrainians (0.5%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population. 3,700 people (0.4%) did not indicate their nationalities during the Census.
| census 1939 | census 1959 | census 1970 | census 1979 | census 1989 | census 2002 |
|---|
| Mordvins | 405,031 (34.1%) | 357,978 (35.8%) | 364,689 (35.4%) | 338,898 (34.2%) | 313,420 (32.5%) | 283,861 (31.9%) |
| Russians | 719,117 (60.5%) | 590,557 (59.0%) | 606,817 (58.9%) | 591,212 (59.7%) | 586,147 (60.8%) | 540,717 (60.8%) |
| Tatars | 47,386 (4.0%) | 38,636 (3.9%) | 44,954 (4.4%) | 45,765 (4.6%) | 47,328 (4.9%) | 46,261 (5.2%) |
| Ukrainians | 7,586 (0.6%) | 6,554 (0.7%) | 6,033 (0.6%) | 5,622 (0.6%) | 6,461 (0.7%) | 4,801 (0.5%) |
| Others | 8,884 (0.7%) | 6,468 (0.6%) | 7,069 (0.7%) | 8,012 (0.8%) | 10,148 (1.1%) | 13,126 (1.5%) |
History
Mordovia map
Early history
Earliest archaeological signs of human beings in the area of Mordovia are from the
Neolithic era.
Finno-Ugric Mordvins are mentioned in written sources in 6th century. Later, Mordvins were under the influence of both
Volga Bulgaria and
Kievan Rus. Mordvin princes sometimes raided Muroma and Volga Bulgaria, and often despoiled each other's holdings.
Mongol rule
The
Mongols conquered vast areas of Eastern Europe in 13th century. They established the
khanate of the Golden Horde in 1241, subjugating the area of Mordovia. Mordvins fought against Mongols and later alongside with
Russians. Mordvin lands were territorially belonged to
Mukhsha Ulus. The Golden Horde disintegrated in 1430s, which resulted in some Mordvins becoming subjects of
Khanate of Kazan, whereas other were incorporated to the
Muscovy.
Russian rule
When
Ivan IV of Russia annexed the khanate of Kazan in 1552, the Mordovin lands were subjugated to the Russian tsars. The Mordvin elite rapidly assumed Russian language and customs, whereas 1821 saw the publication of the New Testament in Erzya to address the non-elite population. In rural areas, Mordvin culture was preserved. Russians started to convert Mordvins to
Orthodox Christianity in mid-1700s. Mordvins gave up their own shamanist religion only slowly, however, and many of shamanist features were preserved as parts of local culture though the population became nominally christian. Translations of literature to Mordvin languages were mostly religious books. In 1700s, the Latin alphabet was used in writing Mordvin, but from the mid-1800s, Cyrillic was used.
Part of the Soviet Union
During the Russian
revolution and
civil war, Mordovia was held mostly by opponents of
Bolsheviks. When the Bolsheviks prevailed in the war, Mordovia became a part of the Soviet Union. In 1925, the Soviet government founded autonomous districts and village councils in the area of Mordvins. During the Soviet era, two written languages were developed: based on the Erzya dialect in 1922 and on the Moksha dialect in 1923, both using
Cyrillic script. The autonomous district of Mordvins was founded on
16 July 1928 and it was elevated to autonomous area on
10 January 1930. The autonomous area was formed as the Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic of Mordovia on
20 December 1934.
Part of the Russian Federation
When the Soviet Union disintegrated, ASSR of Mordvins proclaimed itself the Republic of Mordovia in 1991, and remained a part of
Federation of Russia. The Republic of Mordovia in its present form has existed since
January 25,
1994.
Politics
The head of government in the Republic of Mordovia is the Head of the Republic.
As of 2004, the head of the republic is
Nikolay Merkushkin, who was elected in February of 1998.
Economy
The most developed industries are machine building, chemical, woodworking, and food industries. Most of the industrial enterprises are located in the capital Saransk, as well as in the towns of
Kovylkino and
Ruzayevka, and in the urban settlements of
Chamzinka (Erzya: Chaunza) and the adjacent
Komsomolsky.
Culture
There are many museums in Mordovia. The largest ones include the ''Mordovian Republican United Museum of Regional Studies'' and the ''Museum of Mordvinian Culture'' in Saransk.
The ''National Library of the Republic of Mordovia'' is the largest library in the republic.
The ''State Puppet Theater'' of the Republic of Mordovia, located in Saransk, is well-known in Russia. Most of the plays played in this theater are Russian fairy-tales.
Education
The most important facilities of higher education include
Mordovian State University and
Mordovian State Pedagogical Institute in Saransk.
Religion
The prevailing confession is the
Russian Orthodox Church,
Sunni Islam, practised mostly by
Tatars is the biggest religious minority.
See also
★
Music of Mordovia
External links
★
Official website of the Republic of Mordovia.
★
Official website of Mordovian State University.
★
International Relations Office of Mordovian State University
★
Official website of the National Library of the Republic of Mordovia
★
Official website of the State Puppet Theater of the Republic of Mordovia.
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