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Mordovia
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Republic of Mordovia (; Moksha/Erzya: ???????? ????????????) or Mordvinia is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). The direct romanization of the republic's name is Respublika Mordoviya.
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.
Time zone
Mordovia is located in the Moscow Time Zone (MSK/MSD).
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Encyclopedia
Republic of Mordovia (; Moksha/Erzya: ???????? ????????????) or Mordvinia is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). The direct romanization of the republic's name is Respublika Mordoviya.
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:
- 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:
Lakes
There are approximately five hundred lakes in Mordovia.
Natural resources
Natural resources include peat, mineral waters, and others.
Climate
Climate is moderately continental.
- Average January temperature:
- Average July temperature:
- Average annual precipitation: ~
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)
For the first half of 2007, the birth rate was 8.9 per 1000
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. During the Soviet period, school textbooks were published in each language.
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
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 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. , the head of the republic is Nikolay Merkushkin, who was elected in February 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.
, 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, practiced mostly by Tatars, is the biggest religious minority.
See also
External links
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