The Mari language, formerly known as the Cheremiss language, spoken by approximately 400,000 people, belongs to the Uralic language family. It is spoken primarily in the Mari Republic of the Russian Federation, as well as in the area along the Vyatka river basin and eastwards to the Urals. Mari speakers, known as the Mari, are found also in the Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Udmurtia, and Perm regions.
The Udmurts are a Permian (Finno-Ugric) ethnic group in Eastern Europe, who speak the Udmurt language. They mainly live in the republic of Udmurtia in Russia.
Udmurtia, officially the Udmurt Republic, is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is administratively part of the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Izhevsk.
Mari El, officially the Mari El Republic, 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. Yoshkar-Ola is the capital and largest city.
Yoshkar-Ola is the capital city of Mari El, Russia. Yoshkar-Ola means “red city” in Mari and was formerly known as Tsarevokokshaysk (Царевококшайск) before 1919, as Krasnokokshaysk (Краснококшайск) between 1919 and 1927 both after the Malaya Kokshaga River and Charla (Чарла), by the Mari people.
The Chuvash people are a Turkic ethnic group, a branch of the Oğurs, inhabiting an area stretching from the Idel-Ural region to Siberia.
The Mari, also formerly known as the Cheremis or Cheremisses, are a Finno-Ugric people in Eastern Europe, who have traditionally lived along the Volga and Kama rivers in Russia. They live mostly in the Mari El republic, with significant minorities in Bashkortostan, Perm Krai, Tatarstan and Udmurtia.
Mordvins is an official term used in the Russian Federation to refer both to Erzyas and Mokshas since 1928.
Hill Mari or Western Mari is a Uralic language closely related to Northwestern Mari and Meadow Mari, in which Hill Mari forms a Western Mari group with the former. Hill Mari is spoken in the Gornomariysky, Yurinsky and Kilemarsky districts of Mari El, Russia. It is written using the Hill Mari Cyrillic script and is co-official with Russian as well as Meadow Mari in the Mari El Republic.
The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of western Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are the second-largest ethnic group in Russia after ethnic Russians. Most of them live in the republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. Their native language is Tatar, a language of the Turkic language family. The predominant religion is Sunni Islam, followed by Orthodox Christianity.
Mari religion, also called Mari paganism, is the ethnic religion of the Mari people, a Volga Finnic ethnic group based in the republic of Mari El, in Russia. The religion has undergone changes over time, particularly under the influence of neighbouring monotheisms. In the last few decades, while keeping its traditional features in the countryside, an organised neopagan revival has taken place.
The Volga Finns are a historical group of peoples living in the vicinity of the Volga, who speak Uralic languages. Their modern representatives are the Mari people, the Erzya and the Moksha as well as speakers of the extinct Merya, Muromian and Meshchera languages.
Meadow Mari, also known as Meadow-Eastern Mari or Eastern Mari, is a standardised dialect of the Mari language used by about half a million people mostly in European Russia. Meadow Mari, Hill Mari, and Russian are official languages in the republic of Mari El in the Russian Federation.
Gornomariysky District is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the fourteen in the Mari El Republic, Russia. It is located in the west of the republic and is the only district on the right bank of the Volga River. It borders with Yurinsky District in the north, Kilemarsky District and the Chuvash Republic in the south, and with Nizhny Novgorod Oblast in the west. The area of the district is 1,730 square kilometers (670 sq mi). Its administrative center is the town of Kozmodemyansk. As of the 2010 Census, the total population of the district was 25,869.
Uralic neopaganism encompasses contemporary movements which have been reviving or revitalising the ethnic religions of the various peoples who speak Uralic languages. The movement has taken place since the 1980s and 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and alongside the ethnonational and cultural reawakening of the Finnic peoples of Russia, the Estonians and the Finns. In fact, Neopagan movements in Finland and Estonia have much older roots, dating from the early 20th century.
The Mishar Tatars, previously known as the Meshcheryaki (мещеряки), are the second largest subgroup of the Volga Tatars, after the Kazan Tatars. Traditionally, they have inhabited the middle and western side of Volga, including the nowadays Mordovia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Ryazan, Penza, Ulyanovsk, Orenburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara regions of Russia. Many have since relocated to Moscow. Mishars also comprise the majority of Finnish Tatars and Tatars living in other Nordic and Baltic countries.
Virjal or Viryal is a subgroup of Chuvash people. Denomination "Virjal", i. e. upper, living upstream of Volga River, is opposed to Anatri, i. e. Lower Chuvash, living downstream of Volga River.
The Hill Mari or Mountain Mari are a subgroup of the Mari people, a Volga Finnic ethnic group of Russia. They are concentrated in Gornomariysky District of the Mari El republic.
Semyk is a traditional holiday celebrated by the Mari people of the Volga region of Russia. It is celebrated in June, seven weeks after sorta keche, a commemoration of the deceased on the Thursday of Mari Easter week. Semyk involves veneration of ancestors, as well as weddings and feasts.
The Eastern Mari are a subgroup of the Mari people, a Volga Finnic ethnic group of Russia. Eastern Mari comprise those Mari living outside of the Mari El Republic, east of the Vyatka River in the Kama and Ural regions. They are concentrated in Bashkortostan, particularly in the Mishkinsky District, Birsky District, and in Neftekamsk. Eastern Mari populations are also found in southern Sverdlovsk Oblast and in Perm Krai. They make up between a quarter and a third of the general Mari population. According to academic Seppo Lallukka, Eastern Mari is more of a scholarly category than an ethnically unified subgroup.
