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.
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.
The Mari are a Finno-Ugric people in Eastern Europe, who have traditionally lived along the Volga and Kama rivers in Russia. Almost half of Maris today live in the Mari El republic, with significant populations in the Bashkortostan and Tatarstan republics. In the past, the Mari have also been known as the Cheremisa or the Cheremis people in Russian and the Çirmeş in Tatar.
Orthodox Christianity is the most widely professed faith in Russia, with significant minorities of non-religious people and adherents of other faiths.
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.
Kozmodemyansk or Tsikmӓ is a town in the Mari El Republic, Russia, located at the confluence of the Vetluga and the Volga Rivers. Population: 21,257 (2010 Census); 22,771 (2002 Census); 24,746 (1989 Soviet census).
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.
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.
Kilemarsky 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. The area of the district is 3,255 square kilometers (1,257 sq mi). Its administrative center is the urban locality of Kilemary. As of the 2010 Census, the total population of the district was 13,604, with the population of Kilemary accounting for 29.9% of that number.
Mari-Tureksky District is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the fourteen in the Mari El Republic, Russia. It is located in the east of the republic. The area of the district is 1,500 square kilometers (580 sq mi). Its administrative center is the urban locality of Mari-Turek. As of the 2010 Census, the total population of the district was 23,155, with the population of Mari-Turek accounting for 22.3% of that number.
Medvedevsky District is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the fourteen in the Mari El Republic, Russia. It is located in the central and northern parts of the republic. The area of the district is 2,800 square kilometers (1,100 sq mi). Its administrative center is the urban locality of Medvedevo. As of the 2010 Census, the total population of the district was 67,703, with the population of Medvedevo accounting for 24.9% of that number.
Novotoryalsky District is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the fourteen in the Mari El Republic, Russia. It is located in the northeast of the republic. The area of the district is 920 square kilometers (360 sq mi). Its administrative center is the urban locality of Novy Toryal. As of the 2010 Census, the total population of the district was 17,124, with the population of Novy Toryal accounting for 38.7% of that number.
Sovetsky District is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the fourteen in the Mari El Republic, Russia. It is located in the center of the republic. The area of the district is 1,421 square kilometers (549 sq mi). Its administrative center is the urban locality of Sovetsky. As of the 2010 Census, the total population of the district was 31,081, with the population of the administrative center accounting for 34.3% of that number.
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.
Mari-Turek is an urban locality and the administrative center of Mari-Tureksky District of the Mari El Republic, Russia. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 5,164.
Privolzhsky is an urban locality in Volzhsky District of the Mari El Republic, Russia. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 4,159.
Mari Ushem is a Russian non-governmental organization, whose activity is dedicated to preservation of the Mari culture.
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.
