Mordovia

Republic of Mordovia Республика Мордовия (Russian) Мордовия Республикась (Mordvin)
—  Republic  —
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: State Anthem of the Republic of Mordovia[1]
Coordinates: 54°26′N 44°27′E / 54.433°N 44.450°ECoordinates: 54°26′N 44°27′E / 54.433°N 44.450°E
Political status
Country	Russia
Federal district	Volga[2]
Economic region	Volga-Vyatka[3]
Established	December 20, 1934[4]
Capital	Saransk
Government (as of August 2014)
• Head[5]	Vladimir Volkov[6]
• Legislature	State Assembly[5]
Statistics
Area (as of the 2002 Census)[7]
• Total	26,200 km^2 (10,100 sq mi)
Area rank	68th
Population (2010 Census)[8]
• Total	834,755
• Rank	60th
• Density[9]	31.86/km^2 (82.5/sq mi)
• Urban	60.4%
• Rural	39.6%
Population (July 2014 est.)
• Total	809,891[10]
Time zone(s)	MSK (UTC+03:00)[11]
ISO 3166-2	RU-MO
License plates	13, 113
Official languages	Russian;[12] Mordvin (Moksha and Erzya)[13]
Official website

The Republic of Mordovia (Russian: Респу́блика Мордо́вия, tr. Respublika Mordoviya; IPA: [rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə mɐrˈdovʲɪjə]; Moksha/Erzya: Мордовия Республикась,^[14] Mordoviya Respublikas), also known in English as Mordvinia, is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). Its capital is the city of Saransk. As of the 2010 Census, the population of the republic was 834,755.^[8] Ethnic Russians (53.4%) and Mordvins (40.0%) account for the majority of the population.

Geography

The republic is located in the eastern part of the East European Plain of Russia. The western part of the republic is situated in the Oka Don Plain; its eastern and central parts in the Volga Elevation.

• Area: 26,200 square kilometers (10,100 sq mi)
• Borders:
  • internal: Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (N), Chuvash Republic (NE/E), Ulyanovsk Oblast (E/SE), Penza Oblast (S/SW), Ryazan Oblast (W/NW)
• Highest point: 324 meters (1,063 ft) (crossing of the road from Bolshoy Maresev with the roads to Mokshaley, Pyaigiley, and Picheury)

Rivers

There are 114 rivers in the republic. Major rivers include:

• Alatyr River (Erzya: Rator)
• Issa River
• Moksha River
• Satis River
• Sivin River
• Sura River
• Vad River

Lakes

There are approximately five hundred lakes in the republic.

Natural resources

Natural resources include peat, mineral waters, and others.

Climate

The climate is moderately continental.

• Average January temperature: −11 °C (12 °F)
• Average July temperature: +19 °C (66 °F)
• Average annual precipitation: ~500 millimeters (20 in)

Administrative divisions

History

Map of the Republic of Mordovia

Old map of Mordovia

Early history

The 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 the 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 the 13th century. They established the khanate of the Golden Horde in 1241, subjugating the area of Mordovia. Mordvins fought against Mongols and later alongside Russians. Mordvin lands territorially belonged to Mukhsha Ulus. The Golden Horde disintegrated in the 1430s, which resulted in some Mordvins becoming subjects of the Khanate of Kazan, whereas others were incorporated into Muscovy.

Russian rule

When Ivan IV of Russia annexed the Khanate of Kazan in 1552, the Mordvin lands were subjugated to the Russian tsars. The Mordvin elite rapidly adopted 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 the mid-18th century. 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 the 18th century, the Latin alphabet was used in writing Mordvin, but from the mid-19th century, Cyrillic was used.

Part of the Soviet Union

During the Russian revolution and civil war, Mordovia was held by Bolsheviks from the beginning of the war. When the Bolsheviks prevailed in the war, Mordovia became a part of the Russian SFSR. In 1925, the Soviet government founded autonomous districts and village councils in the area of the Mordvins. During the Soviet era, two written languages were developed, one based on the Erzya dialect in 1922 and one on the Moksha dialect in 1923, both using Cyrillic script. The Mordovian Okrug was founded on July 16, 1928, and it was elevated to the status of an autonomous oblast on January 10, 1930. The autonomous oblast was transformed into the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on December 20, 1934.^[4]

Part of the Russian Federation

When the Soviet Union disintegrated, the Mordovian ASSR proclaimed itself the Republic of Mordovia in 1990, and remained a part of the Russian Federation. The Republic of Mordovia in its present form has existed since January 25, 1994.

Politics

Seat of the Government, completed in 1986

The supreme law is the Constitution of the Republic of Mordovia.

In a "wave" of sovereignty common among other former Russian autonomous republics, Mordovia established a presidency in 1991.

In that same year, Vasilly Guslyannikov, a physicist by training, was elected in the general election. Guslyannikov had previously been a senior researcher at the Institute of Power Electronics and was the leader of the republican branch of the Democratic Russia political movement.

In 1993, the Supreme Council of Mordovia abolished the post of president, on the basis of which Guslyannikov was removed from his post. Guslyannikov appealed the action of the supreme legislative body of the republic in the Russian Constitutional Court, but the Constitutional Court declared its conformity with the Constitution of Russia.

The head of the government in the Republic of Mordovia is the Head of the Republic. The office is currently held by the long-time Prime Minister, Vladimir Volkov, who was sworn in on May 14, 2012. His predecessor was Nikolay Merkushkin who held the office from 1995 to 2012.

The State Assembly is the legislature of the republic.

Economy

The most developed industries are machine construction, chemicals, 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-type settlements of Chamzinka and Komsomolsky.

Demographics

Population: 834,755 (2010 Census);^[8] 888,766 (2002 Census);^[15] 964,132 (1989 Census).^[16]

Vital statistics

Source: Russian Federal State Statistics Service

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Fertility rates
1970	1 026	15 423	9 048	6 375	15.0	8.8	6.2
1975	1 003	14 983	9 689	5 294	14.9	9.7	5.3
1980	984	14 320	10 287	4 033	14.6	10.5	4.1
1985	964	15 123	11 152	3 971	15.7	11.6	4.1
1990	963	12 910	11 018	1 892	13.4	11.4	2.0	1,87
1991	961	11 537	11 079	458	12.0	11.5	0.5	1,73
1992	961	10 215	11 574	- 1 359	10.6	12.0	- 1.4	1,55
1993	959	9 276	13 217	- 3 941	9.7	13.8	- 4.1	1,42
1994	956	8 916	14 748	- 5 832	9.3	15.4	- 6.1	1,37
1995	952	8 589	13 460	- 4 871	9.0	14.1	- 5.1	1,32
1996	946	7 883	13 579	- 5 696	8.3	14.4	- 6.0	1,22
1997	939	7 493	13 631	- 6 138	8.0	14.5	- 6.5	1,16
1998	931	7 469	13 116	- 5 647	8.0	14.1	- 6.1	1,16
1999	923	6 994	14 200	- 7 206	7.6	15.4	- 7.8	1,09
2000	913	7 148	14 838	- 7 690	7.8	16.2	- 8.4	1,12
2001	903	7 049	14 200	- 7 151	7.8	15.7	- 7.9	1,11
2002	891	7 131	14 918	- 7 787	8.0	16.7	- 8.7	1,12
2003	880	7 433	15 170	- 7 737	8.4	17.2	- 8.8	1,16
2004	873	7 689	14 768	- 7 079	8.8	16.9	- 8.1	1,20
2005	865	7 394	14 823	- 7 429	8.5	17.1	- 8.6	1,14
2006	858	7 367	13 981	- 6 614	8.6	16.3	- 7.7	1,14
2007	851	7 728	13 320	- 5 592	9.1	15.6	- 6.6	1,19
2008	846	8 215	13 167	- 4 952	9.7	15.6	- 5.9	1,28
2009	841	8 103	13 027	- 4 924	9.6	15.5	- 5.9	1,27
2010	835	7 974	13 106	- 5 132	9.5	15.7	- 6.1	1,24
2011	830	7 896	12 310	- 4 414	9.5	14.8	- 5.3	1,25
2012	822	8 180	11 925	- 3 745	10.0	14.5	- 4.5	1,32
2013	815	8 256	12 095	- 3 839	10.1	14.8	- 4.7	1,37
2014	811	8 133	11 621	- 3 488	10.0	14.3	- 4.3	1,37
2015	808	7 864	11 431	- 3 567	9.7	14.2	- 4.5	1,35(e)

Ethnic groups

The Mordvin people are a Finnic group speaking two related languages, Moksha and Erzya. The Mordvins identify themselves as separate ethnic groups:^[17] the Erzya and Moksha. Only one third of all Mordvinic languages speakers live in the Republic of Mordovia. During the Soviet period, school textbooks were published in each language.^[18]

According to the 2010 Census,^[8] Russians make up 53.4% of the republic's population, while ethnic Erzya and Moksha are only 40%. 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.

Ethnic group	1939 Census		1959 Census		1970 Census		1979 Census		1989 Census		2002 Census		2010 Census^1
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
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%	333,112	40.0%
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%	443,737	53.4%
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%	43,392	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%	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%	11,361	1.4%
^1 3,153 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.[19]

Religion

Religion in Mordovia (2012)^[20][21]

  Russian Orthodox (68.6%)

  Unaffiliated Christian (5%)

  Muslim (2%)

  Old Believers (1%)

  Spiritual but not religious (10%)

  Atheist (7%)

  Other or undeclared (6.4%)

According to a 2012 survey^[20] 68.6% of the population of Mordovia adhere to the Russian Orthodox Church, 5% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 2% are Muslims, 1% are Old Believers. In addition, 10% of the population declare to be "spiritual but not religious", 7% are atheist, and 6.4% follow other religions or did not give an answer to the question.^[20] Some Mordvins adhere to the Mordvin native religion.

Culture

There are many museums in the republic. 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.

Erzya literature experienced a renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s.

The House and Museum of F. Sychkov was opened March 11, 1970 at Kochelaevo, Kovylkinsky District after a reconstruction.

Mordovian cuisine is widespread in the country.

Education and sport

The most important facilities of higher education include Mordovian State University and Mordovian State Pedagogical Institute in Saransk. Mordovia, along with neighbour Chuvashia and Penza Oblast, has given some of the best modern racewalking athletes, both women (Olga Kaniskina, Anisya Kirdyapkina, Elena Lashmanova, Olena Shumkina, Irina Stankina) or men (Sergey Bakulin, Valeriy Borchin, Stanislav Emelyanov, Vladimir Kanaykin, Sergey Kirdyapkin, Sergey Morozov, Denis Nizhegorodov, Roman Rasskazov), apart from Alexei Nemov (see more in the article History of Mordovian sport).

Language

The Mordvinic languages,^[22] alternatively Mordvin languages,^[23] or Mordvinian languages, (Russian: Мордовские языки, Mordovskiye yazyki, the official Russian term for the language pair)^[24] are a subgroup of the Uralic languages, comprising the closely related Erzya language and Moksha language.^[25] Previously considered a single "Mordvin language",^[26] it is now treated as a small language family. Due to differences in phonology, lexicon, and grammar, Erzya and Moksha are not mutually intelligible, so the Russian language is often used for intergroup communications.^[27]

The two Mordvinic languages also have separate literary forms. The Erzya literary language was created in 1922 and the Mokshan in 1923.^[28]

The two Mordvinic languages are official languages of Mordovia alongside Russian.

See also

• Music in the Republic of Mordovia
• History of Mordovian sport

References

Notes

1. Law #50-Z
2. Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", №20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
3. Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
4. Republic of Mordovia. Administrative-Territorial Division, p. 4
5. Constitution of the Republic of Mordovia, Article 9.3
6. Official website of the Republic of Mordovia. Nikolay Ivanovich Merkushkin (Russian)
7. Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Территория, число районов, населённых пунктов и сельских администраций по субъектам Российской Федерации (Territory, Number of Districts, Inhabited Localities, and Rural Administration by Federal Subjects of the Russian Federation)". Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
8. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1" [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
9. The density value was calculated by dividing the population reported by the 2010 Census by the area shown in the "Area" field. Please note that this value may not be accurate as the area specified in the infobox is not necessarily reported for the same year as the population.
10. Republic of Mordovia Territorial Branch of the Federal State Statistics Service. Оценка численности постоянного населения Республики Мордовия на 1 июля 2014 г. (Russian)
11. Правительство Российской Федерации. Федеральный закон №107-ФЗ от 3 июня 2011 г. «Об исчислении времени», в ред. Федерального закона №248-ФЗ от 21 июля 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в Федеральный закон "Об исчислении времени"». Вступил в силу по истечении шестидесяти дней после дня официального опубликования (6 августа 2011 г.). Опубликован: "Российская газета", №120, 6 июня 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Federal Law #107-FZ of June 31, 2011 On Calculating Time, as amended by the Federal Law #248-FZ of July 21, 2014 On Amending Federal Law "On Calculating Time". Effective as of after sixty days following the day of the official publication.).
12. Official on the whole territory of Russia according to Article 68.1 of the Constitution of Russia.
13. Constitution of the Republic of Mordovia, Article 12
14. Official website of the Government of the Republic of Mordovia
15. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек" [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian). Retrieved August 9, 2014.
16. Demoscope Weekly (1989). "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров" [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
17. Encyclopaedia Britannica
18. Barbara A. Anderson and Brian D. Silver, "Equality, Efficiency, and Politics in Soviet Bilingual Education Policy, 1934-1980," American Political Science Review 78 (December 1984): 1019-1039.
19. http://www.perepis-2010.ru/news/detail.php?ID=6936
20. Arena - Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia. Sreda.org
21. 2012 Survey Maps. "Ogonek", № 34 (5243), 27/08/2012. Retrieved 24-09-2012.
22. Bright, William (1992). International Encyclopedia of Linguistics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-505196-4.
23. Mordvin languages @ google books
24. Dalby, Andrew (1998). Dictionary of Languages. Columbia University Press.
25. Grenoble, Lenore (2003). Language Policy in the Soviet Union. Springer. p. A80. ISBN 978-1-4020-1298-3.
26. Raun, Alo (1988). Sinor, Denis, ed. The Uralic languages: Description, history and foreign influences. BRILL. p. A96. ISBN 978-90-04-07741-6.
27. Minahan, James (2000). "Mordvin+language" One Europe, Many Nations. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. A489. ISBN 978-0-313-30984-7.
28. Wixman, Ronald (1984). The Peoples of the USSR. M.E. Sharpe. p. A137. ISBN 978-0-87332-506-6.

Sources

• Конституционное собрание Республики Мордовия. 21 сентября 1995 г. «Конституция Республики Мордовия (текст в ред. от 15 марта 2011 г.)», в ред. Закона №62-З от 3 сентября 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в статьи 71 и 94 Конституции Республики Мордовия». Вступил в силу 22 сентября 1995 г. Опубликован: "Известия Мордовии", №180, 22 сентября 1995 г. (Constitutional Assembly of the Republic of Mordovia. September 21, 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Mordovia (text of rev. of March 15, 2011), as amended by the Law #62-Z of September 3, 2015 On Amending Articles 71 and 94 of the Constitution of the Republic of Mordovia. Effective as of September 22, 1995.).
• Государственное Собрание Республики Мордовия. Закон №50-З от 19 ноября 2002 г. «О государственном гимне Республики Мордовия». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Известия Мордовии", #179, 21 ноября 2002 г. (State Assembly of the Republic of Mordovia. Law #50-Z of November 19, 2002 On the State Anthem of the Republic of Mordovia. Effective as of the day of official publication.).
• Государственное Собрание Республики Мордовия (State Assembly of the Republic of Mordovia). "Республика Мордовия. Административно-территориальное деление" (Republic of Mordovia. Administrative-Territorial Division). Саранск, 1998.

External links

• Official website of the Republic of Mordovia (Russian)
• International Relations Office of Mordovian State University (English) (Russian) (French)
• Official website of Mordovian State University (Russian)
• Official website of the National Library of the Republic of Mordovia (Russian)
• Official website of the State Puppet Theater of the Republic of Mordovia (Russian)
• Encyclopaedia about the Republic of Mordovia (Russian)