1.1 Time zone

Mari El is located in the Moscow Time ZoneMoscow Time (MSK) is the time zone 3 hours ahead of UTC. WET or GMT or UTC , Red CET/MET, Green EET, Khaki MSK Moscow Summer Time (MSD) is UTC+4. Time zones. (MSK/MSD). UTCCoordinated Universal Time or UTC also sometimes referred to as Zulu time , the basis for civil time differs by an integral number of seconds from atomic time and a fractional number of seconds from UT1. Time zones around the world are expressed as positi offset is +0300 (MSK)/+0400 (MSD).

1.2 Rivers

There are 476 rivers in Mari El. Most of them are all considered to be minor: 10-50 m wide and .5-1.4 m deep. They usually freeze from mid- NovemberNovember is also the letter N in the NATO phonetic alphabet. November is the eleventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 30 days. From the Latin novem for " nine". It was originally the ninth month of the year in the early Roman calendar, w till mid- AprilApril is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 30 days. Derived from the Latin aprilis either from the Latin word aperire which means "to open", probably referring to growing plants in spring, or from the Etruscan name Apru for Aphr. Major rivers include:

• Bolshaya Kokshaga River
• Buy River
• Ilet River
• Kundysh River
• Lazh River
• Malaya Kokshaga River
• Nemda River
• Rutka River
• Urzhumka River
• Vetluga RiverVetluga ( Russian: ́) is a river in the Mari El Republic of Russia, left tributary of Volga. The river is navigable. Russian rivers. (navigable)
• Volga River (navigable)
• Yushut River

1.3 Lakes

There are over 200 lakes in Mari El, most of them with the area of less than 1 km² and depth of 1-3 m. Many lakes are located among swamps. Swamps cover large areas (10-70 km², up to 100 km²), and usually freeze in DecemberDecember is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days. From the Latin decem for " ten" (it was originally the tenth month of the year, before January and February were inserted). The winter solstice falls in December.. Average depth of the swamps is .5-1.5 m (up to 3 m), but they are impassable in fall and spring due to flooding.

Major lakes include:

• Karas Lake
• Kichiyer Lake
• Yalchik Lake
• Cheboksary Reservoir

1.4 Natural Resources

There are virtually no natural resources of industrial significance in the republic. Other resources include peat, mineral waters, and limestones.

1.5 Climate

Climate is moderately continental. Winters are moderately cold, snowy. Summers are warm, often rainy.

• Average January temperature: −13°C
• Average July temperature: +19°C
• Average annual precipitation: 450-500 mm

2 Administrative division

Main article: Administrative division of Mari El

3 Demographics

The Mari, formerly known as Cheremis, are a Volga-Finnic people speaking two closely related languages, Meadow Mari (марий йылме) and Hill Mari (мары йӹлмы). Meadow Mari is official in the republic, along with Russian, and Hill Mari is considered to be a variant.

The Mari did not have a designated territory before Russian Revolution in 1917. Now only 48.3% of the Mari live within Mari El. 4.1% of the Mari live outside of Russia.

Russians account for 47.5% of the population, followed by the Mari (42.9%) and Tatars (6.0%). Other ethnic groups include over 50 nationalities accounting for 3.6% of the population.

• Population: 727,979 (2002)
  • Urban: 459,687 (63.1%)
  • Rural: 268,292 (36.9%)
  • Male: 338,485 (46.5%)
  • Female: 389,494 (53.5%)
• Females per 1000 males: 1,151
• Average age: 36.7 years
  • Urban: 36.7 years
  • Rural: 36.7 years
  • Male: 34.0 years
  • Female: 39.0 years
• Number of households: 263,382 (with 717,938 people)
  • Urban: 173,246 (with 455,006 people)
  • Rural: 90,136 (with 262,932 people)

4 History

Mari Autonomous Oblast was established on November 4, 1920. It was re-organized into Mari ASSR on December 5, 1936.

The autonomous Mari El Republic in its present form was formed on December 22, 1990.

5 Politics

The head of government in the Mari El Republic is the President. As of 2004, the president is Leonid Igorevich Markelov , who was elected in January of 2001.

6 Economy

The most developed industries are machine construction, metal working, timber, woodworking, and food industries. Most of the industrial enterprises are located in the capital Yoshkar-Ola, as well as in the towns of Kozmodemyansk , Volzhsk , and Zvenigovo

6.1 Transportation

In the republic, there is one airport, 15 train stations, 53 bus stations, and a river port in Kozmodemyansk (on Volga River), as well as four other minor river ports.

7 Culture

There are eight museums in Mari El. The largest ones include the National Museum, the Museum of History, and the Republican Museum of Fine Arts in Yoshkar-Ola, and the Museum of Arts and History in Kozmodemyansk.

8 Education

The most important facilities of higher education include Mari State Technical University , Mari State University , and Mari State Pedagogical Institute ; all located in Yoshkar-Ola.

9 Religion

The most common confessions include Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Old Believers, and Islam. Traditional Mari religion (marla faith— Christianity with elements of Totemism and Shamanism) is also popular.

10 Tourism

Mari El is a favourite place of Tatarstan tourists. There is Marii Chodra national park in the valley of Ilet, with various attractions, such as boating, riding, mushrooming, ect. Marii Chodra is also favourite place of Kazan Tolkienist , where they use to play their battles.

11 External links

• Official website of the Mari El Republic (in Russian)
• Map of Mari El (in English)
• Photos and narratives from Mari El (in English)

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