The Republic of Mordovia (russian: Респу́блика Мордо́вия, r=Respublika Mordoviya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə mɐrˈdovʲɪjə; mdf, Мордовия Республиксь, ''Mordovija Respublikś''; myv, Мордовия Республикась, ''Mordovija Respublikaś'') is a
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, located in
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
. Its
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
is the
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
of
Saransk
Saransk (russian: Саранск, p=sɐˈransk; mdf, Саранск ошсь, Saransk oš; myv, Саран ош, Saran oš) is the capital city of the Republic of Mordovia, Russia, as well as its financial and economic centre. It is located i ...
. As of the 2010 Census, the population of the republic was 834,755. Ethnic
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
(53.1%) and
Mordvins
The Mordvins (also Unified Mordvin people, Mordvinians, Mordovians; russian: мордва, Mordva, Mordvins (no equivalents in Moksha and Erzya)) is an obsolete but official term used in the Russian Federation to refer both to Erzyas and Moksh ...
(39.8%) account for the majority of the population.
History
Early history
The earliest archaeological signs of modern humans in the area of Mordovia are from the
Neolithic era
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
.
Mordvins
The Mordvins (also Unified Mordvin people, Mordvinians, Mordovians; russian: мордва, Mordva, Mordvins (no equivalents in Moksha and Erzya)) is an obsolete but official term used in the Russian Federation to refer both to Erzyas and Moksh ...
are mentioned in written sources from the 6th century. Later, Mordvins were under the influence of both
Volga Bulgaria
Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria, was a historic Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia. Volga Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic state wi ...
and the
Kievan Rus
Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
. Mordvin princes sometimes raided Muroma and Volga Bulgaria and often despoiled each other's holdings.
Mongol rule
The
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
s conquered vast areas of
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
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
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
ns. Mordvin lands territorially belonged to
Mukhsha Ulus Mukhsha Ulus ( tt-Cyrl, Мухша олысы}, , ), or Naruchat Duchy ( tt-Cyrl, Наручат бәклегел, , ; mdf, Мурунза, ''Murunza''; cu, Нароучадская орда, ''Naruchad Horde'') was a subdivision of Golden Horde i ...
. The Golden Horde disintegrated in the 1430s, which resulted in some Mordvins becoming subjects of the
Khanate of Kazan
The Khanate of Kazan ( tt, Казан ханлыгы, Kazan xanlıgı; russian: Казанское ханство, Kazanskoye khanstvo) was a medieval Tatar Turkic state that occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552 ...
, whereas others were incorporated into
Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to:
*Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555
* Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domes ...
.
Part of the Russian Empire
After
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584.
Ivan ...
annexed the
Khanate of Kazan
The Khanate of Kazan ( tt, Казан ханлыгы, Kazan xanlıgı; russian: Казанское ханство, Kazanskoye khanstvo) was a medieval Tatar Turkic state that occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552 ...
in 1552, the Mordvin lands were subjugated by the
Russian monarchy
This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mosco ...
. The Mordvin elite rapidly adopted the Russian language and Russian customs, whereas 1821 saw the publication of the New Testament in Erzya to address the non-elite population. In rural areas, the Mordvin culture was preserved. Russians started to convert Mordvins to
Orthodox Christianity
Orthodoxy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Late antiquity, A ...
in the mid-18th century. Mordvins gave up their own
shamanist
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
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
The Mordvinic languages, also known as the Mordvin, Mordovian or Mordvinian languages (russian: мордовские языки, ''mordovskiye yazyki''),
are a subgroup of the Uralic languages, comprising the closely related Erzya language and Mok ...
were mostly religious books. In the 18th century, the
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the o ...
was used to write Mordvin, but from the mid-19th century,
revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
and
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, Mordovia was held by
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
s from the beginning of the war. When the Bolsheviks prevailed in the war, Mordovia became a part of the
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
. 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
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...
dialect in 1923, both using
Cyrillic script
The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, ...
. The was founded on July 16, 1928, and it was elevated to the status of an autonomous oblast becoming the on January 10, 1930. The autonomous oblast was transformed into the
Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
The Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (russian: Мордовская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика, ''Mordovskaya Avtonomnaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika'' ...
on December 20, 1934.''Republic of Mordovia. Administrative-Territorial Division'', p. 4 Several forced labor Gulags were established under the Bolsheviks, such as
Temlag Temlag (Темла́г), Temnikovsky Corrective Labor Camp (Темниковский исправи́тельно-трудово́й ла́герь), or Temnikovsky ITL (Темниковский ИТЛ) was a camp of the Gulag labor camp system of ...
.
Part of the Russian Federation
When the Soviet Union disintegrated, the Mordovian ASSR proclaimed itself the Mordovian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1990 and remained a part of the Russian Federation. Mordovia was one of only two republics that did not proclaim
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
. On January 25, 1994, it was renamed the Republic of Mordovia.
Geography
The republic is located in the eastern part of the
East European Plain
The East European Plain (also called the Russian Plain, "Extending from eastern Poland through the entire European Russia to the Ural Mountaina, the ''East European Plain'' encompasses all of the Baltic states and Belarus, nearly all of Ukraine, a ...
of Russia. The western part of the republic is situated in the Oka–Don Plain; its eastern and central parts are located in the
Volga Upland
The Volga Upland, also known as the Volga Uplands, Volga Hills, or Volga Plateau, (Russian: Приволжская возвышенность - Privolzhskaya vozvyshennost) is a vast region of the East European Plain in the European part of Russ ...
.
*''Area'':
*''Borders'':
**''internal'':
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (russian: link=no, Нижегородская область, ''Nizhegorodskaya oblast''), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localiti ...
(N),
Chuvash Republic
Chuvashia (russian: Чувашия; cv, Чӑваш Ен), officially the Chuvash Republic — Chuvasia,; cv, Чӑваш Республики — Чӑваш Ен is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is the homeland of the Chuv ...
(NE/E),
Ulyanovsk Oblast
Ulyanovsk Oblast (russian: Ульяновская область, ''Ul’janovskaja oblast’'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It is located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Ulyanovsk. Populatio ...
(E/SE),
Penza Oblast
Penza Oblast (russian: Пе́нзенская о́бласть, ''Penzenskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Penza. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 1,386,186.
Geogr ...
(S/SW),
Ryazan Oblast
Ryazan Oblast ( rus, Рязанская область, r=Ryazanskaya oblast, p=rʲɪˈzanskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities ...
(W/NW)
*''Highest point'': (crossing of the road from
Bolshoy Maresev
Bolshoi (, meaning ''big'', ''large'', ''great'', ''grand'', etc.) may refer to:
*Bolshoi Theatre, a ballet and opera theatre in Moscow, Russia
**Bolshoi Ballet, a ballet company at the Bolshoi Theatre
*Bolshoi Theatre, Saint Petersburg, a ballet a ...
There are 114 rivers in the republic. Major rivers include:
*
Alatyr River
The Alatyr (russian: Ала́тырь) is a river in Mordovia in Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its ...
(Erzya: Rator)
*
Issa River
Issa or ISSA may refer to:
Acronyms and abbreviations
*Independent Schools Sports Association, now known as the Sports Association for Adelaide Schools
*Information Systems Security Association
* Instituto Superior de Secretariado y Administracio ...
*
Moksha River
Moksha (, ) is a river in central Russia, a right tributary of the Oka. It flows through Penza Oblast, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Ryazan Oblast and the Republic of Mordovia, and joins the Oka near Pyatnitsky Yar, near the city of Kasimov.
It is i ...
*
Satis River
The Satis () is a river in central Russia, a right tributary of the Moksha (river), Moksha.«Река САТ ...
Sura River
The Sura (russian: Сура́, cv, Сăр, ''Săr'') is a river in Russia, a north-flowing right tributary of the Volga. Its mouth on the Volga is about half way between Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan. It flows through Penza Oblast, Mordovia, Ulyano ...
There are approximately five hundred lakes in the republic.
Natural resources
Natural resources include
peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
,
mineral water
Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases.
Tra ...
s, and others.
Climate
The climate is moderately
continental
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' ( ...
.
*''Average January temperature'':
*''Average July temperature'':
*''Average annual
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
'': ~
Administrative divisions
Politics
The supreme law is the .
During the
Parade of Sovereignties
The parade of sovereignties (russian: Парад суверенитетов, translit=Parad suverenitetov) was a series of declarations of sovereignty of various degrees by the Soviet republics in the Soviet Union from 1988 to 1991. The declaratio ...
among other former Russian autonomous republics, Mordovia established a presidency in 1991.
In that same year,
Vasily Guslyannikov
Vasily Dmitriyevich Guslyannikov (russian: Василий Дмитриевич Гуслянников; born 21 April 1949) is a Russian retired politician, who served as first and only President of Mordovia in 1991–1993.
Biography
Vasily Gusl ...
, 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
A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...
.
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 Artyom Zdunov, who was made acting head on 18 November 2020. His predecessor was
Vladimir Volkov
Vladimir Volkov ( sr-Cyrl, Владимир Волков; born 6 June 1986) is a retired professional footballer. Born in Serbia, Volkov represented Montenegro internationally.
Club career Early career
Born in Serbian capital Belgrade,
who held the office from 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
Saransk (russian: Саранск, p=sɐˈransk; mdf, Саранск ошсь, Saransk oš; myv, Саран ош, Saran oš) is the capital city of the Republic of Mordovia, Russia, as well as its financial and economic centre. It is located i ...
Ruzayevka
Ruzayevka (russian: Руза́евка; mdf, Орозай, ''Orozaj''; myv, Оразай ош, ''Orazaj oš'') is a town in the Republic of Mordovia, Russia, located on the Insar River, southwest of Saransk. Population:
History
The first set ...
, and in the urban-type settlements of Chamzinka and Komsomolsky.
The largest companies in the region include Unimilk (branch of
Danone
Danone S.A. () is a French multinational corporation, multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of t ...
Volga Finnic
The Volga Finns (sometimes referred to as Eastern Finns) are a historical group of List of larger indigenous peoples of Russia, indigenous peoples of Russia living in the vicinity of the Volga, who speak Uralic languages. Their modern representa ...
group speaking two related languages,
Moksha
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...
and Erzya. The Mordvins identify themselves as separate ethnic groups: the Erzya and
Moksha
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...
. Only one-third of all
Mordvinic languages
The Mordvinic languages, also known as the Mordvin, Mordovian or Mordvinian languages (russian: мордовские языки, ''mordovskiye yazyki''),
are a subgroup of the Uralic languages, comprising the closely related Erzya language and Mok ...
speakers live in the Republic of Mordovia. During the Soviet period, school textbooks were published in each language.
According to the 2010 Census,
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
make up 53.4% of the republic's population, while ethnic Erzya and
Moksha
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...
are 39.8%. Other groups include
Tatars
The Tatars ()Tatar in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different
(5.2%),
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
(0.6%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population.
Religion
According to a 2012 survey, 68.6% of the population of Mordovia adhere to the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
(there are many churches and monasteries, for example,
Monastery of John the Evangelist in Makarovka
{{Infobox historic site
, name = Monastery of John the Evangelist in Makarovka
, native_name = Макаровский Иоанно-Богословский монастырь
, native_language = ru
, other_name =
, image ...
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, 2% are
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s, 1% are
Old Believers
Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...
. In addition, 10% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 7% are
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
, and 6.4% follow Buddhism only in the city of Saransk. Some Mordvins adhere to the
Mordvin native religion
Mordvin Neopaganism, or the Mordvin native religion or Erzyan native religion, is the modern revival of the ethnic religion of the Mordvins ( Erzya), peoples of Volga Finnic ethnic stock dwelling in the republic of Mordovia within Russia, or in b ...
.
Education
The most important facilities of higher education include
Mordovian State University
N. P. Ogarev's Mordovia State University (MSUO or OMSU for Ogarev Mordovia State University, or MRSU for Мордовский государственный университет имени Н. П. Огарева, ''Mordovskyi Gosudarstvennyi U ...
and
Mordovian State Pedagogical Institute
The Mordvins (also Unified Mordvin people, Mordvinians, Mordovians; russian: мордва, Mordva (slur), Mordva, Mordvins (no equivalents in Moksha language, Moksha and Erzya language, Erzya)) is an obsolete but official term used in the Russi ...
in Saransk.
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 performed in this theater are Russian fairy-tales.
Erzya literature
Erzya literature is literature written in the Erzya language, which is spoken by about half a million people in the Republic of Mordovia and adjacent regions in Russia. Erzya literature, written using Cyrillic, experienced a renaissance in the 19 ...
experienced a renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s.
The House and Museum of F. Sychkov was opened on March 11, 1970, at Kochelaevo,
Kovylkinsky District
Kovylkinsky District (russian: Ковы́лкинский райо́н; mdf, Лашмонь аймак, ''Lašmoń ajmak''; myv, Ковёлбуе, ''Kovölbuje'') is an administrativeConstitution of the Republic of Mordovia, Article 63 and ...
after a reconstruction.
Mordovian cuisine
Mordovian cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Mordovians, who now live in Mordovia and surrounding areas. It consists of a variety of dishes, based on geographical, cultural and climate features of the region, with fish traditionally feature ...
is widespread in the country.
Penal colonies
Mordovia is home to multiple penal colonies. Prisons in Mordovia are regarded by many as having conditions harsher than most Russian prisons. According to University of Helsinki sociologist Olga Zeveleva, who works with the
Gulag Echoes
The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...
project studying Russian prison conditions, "Prisons in Mordovia are notoriously terrible, even by Russian standards. The prisons there are known for the harsh regimes and human rights violations.” According to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', a popular saying among female prison inmates in Russia is “If you haven’t done time in Mordovia, you haven’t done time at all.” The prison was built as a part of a system of similar prisons in the region in the 1930s during the
Soviet era
The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...
. University of Oxford scholar Judith Pallot described the prison as being "stuck in time for 50 years." Violence from other prisoners and prison guards is not as frequent as in men's prisons, but isn't uncommon. As of 2022, among the prisoners held in Mordovia's penal colonies is Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen accused of spying and sentenced to 16 years.
Sport
Mordovia, along with neighbour
Chuvashia
Chuvashia (russian: Чувашия; cv, Чӑваш Ен), officially the Chuvash Republic — Chuvasia,; cv, Чӑваш Республики — Чӑваш Ен is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is the homeland of the Chuv ...
and
Penza Oblast
Penza Oblast (russian: Пе́нзенская о́бласть, ''Penzenskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Penza. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 1,386,186.
Geogr ...
, has given some of the best modern
racewalking
Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Referee, Race judges careful ...
athletes, both women (
Olga Kaniskina
Olga Nikolayevna Kaniskina (russian: О́льга Никола́евна Кани́ськина; born January 19, 1985 in Napolnaya Tavla, Kochkurovsky District, Mordovian ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) is a Russian coach and former race ...
,
Anisya Kirdyapkina
Anisya Byasyrovna Kirdyapkina (russian: Анися Бясыровна Кирдяпкина; née Kornikova russian: Корникова; born October 23, 1989) is a Russian race walker. She is married to Sergey Kirdyapkin, who is also a racewalker. ...
,
Elena Lashmanova
Elena Anatolyevna Lashmanova (russian: Елена Анатольевна Лашманова, born 9 April 1992 in Saransk, Mordovia) is a Russian race walker. In March 2022 she accepted a two-year ban, retroactive to March 2021, and all of her re ...
,
Olena Shumkina
Olena Shumkina (born 24 January 1988 in Atyuryevsky District, Mordovia, Russian SFSR) is a Ukrainian race walker. She competed in the 20 km kilometres event at the 2012 Summer Olympics.Irina Stankina) and men (
Sergey Bakulin
Sergey Vasilyevich Bakulin (russian: Серге́й Васильевич Бакулин; born 13 November 1986 in Insar, Mordvin ASSR) is a male race walker from Russia.
Biography
He was originally the 2011 World Champion in the 50 kilometre ...
,
Valeriy Borchin
Valeriy Viktorovich Borchin (russian: Вале́рий Ви́кторович Бо́рчин; born 11 September 1986) is a race walker from Russia who won the 2008 Olympic gold medal and was World champion over the 20 km distance. His Worl ...
,
Stanislav Emelyanov
Stanislav Valeryevich Emelyanov (russian: Станислав Валерьевич Емельянов; born 23 October 1990) is a former Russian race walker.
Doping
Bio passport ban
IAAF announced 28 July 2014 that Emelyanov was sanctioned fo ...
,
Vladimir Kanaykin
Vladimir Alekseevich Kanaykin (russian: Владимир Алексеевич Канайкин; born 21 March 1985) is a Russian race walker.
Career
He won the 2002 World Junior Championships in the 10 km race, took the silver medal at the ...
,
Sergey Kirdyapkin
Sergey Alexandrovich Kirdyapkin (russian: Серге́й Алекса́ндрович Кирдя́пкин; born 18 June 1980, in Insar, Mordovia) is a Russian race walker. He was stripped of the 2012 Olympic gold medal in the 50K walk, by d ...
Denis Nizhegorodov
Denis Gennadyevich Nizhegorodov (russian: Денис Геннадьевич Нижегородов; born 26 July 1980) is a retired Russian race walker. Between 2008 and 2014 he held the world record
A world record is usually the best global ...
,
Roman Rasskazov
Roman Vladimirovich Rasskazov (russian: Роман Владимирович Рассказов); born April 28, 1979 in Kovylkino, Mordovia) is a Russian race walker.
International competitions
See also
*List of world records in athletics
...
), apart from
Alexei Nemov
Alexei Yurievich Nemov (russian: link=no, Алексей Юрьевич Немов; born 28 May 1976 in Barashevo, Mordovia) is a former artistic gymnast from Russia. Nemov is most celebrated gymnasts of all time. During his career, he won fiv ...
(see more in the article
History of Mordovian sport Saransk is one of the major sport centers in Volga region because of the conditions made for the development of amateur and professional sports. In the city there are such large sport facilities as the Republican Sports Palace, the Ice Palace, :ru: ...
).
Language
The Mordvinic languages, alternatively Mordvin languages, or Mordvinian languages (russian: Мордовские языки, ''Mordovskiye yazyki'', the official Russian term for the language pair),
are a subgroup of the
Uralic languages
The Uralic languages (; sometimes called Uralian languages ) form a language family of 38 languages spoken by approximately 25million people, predominantly in Northern Eurasia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian (w ...
, comprising the closely related
Erzya language
The Erzya language (, , ), also Erzian or historically Arisa, is spoken by approximately 300,000 people in the northern, eastern and north-western parts of the Republic of Mordovia and adjacent regions of Nizhny Novgorod, Chuvashia, Penza, Samara ...
and
Moksha language
Moksha ( mdf, мокшень кяль, translit=mokšeň käľ, label=none, ) is a Mordvinic language of the Uralic family, with around 130,000 native speakers in 2010.
Moksha is the majority language in the western part of Mordovia.
Its closes ...
.
Previously considered a single "Mordvin language",
it is now treated as a small language grouping consisting of just two languages. Due to differences in
phonology
Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
,
lexicon
A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Koine Greek language, Greek word (), neuter of () ...
, and
grammar
In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...
, Erzya and Moksha are not mutually intelligible, so the Russian language is often used for intergroup communications.
The two Mordvinic languages also have separate literary forms. The Erzya
literary language
A literary language is the form (register) of a language used in written literature, which can be either a nonstandard dialect or a standardized variety of the language. Literary language sometimes is noticeably different from the spoken langu ...
was created in 1922 and the Mokshan in 1923.
The two Mordvinic languages are official languages of Mordovia along with
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
History of Mordovian sport Saransk is one of the major sport centers in Volga region because of the conditions made for the development of amateur and professional sports. In the city there are such large sport facilities as the Republican Sports Palace, the Ice Palace, :ru: ...
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
*Государственное Собрание Республики Мордовия (State Assembly of the Republic of Mordovia). "Республика Мордовия. Административно-территориальное деление" (''Republic of Mordovia. Administrative-Territorial Division''). Саранск, 1998.