The Mari El Republic of the Russian Federation, where the last pagans of Europe live, draws attention with its unique feature of hosting different ethnic cultures and preserving traditions dating back hundreds of years.
MOSCOW (AA) – ALI CURA –The Mari El Republic, a federal autonomous region, borders the Kirov Oblast to the north and east, the Republic of Tatarstan to the southeast, Chuvashia to the southwest, and the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast to the west.
Located in central Russia, the 23,400 square kilometer country has a population of approximately 670 thousand.
In the region where various ethnic groups live and keep their cultural traditions alive, 45 percent of the population is Russian, 42 percent is Mari, 6 percent is Tatar, and 1 percent is Chuvash and Udmurt.
Mari El, the homeland of the Maris (Chirmishers), one of the Finno-Ugric peoples living in Russia, means the homeland of the Maris. In the local language, the word “Mari” also means man, and “El” means country, homeland.
The most important feature of the region, which is part of Russia’s historical and cultural diversity among the country’s federal structures, is the preservation of the Mari people as an ethnic group.
That’s why it’s striking that local people speak Mari among themselves on the streets. Although the Mari language has different accents, the “mountain” and “plain” accents are widely used.
– They worship in sacred groves
The Mari people are known as the “last pagans of Europe.” The Mari people, who have an ancient religious belief based on connecting with nature for over a thousand years, perform some rituals in “sacred groves.”
The Mari people, who are also influenced by Islam and Christianity, offer their traditional foods to the spirits they believe live in trees during rituals.
The Mari people cook meals in the sacred grove during the festival called “Purification” and celebrate their traditional festivals regularly, protecting their cultural heritage and making efforts to protect it.
Mari El is also a center of attention with its natural beauty and the richness of the forests and steppes that make up more than half of the country.
Along with vast plains, the region has rich water resources with nearly 700 lakes, more than 400 rivers, streams and creeks, and has the cleanest water reserves in the European part of Russia.
– The capital Yoshkar Ola is different from other cities in Russia
The name Yoshkar Ola, the capital of Mari El, means “red city” in the local language. The streets of the capital are predominantly red buildings.
The most important feature that distinguishes Yoshkar Ola, which is celebrating its 440th anniversary this year, from other cities in Russia is the city’s European-style architecture.In the capital, where the rich culture of the Mari people is reflected among European-style contemporary architectural structures, the square adorns the city with many historical and unique structures.
On the banks of the Malaya Kokshaga River, one of the branches of the Volga that runs through the middle of the city, buildings resembling those in Belgium’s famous tourist city Bruges and the Dutch capital Amsterdam are dazzling.
Resembling the towers in the Kremlin Palace in Moscow, the Spasskaya Tower and the Blagoveshchenskaya Tower, which extend towards the sky on both sides of the city, seem to greet each other.
Blagovenşenskaya Tower also serves as a cultural center where various exhibitions are held. The tower features an exhibition called “Family Album” about the earthquakes known as the disaster of the century that occurred in Turkey on February 6, 2023. Artist Sergey Stroitelev displays a family album he found among the ruins in Hatay after the earthquake, in fabrics, giving the message that Turkey will eventually overcome this pain.
Like many cities in Russia, Yoshkar Ola also has a Kremlin. The Tsarekokshaiskiy Kremlin was built in 2009 and is the youngest Kremlin in Russia. The facility hosts many historical and cultural events.
– Unique works of art are found in Yoshkar Ola
Some symbols of Christian traditions are located in architectural structures in important places of the city. The moving statues representing “Jesus’s Entry into Jerusalem” in Patriarchal Square are described as unique because they are the first of their kind in Russia.
A similar mobile structure bearing the icon of the Virgin Mary is located in the clock tower on Obolonskiy-Nogotkov Square.
Areas such as Nikonov Square and the Square of the Blessed Virgin Mary are also among the places that attract tourists’ attention.
– Sheremetyev Fortress contains different architectural styles
Tourists are also interested in the cultural heritage of the Kozmodemyansk region, located on the banks of the Volga River in the southeast of the country. Sheremetyev Castle, in particular, is called the pearl of the region with its 200-year history. The castle combines all seemingly incompatible architectural styles: neo-gothic, gothic, old Russian, romanesque and baroque.
In the ethnocultural facilities located in the village of Shorunja, west of Yoshkar Ola, the life, culture, local clothes, cuisine and handicrafts of the Mari people in the past centuries are introduced.
– Ravioli and bazlama have an important place in the culinary culture.
Bazlama and manti, which have an important place in the traditional culinary culture of the Mari people, can be found in many restaurants in the region. The most common of these is a type of bazlama called koman-melna, which consists of several layers with different ingredients inside and is baked in the oven. There are also varieties of this bazlama made with potatoes and wheat porridge. A type of manti called podkogilo and a type of closed pastry called kravets, which has meat inside, are also frequently cooked in the kitchens of the Mari people. The Turkish dessert “Uyacha”, which resembles a lokma, adorns tables especially on festive days.
The leader of the Mari El Republic, Yuriy Zaytsev, and the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Lidiya Batyukova, are working to promote the region internationally, both in social and economic matters and in the tourism sector. The region, which has a favorable economic and geographical location in the European part of Russia, provides favorable conditions for increasing productivity, and state support is provided for investment activities.
