Mordovia

The Republic of Mordovia (Russian: Респу́блика Мордо́вия; Moksha: Мордовия Республиксь, Mordoviya Respubliks’; Erzya: Мордовия Республикась, Mordoviya Respublikas’) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic) in Eastern Europe. Its capital is the city of Saransk. As of the 2010 Census, the population of the republic was 834,755. Ethnic Russians (53.4%) and Mordvins (40.0%) account for the majority of the population.

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 are located in the Volga Upland.

• 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)

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

There are approximately five hundred lakes in the republic.

Natural resources include peat, mineral waters, and others.

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)

The earliest archaeological signs of human beings in the area of Mordovia are from the Neolithic era. Finnic Mordvins are mentioned in written sources from the 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.

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.

After Ivan IV of Russia annexed the Khanate of Kazan in 1552, the Mordvin lands were subjugated by the Russian monarchy. 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 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 to write Mordvin, but from the mid-19th century, Cyrillic was used.

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, comprising the closely related Erzya language and Moksha language. 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, lexicon, and grammar, 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 was created in 1922 and the Mokshan in 1923.

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