Mordovia
Russia · Europe
About Mordovia
Mordovia (Russian: Мордо́вия mahr-DOH-vee-yuh) is a region in the Middle Volga, named for its native Finno-Ugric minorities.
Mordovia travel guide
Understand
Mordovia is named for its native Finno-Ugric minorities, the Moksha and the Erzya, which by the Soviet Union were regarded as one people: Mordvins. Their languages are closely related but not mutually intelligible. The Moksha live primarily in the west of the republic; the Erzya in the north and northeast. Ethnic Russians, however, comprise the majority of Mordovia's population. Mordovia is mostly flat, heavily forested, and dotted with lakes. The main rivers cutting through the region are the Sura and the Moksha. In the first half of 1990s the level of social and economical development of the republic declined and by mid 1990s the livestock farming was in crisis. In the second half of 90s the situation began stabilizing, a part of plants adjusted to changing economic relations.
Getting there
Mordovia borders Ryazan Oblast to the west, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast to the north, Chuvashia to the east, Ulyanovsk Oblast to the southeast, and Penza Oblast to the south. Trains arrive to Saransk from Moscow (through Ryazan), Ulyanovsk, Penza, Nizhny Novgorod, Kanash, and Ulyanovsk. The overnight train from Moscow departs daily in the evening and arrives in Saransk around 8:00am.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.