Republic of Mariy-El is located in the eastern part of the East European Plain, in the middle reach of the great Russian river Volga. Most territories of the Republic cover the left bank of the river. Winter usually starts in November, with January being the coldest month of the year. Mariy-El is a great place for winter sports – ski lovers and ice-skating fans are more than welcome. More than half of the territories of the Republic are covered with mixed forests – pines, fir-trees, spruces and birches make the air magnificently fresh. Dwellers of the Mariy-El care about local nature – there are two national reserve parks in the Republic.

Mariy-El territories hide unique wilderness of taiga nature, which are favourite places of local population for hiking. There are plenty of walking routes, many horse-riding routes and heaps of possible sites for water sports – canoeing, kayaking, fishing and etc. Accommodation is also quite diverse.

Long time ago these territories were inhabited by Finno-Ugric tribes, which lived on lands, which now belong to Western, Northern and Central Russia. Local people called themselves Mari. The name of the Republic means “man’s country”, since Mariy means man, and El means country. Between XIII and XV centuries Mari people were the part of the Golden Horde and Kazan khanate. Mari suffered from forced baptism and many of them left homes for taiga.

The capital of the Republic is Yoshkar Ola. Today cities and large villages are inhabited mainly by Russians, and Mari live in small settlements. The Republic has a branched transport network – an international airport, 14 railway stations and 51 passenger coach stations, a large river port in the city of Kozmodamiansk on the river Volga and several local river ports, which is important for transportation, since there are three rivers, suitable for navigation, in the Republic.

The Republic is also a large industrial centre – machine building industry and metalworking production, forest and woodworking industry, light and food industries employ local population and promote development of the region.