Mari El (Russian: Марий Эл; Meadow Mari: Марий Эл; Hill Mari: Мары Эл), officially the Mari El Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is in the European Russia region of the country, along the northern bank of the Volga River, and is administratively part of the Volga Federal District. The republic has a population of 696,459 (2010 Census). Yoshkar-Ola is the capital and the largest city. Mari El is one of Russia's ethnic republics, established for the indigenous Mari people, a Finnic nation who have traditionally lived along the Volga River and Kama River. The majority of the republic's population are ethnic Russians (47.4%) and Mari (43.9%), with minority populations of Tatars and Chuvash. The official languages are Russian and Mari. Mari El is bordered by Nizhny Novgorod Oblast to the west, Kirov Oblast to the north, Tatarstan to the east, and Chuvashia to the south. From Wikipedia
