The 95th birthday of the Republic of Mordovia celebrated on 10 January

As is already customary in the Republic of Mordovia, no major events were held on the occasion of the Republic’s birthday. Exhibitions dedicated to the anniversary of the autonomy were opened in local museums and the Central Library. Some schools even dedicated a local history lesson to autonomy. However, the central newspapers of the Republic of Mordovia reported that, in fact, the Republic’s birthday is celebrated throughout the year, with concerts and conferences.

2025 will also mark 30 years since the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Mordovia.

However, the republican leadership found it necessary to congratulate the population on the occasion of the Republic’s birthday. This was done, for example, also by the local Komsomol organisation. We will summarise these greetings here. Thus, the reader can get an idea of what the leaders of the Republic and the Komsomol organisation consider important.

Official congratulations in Mordovia

Head of State Artyom Zdunov congratulated the people of the Republic on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the autonomy of Mordovia. He stressed that this event has great significance. According to him, the formation of the autonomous oblast contributed to the creation of Mordovian statehood, as it formed the basis of the later republic. This in turn, he said, contributed to the development of industry, agriculture and the national languages.

Mordovia is part of Greater Russia, he assured. He noted that the Mordovian people are proud of their famous compatriots, of preserving Mordovian culture and respecting the customs of all the peoples living in the republic. He added that every resident of the republic contributes to the prosperity of the region and that together they build roads and housing, renovate polyclinics and cultural institutions, and open new schools. Particular attention will be paid to large families and the development of talented young people. Zdunov stressed that with the support of President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government, the Republic of Mordovia is steadily developing. He wished everyone good health, peace, prosperity and new achievements for the benefit of Mordovia and Russia.

Vladimir Chibirkin, Chairman of the State Council, sent a similar greeting to the nation. He highlighted the fact that the republic is proud of compatriots who defended the homeland and secured victory over fascism. He also added that even today many compatriots take part in special military operations. According to him, these heroic deeds inspire the people of Mordovia to new achievements.

Komsomol’s greetings

The Mordovian branch of the Leninist Komsomol of the Russian Federation congratulated the people of the Republic on the occasion. It noted that the formation of Mordovian autonomy was inextricably linked to the country’s Leninist-Stalinist nationalist policy, strengthening socialist society. As a result, the region experienced rapid socio-economic, educational and cultural development.

The Komsomol organisation expressed its deep regret that after 1991 many of the achievements of that time had disappeared. At the same time, it reaffirmed that local communists and the Komsomol respect the harmony of ethnic relations and civil peace – the legacy of the Soviet era – in the republic. It was also affirmed that the Komsomol respects the achievements of the Autonomous Republic in the fields of industry and agriculture. It also added that there are many problems, especially in the field of demography, due to which the population of the republic is decreasing.

It was regretted that the people of the republic have a low standard of living due to low incomes. There is also a social degradation of the villages, especially in education and health. In their congratulatory message, the leaders of the Republic called on the people of the Republic not to embellish the reality of the situation, to refrain from grandiosity and ostentation, and wished the people of the Republic good health, success and peaceful skies.

History of the Republic of Mordovia

The newspaper Izvestia published Aleksandr Efremov‘s account of the story of Mordovia’s autonomy.

It should be added as a comment that the Mordvins (Erzya and Moksha) are an extremely dispersed people, with few large territories where they live compactly. The territorial dispersion of the Erzya and Moksha is the result of wars, violent Christianisation and uprisings. As recently as 2000, Mordvins living in Mordovia accounted for just over 30% of the total number of Mordvins living in the Russian Federation. The Mordvins were the last major Finno-Ugric people to gain territorial national autonomy.

In the same Izvestia article, Nina Noskova, Head of the Department of the Republican Museum of Local History, introduces the history of Mordovia:

‘On 10 January 1930, the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee adopted a decision to transform the Mordovia District of the Central Volga Krai into the Mordovia Autonomous Oblast with its centre in Saransk. This marked the end of a ten-year period of statehood for Mordovia, which had begun in 1921 in Samara. On the initiative of the Commissariat for National Relations, a congress of communists of Mordovian nationality was convened in Samara in June 1921 to discuss the question of territorial autonomy. There were different variants of autonomy, but no consensus, and the central authorities were in no hurry to grant autonomy. However, national village councils were established in municipalities and counties.

The first practical step was the establishment of the Saransk, later Mordovian, district in the Central Volga Krai in 1928. In 1930, however, the Mordovia Autonomous Oblast was formed on its basis and the Temnikov and Arzamass districts were merged with the district. On 20 December 1934 the autonomous oblast was transformed into an autonomous republic. This meant its own constitution, flag and anthem. There was a lot of confusion around which city would become the capital of the republic. Saransk had been only the district centre. The rival Ruzajevka was an important transport hub and industrial centre, with many more workers than Saransk, the second largest city in the Penza province. However, it was decided that Saransk would be the capital of the autonomous Soviet republic.’