Merja
The Merja (also Merä ) were a Finno-Ugric people in the area of the Russian cities Moscow , Rostov , Kostroma , Yaroslavl and Vladimir . The Merja could have been a western branch of the Mari . The word Merja is therefore a Russian transcription of the word Мäрӹ (Märӛ), an existing self-name of the Western Mari. The toponyms of the Merja area have also been identified on the basis of the Mari . Furthermore, the medieval Russian chronicle Kazanskaya Istorija names the Cheremiss (Mari) as the indigenous inhabitants of Rostov.
Modern merjans
Even today, some of the residents of the Yaroslavl and Kostroma Oblasts call themselves Merjanen. Until 2010, however, these people were listed as Russians in the Russian census.
The 2010 feature film Silent Souls by Russian director Alexei Fedorschenko shows the pseudo-life of modern Merjanen, who actually no longer exist.
literature
- Rudolf A. Mark : The peoples of the former Soviet Union , publishing house for social sciences, 1992, ISBN 3531120751
- Manfred Scheuch: Atlas on contemporary history. Europe in the 20th Century , Bechtermünz Verlag, 2002, ISBN 3828904033
Web links
- Erzjan Ki - Erzjanland Mainly in Russian .
- Merjamaa (Marjanland) (in Russian ).