One of the 22 republics of the Russian Federation. It is located in the center of the European part of the Russian Federation in the interfluve of the Oka and Sura rivers.
In 1928, as part of the Middle Volga region, the Mordovian Okrug was formed, which then transformed into the Mordovian Autonomous Oblast, and in 1934 - into the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1990, the Declaration on the State and Legal Status of the Republic was adopted, the Mordovian ASSR was transformed into the Mordovian SSR.
The titular ethnic group is the Mordvins. Mordvins consist of two sub-ethnic groups - Moksha and Erzya, there are also ethnographic groups of Tengushev Mordvins and Karatai Mordvins. The defining marker of their differences from the titular nation of the country is the language. There are two languages of Mordvins - Moksha and Erzyan. Both belong to the Finno-Ugric group of the Uralic language family. Orthodoxy dominates among the Mordovians. However, there are also Old Believers and adherents of traditional beliefs.
According to the results of the 2010 All-Russia Population Census, the of Mordvins account for 40% of the region's population, while the Russians make up 53.4%.
Mordovia is one of the recognized centers of the Finno-Ugric world. Inter-ethnic and inter-confessional relations in the Republic are assessed as calm.