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Mariy-El (Russia)

Marii~ Кl

by Zeljko Heimer and Antуnio Martins, 03 Mar 1999 |

Presentation of Mariy-El
Description of the flag
Different reverse
Wrong flags
Coat of Arms

See also:

Other sites:

Server of the Mari El Republic, showing an animated flag and pictures of the arms (small and large) and flag (small and large) of the republic.
reported by Jorge Candeias

Presentation of Mariy-El

(Note: You need an appropriate font to correctely view the cyrillic text on this page. See here transliteration details).

Name
    (english): Mariy-El
    (russian, short form): Марий Эл | Marii~ E^l
    (russian, long form): Республика Марий Эл | Respublika Marii~ E^l
Local official language: Maryan
Capital (russian): Йошкар-Ола | I~os^kar-Ola (english): Yoshkar-Ola
    (former name): Carevokoks^ai~sk | Царевококшайск, Krasnokoks^ai~sk | Краснококшайск (<1927)
Area: 23 200 km² (9 000 sq.mi.)
Population: 762 000 inhabitants in 1992
Status: Republic (Республика | Respublika) within the Russian Federation
Economic region: Volga-Vyatka
License plate code: 12
Ham radio code: MR
ISO 3166-2 code: ME
Flag adopted in 1992.09.03
Coat of arms adopted in 21.01.1993

Like Komi, Mari are Finnic. "Mari" means "men"; they call their land Marintasavalta (land of men).
Giuseppe Bottasini, quoting Aldo Ziggioto

Description of Flag

According the Resolution relative to the flag and the coat of arms of the Republic of Marii-El of the 3rd of September 1992, the flag has three horizontal stripes (1:2:1), the first is blue (B- = PMS 285C), the second is white and the third is red (R = PMS 032C). On the white stripe, at a distance to the hoist equal to the width of this white stripe, there is a local ornament (a stylised sun) and under, the name of the Republic in cyrillic letters:

The sun and the letters are dark red (PMS 186C). The sun is inscribed in an imaginary square of 1/4th of the width of the flag. The centre of the sun is at 1/5th of the top of the white stripe. The letters are in an imaginary square of 1/10 of the width of the flag on 1/4th of the width of the flag.

The colours blue, white and red remind the colours of the Russian flag. The ornament is a stylised sun, also the eternity, fertility, life. This dark brown red colour reminds the fact that in Marii El legends, it is said that life originally came from brown clay [see also the Bible].

Pascal Vagnat, 13 Sep 1997

The law is ambiguous about the vertical position of the imaginary "square" with the letters in it, relative to the sun and the edge of the red stripe.
Antуnio Martins, 13 Mar 1999

Different reverse

by Zeljko Heimer 11 May 1996 |

There are no letterings nor sun on the reverse of the flag, there is nothing on the white stripe. This flag is one of the rare flags to have an obverse different from the reverse.
Pascal Vagnat, 13 Sep 1997 and 28 Mar 1999

Wrong flags

It was asked if there was the colour purple on the Marii-El flag. The answer is no. It is also to be noted that flags without ornament (#1) never existed, as well as flags with a dark red line in the middle of the white stripe (#2).
Pascal Vagnat, 13 Sep 1997

Yet another case of "dark red" being referd as "purple" in translations from Russia, after the already known Chuvashian and Ossetian cases.
Antуnio Martins, 13 Mar 1999

Wrong flag #1

by Zeljko Heimer 11 May 1996

Wrong flag #2

by Antуnio Martins 04 Mar 1999

In our files we have information that the sun and the inscription were replaced by a dark red line in 1993.
Ralf Stelter, 27 Jun 1999

Coat of Arms

The coat-of-arm shows the same device on a golden shield, with ears of wheat, oak leaves and pine needles, all tied by the national colors.
Giuseppe Bottasini, quoting Aldo Ziggioto