The large and ancient city of Yoshkar-Ola is very interesting from all points of view. Several different cultures mixed here, and although the influence of European civilization is noticeable here, Yoshkar-Ola still remains in something unique, completely unlike other Russian cities. Have you been here? If not, then on occasion it is worth fixing.
The name of the city comes from the Mari language. “Yoshkar” means “red”, and “ol” means “city”. Yoshkar-Ola has been the capital of the Mari El Republic since 1936. Previously, it was called Tsarevokokshaysk, and then Krasnokokshaysk. The Russian population in the multinational Yoshkar-Ola is approximately two-thirds. About a third are Maris. In general, representatives of almost a hundred different nations live here. In addition to Orthodoxy and Islam, old pagan beliefs are common here. The first people on the territory of modern Yoshkar-Ola appeared about 14 thousand years ago.
Once these lands were part of the Kazan Khanate, formed after the collapse of the Golden Horde. At the beginning of the last century, there were only 13 streets in Yoshkar-Ola, about 300 buildings. The area of the city today exceeds one hundred square kilometers. The Malaya Kokshaga River flows through Yoshkar-Ola and divides it into two approximately equal parts. There are a lot of green spaces, thanks to which this city is considered one of the most landscaped in Russia. Yoshkar-Ola was included in the list of historical cities of Russia for 20 years, from 1990 to 2010. About a third of the total population of the Mari-El Republic lives here.
There are more trolleybuses in Yoshkar-Ola than buses. Like many other Russian cities, Yoshkar-Ola was once founded as a border fortress. One of the quarters of the Hungarian city of Szombathely is named after the Mari capital. In Yoshkar-Ola there are many architectural copies. It has its own Spasskaya tower, its own La Scala theater, its own Bruges embankment and much more. The local stone Kremlin was restored in 2009. Now it is an important part of the historical center. In Yoshkar-Ola there is a funny monument to the “Yoshkin cat”, which is so often mentioned in various sayings. One of the mountain peaks in Kazakhstan is named after this city. It is called Yoshkar-Ola.
