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Saransk is a city in central European Russia and the capital of the Republic of Mordovia. It is located in the Volga basin at the confluence of the Saranka and Insar rivers, about 630 km east of Moscow. Population: 304,866 (2002 Census). It is served by Saransk Airport and hosts the air base Lyambir. The population of Saransk formed 33.9 per cent of the total population of the Republic. Over 85 per cent of the inhabitants are ethnic Russians, which have moved to Saransk to form the work force to the giant size factories built to satisfy All Soviet Union demands. The common language is Russian, the Mordvian languages are rarely heard on the streets. According to the published figures the population sunk from 314.800 on January 1, 2000 to 304.866 on January 1, 2003. And have decreased ever since, a typical trend for smaller size provincial capitals when the importance of the in Soviet era created large industrial factories have lost their importance in internal consumption markets due competition of imported goods, like electric lamps, from abroad. |
