The Mari were a UNPO member between 1991 and 2008.

The Mari people, an Indigenous Finno-Ugric nation of the Volga region in the Russian Federation, were represented at the UNPO. Their participation focused on defending linguistic rights, cultural preservation, and political freedoms within the Mari El Republic, where increasing centralisation under federal authorities has eroded earlier guarantees of autonomy. Despite constitutional recognition of the Mari language, policies of Russification and administrative consolidation have sharply reduced Mari-language instruction in schools and weakened its presence in public schools. 

During their UNPO membership, Mari representatives raised concerns about the suppression of independent media, political intimidation of cultural activists, and interference in local governance. The 2005 UNPO resolution on the situation in Mari El condemned the dismissal and harassment of Mari journalists, writers, and educators who criticised state policies, as well as restrictions on freedom of assembly. These reports were consistent with findings by international observers documenting discrimination against Mari civil society and the marginalisation of Indigenous religious and environmental movements. Within UNPO, the Mari delegation advocated for democratic reform, freedom of expression, and minority protection, situating their struggle within the broader context of Finno-Ugric peoples seeking to preserve their identity and autonomy within the Russian Federation. 

The Mari are an Indigenous Finno-Ugric people traditionally inhabiting the forested regions along the middle Volga and Vyatka rivers in the Mari El Republic and neighbouring areas of Russia. Their distinct identity is rooted in the Mari language, which belongs to the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic language family and has two main dialect groups—Hill Mari (Kuryk Mari) and Meadow Mari (Olyk Mari). Despite official recognition, the language’s public use has declined due to Russification and limited access to Mari-language education.

Culturally, the Mari have preserved a unique synthesis of ancient nature-based spirituality, agrarian customs, and Finno-Ugric artistic traditions. Their religion—sometimes described as Europe’s last surviving pre-Christian faith—centres on reverence for the natural world, with sacred groves (küsoto) serving as places of communal worship and seasonal ceremonies. These rituals, conducted by spiritual leaders (kart), express harmony between humans and nature, reflecting a worldview that continues to shape Mari cultural ethics. Traditional music, embroidery, and folklore remain vital forms of expression. The Mari are known for polyphonic singing, the use of folk instruments such as the kusle (zither), and oral epics celebrating community values and environmental balance. Festivals, including the spring Semik and autumn harvest rites, continue to reinforce communal solidarity. Despite assimilation pressures, Mari artists, writers, and educators have revitalised cultural production in recent decades through local museums, theatres, and language initiatives.

The Mari, also known as the Cheremis, are one of the oldest Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga region, with archaeological evidence suggesting their ancestors settled along the middle Volga and Vyatka rivers more than a millennium ago. Their traditional territory lay between the Volga, Vetluga, and Vyatka rivers—an area rich in forests and rivers that shaped their livelihood as agriculturalists, hunters, and fishers. The Mari developed distinctive clan-based communities, local self-governance structures, and a spiritual system deeply tied to nature. By the early Middle Ages, they maintained trade and cultural exchanges with neighbouring Turkic, Slavic, and Permian peoples, while preserving their Finno-Ugric linguistic and cultural heritage.

In the 16th century, the expansion of Muscovy under Ivan IV brought the Volga region under Russian control following the conquest of the Kazan Khanate. The Mari resisted incorporation in what became known as the Cheremis Wars, a series of uprisings against Russian colonisation and Christianisation. After their defeat, the Mari were subjected to forced resettlement, taxation, and missionary campaigns, though many retained their traditional religion in defiance of conversion policies. Over subsequent centuries, Russian administrative reforms and Orthodox missions gradually reduced Mari autonomy, but their communities remained concentrated in forested areas, preserving their language and rituals despite mounting pressure.

In the 20th century, the Soviet era brought both opportunities and repression. The Mari Autonomous Oblast was established in 1920, becoming the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1936—marking formal recognition of Mari nationhood within the USSR. However, Stalinist purges and collectivisation devastated Mari cultural life: writers, teachers, and intellectuals were persecuted, sacred groves destroyed, and the Mari language marginalised in public administration. During the later Soviet period, limited cultural revival occurred, but centralised control constrained genuine autonomy. Following the collapse of the USSR, the region became the Mari El Republic within the Russian Federation in 1992. Since the early 2000s, increasing federal centralisation and nationalist policies have eroded many of the cultural and political rights gained in the post-Soviet era. Reports from human rights organisations and the UNPO (2005 Resolution on Mari Rights) documented restrictions on media, education, and civic expression, and the intimidation of Mari cultural leaders critical of local and federal authorities.