Yoshkar-Ola is the capital city of Mari El, Russia. Yoshkar-Ola means “red city” in Mari and was formerly known as Tsarevokokshaysk before 1919, as Krasnokokshaysk between 1919 and 1927 both after the Malaya Kokshaga River and Charla, by the Mari people. Yoshkar-Ola was established as a military fortress in 1584, following the Russian conquest of the Mari-inhabited regions of the Volga and its tributaries.