The symbol of the flag is the coat of arms which consists of a bear.

In 2006 the flag was modified to enlarge and centralize the Mari cultural symbol as well as removing the text and changing the ratio and shade of the stripes.

[1] The current flag was adopted by Leonid Markelov, noted for his authoritarian pro-Russian, anti-Mari, administration and his later arrest for accepting bribes, and was designed by Andrey Sannikov.

However, the adoption of the new flag was unusual, with Chairman of the Heraldic Council of the President of the Russian Federation, Georgy Vilinbakhov, noting that Markelov broke precedent for changing a republican symbol, as that only happens when an entity's border changes.

[1] The current flag is largely associated with Markelov and Putinism, and as such Russian opposition movements in coordination with the World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples have launched a political campaign to restore the 2006–2011 flag, citing the aforementioned legal irregularity of Markelov's change.