Saransk is the middle of everything. If I needed to find a starting point for a tourist's positive emotions, I would put Saransk there.

The people here are quite friendly. Not rude and not overly courteous, but they speak loudly enough for you to hear them and slowly enough not to annoy you. The city's architecture is sufficient for you to have something to see. The pizza in the cafe will have enough meat, and it will be heated enough so you don't burn yourself. The fruit drink is cool enough so you don't get sick, not too sour and not too sweet. There are enough cars on the road to make the city feel alive, but it doesn't look like a traffic jam hell. They will talk to you enough if you address them, but if you don't, then there's no need to talk much.

A nice, quiet, and clean city. A lot of jackdaws for some reason. And a cool local history museum.