Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-11-05
NUMBER 10.
Russia's Fair.

Russia's Fair
/ THE MOST GIGANTIC TEMPORARY MARKET l.
h TIE woRLD-oSE MILLION VISITORS
is Si2O.OOO,OOO WORTH OF GOODS SOLD I,
a SIX wEEKs-How 1T IS CONDUCTED.
Correspondence Of the London Times
; MINI NovGoRoD, Aug. 27.-The "Great
/, Far Of NUni-NovgorOd'' to nearly the
whole of the Russian Empire, as well as "a
. the great portion of Central Asia. has bee n
for nearly two centuries, and still is. the
one great commercial event of the year.
There is nothing elsewhere in the least re-
sembling it, and this fact alone, to say moth
5 ing OF the extent OF its operations. should
I De suthclent to commend to the notice of the
travel-loving Briton the gigantic market
! to which the products of Eastern Russia, of
Siberia, of Central Asia. of Persia. and Of
China are annually sent for exhibition and
exchange. During his visit the Duke of
Edinburgh was lodged in the principal
building in the fair. which contains the
nall OF exchange, post, telegraph and other
oinces, as well as the apartments OF His Tx
cellency the Governor General of the prov-
lnca, who resides there during the fair
NUnl-NOvgOrod is situated at 4 distance
oi nearly 300 miles due east of Moscow. on
the right bank of the river Volga, and also
on the right bank of the river 0ka-that
Is, exactly opposite the junction of these
TWO rivers IL stands on u range OF heights
rising abruptly out of the water, and com
mands at once magnificent view of the
site OF the fair, of both rivers. which are
crowded with numerous barges and steam
ers, as well as the immense plain stretching
away TO the north and east And Contains
nearly fifty thousand inhabitants. and, ow-
ing 10 IT, geographical position, attracts to
itself a considerable trade apart from that
! OF the tair. The fair now occupies the low
! HAT ground on the left bank of the Okla. at
Its Junction with the NOlgs, opposite 10 the
town. The bed OF the Oke il here about a
! quarter OF Il mile broad, and the fair i only
| connected with the town by wooden bridges,
which are removed in winter For nearly
/ two hundred years prior to the date Of it,
establishment at Mini. the fair had been
held at point some eighty miles lower
down the Volga, and during that time had
absorbed into itself nearly the whole trade
OF the different fairs which have existed
in Russia from time immemorial. and /
among which that held near Kasan was the I
most famous. Under the rule Of Peter the 4
treat its management was undertaken hy I
the government, bat the merchants are by 4
degrees being left to look after their own
affairs. On its being transferred to Mini +
NOvgOrOd the government purchased the .
present site from the town and erected .
builings which serve stores and shops
The centre OF the iair Is. in fact, an im-
mense rectangular market-place. Ii con-
slsts OF twelve long rows of buildings two
stories high, with verandahs projecting 50
a to shelter goods and loot passengers from
the rain. These are parallel u one another
and form streets, some thirty or forty wards
wide
The centre street is considerably wider
than the others, and Is planted with trees
II leads IN one direction 10 the open square
IN front Of the Cathedral church. and in the
other to the principal houses a. 1t Is
called, OF the fair, which, a. have said,
contains the government and other officers,
as well as the apartments occupied by the
Governor during the fair.
Between it and the Okla are more shops
aud storehouses, and also the chapel Of St.
MarcariUs. on each side of which stands
tower with flagstaff The flags on these
towers are hoisted at the opening of the fair,
on the 18th of July, and lowered at its
close, on the 25th of August RUSSIAN style
People remain. however, fifteen days longer
Tor the settlement Of accounts. One SIDE Of
the rectangle containing the fair buildings
rests on the river the other three are sur
rounded by'a mOat in the shape OF horse
shoe. As the precautiOn against fire. the
moatis kept flied with water supplied from
lake, whose waters remain at this time Of
the year al an elevation OF some eighteen feet
above those o! the Volga. The popularity
OF the Mesteberskl Lake i Of the greatest
importance 10 the health of the fair popu- :
lation, for it Is by the flw of water from
this lake into the Volga that the immense
subterranean galleries which serve a. drains
and q variety OF other purposes are perl
odically washed and cleaned. la addition /
to the government buildings aireacv de-
scrlbed, there are now many others, which
additional press ofbusiness has caused from
time to time to be erected, a. well a great
many built by private persons. The fair Is.
in fact. while It lasts. a large town Of I50.-
600 inhabitants. full Of shops OF every sort ,
and kind. and it Is difficult 10 believe that 4
during the spring floods the whole Of it i J
inundated every year by the waters Of the !
Nolsa, when, scarcely part OF ,. remains
above water. Although iron stsnclIOns are i
freely used 10 their construction. and a.
though all that can possibly be removed J.
taken away as soon as the fair Is over. II l. l.
hard to understand how the houses survive
such an annual ordeal. Daring the six :
weeks OF fair time it Is calculated that no i,
less than | 600 900 people come and go. and J,
the average number assembled a. the tar At
any one given time Is not les than $50 200. 3.
The total value OF goods brought for sale
last year, amounted TO about f2i. .000. 900
sterling, nearly the whole 0fwhich changed
hands.
The administration of the fair is carried
on under the supervision of the governor OF ..
the province the arrangement OF all com !,
mercial matters and adjustment of difficult
ties being ntrusted 10 a committee of gentle y,
men I'd. the Fair Committee. chosen from L
among Che assembled merchants. The com
mlttee consists OF ii president. three alder
man, and three committeemeu, beside the IL
manager OF the fair-ofice and MAYOR of the z
town OF Mini. The management Of al
government property l. in the hands OF thi,
The letting 81 shops and store
houses and the erection of bridges and all
temporary work comes a.sO within their
province. The conditions on which the
shops and stores built by the government are
let to merchants and dealers are exceeding
" liberal. and the rent Is the sole profit
by the government on the transactiOnsl ef
the fair. NOimpOrts of any kind are levied
in the shape of license or duties. Shops are a
et TO the first applicant. the sole reserva- o
tion being that the occupier of the previous
years has prior claim. In order u pro- IN
mote competition. each row OF buildings is
devoted to 4 certain kind of merchandise, =
thus Obliging the merchants to cndeaypr 10 ii
lndersell one another. To prevent mOn0p- "a
1les, OF Oyer-speeulatiOn, no merchant is q.
allowed to hire more than three cOnsectiye
shops, nor is be allowed to occupy more
Than one shop unless they adjoin each other. "a
The number Of shops last year was 6,0o6, y"
and their total rent amounted to something w
over lbs 600.
People who come to Mini in the expeeta
tion of seeing very curious sight, hay "a
ng been told in the picturesque language
)f the Russians that it Is place where the cr
East and West meet once year to shake IA
hands and exchange goods with each other, 81
must be greatly disappointed. A few Per-
slams and Tartars. with here and there an -
Armenian, are all the living curiOsities that III
IRE to be seen. There are quantities oftea,
IF 0rietnal goods, but of Orientals them 10
,elyes there are nowadays very few indeed. pI
But the fair itself. instead of becoming OBJ OF
.olete, as might have been expected, has
become modernized, and is the centre of W
constantly increasing commerce. This has 81
)een notibly the case within the last few
Years, since the extension as far as Mini OF W
he railway from ST. Petersburg to Moscow; s
md should the railway be again extended 10
or even into Siberia, lit is probably
hat there would be but little dimunitiOn W
q the importance of the fair, since rail-
ways could never compete with water car st
'iage over so long a distance, except IN the
ase OF the lighter and more valuable goods.
ron and grain would still come TO MINI by ..
he same route as before. .
The contents of the various shops are OF -
Iery different description, aud yarv IRON u
hose stocked by the first firms of Moscow :,
iown to the merest sheds in which the Tar al
er and Persian traders exhibit their wares. A
such variety Of articles as are grouped to- nj
,ether in a comparatively small space is TO di
cen nowhere in the world except at Mini Sc
n fair time. As whole, the commodities ba
or sale are Of the useful rather than the nj
kind. though Persian rugs and y
arpets. and Russian gold and silver work :,
,ffer strong temptations to people over-bur- y
lsped with loose cash. IN