The Dickinson press., 1888-08-25
RUSSIA'S FAIR CITY,
GEORGE KENNAN GIVES A DEScRlP-
TON OF NlzHNI NOVGoRoD.

a City Utterly Deserted at One Season
of the Year and Swarming With Busy
Multitu,lcs at Another Time-Curious
| Contrasts.
Toa traveller visiting Nizhni Novgorod for
the first time there is something surprising,
and almost startling, in the appearance of
What he suploses to lie the city, and in the
scene presented to him us he energies from
the railway station and walks away from
the low bank of the Okla river in the dircc-
ti"n of the N"lga. The clcan we'll paved
streets; the long rows of substantial build
im@s; the spacious boulevard, shaded
10y lcafy birclrs and popals; the
canal, sl'ann"l at intervals 10y graceful
bridges: tho picturesque tower of the water
works: the enormous cathedral of Alexander
NcNsisi: the boursc: the theatres; the hotels;
tli" market, places all seem to Indicate Il
great ponllous center of life and commercial
activity; hut of living inhabitants there is
n" Il sign. Grass and weeds are growing in
the mll'lrof the empty streets and in the
rllinks of the trnvcl-wurn sidewalks; birds
are singing ir;lrhrssly in the trees that shade
less shops and warehouses arc all closed
barred, aud rallockrd; the bells are silent
in the pil'le,l hclfrics Of the churches, and
the aStonslrd stranger may perhaps wander
for Il mile between solid blocks of buildings
without seeing an open door, Il vehicle, or IL
singl" human hring. The city seems to have
been stricken ly prslilcncr and deserted
VI lh" newcomer remembers for what
MN rnI is lnl, nt, Al I,
l"llg, of course, in coming to the conclusion
that h" is on til" site of the famous fair; but
1h" first realization of the fact that the fair
is III itself II srparatr and Independent city,
and IL city which during nine months of every
year stands empty and deserted. comes to
l'in with the shock of /, great surprise The
lalr city "i Mimi Novgnrm,l is situated on II
low peninsula between the rivers Ok; and
F"lSh, Just above their junction, very much
rs New York city is situated ON Manhattan
Island, between East River and the Hudson.
I'm geographical position it bears the sam.
relation to the old town of Nzhmi Novgorod
that New York would bear to Jersey CITY if
lh" latter were elevated on IL steep tcrraccd
hlutl IOO feet above tll" level Of the Hudson.
AN EIlIEMElsAL LIFE
The Russian fair city, however, differs
from New York city in that it is mere
temporary mrk"t-; huge commercial cara
N;misary where 800 .OHO traders assemble every
year T." buy anl sell commodities In Sep
trmber it has frequently IL population of
nlnr" than llOHm souls. and contains nlcr-
rlainliSr valued ut Sto,NO,UOp while i'm
January, February or March all of its i'll
hall,;uts might In fed and sheltered i'm the
smallest of its hotels, and all of its goods
might ln put INTO a single one of its i'll
Vulnerable shops. Its life therefore. is a sort
of intermittent commercial fever, in which
an annual uaroX ySm of intense and unnatural
activity is followed by II long interval OF
torl"r and staguatinli.
1t s"rn,s almost incr,-lible ut first that Z.
city ,f such magnitude, city which con.
,.,ills churches, mosques, theatres, markets.
banks, hotels, II merchants exchange and
nearly 900 shops and inabituLlc buildings.
should have rphcnmlu Il life. and
should l,r completely abandoned every
year after il has served the purpose for
which it was created When | saw this
unnI,l" city for tie first time on a clear
frosty night i'll january, 1865, it presented
an extraordinary picture Of loneliness and
do>nl;,t"n The moonlight strcainel down
INTO its lung empty streets where the ull-
broken snow lay two feet deep upon the side
walks it touched with silver the white walls:
and swelling 'l"nlrs of the old fair cathedral.
from whose towers there came no clangor of
bells; it sIGirklcl on great snow,lrifts heal,ed
up against the doors of the empty houses.
and poured flood of pale light over thou
sands of -llum-c covered roofs; but it did NOT
reveal anywhere IL sign of n human being
Tho city seemed to be not only uuinhabiicd
but wholly abandoned to the arctic spirits of
solitude and frost.
a BUSY MrLTfTUDE.
When | saw it next, ut the height Of the
annual fair in the autumn of 1870, it was so
changed rs I" he almost unlecognizablc 1t
was then surrounded bv Il great forest of
shipping: its hot, dusty atmosphere thrilled
with the ncr>s;lnt whstllng of steamers:
merchandise to the valucof l2:,OUO, ,CAa, r,lbles
lay "n lis shores or was packed into its 5000
shops every building within its limits was
crowded: Go,nu lc"pl" wcr" crossing every
,l;,y il." l,pn'"',i. bridge which connected it
"li. ic old town: II military band was
Ma ying air, from Oil'cn,achs operas on TIN.
.r,n; boulevard in front Of the GOVERNOR.
house, and through all the streets of the IT,
animated and rcrwakcncd city poured a
rlrat tuin,ilnniS flood of human life
did no, 81" tn" fair city again until June,
ls>1. wh"n found it almost ts completely
deserted as on the occasion of my first visit,
tat in other ways greatly changed and i'm.
proved Substantial brick buildings had
taken the place of th" long rows Of intIam-
In;,l," ""o'!''i shops and sheds; the streets,
iii iiiany parts Of the city hal bcrn uc;tly
IHiNcd the number Of stores and warehouses
had largely increased, and the lower end of
the peninsula had been improved and ,lign-
fled hy the erection of the great Alexander
N"vSki ,atIlctlIul.--t;curpe KEENAN, in Til.