The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-10-30
A GREAT FAIR.
THE BIG RUSSIAN MART AT
NIJNII-NOVGOROD.
It is Attended by Two Hundred Thou
sand People Annually-Goods
That Are Chiefly Dealt in
Caravans of Boats.

Nijnii-Novgorod, situated at the con-
fuence of the rivers Okla and the Volga,
276 miles by rail east of Moscow, the
ancient capital of Russia, is composed of
three parts, the upper city or Kremlin,
built on three rising hills, rising to
height of some 400 feet; the lower town,
along the right bank of the Okla and
Volga; and the Fair and Kunavino sub
urb, on a fiat, sandy tongue of land be-
tween the Okla and Volga, connected
with the town by bridge of boats 90O
metres long and Is broad. The position
of the town is most picturesque. In the
upper portion is an alley of trees, the
Atkos, or terrace, from which may be OBJ
taiucd magnificent view of the mighty
Nolga and the plains through which 1t
flows. This is the Mother Volga, of
which you hear so much in Russia; and
indeed when we follow its course on the
map, and when we examine the products
that it concentrates at Nijnii-Novgorod,
we can understand why the Russians
speak of it so affectionately, and why the
annual fair at this point has become so
important in Russian commerce. From
its source to its mouth in the Caspian Sea
the Volga runs course of 23OO miles,
and by various systems of canals it is
connected with Moscow and St. Peters
burg. Above Nijnii-Novgorod the river
is navigated by some IA, 900 boats, en-
ploying 300, 900 men, below Mimi it is
navigated by 5000 ships, manned by
225, 900 hands; while on the lower Volga
immense fishing and fsh-curing enter
prises are carried on.
Although it numbers only 60, 600 in
habitants, Nfjnii-Novgorod boasts more
than fifty churches and chapels.
From time immemorial Russian mer
chants were wont to meet in the summer
with the merchants of the East at various
points on the Volga between the con-
huences of the Okla and the Kama. In
1924 the greatest fair was located on the
ground of the monastery of Jeltovodski,
near Makarieff, where it remained until
1917, when it was transferred fifty five
miles higher up the stream to Mimi
Noygorod. In order that we may re-
lieve our minds of too serious thoughts
before venturing to explore this famous
fair, let us plunge once for all into the
most recent statistics, and sum up briefly
its commercial importance. First of all,
the reader must bear in mind that the
Jahrmarka, as it is called, which takes
place annually from August 5th to Sep
tember 18th, is wholesale fair. The
goods chiefly dealt in arc cotton, woolen,
linen and silk stuffs, which constitute
about forty per cent. of the whole; next
in Importance come iron, corn, tea, furs,
salt, wine, fish, pottery and manufactured
goods. About four-ffths of the whole
goods brought to the fair are of Russian
origin. The basin of the Okla River
sends agricultural and manufactured pro-
ducts; the basin of the Kama sends metal
wares; corn and salt are produced in the
southeast provinces; fish comes up from
the lower Volga and the Caspian; Siberia,
the Caucasus, Central Asia and Persia send
variety of wares; and about ten per
cent. of the total amount of goods are
imported FROM Asia, namely, tea, via
Kiachta, Canton and Suez, raw cotton
and silk, leather wares, madder and
other manufactured goods. The chief
article Of trade is cotton, of which the
price is fixed at this fair; the prices of
raw wool and silk are also fixed here.
Economists will also readily demonstrate
that the whole iron production of the
Ural depends on the fair of Nijnii-Nov-
gorod. The caravans of boats laden
with iron start from the Ural works in
the spring, stay at the fair of Laishev,
which supplies the lower Volga, and then
proceed up to Novgorod in August. The
purchases of iron made at this fair for
consumption in Asia and middle Russia
determine the amount of credit that will
be granted for the next years business
to the owners of the iron-works, who are
largely dependent on this credit. The
corn and salt trade, and still more the
whole trade of Siberia and Turkistan,
are influenced by this fair, their success
depending entirely on the conditions of
credit which the merchants are able to
obtain at ijnii-Novgorod. 1t thus ap-
pears that the fair exercises direct in
fluence on all the leading branches of
Russian manufacture. During the six
weeks that it lasts it attracts daily some
200, 900 people from Russian and Asia!
the river is literally laden with thousands
of boats; the quays, extending over a
length of ten miles, are covered with
merchandise; on the fair ground proper
and around it 5000 shops are occupied; !;
and although no exact and absolutely
trustworthy statistics can be obtained, it
is safe to reckon the total business trans
acted at the fair at the sum of four hun
dred millions of rubles, or forty million
pounds sterling.-Harper's Magazine.