Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1890-03-13
NIJNII.NoveoRoo EAlR.
Where the Merchants OF Europe Meet tn,
Tratlera frnrr, the Tlast


ence Of the Oka and Volga, 2T6 miles by
rall east OF Moscow is composed of three
parts, the upper city, or Kremlin, built on
three hills, rising to n height OF some 400
leet; the lower town, along the right bank
OF the Okla and Volga, and the Fair and
kunavino suburb, on q fiat, sandy tongue OF
land between the Okla and Volga. connected
with the town by n bridge of boats 900 me-
ters long aud % broad. The position Of the
town, writes Theodore Child, In Harper's
Magazine, is most picturesque. As we
stand on the bridge the foreground is
formed by the bistre waters of the Volga
crowded with boats and barges; in the mid
die distance are the quays and slopinR
banks, surmounted by the large red build
ings OF the lower town, with their white
window-frames; to the right, midway up
the hill, is tie vast monastery Of the An
nunciation, dating from the thirteenth cent
ury, with white domes and white ihclosing
walls; crowning the hill to the left is the
Kremlin, with its caprlciously irregular
walls and battlements, from amidst which
rise bulbous cupolas with gllded domes,
and towers with conical roofs; to the left,
also In the lower town, may be seen the
green domes of the Church of the Nativity,
built in bastard style of Italian Gothic, OF
red brick picked out with white stucco or
naments, the whole very eccentric in form
and color; still further to the left, beyond the
Kremlin, on the summit Of the hill, is an
alley Of trees, the Atkos, or terrace, from
which may be obtained a magnificent view
Of the mighty Volga and the plains through
which it flows. This is the Mother Volga,
the "MatuschlSa Wolga," 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 affectlonately,
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 1900 miles;
the extent of its watershed is three tunes
that of France; by various systems of
canals it is connected with Moscow, st.
Petersburg and the Balkans; by q canal
also i. is connected with the Dwlna, and
therefore with the White sea; by it's afflu-
ents, the Okla and the Kama, it acquires
total navigable system $500 miles In
length, and commands vast districts west
ward toward Toula and eastward as far as
the foot of the Ural Mountains. The con-
sequence is that the Volga is the greatest
waterway in Russia. Above Nijnii-Nov
gorod the river is navigated by some 100
boats, employing 100000 men; below Mimi
it is navigated by 5000 ships, manned by
225, 900 hands; while on the lower Volga i'm
mense fishing and fsh-curing enterprises
are carried on
Although it numbers only 90, 900 inhabit-
ants, Nijnii-Novgorod boasts more than
fifty churches and chapels.
From time immemorial Russian merchants
were won't to meet in the summer with the
merchants of the East at various points on
the Volga between the contiuences Of the
Okla and the Kama. In 1924 the greatest
fair was located on the ground Of the mon
astery of Jeltovodski, near Makarieff, where
it remained until 1917, when it was trans
ferred fifty five miles higher up the stream
to Nijnii-Novgorod. In order that we may
relieve 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 com
mercial importance. First of all, the reader
must bear in mind that the j hrmarka, as
it is called, which taxes place annually from
August 8 to September L, is wholesale
fair. The goods chiefly dealt in are cotton,
woolen, nen aud silk stuffs, which consti-
tute about forty per cent. OF the whole;
next in importance come iron, corn, tea,
furs, salt, wine, fish, pottery and manufact-
ured goods. About four-hfths of the whole
origin. The basin of the Oka river sends
agricultural and manufactured products;
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 eau
casus, Central Asia and Persia send vari-
ETY. of wares; and about ten per cent. of
the total amount of goods are i'm
ported 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-Novgorod. The cara
vans of boats laden with iron start from the
Ural works in the spring, stay at the fair
of Laishev, which supplies the lower VolRa,
and then proceed up TO Novgorod in Au-
gust. 2 he 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 busi-
ness 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 in
f1uenced by this fair, their success depend
ing entirely on the conditions of credit
which the merchants are able TO obtain at
| Nijnii-Novgorod. 1t thus appears that the
far exercises a direct influence on all the
leading branches of Russian manufacture.
During the SIX weeks that it lasts it at
tracts daily some 100000 people from Rus
sia and Asia; the river is literally laden
with thousands Of boats; the quays, ex-
t nding over length Of ten miles, are COW
cred with merchandise; on the fair ground
proper and around 1t 5000 shops are occu-
pied; and although no exact and absolutely
trustworthy statistics can be obtained, it is
safe to reckon the total business transacted
at the fair at the sum of four hundred mill
ions of rubles, or forty million pounds
sterling.