Makarev Fair

Makar’ev Fair 

one of the biggest trade fairs in Russia. It originated in the mid-16th century at the Makar’ev monastery on the Volga (88 km downstream from Nizhny Novgorod). The fair was held annually in July. The favorable geographic location of the fair attracted Russian merchants from the central regions of the state and from the Volga Region, Siberia, and Pomor’e, as well as merchants from Transcaucasia, Middle Asia, Iran, and India. From the 1720’s the Makar’ev fair contributed to the formation of the all-Russian market. Furs, fabrics, fish, metalware, and grain were sold at the fair. At the end of the 17th century the value of goods brought to the fair reached 80,000 rubles, and at the end of the 18th century it reached 30 million rubles. In 1816 the main buildings of the fair were destroyed by fire. In 1817 the fair was moved to Nizhny Novgorod, where the Nizhny Novgorod fair was established.