Nizhni Novgorod

(Russian ˈniʒnij ˈnɔvɡərət) n (Placename) a city and port in central Russia, at the confluence of the Volga and Oka Rivers: situated on the Volga route from the Baltic to central Asia; birthplace of Maxim Gorki. Pop: 1 288 000 (2005 est). Former name (1932–91): Gorki

Nizh•ni Nov•go•rod

(ˈnɪʒ ni ˈnɒv gəˌrɒd)
n. a city in the Russian Federation in Europe, E of Moscow, on the Volga River. 1,438,000. Formerly (1932–91), Gorki.

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Nizhni Novgorod - an industrial city in the European part of Russia; birthplace of Maksim GorkyGorkiy, Nizhnyi Novgorod, Gorki, GorkyRussian Federation, Russia - a federation in northeastern Europe and northern Asia; formerly Soviet Russia; since 1991 an independent state

Nizhni Novgorod

a city and port in central Russia, at the confluence of the Volga and Oka Rivers: situated on the Volga route from the Baltic to central Asia; birthplace of Maxim Gorki. Pop.: 1 288 000 (2005 est.)

Nizhni Novgorod

VariesThe great medieval fair held at Nizhni Novgorod, Russia, began in the 16th century at the monastery of St. Macarius, a popular place of pilgrimage. It grew so large that the little town of Makaraev could barely accommodate it, and when it burned to the ground in 1816, it was relocated to a new town that had been built expressly to house it. The new city was located on the sandy plains where the Oka and Volga rivers flower together, making it an ideal spot for international trade. It was called Nizhni Novgorod or "Lower New City."
Nizhni Novgorod was largely a barter fair and entirely a market of direct trade, where no merchant placed orders for goods he could not inspect. Everything sold was displayed there, including cloth, furs, hides, cotton, iron, and half-wild horses. Although the height of the fair was in August, caravans and sailboats began to arrive in June. The bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church officially opened the fair with a solemn service on July 15th, but the real fair couldn't begin until the tea boats arrived, having sailed up the Volga River at the end of their 7,000-mile journey from China. Once the price of tea was determined, the prices of all the other goods was set and the trading began in earnest. This usually occurred during the first few days of August.
More than 200,000 traders took up residence in Nizhni Novgorod for the duration of the fair, and they spent most of their time smoking and drinking tea and making verbal agreements that they sealed with a handshake. By 1900, the fair was doing business worth more than $100 million a year. But during several periods—the Revolution in 1917, civil wars, and periods of famine—desperate Russians from nearby cities went down to the deserted fair and dismantled the stone and brick buildings to get at their wooden window and door frames, which they burned to stay warm.
The Soviet government under Lenin reopened the fair in 1923, but seven years later the Stalin regime abolished all 18,000 Russian fairs because they were not a part of the Kremlin-controlled trade program. The fairgrounds reopened in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It has been modernized and now hosts major exhibition events year-round.
CONTACTS:
Russian Embassy
2650 Wisconsin Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007
202-298-5700; fax: 202-298-5735
www.russianembassy.org
SOURCES:
BkFairs-1939, p. 188

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Nizh•ni Nov•go•rod

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Synonyms for Nizhni Novgorod

noun an industrial city in the European part of Russia

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