Korennaya, southern Russia, twenty-seven versts from Kursk.—Two very large fairs are held, viz. on the ninth Friday after Easter, and on the 8th Sept. in each year. The cathedral within the famous monastery of Bogoroditsky-Znamensky (Apparition of the Virgin) contains a holy image held in great veneration—that of the apparition of said Holy Virgin, after whom the monastery is named. Immense crowds follow the procession of the holy image every year, at a period coincident with the first fair. The monastery was founded in 1597.
Kremenchuk.—An important town in southern Russia on the Dnieper, in which fairs are held at end of January for fourteen days, on 24th June for eleven days, and on 1st September (all old style) for ten days. The business transacted is not large, particularly having regard to the favourable situation. In 1862 the sales of these fairs amounted to £85,000, and the value of the goods brought to about £110,000.
Kursk.—A town in southern Russia, on the river Tuskor. Two fairs are held here—one in April, the other in the tenth week after Easter. There are also two weekly markets—Mondays and Fridays. See also Korennaya.
Makariev.—The monks of the monastery of St. Macarius (after which the town seems to be named) by virtue of their charter established a fair here in 1641, after which annually in the month of July for a space of three weeks the few wretched huts, built on a sandy desert, were replaced by thousands of shops erected with a promptitude peculiar to the Russians. Taverns, coffee-houses, a theatre, ball rooms, a crowd of wooden buildings painted and adorned with taste, sprung up. People from many nations thronged here in great multitudes: Russians from all the provinces of the empire, Tartars, Tchuvaches, Teheremisses, Calmuks, Bucharians, Georgians, Armenians, Persians and Hindus; and in addition Poles, Germans, French, and English. Notwithstanding the confusion of costumes and languages, the most perfect order prevailed: all were there for the purposes of commerce. The riches which were gathered there within the space of two leagues were said to be incalculable. The silks of Lyons and Asia, the furs of Siberia, the pearls of the East, the wines of France and Greece, the merchandise of China and Persia. These were brought in contrast with the most ordinary articles of everyday life, in true Eastern fashion. This fair was in truth one of the developments of Nijni Novgorod, which see.
Orel.—An important town in south-western Russia founded by John the Terrible, about 1565, for the defence of the Grand Duchy of Moscow against the Tartars. The town has a large trade in tallow and hemp, also in linseed oil, wheat, cattle, timber and salt. This commerce has two outlets—the one by land; the other by water down the Oka, to Kaluga, Serpukhof, Kolomna, Murom, Nijni-Novgorod, Rybinsk, and St. Petersburg. There are three fairs annually—between 6th and 20th January, during the fifth and sixth weeks after Easter, and from 8th to 31st Sept. (O.S.) The first is the least considerable of these. The market or bazaar days are Fridays and Sundays. After harvest as many as 10,000 carts enter the town daily, laden with wheat and other produce.
Poltava, southern Russia, on the river Vorskla, long famous for the leeches found in its pools and morasses, and which are largely and widely exported. The importance of the trade of the town is chiefly due to its fair (Ilyinskaya) held on 10th July, and lasting a month. The average value of the goods carried to this great commercial gathering is estimated at about three and a half millions sterling. The number of carts engaged in bringing the produce from Moscow, Odessa, Kharkoff, Kursk and Voronej is upwards of 20,000. Russian manufactures are much sold, but wool is the great staple of trade. Horses, cattle, and sheep are likewise bought and sold in great numbers. There are two other fairs—one on the feast of the Ascension.
Riga (the capital of Livonia, Baltic Provinces) had several centuries since, two considerable fairs, one held in May, the other in September, very much frequented by English, French, Dutch, and other merchants. At the period of these fairs the town wore a very commercial aspect, and the port was thronged with ships. The local customs were peculiar, and gave rise to difficulties. The townsmen had priority in the selection of warehouses, and in the sale of commodities, and as a result the vessels of foreigners were unduly detained, and the selection of the produce made in advance of their opportunities. Hence it was recorded in the middle of the last century that these fairs were on the decline.
Rostof, on the river Don, near its mouth in the sea of Azof (Lake Nero), and famous for its manufactures of white lead, vermilion, and other mineral and chemical substances; also for its linen manufacture. Large fairs are held twice a year, when very considerable numbers of cattle and horses change ownership.
Voronej, on the Voronej river, near its confluence with the Don; one of the most flourishing towns in southern Russia. Its trade is in grain, linseed, tallow. Four fairs are held annually, the larger being those of 9th May and 29th August (O.S.). Markets are held three times a week.
