Russia is the country in which the Nizhny Novgorod land lies. Nizhny Novgorod has more than once stood not on the margins of its history but at its very fulcrum: the militia of 1612 set out from here, the empire's principal yarmarka stood here, the entire country gathered here for the Exhibition of 1896, the defense industry and the exiled Academician Sakharov were kept here, and today the city is the center of the Volga Federal District.[1][2]
The Militia of 1612
The city at the mouth of the Oka was founded in 1221 by Grand Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich: "Grand Prince Gyurgi, son of Vsevolod, laid a city at the mouth of the Oka." In 1341 it became the capital of the Nizhny Novgorod Principality, and in 1392 it passed to Moscow.[1]
In the autumn of 1611, the zemsky (district council) elder Kuzma Minin appealed to the townspeople to raise an army, and in Nizhny Novgorod the Second People's Militia was formed; under the command of Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, it liberated Moscow.[1]
The memory of this is enshrined in the national calendar: National Unity Day, observed on November 4 — the date of Moscow's liberation in 1612 — was established at the initiative of Nizhny Novgorod's Balakhna, Minin's birthplace. On September 29, 2004, the idea was endorsed by Patriarch Alexy II; on November 23 the bill was introduced in the State Duma, and on December 27 of the same year it was passed on its third reading.[3]
Let us call to ourselves in Nizhny Novgorod brave and valiant warriors[1]
"Pocket of Russia"
After the fire of 1816, the government relocated the Makaryev Yarmarka to the vicinity of Nizhny Novgorod; the site for it on the Strelka was chosen by the engineer Betancourt, Augustin de: the left bank of the Volga was more convenient for unloading. On 15 July 1822, trading opened in a stone trading arcade — and that date became the annual opening day.[2]
By 1850, the goods of the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka accounted for more than sixty percent of the total value of everything entering Russia. In 1874, up to 256,000 people were present at the yarmarka on any given day — even though the city itself had a population of only 45,000. In the space of three days, up to 35,000 chests of tea were sold there, and these transactions set prices for other goods.[2]
The last yarmarka was held in 1929; during the 1950s and 1960s its territory was built over with residential housing.[2]
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Opening of the stone trading arcade | 15 July 1822 |
| Share of goods arriving in Russia by value, by 1850 | more than 60% |
| Daily visitors, 1874 | up to 256,000 |
| Population of Nizhny Novgorod that same year | 45,000 |
| Tea sold in three days | up to 35,000 chests |
| Gingerbread sold, 1869 | 67,000 kilograms |
| Last yarmarka | 1929 |
The Empire on Display
In 1896, Nizhny Novgorod hosted the XVI All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition — the only one among Russia's grand reviews to bear the title "Great." On display were the first Russian automobile and the inventions of Alexander Popov.[2][4]
The ornate metal exhibition halls designed by Vladimir Shukhov were assembled in Moscow back in 1882 and transported here specifically for the fair; a hundred and twenty-five years later, one of them was converted into a concert hall and the other into an exhibition space. For the fair, the Dmitrievskaya Tower of the Kremlin was extended to house a fine arts and history museum, and a new municipal theater building was opened.[4]
Gorky Closed
In 1932 the city was renamed Gorky — in honor of the writer who was born here. In 1959, Gorky was closed to foreigners: defense plants made the city an off-limits address on the country's map.[1]
It was for this reason that Academician Andrei Sakharov was exiled here in 1980, following his public opposition to the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan. The exile lasted nearly seven years; Sakharov and his wife lived at 214 Gagarin Avenue in Scherbinki, he remained on the staff of FIAN and continued to write articles, but his communications were under surveillance. During those years he staged three hunger strikes — one lasting seventeen days, another twenty-six days in May 1984, and a third from April to October 1985; shortly after the last one he was released and returned to Moscow.[5]
The city's historic name was restored on 22 October 1990.[1]
Capital of the District
Today Nizhny Novgorod is a city of over one million and the center of the Volga Federal District — that is, the administrative capital of the Volga Region and part of the Urals.[1]
The city has not lost its role as the "Pocket of Russia" — it has simply changed its form: instead of fair trade, there is now industry, a transport hub at the intersection of the Volga and Oka routes, and federal district institutions.[1][2]
See also
Sources
- nizhny800.ru — Nizhny800 / (archive)
- nn.aif.ru — Security check (archive)
- Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Where National Unity Day came from: how Nizhny Novgorod residents gave Russia one more holiday (archive)
- GIPERNN — Pakgauzy, Shukhov's triumph, and an imperial visit: what was the All-Russian Exhibition of 1896 in Nizhny Novgorod like? (archive)
- Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Sakharov's Gorky: new facts revealed on the academician's anniversary (archive)