We will not be mistaken in saying that anyone familiar with the beauties of the various locations of Rosaia and Europe should positively familiarize themselves in detail with two such views, such as the view opening from the monument to St. Vladimir in Elev, and another similar one opening from the Kremlin Boulevard in Nizhny.
At a depth of sixty fathoms below you, a huge river spreads like a wide ribbon, just connecting with its equally huge tributary. The water surface of this river is as lively as a crowded street of a lively capital city; Steamships and steamships, barges, barges and boats of all sizes scurry along it in all directions. Here the huge steamship of the company “Kazkaz and Mercury” - “Suvorov” is moving, spreading waves over a wide space with the blades of its gigantic wheels, and now, almost across it, the steamship “Swallow” is quickly rushing, transporting passengers from one bank of the river to the other. Farther, closer to the sands of the pile, huge barges are piled one next to another, and to the sides of them a medium-sized but powerful tugboat puffs, pulling so many loaded barges behind it that you can’t help but wonder how it copes with them. And here is the bridge; it is full of activity; an abyss of carriages and pedestrians, seemingly like toys from above, cover its surface. On each side its river is so filled with barges moored here, fish ponds and other things that the bridge looks framed on both sides by some kind of peculiar buildings. Far beyond the bridge you can see the Siberian pier
But with its incredible warehouses of goods, completely piled up with bales of different shapes and sizes, more than one fathom in height. There are freight docks for steamships, there is a whole anthill of trucks teeming there, between which hefty Tatars, preferred here by both steamship owners and shippers, scurry with special zeal for their endurance, strength and ability to work for many hours without a break. But stretched out in front of you in the wide expanse of the further lowland are entire streets of fair buildings, taverns, restaurants, hotels, shops and stores. Among them stands the fair cathedral and the beautiful building of the Main House.
The traffic that reigns in this vast area is simply amazing; it exceeds any concept of the brisk bustle of trade; everyone is in a hurry somewhere, all around, pretending to be a huge anthill at its most painful time. It is true that there is a fair amount of dust hovering over all this, which slightly obscures your view with a grayish haze, but you can’t help but remember: Kunavino is a Russian city, and it is still run by Russian people, although there are a great many visiting guests during the fair; How can there not be dust here?
Speaking of Kunavin. Old Kunavino, which is mentioned in the descriptions of 1611, was at the site of the current fair and only later, little by little, moved up the Ok. In the past, the Kunavinians were engaged in diving, hammering nails and lifting rafts up the Ok; Now their main trade is to exist from the fair, earning money from it in all sorts of ways, starting with renting out houses for taverns, taverns, etc. during the fair. The name “Kunavino” is produced in different ways. Some say that during this time many ditches were dug in the area, which is why it was called “Kanavino”, which later became “Nunavino”; friend assert that “Kunavino” is actually “Kuma-vina”, while telling a whole legend about some kind of allthe illustrious “godfather”, who attracted with the charm of her conversion and those sold by her to drinks not only for Sloboda residents, but also for the most respectable inhabitants of the mountainous part of the city; finally, the third - and this explanation is almost the most reasonable - derive the name “Kunavino” from the word “Kuna”, an ancient monetary sign through which duties were paid.
Let us now turn to the Nizhny Novgorod Fair.
From time immemorial, the Volga was a self-important trade route, and already in KhSU there was a Volga Fair in Bolgars. After the destruction of this city and the Bulgarian kingdom itself by the Tatars, several fairs were formed on the Volga and one of them was in Nizhny; but the constant raids did not really favor trade, and the fair in Nizhny itself stopped. Kazan, the capital of the then Tatar kingdom, became a new trading center. On