Makaryev Monastery in the context of "Nizhny Novgorod Oblast"

Nizhny Novgorod Fair (old name — Makaryev Fair) (Russian: Нижегородская ярмарка) was a fair in Nizhny Novgorod held annually every July near Makaryev Monastery on the left bank of the Volga River from the mid-16th century to 1816. Following a massive fire in 1816, it was moved to Nizhny Novgorod, but for some decades thereafter it still was commonly referred to as Makaryev Fair. It attracted foreign merchants from India, Iran, and Central Asia.

According to Durland, a journalist who visited the fair in 1905, the fair dates from "before the discovery of America." The fair was established by Muscovite princes to compete with, and draw commerce away from, a fair held since 1257, at Kazan, the Tartar capital. At the time Durland visited the fair, it consisted of 60 buildings, 2,500 bazaars and 8,000 exhibits, with goods for sale, along with a broad range of performances for the public.