* FAIR *

The way of life of a Russian peasant has united both aesthetic and economic aspects. A Russian fair is a striking example. Trade commercial exchanges are necessarily accompanied by the cultural exchange when emotions of the trade deals often become more important than their economic sense. At the fair, the material of interest for many people was simultaneously a cultural and aesthetic interest.
Let's recall Gogol's "Sorochintsy Fair" novel, full of folk humour, which in this case is equivalent to the people's optimism.
 Although the forms were quite different, the Northern fairs had the same Gogol's essence, more restrained, and the same remarks or details play pretty differently in the South and the North. Gogol's works are still unsurpassed in describing this truly national phenomenon, but it will remain unsurpassed, as the fairs disappeared a long time ago.
Nevertheless, the spirit of the fair elements is so strong that even now has not been weathered from the national consciousness. Many of the elderly remember the details of long-gone times.
Fairs in Russia were counted by hundreds as if they pulsated country-wide, periodically flaring up here and there. And each market had its unique qualities. There were different fairs by seasons, by the prevalence of specific or related goods and, of course, by size.
A few villages held small fairs. At a fair, which is a bit bigger, the harmonica sounded differently, but one still could dance and sing under unfamiliar accompaniment. For example, at the famous Nizhny Novgorod at the large fairs, you could hear different languages and music from other provinces and other nations.
Trade, therefore, was always accompanied by an exchange of cultural values. National melodies, ornaments, the elements of dance and costume, gestures, and finally, the national vocabulary borrowed and reinforced from a cultural wealth of other nations without losing their foundation and identity.
The fair, of course, cannot be put on a par with the wedding ceremony, which is a purely dramatic act. The performance at the fair breaks up into many small comedic, sometimes tragic scenes. However, many fair scenes, such as the arrival, lodging, setting up stalls and shops, the first and last transactions are reminiscent of the ceremonial.