Koyandinsk Fair
Encyclopedia
The Koyandinsk Fair was a large annual trade fair held every June from 1848 to 1930 in the Karkaraly
region of Kazakhstan
on the caravan route from Central Asia
to Siberia
, located near modern day Egindybulak, near a large freshwater lake.
. The following year, new buyers arrived and soon people from Kazakhstan
, Siberia
, the Urals
, Central Asia
and western China
were visiting the fair.
Because of the nomadic nature of the people’s lives, they waited until summer to sell their livestock and purchase necessary goods. It has been reported that a two year old ram was worth 2 silver rubles.
regional administration filed an application to officially recognize the trade fair. By 1900 the Koyandinsk Fair had 30 stores, 276 shops and 707 yurts in the area of 55 square km. The fair was organized in four long rows. In the two central rows were Russian and Siberian merchants trading iron and copper goods, textiles and tea. In the other two rows were merchants from Kazakhstan, Central Asia and China. They traded silks, oriental sweets, carpets, drinks, bread, leather, grains, textiles, and much more. However, the main product of the fair was livestock. Every year over 200,000 horses, cows, sheep and goats were sold.
For the years of its operation, the Koyandinsk Fair was the largest of its kind in the steppe
region. By 1913, the turnover at the fair approached five million rubles. Anything could be found at the fair: English clothes, Belgian lace, Paris perfumes, and more. One merchant raised so much money that upon his death, his children made a headstone of black marble for him, something that was unprecedented in this area of the world.
In the years of revolution and civil war, the fair stopped. But it was revived again in 1923. By then, the fair had grown dramatically. There was a newspaper, library, playground, and a health center. Radios were present and for the first time, people were able to listen to broadcasts from Moscow
. A “bureaucratic corner” was created, where a post-office, bank and courthouse were all built.
The fair was a celebration for all. Wrestlers, circus performers, magicians, orators were all common. Visiting Akyn
s, singers and dombra players included Maira Ualukyzy, Kalybek Kuanyshpaev and paluan Hadzhi Mukana. Land disputes and claims cases were settled at the fair. Many famous people of the day visited the fair. Abai Kunanbaev (the father of Kazakh literature) and Baluan Sholak (composer and famous wrestler) are known to have visited the fair. At the age of 49, Sholak accepted a fight from a well-known fighter named Carona, at the Koyandinsk Fair and during the fight broke several ribs.
Karkaraly
Karkaraly is the oldest city in the Karaganda Oblast . Karkaraly is also known as Karkaralinsk. Its history began as a small steppe village. Caravans from Central Asia would travel through Karkaraly on their way to Siberia. The name Karkaraly is derived from the word "karkara"- a precious...
region of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
on the caravan route from Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, located near modern day Egindybulak, near a large freshwater lake.
Origins
The Koyandinsk Fair opened in 1848 when merchant Barnabas Botov first began buying cattle on the banks of the Taldy River near to KarkaralyKarkaraly
Karkaraly is the oldest city in the Karaganda Oblast . Karkaraly is also known as Karkaralinsk. Its history began as a small steppe village. Caravans from Central Asia would travel through Karkaraly on their way to Siberia. The name Karkaraly is derived from the word "karkara"- a precious...
. The following year, new buyers arrived and soon people from Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, the Urals
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
, Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and western China
Western China
Western China , refers to the western part of China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers six provinces: Gansu, Guizhou, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan; one municipality: Chongqing; and three autonomous regions: Ningxia, Tibet, and Xinjiang.-Administrative...
were visiting the fair.
Because of the nomadic nature of the people’s lives, they waited until summer to sell their livestock and purchase necessary goods. It has been reported that a two year old ram was worth 2 silver rubles.
The prosperous years
In 1869, the KarkaralyKarkaraly
Karkaraly is the oldest city in the Karaganda Oblast . Karkaraly is also known as Karkaralinsk. Its history began as a small steppe village. Caravans from Central Asia would travel through Karkaraly on their way to Siberia. The name Karkaraly is derived from the word "karkara"- a precious...
regional administration filed an application to officially recognize the trade fair. By 1900 the Koyandinsk Fair had 30 stores, 276 shops and 707 yurts in the area of 55 square km. The fair was organized in four long rows. In the two central rows were Russian and Siberian merchants trading iron and copper goods, textiles and tea. In the other two rows were merchants from Kazakhstan, Central Asia and China. They traded silks, oriental sweets, carpets, drinks, bread, leather, grains, textiles, and much more. However, the main product of the fair was livestock. Every year over 200,000 horses, cows, sheep and goats were sold.
For the years of its operation, the Koyandinsk Fair was the largest of its kind in the steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
region. By 1913, the turnover at the fair approached five million rubles. Anything could be found at the fair: English clothes, Belgian lace, Paris perfumes, and more. One merchant raised so much money that upon his death, his children made a headstone of black marble for him, something that was unprecedented in this area of the world.
In the years of revolution and civil war, the fair stopped. But it was revived again in 1923. By then, the fair had grown dramatically. There was a newspaper, library, playground, and a health center. Radios were present and for the first time, people were able to listen to broadcasts from Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. A “bureaucratic corner” was created, where a post-office, bank and courthouse were all built.
The fair was a celebration for all. Wrestlers, circus performers, magicians, orators were all common. Visiting Akyn
Akyn
Akyns or aqyns are improvising poets and singers in the Kazakh and Kyrgyz cultures. Akyns differs from the so-called zhiraus, who are epic storytellers and a song performers. Akyns improvise in the form of a song-like recitative to the accompaniment of a dombra or a qomuz...
s, singers and dombra players included Maira Ualukyzy, Kalybek Kuanyshpaev and paluan Hadzhi Mukana. Land disputes and claims cases were settled at the fair. Many famous people of the day visited the fair. Abai Kunanbaev (the father of Kazakh literature) and Baluan Sholak (composer and famous wrestler) are known to have visited the fair. At the age of 49, Sholak accepted a fight from a well-known fighter named Carona, at the Koyandinsk Fair and during the fight broke several ribs.