The
17th and 18th centuries were dominated by the rise of
agriculture in the Volga region.
Tracts of new farmland were brought under the plough. New industries arose.
One
of these was the production of potash, which is essential for the production of
glass, soap, dyes and gunpowder. It was
manufactured in great quantities in Arzamas, and from
there shipped abroad via Arkhangel’sk. Balakhna was famous
for its salt production, and also became important as a shipbuilding
centre. Weapons from Pavlova
were in demand all over the world. Lyskov supported a vibrant community of artisans. The town of Bogorodskoe was known for its
leather goods.
At
the beginning of the 18th century, a large factory making anchors
was opened near Gorodets, and by the middle of the
century there was an iron and steel factory at Demidov.
Nizhny Novgorod became the biggest
industrial centre of the region. Its
main industries were the rope manufacture, shipbuilding and metallurgy, but it
also had leather factories, sawmills, distilleries, breweries, brickworks,
steelworks, potteries and textile factories.
Peter
the Great formally created the province in 1714-1719, with its centre at Nizhny Novgorod. Traders from the province had links to towns
all along the Volga, Moscow, and even with Siberia and other
countries. Fish were shipped in massive
quantities up the Volga from Astrakhan, the boats returning
laden with salt and grain.
From
the first years of the 17th century onwards, the market at the 15th
century Makar’evsky Monastery, just down the Volga from Nizhny Novgorod, became famous among
traders from all parts. Merchants from
the east, England, Denmark, Sweden and a host of other
countries brought their goods here. It
was said that the market here was greater and more profitable than the
better-known European markets at Frankfurt and Leipzig. In 1816, after it was destroyed by fire, the
market was relocated to Nizhny Novgorod.
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