Building the Future of Russia

1997 will be Moscow’s year, when the capital celebrates its 850th birthday. But 1996 is surely the year of Nizhny Novgorod. This month, Russia’s third largest city is 775 years old. What is more, the city is also celebrating the centennial of a most unique historical event — the Great All-Russian Exhibition. Managing Editor Robert Greenall traveled to Nizhny and brings back this look at commercial life in the city, past and present.

Anyone arriving in Nizhny Novgorod in the late summer of 1996 will see a city preparing for something big. Battalions of cranes and bulldozers, road resurfacing work, or just plain lumps of concrete strewn around the city’s sidewalks are reminiscent of the construction boom which has astounded recent visitors to Moscow. If anything, the urgency here is greater — much of the work is due to be finished this month.