Trade at Fairs in the Bukey Horde in the Context of Daily Business Activities of Russian Merchants (60‒70s of the 19th Century)

The article demonstrates objective and subjective conditions of working life of Russian merchants in the sphere of fair trade in the Asian direction in the second half of the XIX century. The objective factors determining the degree of comfort of business operations are natural-climatic and meteorological features of the region, trade and transportation infrastructure, legal and regulatory framework of commercial activity, and the subjective moment is the interpersonal communication of persons involved in the work of the fair (traders, buyers, administration, Guards). As an example, the fair in the Bukeyev horde near the settlement of Khan’s Bet is considered. Fair trade, like any socio-economic phenomenon, had its own “microclimate”, in which entrepreneurs were forced to adapt to the internal order, which did not always take into account the ordinary needs of people, their biorhythms and business interests. The study concludes with a conclusion about the rather low level of comfort of professional activity of merchants in the sphere of steppe fair trade, which was recognized both by the administration of the fair and specialized imperial officials