Since the end of the XVII century, Torzhok has existed in the village of Kresty. By the decision of the Perm provincial government in 1859, Torzhok received the status of a fair. The fair was named "Ivanovskaya". In the second half of the nineteenth century, it occupied the third place in Russia after Nizhny Novgorod and Irbit. The fair opened on July 29 and operated for a whole month. Goods worth more than a million rubles were brought to the fair. In 1880, goods worth 12.2 million rubles were brought. The trading rows were occupied by Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod merchants. Shadrin merchants also traded here. There were fur, gingerbread, meat, flour, oil, manufactory, leather, carriage rows, beer trade, green market, Russian and Tatar taverns, junk row. There was a slaughterhouse and fair scales, stone baths. During the fair, branches of the State, Volga-Kama and Siberian banks were opened, the post office, telegraph, police, court, and hotels worked. For the entertainment and leisure of the guests, there were carousels, two cinemas, circus booths and a wooden theater, famous groups of artists toured. The Krestovskaya Fair operated until the First World War, although by that time it was already in decline.

Nowadays, the fair is held on the day of the Nativity of John the Baptist. The Krestovsko-Ivanovskaya Fair has been held in the village of Krestovskoye in the Verkhozinsky village Council of the Shadrinsky district of the Kurgan region since 2012. Since 2015, the fair has acquired the status of a regional one, open to guests from other regions of the Ural Federal District.

In the XIX century Ishim was the largest shopping center in the Tobolsk province. Three fairs were held there annually, and one of them, the Winter Nikolskaya, was considered "the first in all of Western Siberia." It began on December 6 — the day of St. Nicholas the Winter. In the 1830s, up to four thousand people gathered at the winter fair in Ishim. They came to trade from many Russian provinces and Central Asia. Traders brought bread, sugar, tea, paper, tobacco, soap, coffee, drinks, and metal products to Ishim; from Tobolsk, Berezov and Obdorsk — furs, fish and deer skins, from Containers — pine nuts, wooden dishes, from Petropavlovsk — carpets, silk and woolen fabrics, dried fruits and various varieties of berries. Cattle were brought from the southern regions, salted lard and butter were brought. The fair lasted one week.

At first, the fair was held on the square near St. Nicholas Church and this created a number of inconveniences for citizens and visitors, for example, for accommodation and travel. Later, shops and warehouses were built, and a place for storing raw animal products was allocated outside the city.

In the second half of the 19th century, the winter Nikolskaya Fair was still considered the first not only in the Tobolsk province, but also in the whole of Western Siberia. Its duration has increased; instead of seven days, two weeks have been traded on it. In 1856, with the permission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the dates of the winter Ishim Fair were determined from December 6 to January 1. However, according to available information, it began and ended somewhat earlier than the established deadlines. According to the secretary of the Tobolsk Provincial Statistical Committee I.N. Yushkov, in 1872 merchants, trading peasants and artisans from 26 cities, five districts and two factories came to the fair. Of the 349 merchants, 178 were peasants and burghers. The main goods on it were leather, lard, and oil. They were transported from Petropavlovsk, Omsk, Tara, Kurgan and Yalutorovsk. Pelts of fur-bearing animals were delivered from the northern districts. Wooden products were being transported from the Tyumen district. There were other goods as well. So, in 1864, gold and silver products, mirrors, furniture, chests, caskets and icons were brought.

At the end of the XIX century, the turnover of the Ishim Nikolskaya Fair exceeded 4 million rubles, but the number of merchants significantly decreased due to the opening of a shipping company along the rivers of Western Siberia and the construction of a railway through Petropavlovsk. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the fair lost its significance as an All-Siberian and turned into a local fair.

One of the most famous fairs was Obdorskaya, held in the village of Obdorsky, Berezovsky district, Tobolsk province. In the first half of the 19th century, it was called the third after Nizhny Novgorod and Irbit. The fair opened on December 15 and lasted until January 25, but in fact the merchants did not leave until Shrovetide, so both Christmas and New Year were held at the fair.

The fair in Obdorsk was a notable event not only in the lower reaches of the Ob, foreigners from the North of the European part of Russia and from the Turukhansk region came here, and merchants came not only from Tobolsk, Yekaterinburg and other Siberian cities, but also from the Kazakh steppes.

Residents of the Big Tundra — Samoyeds, Ostyaks and Zyryans came to the fair with whole families and stayed on the outskirts of Obdorsk. Russian merchants (mainly from Tobolsk) brought flour, bread, wine, cloth, iron and copper products, tobacco and jewelry, receiving in return furs, fish and fish glue, bird feather, mammoth bone and walrus tusks. The turnover of the Obdorskaya fair amounted to more than 1 million rubles.

In the XVII century Tobolsk played a big role in the system of the All-Russian market. The trade route from Europe to Asia passed through it. Various Russian, Western European and Asian goods entered the Tobolsk market: scythes, sickles, copper boilers, nails, ploughshares, axes from Veliky Ustyug, "Vyatka" spoons, "Tver" wooden ladles, "Perm" belts, "Yaroslavl" shirts, soap from Kostroma, icons from Moscow, "Ivanovo" towels, shoes from Kazan, Dutch, English and German cloth, European paper, pepper and sugar, Chinese paper and silk fabrics, tea and tobacco.

At the beginning of the XVIII century, a Gostiny Dvor was built in Tobolsk. But merchants preferred to trade closer to the Irtysh. Trading was conducted daily, except Sundays and public holidays. During the holidays, only trade in food supplies was allowed. The busiest place in the city was the Market Square.

The main trade item was bread. In 1801, rye flour was sold in Tobolsk at a price of 27−32 kopecks for a pound, wheat — for 50 kopecks. Home baking has existed in Tobolsk since the founding of the city. The indigenous population of the Tobolsk North learned to eat baked bread and crackers from Russians. In winter, locals bought frozen loaves of bread in huge quantities.

Chinese tea was very popular among Tobolians. Tea was sold in pounds. Lime honey was transported from Bashkiria to Tobolsk, which was sold at a price of up to 8 rubles per pound. Sugar was even more expensive. The demand for sugar arose in the summer, when it was time to pick berries. A pound "sugarloaf" was priced at 20 rubles.

Meat was sold in pounds. For example, in the middle of the XIX century a pound of pork cost 2 kopecks, beef and mutton — 3 kopecks. In autumn, after the slaughter of livestock, the price of meat fell to 2−1 ½ kopecks.

One of the main goods at the Tobolsk bazaar was fish. In addition to the Market Square, in winter, fish were sold near the walls of the Tobolsk Znamensky Monastery. In 1859, a pound of sturgeon in Tobolsk cost 4 rubles 60 kopecks, sterlets — 4 rubles, nelmas — 3 rubles 50 kopecks, pike — 1 ruble 20 kopecks. A pood of ruffs was sold for 70 kopecks, crucians and perches — 60 kopecks, chebaks — 50 kopecks.

Vegetables were sold in buckets, bundles or individually. In 1857, potatoes (a bucket) cost 30 kopecks, carrots (a bunch) — 3 kopecks, radishes (1 piece) — 3 kopecks. A brisk trade in vegetables took place right on the banks of the Kurdyumka river, where large seine boats loaded with potatoes, cabbage, turnips, etc.

From St. Petersburg biscuit and chocolate were brought. However, Tobolsk also had its own confectioners. The most famous among them was Matvey Arkhipovich Gusev.

Apples, cherries, melons and watermelons were brought to the market. "There is a large import of watermelons at the bazaar," the Siberian Leaf newspaper wrote on September 7, 1903, "until recently, the price for them was 50−80 kopecks, now 15−20 kopecks."

A special place in the Tobolsk bazaar was occupied by the hay row. In the old days, hay was sold by carts, but in the XIX century. the sale of hay in pounds was consolidated. Hay was brought from across the river. In 1857, a pood of hay cost 9 kopecks in Tobolsk, a pood of straw — 5 kopecks.

After the construction of the Yekaterinburg-Tyumen railway in 1885, the turnover of fairs in the south of the Tobolsk province increased, and fairs in the north (Surgut, Tobolsk and Obdorskaya) lost their former importance.

Surgut and Obdorskaya fairs were known from the northern fairs. Obdorskaya fair (Obdorsky village, Berezovsky district), lasted from January 1 to January 20. The foreigners brought furs, mammoth bone and fish to it. The Russians carried bread, butter, tea, sugar, cloth, shawls, copper and iron products. In 1902, the turnover of the Obdorskaya fair was 139 768 rubles.

The Surgut Fair (Surgut, Tobolsk province) was held from December 23 to January 15. The turnover was 80 thousand rubles. In Surgut County itself, the fair was held in the village of Laryatsky in Surgut County from May 22 to May 30. Its turnover amounted to more than 32 thousand rubles annually.

The largest number of fairs operated in Kurgan district of Tobolsk province — 35. Yalutorovsky District was in second place in terms of the number of fairs — 33. Ishim District was in third place — 27. The most famous fair was winter Nikolskaya fair, which was held in Ishim itself, its turnover exceeded 2 million rubles. In Tyukalinsky district of Tobolsk province at the same time, 22 fairs were held.

17 fairs were held annually in Tarsky district of Tobolsk province. The largest of them, Mikhailovskaya in the village of Slobodchikovsky, was held from November 1 to November 8.

In the Turin district of Tobolsk province, five fairs were held: Alekseevskaya (from March 10 to 18), Mikhailovskaya (from November 1 to November 8), Prokopevskaya (from July 4 to 8), Nikolskaya (from December 2 to December 6) and Dmitrievskaya (from October 22 to October 26).

There were four fairs in the Tyumen district of the Tobolsk province, and by the beginning of the twentieth century there was only one in the village of Zagvazdinsky in Tobolsk.

О пресловутом продуктовом дефиците в СССР сказано много. Действительно, было время, когда продавцы скучали за пустыми прилавками, а покупатели были вынуждены выстаивать километровые очереди, чтобы купить самые необходимые продукты: хлеб, молоко, мясо, яйца. Но не одними магазинами были живы советские люди — выручал колхозный рынок, имевшийся в каждом городе. А в больших городах и не по одному.

Наиболее благоустроенными были рынки, расположенные в капитальных зданиях, одном или нескольких. Там, помимо прилавков и мест для хранения товаров, имелись туалет и вода. Правда, зимой в них все равно было прохладно, так как двери зданий практически никогда не закрывались: покупатели на советских рынках были всегда.

Самыми популярными были комбинированные рынки, представлявшие собой крупные крытые павильоны и расположенные рядом открытые ряды прилавков и столов для уличной торговли.

В помещении обычно торговали мясом, молоком и молочными продуктами, картофелем, овощной и фруктовой консервацией. На открытых прилавках чаще всего располагались частники, предлагающие покупателям излишки дачного урожая: овощи, фрукты, ягоды и домашние разносолы. В летний сезон торговали на открытых столах и дарами леса. Любители «тихой охоты» затемно выходили из дома, чтобы попасть на первый пригородный автобус, а к обеду уже спешили на базар с корзинками лесных грибов и ягод.

Полностью открытых колхозных рынков в Советском Союзе было мало. На них обычно торговали дачники и жители расположенных неподалеку деревень. Здесь же круглый год продавались изделия народных промыслов: глиняные горшки, деревянные матрешки, пирамидки, свистульки, лубочные картинки. С краю, как правило, пристраивались торговцы лыковыми мочалками и банными вениками. Кстати, именно эти ряды и стали прообразом дореволюционных, а затем и советских вещевых рынков.

Кроме того, на всех без исключения рынках отводились специальные места для торговли с возов, тележек и автомашин.

Управляли колхозными рынками в СССР отделы торговли районных и городских исполкомов. Там же назначали и директоров рынков, создавали и утверждали рабочий аппарат, контролировали финансово-хозяйственную деятельность администрации.