The history of the formation and legislative registration of the activities of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair Police

In this article, the author examines the history of the formation of the Nizhny Novgorod fair police from the beginning of the XIX century. The reasons for its establishment are found out, from the fact that due to the lack of a sufficient number of police officers of the Nizhny Novgorod province, their functions during the fairs were performed by temporarily assigned Cossack formations from the military department, which did not have a sufficient level of competence in the implementation of law enforcement activities. The author consistently reveals the interest of the provincial authorities in the protection of law and order during fairs and their interaction with the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs when creating a commission for the formation of police constables on the basis of archival and literary sources. The article examines the activities of the commission for financing the police constables, providing them with weapons and means of movement. On the basis of the instruction, the rights and obligations of the mounted police constables, who ensure the protection of public order during the fairs, were analyzed. The author emphasizes that, despite the temporary nature of the formation of police constables, they were assigned the same duties and enjoyed the same rights as the ranks of the district police.