Peter considered foreign trade one of the most effective means of introducing Russia to Western European culture. At the beginning of his reign, he took energetic measures to expand trade. He visited Arkhangelsk three times and built several ships at the Solambala shipyard to export government goods abroad. And trade in Arkhangelsk developed rapidly; V late XVII V. its turnover barely reached 850,000 rubles, and in 1710 - 1,485,000 rubles. But the White Sea, due to its remoteness, the short period of navigation and its difficulties, did not meet the needs of Russian foreign trade even in its then size.

A different, more convenient outlet for the products of the Russian economy was needed. After an unsuccessful attempt to establish itself on the Sea of ​​Azov, the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were acquired for Russia and St. Petersburg was founded. Promises of benefits attracted foreign traders to the new Russian port; The Dutch and English took the greatest part in its trade. A trade convention was concluded with France in 1706; Italian ships, in respect of the distance, were promised a concession of half the duties; Prince Menshikov was instructed to enter into correspondence about trade benefits for merchants of Hamburg, Bremen and Danzig. At the same time, Peter became concerned with the arrangement of water communication between the internal grain-growing and populated regions of the state and St. Petersburg (Vyshnevolotsk system). The canal to bypass Lake Ladoga was started in 1719 and completed in 1728.

Having established himself on the Neva, Peter redoubled his concerns about St. Petersburg and its trade. He ordered the construction of a military and merchant port to begin on the island of Retusari (Kotlin), where the Baltic fleet was to have a permanent residence, and where all ships for which entry into the mouth of the Neva, due to its shallow waters, was impossible, would be unloaded. Subsequently, this harbor, as well as the city that arose around it, received the name Kronstadt. Trade in the new port developed poorly at first. Both Russians and foreigners preferred Arkhangelsk, where routes had long been established. To strengthen trade in St. Petersburg, Peter took a number of artificial measures. By decree of October 31, 1713, he commanded “ declare publicly that merchants and other ranks of people who have hemp and yuft should not be brought to the city of Arkhangelsk and Vologda for trade, but brought to St. Petersburg. Also, which sovereign goods: caviar, glue, potash, resin, bristles, rhubarb should not be sent to Arkhangelsk, but brought to St. Petersburg" Trading foreigners were invited to notify their compatriots abroad so that ships to load Russian goods would be sent to St. Petersburg, and not to Arkhangelsk. Subsequently, at the request of merchants, during the accumulation export goods in St. Petersburg, permission was given to transport a certain part of the goods to Arkhangelsk. By decree of November 20, 1717, the most eminent merchants of Arkhangelsk were resettled to St. Petersburg. By a decree of 1720, the usual 5% duty was reduced to 3% on goods sent to St. Petersburg, but no duties were levied at internal outposts on goods intended for export from St. Petersburg abroad; carts with these goods, after inspection and sealing, passed non-stop all the way to St. Petersburg.

By all these measures, St. Petersburg trade was strengthened, and Arkhangelsk trade was reduced. Over the course of 8 years (1710-1718), Arkhangelsk's output rose from 1 1/3 to 2 1/3 million rubles, and imports from 142,000 to 600,000 rubles; in 1726, goods worth 285,387 were shipped to Arkhangelsk, but only 35,846 rubles were brought. In 1718, goods worth 268,590 rubles were exported from St. Petersburg, in 1726 - 2,403,423 rubles; in 1718, 218,049 rubles were brought to St. Petersburg, in 1726 - 1,549,697 rubles. In 1720, 76 foreign ships entered the Neva, in 1722 - 119, in 1724 - 180. Customs duties for the St. Petersburg port were received in 1724, 175,417 rubles, in total for the Baltic and White Seas in 1725 452,403 rubles were collected from these duties.

The trade of Riga, which was greatly reduced in the first years after its conquest by Russia, soon exceeded its previous size: in 1704, 359 ships visited Riga, in 1725 - 388. The growth of Riga, despite the competition of St. Petersburg, is explained by the fact that Riga in terms of imports and exports served the Lithuanian-Polish region far from St. Petersburg. Revel, Narva and Vyborg lost some of their former importance, partly as a result of military events. Vyborg, which especially suffered from them, Peter granted free trade in grain, resin, timber and other goods that were prohibited or were the subject of a state monopoly. As part of the development of Russian overland trade, in 1714 state-owned transport of Siberian goods was sent to Poland and Hungary, which had excellent sales there; Hungarian wines were purchased with the proceeds. The Nezhin Greeks were given the privilege of trading with Moldavia and Wallachia. Overland trade emerged through Poland with Prussia. In 1723, Russian merchants were allowed to trade with Breslau. At that time, the storage point for our overland trade with Germany was Vasilkov - the Russian customs office on the Polish border.

Peter's attempt to acquire several strong points on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea was unsuccessful, in order from there to conduct direct trade with Khiva and Bukhara, and then, with the help of caravans sent from these khanates to India, to direct Indian trade through the Caspian Sea to Russia. Russian-Persian trade was still concentrated primarily in the hands of Armenian merchants who had their offices in Astrakhan. They not only brought Persian goods, mainly silk, to Russia, but also sent them by sea to Holland, from where, in turn, they exported Dutch cloth and other goods that were sold in Persia. Peter willingly allowed this trade, due to the significant government income from transit duties. In 1711, with the knowledge and approval of the Persian Shah, he concluded a condition with the Armenians, by virtue of which all the silk exported from Persia had to be delivered by them to Russia. For this, the Armenians were granted a monopoly on silk trade and were given some duty benefits. Russian merchants, mainly from Astrakhan, conducted quite a lively active trade in Nizabad and Rasht. They stored their goods mainly in Shemakha. When this city was sacked by the Lezgins in 1711, Russian merchants lost a significant amount: the losses of one trading house extended up to 180,000 rubles. In 1716, the import of Bukhara and Persian goods to Astrakhan alone amounted to up to 464,000 rubles, while duties collected exceeded 22,500 rubles. To strengthen Russian-Persian trade relations, a special embassy was sent to Persia in 1715, which managed to conclude a trade agreement with Persia. In 1720, the tsar appointed a Russian consul to Ispagan (who, however, due to internal unrest, was stopped in Rasht). The British asked for permission to resume their transit trade with Persia through Russia, but were refused, as were the Dutch and French. The last years of Peter's reign were marked by a number of orders concerning the organization of Russian-Persian merchant shipping on the Caspian Sea and shipbuilding in Astrakhan.

In order to streamline Russian-Chinese trade, back in 1698 Peter ordered a caravan to be sent from Moscow to Nerchinsk not annually, but every other year, so that the influx of Russian goods would not cause their prices to fall there. In 1719, Peter sent Guard Captain Izmailov to Beijing, who managed to achieve the conclusion of a treaty on the following conditions, among other things:

1. that a Russian consul should have a permanent presence in Beijing, and vice-consuls in some other cities;
2. so that the Russians have the right to travel freely throughout the entire territory of China and transport goods along Chinese rivers and store them on the piers;
3. so that Russian merchants are allowed duty-free trade in China.

Russian-Chinese relations, however, did not improve. Soon after Izmailov's departure, the Chinese government banned Russian caravans from coming to Beijing until definite borders were established between Russia and Chinese Mongolia; The establishment of borders, due to the fault of the Chinese, was slowing down.

Having ascended the throne, Peter not only left all state monopolies in force, but also multiplied them: yuft, hemp, potash, tar, lard, hemp oil, flax-seed, rhubarb, caviar, fish glue could be delivered by private individuals only to river, lake or sea piers, and then passed into the hands of the treasury. At first, Peter conducted this trade, like his predecessors, himself or entrusted its conduct to special officials, but soon, due to lack of time, he began to farm out the export of government goods. Thus, in 1703, the export of tar, “seal skins and all fishery products of the Arkhangelsk coast was handed over to Prince Menshikov; Vologda merchants Okonishnikovs at the same time received a monopoly on the sale of flaxseed. Later, the trade in caviar was sold for 100,000, rhubarb - for 80,000 rubles. Other export and some imported goods were also surrendered. According to the decree of 1715, the treasury sold monopoly goods that were not farmed out exclusively for cash (full-fledged “efimkas,” i.e., jochimsthalers). However, Peter adhered to the system of state monopolies only until experience convinced him of their unprofitability for the treasury and harm to the people's well-being. The decree of April 8, 1719 commanded “ there will be only two government goods: potash and smolchak”, which were removed from the circle of “free” trade in the form of forest conservation.

In 1718, a commercial college was established. The first Russian consulate was established in Amsterdam; he was followed by consulates in London, Toulon, Cadiz, Lisbon, and soon in almost all the main cities of Europe and Persia.

In 1724, a customs tariff and maritime trade regulations were issued. According to the tariff of 1724, the duty on most imported and sold goods did not exceed 5% of the price, but the sold goods, upon supply of which Western Europe, Russia had few or no competitors, paid with higher duties; for example, 27.5% was charged on the selling price of hemp. Customs duties were paid in foreign coins, accepted at a known rate. Customs revenues were collected at the end of Peter's reign to 869.5 thousand rubles. The value of exports from Russia was higher than the value of imports, which is explained as much by the usefulness of Russian raw materials for the Western European manufacturing industry as by the small demand in Russia for luxury and comfort goods, due to the lack of rich people. But even the relatively small costs of the Russians to pay for imports at that time worried Peter; he wanted to create a merchant fleet in order to save sea freight for Russia's benefit, and if not to increase the export of products, then at least reduce their import by developing the manufacturing industry in the country.

The decree of November 8, 1723 ordered, among other things, “to multiply your commerce, build companies, establish private trades in Ost-Zee, for example, send Persian goods, sashes, etc. to Poland” and do all this “not loudly, so as to create an extra echo there was no harm instead of benefit.” In 1724, the tsar decided to equip, at his own expense, three Russian ships to Spain and one to France, so that the merchants who were supposed to go there with goods would remain abroad for some time to study trade operations. Measures aimed at reducing foreign imports include benefits and privileges for the establishment of factories and factories in Russia and taxation of imported foreign goods. " To collect the scattered temple of the merchants", Peter established magistrates in the cities. The patronage of his factory owners even went so far as to assign peasants to the factories.

Under the successors of Peter to Catherine II

Peter's closest successors continued his trade policy, but its shortcomings and, above all, excessive petty regulation of trade and industry soon began to be revealed. There were protests from the merchants, for the consideration of which a special commission was established in 1727 in St. Petersburg. Among the applications she examined was a petition from English, Dutch and Hamburg merchants living in St. Petersburg asking for a reduction in customs duties on imported foreign goods. In 1731, a customs tariff was issued, according to which duties on imported goods were reduced, and on some exported goods they were completely eliminated. Taxation on price for most goods has been replaced by duties on weight, measure and count. The additional duty of 25% on goods traveling through Arkhangelsk was abolished. In 1731, a “marine charter” was issued, according to which Russian merchants who sent their goods from St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk and Kola on their own ships, or even on ships built in Russia, were charged 4 times less than what was established by the tariff; from imports on the same ships, in order to avoid forgery, they took the full duty. If a Russian subject shipped his goods on foreign ships, he paid only 3/4 of the duty established for foreigners. Thanks to the easing of the customs burden, trade picked up; Thus, in 1726, Russian goods worth 2 2/5 million rubles were exported from St. Petersburg, and in 1751 - 4 1/4; in 1726 it was brought to St. Petersburg for 1 1/2, and in 1751 - for 3 3/4 million rubles.

Peter's dying order to send three Russian ships with Russian goods to Spain was carried out under Catherine I: the ships were loaded with lard, hemp, ropes, yuft, linens, canvas, flax and caviar; The treasury delivered 2/3 of the cargo, the rest was collected with great difficulty between traders, two of whom, by order of the government, had to go on this journey. The ships arrived safely in Cadiz and here, under the supervision of the Russian consul, the cargo was soon sold out; but this example did not find followers. Attempts to establish active trade with Italy and France had the same outcome. The experience of the merchants Bazhenov and Krylov, who sent goods to Amsterdam and Hamburg on their own ships, was more successful and longer lasting.

In general, Russian foreign trade continued to remain in the hands of foreigners, at first mainly the Dutch, and from the 1930s - the British. IN English hands The export of iron, canvas, linen, and rhubarb from Russia was concentrated. The British taught South European merchants to place orders for Russian goods with English trading firms. The government repeatedly tried to establish direct trade relations with France, but these attempts were unsuccessful, partly for political reasons, mainly due to the lack of enterprise among Russian and French merchants. In 1734, an agreement was concluded between Russia and England, which granted the subjects of both states the right of free navigation and trade in all areas belonging to them in Europe, and English and Russian ships were admitted on the basis of the most favorable rights. Both Russians to England and the British to Russia had the right to transport all sorts of goods, with few exceptions, and the same duties were paid on both sides. To eliminate deception and falsification, a “truthful marriage” was established, with the responsibility for the quality of the products placed on the rejectors. This agreement was renewed in 1742 for another 15 years.

The trade agreement of 1726 with Prussia, renewed in 1743 for 18 years, was of the same nature. To Sweden, according to the treaty of 1735, it was allowed to export duty-free grain from the harbors of the Baltic Sea for 50,000 rubles, hemp, flax and masts - also for 50,000 rubles. After a two-year war, a new agreement was concluded in 1743, which restored mutual free trade between citizens of both states. From Russia, duty-free export of bread, hemp and flax was allowed in an amount twice as large as under the agreement of 1735, and in the event of a bad harvest in Sweden, it was allowed to export there “as much grain as could be missed.” Russian furs, leather and cattle traveled through Poland to Prussia, Schleswig, Saxony and Turkey: Russian merchants themselves went to the destinations of the goods and there purchased goods needed for Russia. Maritime trade took place mainly through the ports of the Baltic Sea, between which St. Petersburg played a dominant role. The expansion of its trade turnover was especially facilitated by the improvement of the Vyshnevolotsk waterway and the opening, in 1728, of the Ladoga Canal. In addition to St. Petersburg, Russia had 6 trading ports on the Baltic Sea: Riga, Revel, Pernov, Arensburg, Narva and Vyborg. In 1737, Gapsal was annexed to them, in 1747 - Friedrichsham.

Relations with the East underwent many changes. According to the treaty concluded in 1732 in Rasht, Russia returned most of its conquests to Persia. For this, the Shah granted Russian merchants the right to duty-free trade in Persia, pledged to protect the Russians from any arbitrariness and provide them with speedy justice, without the usual red tape in Persia. Russia was given the opportunity to maintain consuls in cities to protect the interests of its merchants. In 1755, a Russian partnership was founded for trade with Persia. The Armenians, seeing it as a serious competitor and not having achieved its closure, united with it in 1758 into one “Persian Trading Society”, with a capital of 600,000 rubles. In 1762, it, along with other monopoly companies, was closed, since Peter III found that Russian trading companies of that time served only as a refuge for bankrupt merchants and were “ nothing more than the unrighteous appropriation by one of what belongs to all».

The terms of trade with Central Asia improved somewhat after the Kyrgyz-Kaisak horde accepted Russian citizenship (in 1731), especially due to its establishment on the river. Urals Orsk fortress, Troitsk and Orenburg. Since 1750, quite frequent movement of caravans to Orenburg from Bukhara, Tashkent, and Kashgar began. The attempts of Russian merchants to transport goods through Orenburg to Central Asia were not unsuccessful. In Balkh, Russian caravans met Indian ones and exchanged goods with them. Under the treaty with Turkey in 1739, subjects of both states were granted free trade; but Russian trade on the Black Sea had to be carried out on ships of Turkish subjects. The embassy sent by Catherine I managed to conclude a general treaty with the Chinese government in 1727, and an additional one in 1728, which established free trade between the empires. Two border places were designated for private trading - Kyakhta and Tsurukhaitu; the right to send caravans to Beijing was granted only to the Russian government, no more than once every three years, and the number of merchants in the caravans should not exceed 200. From that time on, the government sent its caravans with furs to Beijing only 6 times, between 1728 and 1755 .G. Caravan trading at the expense of the treasury required significant costs that were not recouped by profits, which is why it was abolished under Peter III. Mostly furs were sold to China, and silk and rhubarb were obtained from there.

The monopoly in foreign trade remained in force, interesting not only merchants, but also noble people; for example, Count P.I. Shuvalov received the exclusive right to export lard, blubber, and forests abroad. On the other hand, Russia owes the energy of the same Shuvalov the destruction (April 1, 1753) of internal outposts and the abolition of internal duties, which were becoming more and more complicated. The following fees were abolished: 1) customs (i.e. ruble and fair duties); 2) from hiring cabs and sailing ships; 3) with branding of clamps; 4) from bridges and transportation; 5) lifting; 6) from tan and dead horse and cowhide skins and from cattle; 7) fender and dump; 8) tenth collection from egg fish; 9) stationery petty; 10) from an icebreaker and watering hole; 11) from measuring quadrangles; 12) from the sale of tar; 13) from scales of weighty goods; 14) from stone millstones and pottery clay; 15) from passing printed documents; 16) deductible from wine contractors and advertisers; 17) from a customs letter. It was not so much the duties themselves that were burdensome, but the formalities, arbitrary exactions and all sorts of pressure on the part of the collectors (tselovniks) and tax farmers. These fees were especially difficult for rural petty trade, since every product priced above 2 hryvnia was registered at customs. In exchange for the canceled fees, customs taxation of imported and exported goods at border customs was increased by 13%. At the time of the abolition of internal duties, their annual amount throughout Russia, excluding Siberia, was determined based on a 5-year complexity of 903,537 rubles; and since it amounted to at least 5% of the value of goods circulated in domestic trade, the entire amount of domestic trade turnover is determined at 18 million rubles, while the turnover of foreign trade for imports reached 6, and for release 7.5 million rubles .

Such a weak development of internal trade indicates the dominance of the natural economy over the money economy. The customs tariff of 1757 was strictly protective in nature: import duties were increased on all non-essential items. The number of items prohibited for import or export has been increased. This tariff did not apply to the Livonian ports. Under Peter III, much was done to facilitate foreign trade. The export of grain, which was either allowed or prohibited without sufficient reasons, began to be carried out from all ports without hindrance. The export of salted meat and live cattle was facilitated. Arkhangelsk received all the rights that the St. Petersburg port enjoyed. The most important items of Russian vacation, according to data from 1758-68, were, in addition to bread, hemp (approx. 2 1/4 million poods per year), flax (692 thousand poods), flaxseed and hemp seed (120 thousand poods ), hemp and linseed oil (166 thousand poods), hemp ropes (19 thousand poods), linen and raventukh (up to 7.5 million arshins), lard (up to 1 million poods), yuft and other leathers (up to 200 thousand poods), furs, mostly cheap, live poultry, soap, horsehair, bristles, iron, copper. Vacation wooden beams, mast and other timber, as well as resin and tar, were subject to restrictions, and often complete prohibition, in the form of forest conservation. Among the transit Asian goods, silk and rhubarb were exported. Information about the quantity of imports is available for St. Petersburg: here in the middle of the 18th century. cloth and woolen products worth 827 thousand rubles, indigo and other dyes worth 505 thousand, wines and vodkas worth 348 thousand, sugar for 198 thousand, small goods for 146 thousand, silk fabrics for 108 thousand were brought, fresh fruits for 82 thousand, dry goods for 60 thousand, tea and coffee for 57 thousand. The total annual turnover of foreign trade and customs income during this period are expressed, according to Storch, in the following numbers:

In 1761, 1,779 ships arrived at Russian ports, including St. Petersburg and Kronstadt - 332, Riga - 957, Revel - 145, Narva - 115, Vyborg - 80, Pernov - 72, Friedrichsgam - 37, Arensburg - 34, Gapsal - 7.

Under Catherine II and Paul I

Convinced that “trade is removed from there, where it is used, and established where its peace is not disturbed,” Catherine, soon after her accession to the throne, issued a decree on trade, which confirmed the orders of Peter III on facilitating trade in bread, meat, flax, as well as the abolition of government trading with China; ordered “rhubarb and tar to be in free trade, but potash and tar, to save forests, to remain as government goods; Narrow linen can be freely exported abroad, but linen yarn cannot be released; destroy the farming of tobacco, seals and fish, order silk and make the release of beavers free.” The customs tax, given to Shemyakin in 1758 for 2 million rubles, was also destroyed. in year. In 1763, the “Commission on Commerce” was established.

The tariff it developed and put into effect in 1767 imposed high duties on imported goods “for household decorations and decorations, as well as for luxuries in food and drink as follows”; prohibited from importing are those products with which “due to the abundance in our own state we can be content”; goods “whose production or production in the state has not yet begun, in order to encourage agriculture or handicrafts” are exempt from duties. Overseas products and goods that were produced in Russia “not yet in sufficient quantity and not of perfect quality” were subject to a duty of about 12%. On imported goods, “which are also made in Russia, and these factories have been brought to some perfection,” duties of 30% of the price were established to encourage factories. “You may be happy with this 30% surplus for incentives; If you’re not happy, then it’s useless to keep such factories.” The predominant importance in the development of foreign trade was still played by the Dutch and the British, especially the latter, who, according to the treaty of 1766, enjoyed special advantages: for example, they could pay duties with a current Russian coin, according to the calculation of 1 ruble. 25 kopecks for efimkas, while from other foreigners they were certainly charged efimki, at the rate of 50 kopecks. Attitudes towards the British have changed since, during the Anglo-American War, Russian ships, just like ships of other nations, began to be inspected and stopped by the British on suspicion of carrying military contraband, and items necessary for equipping the ships were also considered contraband. , and even food supplies. Armed neutrality put an end to this (1780).

Taking advantage of the cooling between Russia and England, the continental states, one after another, concluded treaties with Russia that granted them the same rights that the British enjoyed in our country. In 1782, Denmark concluded an agreement with Russia, in 1785 - Austria, in 1786 - France, in 1787 - the Kingdom of Naples and Portugal. We reduced duties on French, Hungarian, Neapolitan and Portuguese wines, on Marseille soap, olive oil, Brazilian indigo and tobacco, and Portuguese salt, which was imported to Riga and Revel. In return, it was agreed that the Austrian government would lower duties on Russian furs, caviar and yuft; for the French - the exemption of Russian ships from paying freight duties and the reduction of duties on Russian lard, soap, wax, strip and grade iron; for the Neapolitan - a significant reduction in duties on Russian iron, tallow, leather, yuft, ropes, furs, caviar, linen and hemp, for the Portuguese - a reduction in duties on boards and timber, on hemp, hemp oil and seeds, on strip iron, anchors , cannons, cannonballs and bombs, from sailing sheets; Flamskie, Raventuha and Linen Kolomyankas; finally, Denmark provided Russian ships with significant benefits when passing through the Sound.

The treaty with England of 1766, after the expiration of the 20-year period, was not renewed. The events that took place in France in 1789-92 served as the reason for a sharp change in Russian politics: having terminated the treaty of 1786, Catherine banned French ships from entering Russian ports, prohibited the import of any French goods and trade in them, On March 29, 1793, she concluded a convention with England, which, among other things, decided not to release either bread or other vital supplies to France. These hostile measures extended to trade relations with Holland and other states that fell under French rule. By decree of May 20, 1796, Dutch ships were denied access to Russian ports.

Relations with the south European states through the Azov and Black Seas at the beginning of Catherine's reign were insignificant. All Azov-Black Sea trade was concentrated in Cherkasy, where the Kuban and Crimean Tatars brought Greek wines, southern fruits, vegetable oils, rice, cotton, and the Russians - leather, cow oil, canvas, iron in use and not in use, hemp, ropes, fur, leather. Russian merchants often traveled to Crimea and lived there for a long time, enjoying the favor of the local government and paying moderate duties: 5% for imports and 4% for exports. According to the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace (1774), Russian ships received the right of free navigation in all Turkish waters, and Russian merchants received all the benefits that in Turkey the subjects of its most favored powers enjoyed. To revive trade in the ports newly acquired from Turkey, Catherine introduced a special, preferential tariff for them, the rates of which for both imported and exported goods were 25% lower than the general tariff. Legislative activity for the benefit of domestic trade continued: in 1773 the last state monopolies were abolished; in 1785, the “City Regulations” were published, expanding the rights of the trading class; From villages to 300 new cities were founded and renamed. Waterways were improved; credit institutions were founded. From 1762 to 1796, the supply of Russian goods abroad increased 5 times, and imports from abroad quadrupled:

Periods	Export	Bringing
	million rubles
1863-1765	12,0	9,3
1766-1770	13,1	10,4
1771-1775	17,4	13,2
1776-1780	19,2	14,0
1781-1785	23,7	17,9
1786-1790	28,3	22,3
1791-1795	43,5	34,0
1796	67,7	41,9

For an amount up to 200,000 rubles. The following goods were brought: cotton, linen, lead, zinc, sheet iron, needles, tools for crafts, haberdashery goods, braids, silk and wool, stockings, writing paper, earthenware and porcelain products, pharmaceutical goods, cheese, horses. The entire import, on average, amounted to 27,886,000 rubles annually. No more than 1,500 maritime merchant ships arrived at the main Russian ports in 1763, and 3,443 in 1796.

At the very beginning of his reign, Emperor Paul I issued a number of decrees that softened the prohibitive nature of the measures taken in 1793 against trade with France. By two decrees on February 16 and 28, 1797, he allowed the transport from Holland not only of all goods not prohibited by tariffs, on ships belonging to neutral powers, but also some French ones: Provençal oil, canned food, olives, anchovies, wines, vodka, pharmaceutical materials ; the import of other goods was prohibited, as well as all direct relations with France. Trade relations that were beneficial for Russia were secured with Portugal by a treaty of 1798. A treaty of naval armed neutrality was concluded with Prussia in 1800; treaties with other states that were not at war with Russia at that time were confirmed without any changes.

Trade with China, according to the rules of 1800, was supposed to be strictly barter; Selling anything to the Chinese with money was prohibited under pain of a fine. To protect the interests of Russian trade, the leading merchants were elected, who were supposed to take care of raising prices for Russian goods and lowering prices for Chinese ones. According to the Kyakhta tariff, published in 1800 for trade with China, customs duties were to be levied on Chinese gold and silver, as well as Russian copper coins and banknotes; As before, a deferment in payment and transfer of bills of exchange to Irkutsk, Tobolsk, Moscow and St. Petersburg were allowed. To facilitate trade relations with Central Asia, the export of foreign gold and silver coins from border customs was allowed.

The customs tariff issued in 1797 differed from the tariff of 1782 by higher duties on supplies of life. Paul granted the two “leading” merchant harbors of Crimea, Feodosia and Evpatoria, complete freedom of entry for ships of all nations, “so that each and every natural Russian subject and foreigner can not only bring goods duty-free to these harbors, but also deliver them to all other places.” peninsula on the same right." In the case of sending such goods inside the empire, they were subject to payment, in Perekop, with duties at the same rate as goods imported into Crimea from other regions of Russia. During this reign, much was done to develop trade in the internal regions of the empire: the Oginsky Canal, connecting the Dnieper basin with the Neman basin, was completed; The Siversov Canal was dug to bypass the lake. Ilmen; The Syasssky Canal was started and work continued on the construction of the Mariinsky Canal.

IN last years During the reign of Paul I, several orders on trade were issued, under the influence of external political events. Thus, by decree of March 6, 1799, it was ordered to arrest all ships belonging to residents of Hamburg that were at that time in Russian ports, since the emperor had for some time noticed “the inclination of the Hamburg government towards anarchic rules and adherence to the rule of the French abductors of legitimate power.” By a decree on October 12 of the same year, Danish commercial ships were prohibited from entering Russian ports, “due to the clubs established and tolerated by the government in Copenhagen and throughout the Danish kingdom, on the same grounds as those that caused nationwide indignation in France and overthrew the legitimate royal power.” . Both of these orders were canceled in October of the same year, when the emperor found that both the Hamburg government and the Danish king had satisfied all his demands, “proposed for the common good.” In November 1800, it was ordered to sequester all kinds of English goods from all shops and stores and completely prohibit their sale. On February 8, 3801, “due to the measures taken by France for the safety and security of Russian ships,” trade relations with this power were again allowed. At the same time, it was forbidden to export Russian goods not only to England, but also to Prussia, due to the fact that England, after breaking off direct trade with Russia, “decided to conduct it through other nations.” On March 11, 1801, the Emperor ordered that no Russian goods be released from Russian ports, border land customs houses and outposts without special Highness. there was no order to take it out. In 1800, goods worth 61.5 million rubles were exported, and goods worth 46.5 million rubles were brought in.

In the 19th century

Under Alexander I

Emperor Alexander I, who reigned on March 12, 1801, “wishing to provide commerce with free and unhindered circulation,” by decree on March 14 ordered the lifting of “the previously imposed ban on the export of various Russian goods,” as well as the embargo on English ships and the sequestration on the property of English merchants. Soon the dispute with England about neutral trade was ended by a peace concluded on June 5, 1801 in St. Petersburg. It was recognized that a neutral flag did not cover enemy cargo, and that belligerent powers could stop neutral ships, even those under escort, rewarding them for losses in case of unfounded suspicion. On September 26, 1802, an agreement was concluded in Paris with France on the basis of the commercial treaty of 1786. According to the Treaty of Tilsit of 1807, Alexander undertook, if England did not make peace with Napoleon within 5 months, to proceed to the “continental system " On October 24 of the same year, a declaration of rupture with England was issued; Following this, an embargo was imposed on English ships, and in 1808 the import of English goods to Russia was prohibited.

The continental system, having blocked the sale of Russian raw materials by sea abroad, dealt a heavy blow to our agriculture, without bringing any benefit to the manufacturing industry, since the products of Russian plants and factories could not yet compete with foreign ones that penetrated to us across the land border. Huge masses of Russian holiday goods lay idle in coastal cities, and at the same time we could not receive many colonial products necessary for factories, for example. dyes. Our domestic trade has weakened, the exchange rate has fallen. Given the obvious impossibility of supporting a system harmful to Russia, Alexander I, from 1811, allowed the import of colonial goods under the American flag and prohibited the import of foreign luxury goods that came to us by land, mainly from France. The change in Russian trade policy, together with a number of political circumstances, led to a break with France and a new rapprochement with England. In 1814, trade relations with France and Denmark were resumed, and in 1815 - with Portugal.

At this time, in our European trade, the customs tariff, published in 1810, was still in force. woolen; duties on the export of flax, hemp, lard, linseed, resin and sailing cloth were raised. In view of economic rapprochement with European states, the emperor, even at the Congress of Vienna, agreed to soften the severity of this situation, but it was decided to do this gradually. According to the tariff of 1816, tanned leather, cast iron, many products made of iron, copper and tin, and many types of cotton and linen fabrics were still prohibited from importing; but other products are allowed with the payment of a duty of 15 - 35% of value (velvet, cambric, cloth, carpets, blankets, grade iron, cutlery, weapons, furs, etc.). It was decided to collect duties in both silver and banknotes, counting (in 1817) 4 rubles. banknotes equal to 1 ruble in silver; from goods taxed not by weight, but by price - only with banknotes. The tariff of 1816 was already replaced by a new one in 1819, for the following reason. By Article XVIII of the Vienna Treaty, Russia, Austria and Prussia mutually pledged “to promote, if possible, the success of agriculture in all parts of former Poland, to stimulate the industry of its inhabitants and establish their well-being, to allow henceforth and forever free and unrestricted circulation of all products of the land and industrial products of these regions." This decree, supplemented by the conventions of August 24, 1818 and April 21, 1819, provided Austria and Prussia with such benefits for the export of all goods to Russian possessions that our government could no longer leave the previous tariff in force, and in 1819 it was issued was a new one, the most lenient towards foreign provenances that has ever operated in Russia. The duty on foreign goods, according to this tariff, consisted of two parts: the customs itself and the consummation duty. The first was paid by the importer, the last - together with the first - by the Russian consumer. Added together, these two parts were, in most cases, very close to the rates of the 1797 tariff, with the consummation part being many times higher than the customs part. Here are some examples:
Fees:

Name of product	Imported, cop.	Consommation		Total
		rub.	cop.	rub.	cop.
for sugar from a pood	40	3	35	3	75
for cast iron from a pound	9		81		90
on steel from a pound	7,5		17,5		25
for hayfields	3		27		30
on writing paper	2 1 / 6		12 5 / 6		15
on calico	13,5		26,5		40
on the sailing sheet and raventukh	3 / 4		79 1 / 4		80

An increase of more than 15 million rubles. the import of foreign products could not but affect our manufacturing industry: many factories closed; the number of sugar factories was reduced from 51 to 29. The alarmed government made several partial amendments to the rates of 1819, and in 1822, issued a strictly protective tariff, “considered,” as the manifesto says, “with the success of its own industry, equal to the institutions in other states published on this subject.” Particularly high duties were imposed on imported products, semi-processed materials and luxury goods; more moderate - raw works; almost all holiday goods were taxed relatively lightly, and many were exported duty-free.

Under Alexander I, our trade on the Black Sea made great strides, thanks to the geographical location of Novorossiya and the government's concerns about it. In 1803, all customs duties, both on imports and on release, for the Black Sea region were reduced by 25%; in 1804 it was allowed " send all sorts of goods in transit through Odessa to Moldova, Wallachia, Austria and Prussia, as well as from there overseas" The Peace of Bucharest in 1812 confirmed the free entry of Russian ships into the Chilia mouth of the Danube and free navigation along this river. The right of porto-franco, granted by Paul I to the Tauride Peninsula, was extended to Odessa. On the Caspian Sea, trade was hampered by military actions against Persia; Only after the conclusion of the Treaty of Gulistan (1813) did Russian-Persian trade revive, which was further facilitated by the grant in 1821 to all those trading in Transcaucasia, Russians and foreigners, exemption for 10 years from paying duties and duties, except for the 5% customs duty on imported goods goods from Persia. Trade with Central Asia along the Kyrgyz border continued to develop, which was facilitated by the permission of merchants - all three guilds - to conduct foreign trade here, and for people of all classes - barter trade. Merchant caravans heading from Orenburg to Bukhara and back were guarded by a military convoy. To encourage the import of goods to remote areas of Siberia - Okhotsk and Kamchatka, the government allowed duty-free import there of vital supplies, medicines and tools; goods sold were paid with a duty at a moderate rate. In 1825, 236 1/3 worth of goods were exported from Russia, 195 million rubles were brought to Russia, and 53 million rubles were received in customs duties.

Under Nicholas I

The patronizing trade and industrial policy did not bring the fruits that were expected from it. Under the protection of a tariff prohibitive for many foreign products, factory production did not make sufficient progress either in quantitative or qualitative terms. Despite high duties, the import of foreign goods doubled in value from 1825 to 1850, and in particular, the import of goods quadrupled. Foreigners still dominated our foreign trade: of the total number of ships traveling abroad, only 14% belonged, in the 30s, to Russians (including the Finns). And these few Russian ships did not always meet in foreign ports with the same hospitality that foreign merchant ships in Russia had long enjoyed. Thus, in the thirties, in Great Britain and the United States of America, Russian ships were allowed to arrive only with a cargo of Russian goods; ship dues from our ships in England were collected at double the usual rate for others. In France, our merchant ships, even with Russian cargo, had to pay much more duties and other charges than the ships of the most favored nations. Surcharge duties were levied on Russian ships in other states, with the exception of Sweden, Norway and the Hanseatic cities. Of the 7,182 ships arriving at and leaving Russian ports, only 987 were Russian. In 1825, 64 million rubles worth of goods were exported from Russia and 51 million rubles were brought in. silver; in 1850, 98 million rubles were exported and 94 million rubles were brought in. silver

Our ties with European states were sealed from time to time by trade agreements. So, in 1828 it was concluded and in 1835-38. the treaty with Sweden was renewed, in 1832 - with the North American United States, in 1845 - with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, in 1846 - with France, in 1847 - with Tuscany, in 1850 - with Belgium and Greece , in 1851 - with Portugal. The last agreement, by the way, prohibited the bringing of Chinese and Indian goods on Russian ships to Portugal; Goods brought on Russian ships to Portugal and on Portuguese ships to Russia were subject to payment of an additional duty of 20%. The correct course of Turkey with Poland, which in customs terms was considered a foreign state until 1850, was disrupted during the unrest of 1830 and 1831, but restored in 1834: almost all prohibitions were abolished, all goods, except cotton products, It was allowed to bring from Poland to Russia, but not otherwise than on the basis of certificates of origin of goods.

Highest value Prussia acquired in our trade along the land border, whose turnover with Russia during the second quarter of the century increased from 6 to 25 million rubles. Our vacation there rose from 4.0 to 10.9, and imports from there rose from 1.6 to 14.4 million rubles; Trade turnover with Austria increased from 6 to 12 million rubles. Prussia bought grain, flax, hemp, timber, lard, leather and bristles from Russia, not so much for itself as for export, through Danzig, Konigsberg and Memel, to Great Britain, Holland, France and other states. In addition to the above-mentioned goods, furs and livestock were exported to Austria. Furs were the subject of significant trade at the Leipzig fair, while livestock was sent to Bukovina, and the remainder of the sale was driven to Olmutz and Vienna. Mostly manufactured goods were imported from Prussia and Austria; Moreover, silk came from there, grape wines, scythes and sickles.

The Adrianople Treaty of 1829 confirmed the validity of the trade agreement of 1783, and the duty on all goods, both imported and sold, was determined to be 3% of their value, established by a special tariff. In 1846, a new agreement was concluded, by which Turkey undertook to replace all previously existing internal trade taxes with one duty of 2%, and also to grant Russia the rights of the most favored power. Thanks to the long peace, trade in southern Russia developed rapidly: exports from the Black Sea ports quadrupled in 20 years (from 1830 to 1850), and imports increased 3 times; the number of ships arriving in 1850 reached 2,758. The main export item was wheat, but fruits, wines, olive oil, silk, cotton and various colonial goods were brought. The Turkmenchay Peace Treaty of 1829 restored trade relations with Persia, and Russian-Persian trade temporarily revived: exports to Persia rose to 5.5, imports to 2 3/4 million rubles; but, under the influence of English competition, the first fell in 1832 to 900 thousand rubles, and the last - to 450 thousand rubles. Despite incentives and benefits for the Russian merchants, by the half of the century, vacations had increased only to 1.5 million rubles, and imports - to 8.5 million rubles.

Central Asian caravans came to border points twice a year: in spring and at the end of summer. Their closest route from Bukhara to Khiva was inconvenient due to lack of water and due to enmity between the Bukharans and Khivans; the second route went to Petropavlovsk, the third, not safe from the Kyrgyz, went to Troitsk. To secure the path through the steppes, Bukhara, Kokand and Tatar merchants resorted to hiring Kyrgyz carters from those clans that migrated to Russian border areas for the summer and went south for the winter. Thus, cotton, paper yarn, soft junk were brought to Russia from Central Asia, and calico, calico, leather, glass and glass products, paints, cast iron, iron, steel, copper, tin, zinc and products made from these metals were exported there. mercury, silver. Orenburg and Siberian merchants took part in this trade. At the beginning of the 2nd quarter of the 19th century. was released to Central Asia along this border up to 5 1/3, brought 4 million rubles, and in half a century it was released 15, brought 10.5 million. In the 40s, especially since the release of the Minister of Finance, Count Kankrin (in 1844), resigned, objections were heard in Russian society against the extremes of protectionism. In 1846 some duties were reduced; in the same year, a special committee was formed under the chairmanship of Tengoborsky, which developed a new tariff, approved on April 21, 1851. The number of prohibitions was reduced, duties on paints, cotton and metal products and haberdashery goods were lowered; duties on trade goods were partly reduced and partly cancelled. At the beginning of the second half of the 19th century V. the total annual turnover of Russian foreign trade for exports extended to 107, for imports - up to 86 million rubles, with the inclusion of the Kingdom of Poland, which in customs terms was united with the Empire since 3851. The countries of destination of our sea vessels and the origin of imported goods were distributed in 1849-1851. in the following way.

On vacation:

Upon delivery:

From 1855 to 1900

The war with Turkey and the three powers allied with it distracted many people's forces from productive labor, which is why within two years the turnover of Russia's foreign trade decreased significantly: exports, which reached 147 million rubles in 1853. ser., fell in 1854 to 67, and in 1855 to 39 million; imports from 102 decreased to 70 and 72 million rubles. ser. After the conclusion of peace, trade revived and expanded more and more every year. By the end of the reign of Alexander II, exports reached half a billion, and imports - 622 million rubles. The development of trade was most facilitated by the liberation of peasants, the reduction of customs taxes on imported goods, and the development of a network railways, which increased under Alexander II from 1 thousand to 21 thousand versts, abolition of tax farming, abolition of the poll tax from the townspeople and peasants, zemstvo institutions, judicial reform, city regulations of 1870.

In 1857, a new tariff was introduced, in the development of the basis of which Tengoborsky took part. On 299 articles of the tariff of 1850, duties were reduced, and on 12 articles import bans were lifted. The import of raw and semi-processed materials was especially facilitated. In 1859 and 1861 two 10% increases were made to the tariff rates of 1857, but even after that the customs tax, which amounted to in 1850-1852. 34% of the price did not exceed 16%. By the tariff of 1868, customs duties were again reduced, in general, to 12.8% of the value of imports. Trade treaties were concluded with almost all states on the basis of mutual favor: with France - in 1857 and 1874, with England and Belgium - in 1858, with Austria-Hungary - in 1860, with Italy - in 1863. , with the Hawaiian Islands - in 1869, with Switzerland - in 1872, with Peru - in 1874 and with Spain - in 1876.

Several agreements were concluded with China that were beneficial for Russia. According to the treaty of 1858 in Tianjin, all those Chinese ports in which foreign trade was allowed were open to the Russians. The Beijing additional treaty of 1860 allowed subjects of both states to carry out barter trade along the entire border line and confirmed the right of Russian merchants to travel at any time from Kyakhta to Beijing and along the way, in Urga and Kalgan, to carry out retail trade, so that their no more than 200 people gathered in the same place. In 1869, special rules were established for Russian-Chinese overland trade, on the basis of which trade could be carried out duty-free at a distance of 100 Chinese li (about 50 versts) from the border line; Russians were given the right to trade duty-free in Mongolia. The duty on goods brought by Russian merchants to Tian Ching was reduced by 2/3 compared to what was due under the general foreign tariff; no duties were levied on Chinese goods purchased by Russian traders in Tianjin for export by land to Russia, unless these goods had already been paid for duty in any port; goods purchased for the same purpose in Kalgan were paid only with a transit duty, half the amount of the export duty. Finally, goods, but named in a foreign tariff, were cleared by duty according to the Russian additional tariff; on goods that were not included in either one or the other, duties were levied, as a general rule, in the amount of 5% of the value.

Russian-Chinese trade, however, developed poorly, which the main reason there was competition from the British, who sold their goods at a cheaper price. In particular, the tea trade in Kyakhta decreased somewhat due to the opening of the western Russian border for its import. Back in 1852, an expedition was sent to Japan, under the command of Admiral Putyatin, who managed to conclude a trade agreement with the Japanese government: three ports in Japan were opened for Russian ships - Shimoda, Hakodate and Nagasaki, to which Ieddo was annexed in 1858 and Osaka. In 1867, a convention was concluded with Japan, which supplemented the provisions of previous treaties that were beneficial for Russian trade.

Thanks to the strengthening of trade ties with foreign countries and moderate customs duties on imported goods, foreign trade turnover in 20 years (1856-1876) increased from 160 to 400 in terms of output, and from 122 to 478 million credit rubles in terms of imports. The rapid increase in imports, which outstripped exports in value, aroused fears. In order to curb the growth of imports, as well as in the interests of the fiscus, which needed gold for the upcoming war, it was decided to levy, from 1877, customs duties on all imported goods in gold, while maintaining the same nominal rates. This immediately increased customs taxes by 1.5 times, if we take into account the exchange rate not for 1876, but for the five years following it. On June 3, 1880, the duty-free import of cast iron and iron was abolished, and duties on metal products were increased; On December 16, 1880, duties on all duty-bearing goods were increased by 10%; On May 12, 1881, duties on jute and jute products were increased, on May 19 of the same year - on cement; June 1, 1882 for many tariff items in the amount of up to 7.5 million rubles; On June 16, 1884, duties on coal and coke were established and increased - no effect on pig iron; On January 15, 1885, duties on tea, wood oil, herring and some other items were increased; On March 19, 1885, agricultural machines and apparatus were taxed; On May 10, 1885, duties on copper and copper products were increased; On May 20, 1885, the rules on trade relations between the Empire and Finland were changed, and many customs tariff rates were raised; On June 3, 1885, duties were increased on 167 tariff items. All these surcharges were expected to increase customs revenue by 30 million rubles, but in reality, income along the European border did not increase. The increase in customs duties for the purpose of tariff protection for various industries continued after 1885; for example, on March 31, 1886, duties on copper and copper products were increased again, on June 3 - on brick, alum, soda, sulfuric acid, vitriol and glue, on July 12 - on coal brought to the southern ports, in 1887 - for cast iron, iron and steel are not in business, for coal and coke and for some other goods of secondary importance.

Since the establishment of the collection of duties in gold currency, the exchange rate of the credit ruble not only has not increased, but has fallen from 85 kopecks. in 1876 to 67 in 1877 and to 63 kopecks. in the next five years. In 1887, the rate dropped to 55.7, in 1888 it rose to 591/2, in 1889 - to 66. From the beginning of 1890; the credit ruble exchange rate began to rise and reached 77 in half the year, which reduced customs protection of industry expressed in credit currency. As a result of this, it was recognized as necessary from the middle of 1890 to indiscriminately increase, with very few exceptions, all customs duties by 20%. At the same time, work on revising the tariff of 1868 was being completed, culminating in the introduction, on July 1, 1891, of a new tariff, which slightly modified and brought into the system all previous partial and general increases in rates. How big the difference is between the rates of the last two tariffs can be judged by the following examples:

Customs duty per pood:

Product	according to the tariff of 1868	according to the tariff of 1891
Cast iron	5 kopecks	45-52.5 kopecks.
Iron	20-25 kopecks	90 kopecks - 1 rub. 50 kopecks
Rails	20 kopecks	90 kopecks
Factory-made machines, except copper ones	duty free	2 rub. 50 kopecks
Steam locomotives	75 kop.	3 rub. 00 kop.

On average per capita, trade turnover increased in the 2nd period against the first by 44.6%, in the 3rd against the second by 81.9, in the 4th against the third by 34.0%. In 1900, goods worth 716,391 thousand were exported, and goods worth 626,806 thousand rubles were imported. Simultaneously with the increase in Russia of duties on imported raw materials, machinery and implements, in some foreign continental countries duties on Russian grain and raw materials were increased, which, regardless of changes in our trade policy, was caused by the increased import of cheap overseas agricultural products to European markets. works. For the first time, Germany raised duties on imported bread and on some other agricultural products in 1879. Gradually increasing, these duties reached in 1892: on wheat and rye 37.9, oats - 30.3 and barley - 30 kopecks. from the pood. In 1892 and 1893 Germany concluded agreements with 22 states, including all our competitors in the sale of grain, under which for these states duties on grain products, butter, eggs, live cattle, timber and some other agricultural goods were reduced by 30-40%. . Thus, Russia was actually eliminated from the German market. After unsuccessful attempts to reach an agreement, surcharges of 15, 20, 25% were made in Russia to duties on goods coming from Germany. The latter responded with a 50% increase in duties on Russian agricultural products, as a result of which an increase in the same amount was made to the duties on German provenances in Russia, and German ships were subject to an increased last tax: 1 rub. instead of 5 kopecks. from the flipper. Then negotiations began, leading to an agreement on January 29, 1894, for a period of 10 years. Duties on Russian wheat and rye were reduced to 26.5 kopecks, on oats - to 21 1/5 kopecks, barley - to 15 kopecks. In addition, a 10-year non-increase in duties on oilseeds, forest products and horses and duty-free import of bran, cakes, and seeds are guaranteed. forage grasses, bristles, game, hides, wool and some other goods. In total, duties on Russian goods were lifted in the amount (according to calculations for 1895) of about 13.5 million rubles. For Germany, Russia reduced duties on 120 goods and product groups, totaling (for 1895) 7 million rubles (at the rate of 1/15 imperial). The benefits of this treaty are extended to all European states and the North American United States. In the last 20 years, more agreements were concluded: with China - in 1881, with Korea - in 1889, with France (additional convention) - in 1893, with Austria-Hungary - in 1894, with Denmark, Japan and Portugal - in 1895, with Bulgaria - in 1897. Thus, Russia has trade agreements that provide it with the right of the most favored power with all European states except Romania, where the same general customs tariff applies to all states. From Asian states Russia does not have a trade agreement only with Siam; among the Americans, it is bound by agreements only with the United States and Peru.

Russia's domestic trade is much less studied than its foreign trade. The total amount of its turnover is unknown; but there is no doubt that they are many times greater than foreign trade turnover. The annual production of agriculture is estimated at 3.5 billion rubles, cattle breeding and all other agricultural trades - at 2.5 billion; The mining and manufacturing industries - factory, handicraft and home - increase this mass of values ​​by another 3 billion. Thus, the entire annual production of consumer goods can be estimated at 9 billion rubles. About half of this entire mass of products is consumed locally, without entering the markets, so the value of goods circulating in domestic trade can be determined at 4.5 billion rubles. The turnover of Russia's internal trade is estimated at approximately the same amount based on data on trade fees and trade documents.

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Protectionist policies and

Mercantilism. Financial

Reform

The accelerated pace of development of Russian industry required the development of trade. In the theoretical works of F. Saltykov (“Propositions”), I. Pososhkov (“Book of Poverty and Wealth”) Russian economic thought was further developed, the theory of mercantilism, which provided for the economic policy of the state aimed at attracting as much money as possible into the country through the export of goods. With such an unprecedented scale of construction of various manufactories, money was constantly needed. Moreover, the money had to be kept in the country. In this regard, Peter I creates conditions to encourage domestic producers. Industrial, trade companies, and agricultural workers are given various privileges in such a way that the export of products exceeds the import. He imposed high duties on imported goods (37%), In order to develop internal trade, he adopted a special document on “fair markets”.

In 1698, construction began on the Volga-Don Canal, which was supposed to connect the largest water arteries of Russia and contribute to the expansion of domestic trade. The Vyshnevolotsky Canal was built, which connected the Caspian and Baltic Seas through the rivers.

In the first quarter of the 18th century. Sectors expanded not only in industry, but also in agriculture. New agricultural crops were imported into Russia, the development of which led to the creation of viticulture, tobacco growing, the development of new breeds of livestock, medicinal herbs, potatoes, tomatoes etc. d.

At the same time, the encouragement of state-owned industry and trade led to the restriction of “non-statutory” trade of landowners and peasants, which impeded the free development of market relations in the Peter the Great era. Management of industry and trade was carried out by the Berg Manufactory Collegium and the Commerce Collegium.

The continuous growth of government spending on industrial development and military needs also determined financial policy. Financial functions carried out by three institutions: the Chamber Board was responsible for collecting revenues, the State Office Board was responsible for distributing funds, and the Board of Audits controlled the first two institutions, that is, collection and distribution.

According to the demand of time and searches Money the Russian Tsar strengthened the state monopoly on a number of goods: tobacco, salt, fur, caviar, resin, etc. By decree of Peter I, special persons - the staff of profit-makers - looked for new and varied sources of income. Taxes were levied on windows, pipes, doors, frames, duties were established for shipping and berthing duties, for places in markets, etc. In total, there were up to 40 such taxes. In addition, direct taxes were introduced on the purchase of horses, on provisions for the fleet, etc. To replenish the treasury, a monetary reform was carried out.

Since the end of the 17th century. The restructuring of the Russian monetary system began. A new coin system was created, reducing the weight of the coin, replacing small silver coins with copper ones, and deteriorating the standard of silver. As a result of the financial reform, coins of various denominations appeared: copper ruble, half, half half, hryvnia, kopek, denga, polushka, etc. Gold (single, double chervonets, two-ruble) and silver coins (kopeck piece, penny, penny, altyn, kopeck) were also preserved. Gold chervonets and silver rubles became hard convertible currency.

The reform carried out had both positive and negative consequences. Firstly, it led to significant state revenues and replenished the treasury. If in 1700 the Russian treasury totaled 2.5 million rubles, then in 1703 it was 4.4 million rubles. And, secondly, coin transactions caused a fall in the ruble exchange rate and a 2-fold increase in prices for goods.

Social politics

In the era of Peter I. Taxes and

Duties of the population.

Introduction of the poll tax

Both in the field of economics and in the field of social policy, Peter I adhered to his main principle - protecting the interests of the nobility as the ruling class in order to strengthen the absolutist state. As a result of Peter's modernization, the nobles not only increased their land ownership, but also the noble rights to land and peasants expanded. The Tsar's decree of 1714 on single inheritance is confirmation of this. The law on single inheritance, firstly, eliminated the distinction between votchina and estate. From now on it is a “real estate” (estate). Secondly, following the example of the English majorate, Peter established an order that did not allow the fragmentation of estates. It passed to one heir. Only movable property could be divided. In addition, during Peter's reforms, the nobility was formalized as a service class.

Tax reform 1718-1724 contributed to the “revision” of the nobility itself. The nobles who had no place and no peasants were excluded from its number. A huge number of such nobles (essentially minor employees) were excluded from the noble class and transferred to a new category - peasants. The “pure” noble class was called the gentry.

Of no small importance for strengthening the position of the nobility as the ruling class was the “Table of Ranks” of 1722. It established new order receiving ranks, which were henceforth given only for service. The new document defined four types of service (military, naval, civil and court). In each of them, all positions were divided into 14 classes (from 14th to 1st - highest). A person from other classes who received personal nobility in the 14th grade and rose to the 8th grade acquired hereditary nobility. He could pass on the title of hereditary nobleman to only one son.

Peter I, strengthening the position of the nobility, at the same time demanded that, in the name of the interests of the Fatherland, they must receive education. The Tsar issued a decree that noble children who did not have an education had no right to marry.

In general, in the field of social policy, Peter's legislation followed in principle the general trend that emerged in the 17th century. Serfdom, fixed by the Council Code of 1649, received its further development. The situation of the peasantry in the first quarter of the 17th century. got even worse.

The Europeanization of Russia, reforms, the hardships of wars, the creation of industry, etc., of course, required huge expenses and additional financing, reaching up to 80-85% of the initial income. It became obvious that the door-to-door principle of taxation did not bring the expected increase in tax receipts. In order to increase their income, landowners settled several peasant families in one yard, which led to a sharp reduction in the number of households (by 20%) and, accordingly, taxes. Therefore, it was introduced new principle taxes.

In 1718-1724. On the initiative of Pyotr Alekseevich, a census of the entire male tax-paying population was carried out, regardless of age and ability to work, and “fairy tales” were collected about the number of souls in each village. Then special officials-auditors carried out an audit of souls and compiled lists of the population of the entire country. A total of 5,637,449 male souls were taken into account, who became the main taxpayers.

The introduction of the poll tax meant collecting a tax from one male soul. Before the tax reform, the tax was taken from the household and was the same (households could number 10, twenty people, or more). Now the tax from landowner peasants was 74 kopecks, from state peasants - 1 ruble 14 kopecks, from townspeople - 1 ruble 20 kopecks. The tax was applied to a number of categories of the population who had not previously paid it (slaves, “walking people”, single-yard dwellers, black-growing peasantry of the North and Siberia, etc.). The listed social groups constituted the class of state peasants, and the poll tax for them was feudal rent, which they paid to the state. The nobility and clergy were exempt from tax. In addition, all tax-paying classes, with the exception of landowner peasants, paid the state 40 kopecks. “Obrok”, which was supposed to balance their duties with the duties of the landowner peasants (see document No. 3).

The introduction of the poll tax significantly increased the state's taxation. If by 1700 the profit from taxes amounted to 2 million 500 thousand, then in 1724 it amounted to 8 million 500 thousand, and most of this amount was from the poll tax.

Along with the poll tax, peasants paid other taxes and fees designed to replenish the treasury, to create and maintain a cumbersome apparatus of power and administration, army and navy, construction of cities, etc., and bore duties. Peter not only changed the direct tax, but also significantly increased indirect taxes and invented new sources of income. The war required huge additional expenses. If in 1701 and 1706 they amounted to 2.3 million and 2.7 million, respectively, then in 1710 it was already 3.2 million, which significantly exceeded revenues to the state budget. This became the reason for various financial measures of Peter’s government (stamp paper, “spoilage of coins,” “re-issue,” monopoly on the sale of salt, tobacco, etc.). As a result of Peter's reign, state revenues amounted to over 10 million rubles.

Despite significant successes in strengthening the country's budget, a parallel process was going on in parallel - the increasingly worsening situation of the peasants. Both the poll tax and numerous indirect taxes were an extremely difficult duty for the peasants. Peasants also carried out conscription duties, built cities, fleets, and fortresses. Since 1724, they could no longer go to work in the city without a passport (“vacation”) signed by the landowner. The introduction of the passport system by the government of Peter I led to strict control of population migration and further strengthened the serfdom regime.

Publications, 11:00 08/06/2019

© Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev. Merchant. 1920

Merchants under Peter I: privileges, subsidies and regulation with corruption

The transformation of Russia into an absolutist state changed the class composition of the population. The number of representatives of trade professions has increased especially noticeably. Merchants became the most important source of development for the king, but this only led to a limitation of their rights and opportunities.

In the sixth episode of his investigation, candidate of historical sciences, deputy of the State Duma of the first convocation, Alexander Minzhurenko, talks about the consequences of Peter I’s numerous reforms for the merchant class.

Russia's transition to the stage of absolutism introduced significant changes to the legal status of all social strata of Russian society without exception. The radical reforms of Peter I affected a variety of spheres of life. The rights of the merchants were also subjected to the most serious revision.

On the one hand, Peter I supported the merchants as the creators of the country's new economy, provided them with enormous assistance and assistance, protecting and expanding their rights and privileges. But on the other hand, this reformer thought primarily about expanding and strengthening the state. And to create an absolutist state, a colossal bureaucratic machine with a large number officials and a permanent large regular army and navy.

The formation and maintenance of two new pillars of the absolute monarchy required gigantic funds in volumes that the treasury of previous periods had never dreamed of. And everyone paid for the creation of this new state: the peasants, who received a burdensome poll tax with a mass of new taxes, and the clergy, who, according to the priests, were simply “robbed” by the Antichrist Tsar, and the aristocracy, and the rich merchants.

However, Peter I carried out the “robbery” of the merchants prudently and with the understanding that merchants are a goose that regularly lays golden eggs. And therefore she had to be helped in every possible way in this process of continuous reproduction of money. And Peter I, with all his irrepressible energy and scope, begins not only to support merchants in their activities, but also very persistently pushes them to new types of activities. A class of industrialist-entrepreneurs was formed from merchants with the assistance of the state.

Actually, even before Peter, merchants were engaged not only in purely trade. Quite often they founded industries and manufactories. It is known how merchants rose to prominence in the mining of salt, ores and other minerals. They were also involved in processing raw materials. Trade for many future industrialists was a stage of initial capital accumulation. And it was natural.

So, in many cases, Peter did not wait for that slow, in his opinion, accumulation of start-up capital, but began to endow merchants with it almost forcibly, literally forcing them to engage in a new business. Subsidies and privileges rained down on merchant-industrialists as if from a cornucopia. Peter urgently needed to create a merchant and naval fleet, for which copper, sailing cloth and much more were needed.

The urgent need for money forced Peter I to use internal trade as the most important source of government revenue. Trade was subject to various new taxes, which could not but restrain its turnover.

In addition, wanting to extract maximum profit from trade for the treasury, Peter I declared the sale of some goods on the domestic market a state monopoly. This category included salt, tobacco and other goods, the trade of which was often farmed out to individual merchants, monasteries, or carried out directly by government institutions.

The Petrine era is known primarily for the state’s desire to regulate economic, social and even private life. The royal decree of January 16, 1721 also determined the legal status of the merchants. By this document, the entire city population, with the exception of foreigners, nobles, clergy and “vile people”, was divided into two guilds. The corporations of guests, trading people of the living room and cloth hundreds were liquidated.

The first guild included large merchants, bankers, and skippers of merchant ships. The second guild included middle merchants, merchants of small goods and “grub supplies,” as well as artisans.

But this decree not only drew new social and legal boundaries between persons of different levels of wealth: it seriously affected the interests of the merchants, actually infringing on their exclusive rights to engage in trade. The decree eliminated the merchants' monopoly on trade, which they had enjoyed since the time of the Council Code of 1649. Trade was now allowed for persons of “every rank,” with the exception of the military.

Peter's Decree on Single Inheritance of 1714 also gave rise to competition for merchants. The tsar became concerned about the fragmentation of landowners' estates as generations changed and forbade them to be divided among his sons. From now on, upon the death of the owner, all land ownership could only pass entirely to the eldest of the brothers. The younger sons of noble families were directly recommended to engage in trading activities.

Of course, various subsidies and direct government financing of trade and entrepreneurship contributed to the revival and recovery of the economy as a whole. But such an active direct intervention of the state into economic life country with the injection of huge amounts of government money into it inevitably entailed an unprecedented increase in corruption, nepotism and embezzlement.

The rules of free, fair competition were often violated, and many respectable merchants, not included in government programs, could not compete with the trading establishments that were protected by the government. And many of the top government officials themselves rushed into trade and production, hastily creating enterprises with government money.

Thus, Prince Alexander Menshikov built a sailing factory on Klyazma, and other close associates of Peter I (Apraksin, Tolstoy, Shafirov) founded a silk company. She received huge subsidies from the state and the right to duty-free sales of her goods for 50 years, as well as freedom from taxes, housing and other privileges.

The protectionist tariff of 1724 also hit the interests and rights of many Russian merchants. This was done with the aim of creating favorable conditions for the emergence and development of new domestic industries - manufacturing enterprises.

Protecting such production, the government established extremely high and even prohibitive duties on the import of such foreign goods. If ordinary import duties were 10-20%, reaching 30-40%, then protective duties increased to 50-75% of the value of the imported goods. This affected the interests of those Russian merchants who mainly traded in these groups of goods. And they complained about the infringement of their interests and rights, that they were placed in unequal conditions with other merchants.

At the same time, Peter I created the maximum favorable conditions for merchants involved in the export of Russian products and products. In most cases, low (up to 3%) duties were charged on goods exported from the country. And if Russian merchants exported goods on their own ships, the duty was reduced threefold.

Openly copying the Western European experience, Peter began to put together various companies from disparate entrepreneurs (“in the East Indian manner.”) These companies were financed by the treasury and were under strict state control. Trading companies in Russia did not take root during the reign of Peter I. Merchants preferred to trade separately from each other, through their clerks.

Thus, the period of Peter’s reforms was accompanied by a certain “nationalization” of trading activity and its strict regulation. The tsar sought to subordinate everything in the country to the interests of the state. Hence, many merchants experienced both the patronage of the government and the many restrictions it imposed.

However, not all areas of trade fell into the field of view of Peter I, so medium and small merchants freely traded traditional goods. For them, regulation of trade activities by the state was expressed in most cases in bribery of government officials. Large merchants also suffered from corruption, and “in a big way.”

Peter himself, knowing about the widespread vice and the massive violation of the rights of the merchant people, resolutely fought against this evil, but he failed to create an effective system for protecting the rights of the merchants.

Trade routes

Trade within Russia was based on grain trade. At the beginning of the reign of Peter I, the grain route was closely connected with Moscow and the surrounding region. Grain was delivered here Okoye And Moscow River. In addition to grain there was also honey, hemp, oil, skins, lard and other goods. These goods came from Black Earth Region.

Through Nizhny Novgorod And Vyshny Volochek bread began to reach the new city - St. Petersburg. Bread was delivered to the center of Russia from Volga region, livestock products, for example, wool, lard, etc., saltpeter, wax, potash came from Ukraine.

Domestic trade

Internal trade both in the $17th century and under Peter I can be divided to levels. The lowest level were county and rural auctions, where local merchants and peasants gathered several times a week. The next level was trade fairs. The largest known fairs were Svenskaya near the monastery near Bryansk and Makaryevskaya near Nizhny Novgorod. The fair network was ramified and extensive, but trade was most brisk in the industrial center of the country. Fairs connected the lowest level of trade with the highest - with wholesale trade of large merchants.

Finished works on a similar topic

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You can determine how intensively trade was in a particular region by the size annual amounts of customs duties. They are an indirect indicator. Thus, customs payments for $1724-1726$. demonstrate that the Moscow region had the largest amount of fees, more than $140 thousand rubles. This was much more than in other regions: for example, in the Nizhny Novgorod province the fee was $40$ thousand rubles, in the Yaroslavl province - about $28$ thousand rubles, in the Novgorod province - about $18$ thousand rubles. In the rest of the country, trade turnover was significantly lower and, as a rule, did not exceed $5-6 thousand rubles in customs duties.

International trade. Ports, waterways, legislation

Peter I paid great attention to the development of trade. He built canals that united the waterways of the rivers. In $1703-1708$. was being built Vyshnevolotsky Canal, then in the $1720s. Ivanovo Lake connected the Don and Oka basins, construction began Volga-Don Canal, although this project was not developed; also, due to lack of funds, Peter I did not implement the developed projects Mariinsky And Tikhvinsky channels, they were built much later.

The foreign policy successes of Peter I were aimed not only at developing the country's power and raising its prestige at the world level, but also at developing foreign trade, which, ultimately, was supposed to bring the economy to a new level. Indeed, under Peter I, foreign trade began to play a huge role. The only port before the construction of St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, had an annual turnover of about $3 million rubles, the share of exports was almost $75%; by $1726$ the city of Arkhangelsk had lost a lot in turnover, but the port St. Petersburg reached an annual turnover of about $4 million rubles, and $60% of the amount was exported.

Astrakhan has historically been a center of trade with the East. In the $20s. $XVIII$ century. Astrakhan annual customs duty was several times less than St. Petersburg. But the strong point of Astrakhan was its fisheries, which made up the majority of the revenue.

Note Riga port, whose role began to increase in the Peter the Great era. It had an annual turnover of $20. $XVIII$ century. more than $2$ million rubles. Based on the figures, the port of Riga became the second most important after St. Petersburg. Its importance also lies in the fact that through this port the large southwestern region of the country opened up to the European market. Hemp, canvas, lard, wax, leather, flax, grain, etc. moved abroad along the Western Dvina. This is important because The waterway along the Dnieper was a dead end not only because of the rapids, but also because of the hostile attitude of neighboring states.

Note 1

Thus, foreign trade under Peter I grew significantly and greatly influenced treasury revenues.

The list of goods for sale grew, but many could only be traded by the state. Whenever possible, merchants tried to buy out the right to trade, becoming monopolists. To protect entrepreneurship in $1724, Peter issued customs tariff, there was a huge customs duty on it from those imported goods, which were abundantly available in Russia, domestically produced.

While reforming the Russian economy, Peter I made a lot of efforts to develop Russian industry. As in other areas of life, Peter saw this work as a state duty, and therefore considered himself entitled to impose it on the population and demand its implementation, no matter how difficult the work itself was.

To stimulate industrial production, interest-free loans are issued, payments are made in installments, and duty-free or reduced-tariff imports are allowed. required material from abroad. Privileges are granted, and at first even monopolies on production are granted. High duties are imposed on imported goods to eliminate competition. To protect the trade interests of Russian merchants abroad, consulates were established.

Peter I was especially concerned about the development of the mining industry in Russia and the establishment of a large factory industry, and in this area he achieved the greatest success. The Tula arms factory, with its extensive arsenal and surrounding settlements of gunsmiths and blacksmiths, supplied the large Russian army with weapons. In the Olonets region, on the shore of Lake Onega, in 1703. An iron foundry and ironworks were built, which became the foundation of the city of Petrozavodsk. But mining developed especially widely and successfully in the Urals, rich in ore deposits. The Urals had huge tracts of forest necessary for producing charcoal, which was used for metal smelting, and fast and deep rivers, which ensured the construction of factory dams. The Urals became one of the main centers for the production of weapons and the smelting of copper needed in shipbuilding and for minting coins. Other centers of metallurgy were Karelia and the Lipetsk region. Although the ores here were poor and metal production was expensive, both of these production areas were close to the centers of consumption - St. Petersburg and Voronezh. In the 18th century the government could already equip the army and navy with weapons made from Russian material and Russian manufacture, and iron and copper were even exported abroad.

The peculiarity of the metallurgical industry was that, unlike the capitalist manufacturing of the West, it was based on forced labor. The introduction of the poll tax and its extension to new categories of the population, the establishment of a passport system, which made it extremely difficult for peasants to leave the countryside, reduced to a minimum the opportunities for the formation of a civilian labor market in the country. Therefore, in order to provide plants and factories with the required number of workers, manufacturers and factory owners were allowed to buy villages for the factories, with the limitation, however, that “those villages were always inseparable from those factories,” in other words, it was impossible to sell peasants without land and without a factory. This is how the possession peasants arose.

Most metallurgical enterprises were initially built with treasury funds, but subsequently the share of private capital in the construction of plants increased. During the first decade of the 18th century. The treasury built 14 metallurgical enterprises, and private individuals - only 2. In the next 15 years, 5 factories were built with government funds, and 10 were built by private industrialists. Some of the state-owned factories were subsequently transferred to private hands on preferential terms. So, for example, the first large metallurgical plant in the Urals - Nevyanovsky - was transferred by Peter I to the manufacturer Demidov, on its basis a huge complex of factories grew, producing in the middle of the 18th century. more than a third of the metal smelted in Russia.

At the end of Peter's reign, there were up to 240 factories and factories in Russia. Along with metallurgical plants, cloth, linen, paper, silk, carpet, and hair factories operated; cannon, weapons, and gunpowder factories.

However, despite the spread of manufactories, urban crafts and peasant crafts retained their paramount importance. The vast majority of rural residents continued to be content with simple household items made on their own farms. However, the patriarchal isolation of household crafts was gradually broken. Millions of arshins of peasant linen and other products found their way through buyers not only to the markets of large cities, but also abroad.

All industrial activities in Russia were strictly regulated. Peter did not limit himself to general instructions: government supervision often interfered with the smallest details. Linen going abroad was ordered to be made with a width of 1.5 arshins, no wider, no narrower; sell hemp after cutting off its ends or roots. Craftsmen were ordered to organize themselves into craft workshops. In the early 30s of the 18th century. in Russia there were up to 15 thousand guild artisans, more than half of them in Moscow (8.5 thousand).

The rapid development of the manufacturing industry in Russia at that time was largely ensured by the protectionist policy of the Russian government. In order to protect Russian manufacture from competition with foreign goods, in 1724 it adopted the Customs Regulations, which established high duties on goods imported from abroad that were also produced by Russian factories, and, conversely, exempted the import of necessary raw materials from duties. In addition, the government provided the owners of manufactories with a number of benefits: it freed them from permanent conscription and government services, subordinated them directly to the collegiums, reduced the interference of the local administration in their affairs, and most importantly, granted them the right to exploit the forced labor of peasants in their enterprises.

The growth of manufactures, small commodity production, its specialization in certain regions of the country contributed to the expansion of domestic trade. Fairs of all-Russian significance continued to play a major role in internal exchange - Makaryevskaya, Irbitskaya, Svenskaya, Arkhangelogorodskaya, etc. Goods from all over the country were brought to these centers.

The expansion of domestic trade was facilitated by the construction of canals: in 1703. The construction of the Vyshnevolotsk Canal began, connecting the Volga basin with the Baltic Sea. The cheap waterway opened up wide opportunities for the delivery of goods to St. Petersburg and from there abroad. Construction of a bypass canal began around the stormy Lake Ladoga, completed in the second quarter of the 18th century.

The center of foreign trade has moved from White Sea to Baltic. So, in 1725 Over 900 foreign ships arrived in St. Petersburg. Other Baltic ports also actively participated in foreign trade: Vyborg, Riga, Narva, Revel (Tallinn), and Arkhangelsk accounted for only about 5% of Russia's foreign trade turnover.

Russia exported both traditional goods - flax, hemp, resin, timber, leather, canvas, and new ones - linen and iron.

Expensive cloth, silk fabrics, grape wines, coffee, spices, confectionery, porcelain, crystal and other luxury items occupied a prominent place in imports. What was new was the expansion of the import of raw materials for the developing industry. In particular, paints for textile factories were imported.

Russia has achieved success in its mercantilist policies - increasing its trade surplus. Export of goods through St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk and Riga in 1726. amounted to 4.2 million rubles, and imports - 2.1 million. This was largely facilitated by the customs tariff imbued with protectionist principles. Moreover, duties were collected from foreigners by efimkas, i.e. in foreign currency accepted at a reduced rate. This doubled the duty and helped attract precious metals into the country.

3 Peter’s “revolution” in the field of culture

and everyday life. The problem of civilizational split

in the era of Peter the Great and his influence

on the historical fate of Russia

The establishment of manufactories, the construction of canals, and the creation of a navy required the training of specialists in various fields of science and technology. The regular army and navy and the new bureaucratic institutions needed trained officers and officials. The scholastic school, which was in the hands of the church, could not meet the country's new needs for educated people.

In Russia, secular school was created in two forms: in the form of primary “digital” schools (of which there were about 50 by the end of the reign of Peter I) and in the form of a number of special educational institutions. These were the navigation school in Moscow and the maritime academy in St. Petersburg, the engineering school in Moscow and the artillery school in St. Petersburg, several “mathematics schools,” and a medical school at the Moscow military hospital.

Educational literature was produced for schools - primers, manuals on mathematics and mechanics, manuals on military engineering. Teacher of the navigation school L. Magnitsky in 1703. published the famous “Arithmetic”, according to which more than one generation of Russian people studied.

However, Peter's school did not produce lasting results. Many digital schools existed only on paper and later gradually closed completely. The nobility avoided these schools, and the merchant class directly petitioned for permission not to send their children there at all, citing damage to trade affairs. The percentage of those avoiding attending digital schools has always been significant. Primary schools at bishops' houses, run by the clergy, turned out to be more viable. They held out even after the death of Peter I.

Under Peter, the printing of books of secular content began on a large scale, ranging from alphabet books, textbooks and calendars to historical works and political treatises. From January 1703 In Moscow, the first printed newspaper “Vedomosti about military and other affairs worthy of knowledge and memory that happened in the Moscow state and in other surrounding countries” began to be published.

The spread of printed literature was facilitated by the introduction in 1710. a new civil font, more simplified compared to the complex style of the old Church Slavonic letters. The works of Western European scientists began to be systematically translated into Russian. This was a process of enriching the country with the achievements of foreign science and technology.

The Kunstkamera, created by Peter I, marked the beginning of the collection of historical and memorial objects and rarities, weapons, materials on the natural sciences, etc. At the same time, they began to collect ancient written sources, make copies of chronicles, charters, decrees and other acts. This was the beginning of museum work in Russia.

An important milestone in Peter’s transformations in the field of culture was the “Great Embassy”. Having glanced at Western culture in passing, Peter I came to the dangerous conclusion for national Russian culture about its huge lag behind Western culture. And therefore Peter I makes gigantic efforts and violence in order to push Russia into Western civilization.

First of all, Peter I tried to change the national traditions and everyday preferences that had developed in the country. The old habitual long-skirted clothing with long sleeves was prohibited and replaced with new ones. It was prescribed to wear camisoles, ties and frills, wide-brimmed hats, stockings, shoes, and wigs. It was forbidden to wear beards. Sellers of long-skirted dresses and boots and those who wore beards were threatened with exile to hard labor and confiscation of property. The king himself trimmed the beards and cut off the long caftans. He left long beards only to priests and peasants; the rest paid huge taxes for wearing beards. Subjects were also required to drink tea and coffee and smoke tobacco.

In 1718 Peter I introduced assemblies in St. Petersburg - ceremonial receptions of guests in noble houses. They were supposed to appear with their wives and daughters. The assemblies were schools of secular education, where young people had to learn good manners, rules of behavior in society, and communication. The code of conduct for the younger generation was “An Honest Mirror of Youth, or Indications for Everyday Conduct,” compiled by an unknown author, which set out the rules of conduct for young people in the family, at a party, in public places, and at work. The establishment of the assemblies marked the beginning of the establishment among the Russian nobility of “rules of good manners” and “noble behavior in society”, the use of a foreign language, mainly French. Thanks to the efforts of Peter I himself, many assemblies turned into drinking parties, and often participants in the assemblies, both men and women, were forcibly introduced to drunkenness.

Changes in everyday life and culture that occurred in the first quarter of the 18th century. had progressive significance, but they mainly affected high society. They further emphasized the identification of the nobility as a privileged class, and turned the use of the benefits and achievements of culture into one of the noble class privileges. Among the nobility, a contemptuous attitude towards the Russian language and Russian culture is established. Two subcultures are being formed in Russian society: the culture of the “people” and the culture of “society”. Thus, within the framework of a single religion and statehood, there are two civilizationally different cultures. Berdyaev N.A. wrote: “Russian people of that time lived on different floors and even in different centuries... There was almost nothing in common between the upper and lower floors of Russian culture, a complete split. It was as if they lived on different planets.”