The legacy of Peter the Great from the Muscovite state inherited the underdeveloped rudiments of industry, planted and supported by the government, poorly developed trade associated with the poor organization of the state economy. Were inherited from the Muscovite state and its tasks - to win access to the sea and return the state to its natural borders. Peter quickly set about solving these problems, starting a war with Sweden and deciding to wage it in a new and new way. There is a new regular army, a fleet is being built. All this, of course, required huge financial outlays. The Muscovite state, with the growth of state needs, covered them with new taxes. Peter also did not shy away from this old method, but next to it he put one innovation that Muscovite Russia did not know: Peter cared not only about taking from the people everything that could be taken, but also thought about the payer himself - the people, about where he can get the money to pay heavy taxes.

Peter saw the path to raising the people's well-being in the development of trade and industry. It is difficult to say how and when the tsar had this idea, but it probably happened during the Great Embassy, when Peter clearly saw the technical backlog of Russia from the leading European states. At the same time, the desire to reduce the cost of maintaining the army and navy naturally led to the idea that it would be cheaper to produce everything that was needed to equip and arm the army and navy. And since there were no factories and factories that could fulfill this task, the idea arose that they should be built, inviting knowledgeable foreigners for this and giving them to science. "their subjects" as it was then expressed. These thoughts were not new and have been known since the time of Tsar Michael, but only a person with an iron will and indestructible energy, such as Tsar Peter, could carry it out. Having set himself the goal of arming people's labor with the best folk methods of production and directing it to new, more profitable industries in the area of the country's wealth not yet touched by the development of the country's wealth, Peter "went over" all branches of national labor. Abroad, Peter learned the basics of the economic thought of that time. He based his economic doctrine on two propositions: first, each nation, in order not to become impoverished, must produce everything it needs, without turning to the help of other people's labor, the labor of other peoples; second, every nation, in order to grow rich, must export as much of its own products as possible from its own country and import as little foreign products as possible. Realizing that Russia is not only not inferior, but also surpasses other countries in abundance natural resources, Peter decided that the state should take over the development of industry and trade of the country.

Peter also paid attention to trade, to the better organization and facilitation of trade on the part of the state, for a very long time. Back in the 1690s, he was busy talking about commerce with knowledgeable foreigners and, of course, became interested in trading European companies no less than industrial ones.

In 1723, Peter ordered a company of merchants to trade with Spain. It was also planned to arrange a company for trade with France. To begin with, Russian state-owned ships with goods were sent to the ports of these states, but this was the end of the matter. Trading companies did not take root and began to appear in Russia no earlier than the middle of the 18th century, and even then under the condition of great privileges and patronage from the treasury. Russian merchants preferred to trade personally or through clerks alone, without entering into companies with others.

Since 1715, the first Russian consulates appeared abroad. On April 8, 1719, Peter issued a decree on the freedom of trade. For a better arrangement of river merchant ships, Peter forbade the construction of old-fashioned ships, various boards and plows. Peter saw the basis of the commercial significance of Russia in the fact that nature judged her to be a trading intermediary between Europe and Asia. After the capture of Azov, when the Azov fleet was created, it was supposed to send all the trade movement of Russia to the Black Sea. Then the connection of the waterways of Central Russia with the Black Sea by two channels was undertaken. Having established himself on the Baltic coast, having founded the new capital of St. Petersburg, Peter decided to connect the Baltic Sea with the Caspian Sea, using the rivers and canals that he intended to build. The subject of export from Russian ports were mainly raw products: fur goods, honey, wax. Since the 17th century, Russian timber, tar, tar, sailcloth, hemp, and ropes have been especially valued in the West. At the same time, livestock products - leather, lard, bristles - were intensively exported; from the time of Peter the Great, mining products, mainly iron and copper, went abroad. Flax and hemp were in particular demand; trade in bread was weak due to lack of roads and government bans on selling bread abroad. Instead of Russian raw materials, Europe could supply us with the products of its manufacturing industry. But, patronizing his factories and factories, Peter, with almost prohibitive duties, greatly reduced the import of foreign fabrications into Russia, allowing only those that were not produced at all in Russia, or only those that were needed by Russian factories and factories.

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 (“The 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 to 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 for encouraging domestic producers. Industrial, commercial companies, agricultural workers are given various privileges so that the export of products exceeds the import. He imposed high duties on imported goods (37%), In order to develop domestic trade, he adopted a special document on fairs.

In 1698, the construction of the Volga-Don Canal began, 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 the Baltic through the rivers.

In the first quarter of the XVIII century. branches expanded not only in the field of industry, but also in the field of agriculture. New agricultural crops were imported into Russia, the development of which led to the creation of viticulture, tobacco growing, the breeding 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 "unspecified" trade by landlords and peasants, which prevented the free development of market relations in the Petrine era. The management of industry and trade was carried out by the Berg Manufactory College and the Commerce College.

The continuous growth of government spending on the development of industry, military needs determined the financial policy. Financial functions were carried out by three institutions: the Chamber College was engaged in the collection of income, the Staff Office College - the distribution of funds, the Audit College - controlled the first two institutions, that is, collection and distribution.

In accordance with the requirements of the time and the search for funds, 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 profiteers - looked for new, most diverse sources of income. Taxes were imposed on windows, pipes, doors, frames, duties were set for mooring and mooring, for places in bazaars, 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. In order to replenishment of the treasury was carried out monetary reform.

Ever since the end of the 17th century. the restructuring of the monetary system of Russia began. A new monetary system was created, reducing the weight of the coin, replacing small silver coins with copper ones, and degrading the fineness of silver. As a result of the financial reform, coins of various denominations appeared: copper ruble, half a ruble, half a half, hryvnia, kopeck, money, half a piece, etc. Gold (single, double chervonets, two-rouble coins) and silver coins (hryvnia, piglet, penny, altyn, kopeck) were also preserved. Gold chervonets and silver rubles became hard convertible currencies.

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

Social politics

During the reign of Peter I received incentives for the development of domestic and foreign trade. This was facilitated by the development of industrial and handicraft production, the conquest of access to the Baltic Sea, and the improvement of communications. During this period, canals were built that connected the Volga and the Neva (Vyshnevolotsky and Ladoga). Between the individual parts of the country, exchange increased, the turnover of Russian fairs (Makarievskaya, Irbitskaya, Svenskaya, etc.) grew, which manifested the formation of an all-Russian market.

For the development of foreign trade, not only the construction of the St. Petersburg port was important, but also the support of Russian merchants and industrialists from the government of Peter I. This was reflected in the policy of protectionism and mercantilism, in the adoption of the Protective Tariff of 1724. In accordance with it (and the emperor himself took part in its development) the export of Russian goods abroad was encouraged and the import of foreign products was limited. Most foreign goods were subject to a very high duty, reaching up to 75% of the value of the goods. Incomes from trade contributed to the accumulation of capital in the sphere of trade, which also led to the growth of the capitalist structure. A common feature of the development of trade was to pursue a policy of mercantilism, the essence of which was to accumulate money through an active trade balance.

The state actively intervened in the development of trade:

monopolies were introduced for the procurement and sale of certain goods: salt, flax, yuft, hemp, tobacco, bread, lard, wax, etc., which led to an increase in prices for these goods within the country and a restriction on the activities of Russian merchants;

often the sale of a certain commodity, on which a state monopoly was introduced, was transferred to a specific farmer for the payment of a large sum of money;

direct taxes (customs, drinking fees), etc. were sharply increased;

practiced the forced relocation of merchants to St. Petersburg, which at that time was an unsettled border town.

The practice of administrative regulation of cargo flows was applied, i.e. it was determined in which port and what to trade. The gross intervention of the state in the sphere of trade led to the destruction of the shaky foundation on which the well-being of merchants, primarily loan and usurious capital, rested.

To the contents of the book: The World History

See also:

59 . Life of Peter the Great before the start of the Northern War. - Infancy. - Court teacher. - Teaching. - Events of 1682 - Peter in Preobrazhensky. - Amusing. - Secondary school. - Moral growth of Peter. - The reign of Queen Natalia. - Peter's company. - Fun value. Trip abroad. - Return

60 . Peter the Great, his appearance, habits, way of life and thoughts, character

61 . Foreign policy and reform of Peter the Great. - Tasks of foreign policy. - International relations in Europe. - Beginning of the Northern War. - The progress of the war. - Its influence on the reform. - Progress and connection of reforms. - The order of study. - Military reform. - Formation of a regular army. - Baltic Fleet. - Military budget

62 . Importance of military reform. - Position of the nobility. - The nobility of the capital. - The triple meaning of the nobility before the reform. - Nobility review and analysis. - The failure of these measures. - Compulsory education of the nobility. - Service order. - Separation of service. - Change in the genealogical composition of the nobility. - Significance of the above changes. Rapprochement of estates and estates. - Decree on unity of succession. - Effect of the decree

63 . Peasants and the first revision. - Composition of society according to the Code. Recruitment and kits. - Poll census. - Quartering regiments. - Simplification of the public composition. - Poll census and serfdom. - Economic importance of the poll census

64 . Industry and trade. - The plan and methods of Peter's activity in this area. - I. Calling foreign craftsmen and manufacturers. - II. Sending Russian people abroad. - III. Legislative propaganda. - IV. Industrial companies, benefits, loans and subsidies. - Hobbies, failures and successes. - Trade and communications

65 . Finance. - Difficulties. - Measures to eliminate them. - New taxes; informers and profiters. - Arrived. - Monastery order. - Monopolies. Poll tribute. - Its meaning. Budget 1724 - Results of the financial reform. Obstacles to reform.

66 . Control transformation. - The order of study. - Boyar Duma and orders. - Reform of 1699 - Voivodship comrades. - Moscow City Hall and Kurbatov. - Preparation of the provincial reform. - Provincial division in 1708 - Administration of the province. - The failure of the provincial reform. - Establishment of the Senate. - The origin and significance of the Senate. - Fiscals. - Boards

67 . Reformation of the Senate. - The Senate and the Attorney General. - New changes in local government. - Commissars from the land. - Magistrates. - Starting new establishments. - The difference between the foundations of central and regional government. - Regulations. New management in action. - Robbery

68 . Significance of the reforms of Peter the Great. - Habitual judgments about reform. - Fluctuations in these judgments. - Judgment Solovyov. - The connection of judgments with the impression of contemporaries. - Controversial issues: 1) about the origin of the reform; 2) about its readiness and 3) about the strength of its action. - Peter's attitude to old Russia. - His attitude to Western Europe. - Methods of reform. - General conclusions. - Conclusion

69 . Russian society at the moment of the death of Peter the Great. - The international position of Russia. - Impression of the death of Peter in the people. - The attitude of the people to Peter. - The legend of the impostor king. - The legend of the Antichrist king. - Significance of both legends for the reform. - Change in the composition of the upper classes. - Educational means. Overseas education. - Newspaper. - Theatre. - Public education. - Schools and teaching. - Gymnasium Gluck. - Primary schools. - Books; assemblies; secular textbook. - The ruling class and its attitude towards reform

70 . Epoch 1725-1762 - Succession to the throne after Peter I. - Accession of Catherine I. - Accession of Peter II. - Further changes on the throne. - Guards and nobility. - The political mood of the upper class - the Supreme Privy Council. - Prince D.M. Golitsyn. - Verkhovniki 1730

71 . The ferment among the nobility caused by the election of Duchess Anna to the throne. - Shlyakhetsky projects. - The new plan of Prince D. Golitsyn. - Crash. - His reasons. - Case connection. 1730 with the past. - Empress Anna and her court. - Foreign policy. - Movement against the Germans

72 . The meaning of the era of palace coups. - The attitude of governments after Peter I to his reform. - The impotence of these governments. - Peasant question. - Chief Prosecutor Anisim Maslov. - Nobility and serfdom. - Service benefits of the nobility: educational qualification and service life. - Strengthening of noble land ownership: the abolition of single inheritance; noble loan bank; fugitive decree; expansion of serfdom; class cleaning of noble land ownership. - Abolition of compulsory service of the nobility. - The third formation of serfdom. - Law practice

73 . Russian state about half of the 18th century. - The fate of the reform of Peter the Great under his closest successors and successors. - Empress Elizabeth. - Emperor Peter 3 the Third

74 . The Coup of June 28, 1762 - An Overview

75 . The main fact of the era. - Empress Catherine II. - Her origin. - Elizabeth's Court. - The position of Catherine at court. - Catherine's mode of action. - Her activities. - Tests and successes. - Count A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. - Catherine under Emperor Peter 3 the Third. - Character

76 . Catherine's position on the throne. - Her program. - Foreign policy. - Next tasks. - Peacefulness of Catherine. - Count N.I. Panin and his system. - Disadvantages of an alliance with Prussia. - War with Turkey. - Extension eastern question. - Relations with Poland. - Partition of Poland. - Further sections. - Partition values. - Results and nature of foreign policy

77 .

78 . Unsuccessful coding attempts. - Composition of the Commission in 1767 - Elections to the Commission. - Deputy orders. - Organization of the Commission. - Opening of the commission and review of its work. - Debate. - Two nobility. - Dispute over serfdom. - The Commission and the new Code. - Change of the task of the Commission. - The value of the Commission. - The fate of Nakaz. - Thought on the reform of local government and the courts

79 . The fate of the central administration after the death of Peter 1. - The transformation of the regional administration. - Provinces. - Provincial institutions, administrative and financial. - Provincial judicial institutions. - Contradictions in the structure of provincial institutions. - Letters of grant to the nobility and cities. - The importance of provincial institutions in 1775

80 . The development of serfdom after Peter I. - The change in the position of the serfs under Peter I. - The strengthening of serfdom after Peter I. - The limits of landlord power. - Legislation on peasants under the successors of Peter I. - View of the serf as the full property of the owner. - Catherine II and the peasant question. - Serfdom in Ukraine. - The serf legislation of Catherine II. - Serfs, as the private property of the landowners. - Consequences of serfdom. - Increasing rent. - Corvée system. - Yard people. - Landlord administration. - Trade in serfs. - The influence of serfdom on the landlord economy. - The influence of serfdom on the national economy. - The influence of serfdom on the state economy

81 . The influence of serfdom on the intellectual and moral life of Russian society. - Cultural demands of the noble society. - The program of noble education. - Academy of Sciences and University. - Public and private educational establishments. - Home education. - Morals of noble society. - The influence of French literature. - Guides of French Literature. - The results of the influence of educational literature. - Typical representatives of an educated noble society. - Significance of the reign of Empress Catherine II. - Increasing funds. Strengthening social discord. - Nobility and society

History of Russia in the 18th-19th centuries Milov Leonid Vasilyevich

§ 4. Trade

Internal trade based on the geographical division of labor relied heavily on the grain trade. At the beginning of the XVIII century. the main grain flow was connected with Moscow and the Moscow region. Grain products, hemp, hemp oil, honey, lard, skins, etc. were delivered here from the nearest Black Earth region along the Oka and the Moscow River. The flow of grain through Nizhny Novgorod and the Vyshnevolotsk Canal rushed to St. Petersburg. Bread from the Volga region went to the central provinces. Hemp, wool, lard and other livestock products, as well as wax, potash, saltpeter were brought from Ukraine to the center of the country.

The internal trade of the Petrine era, as in the 17th century, consisted of several levels. Its lowest level is rural and county auctions. where one, less often two or three times a week, the peasantry, small local merchants, gathered. BUT highest level trade - wholesale trade of large merchants. Fairs were its main conductors. The most important of them in the first quarter of the XVIII century. - this is the Makarievskaya Fair near Nizhny Novgorod and the Svenskaya Fair near the walls of the Svensky Monastery near Bryansk.

Of course, along with them, there was a huge network of small fair trade throughout Russia. However, the saturation of trade operations in certain areas was different. The most saturated was the huge region of the Industrial Center of Russia.

An indirect indicator of the intensity of the movement of goods can be the size of the annual amounts of customs payments, since under Peter I an extensive network of internal customs continued to operate. According to data for 1724–1726, of the inner provinces, the Moscow province had the largest amount of fees (141.7 thousand rubles), which far exceeded the fees in other areas. In the Nizhny Novgorod province, the collection was equal to 40 thousand rubles, in the Sevsk province - 30.1 thousand rubles, in the Yaroslavl province - 27.7 thousand rubles. Next come the Novgorod province (17.5 thousand rubles), Kaluga (16.5 thousand rubles). Simbirskaya (13.8 thousand rubles). Orlovskaya (13.7 thousand rubles). Smolensk (12.9 thousand rubles) and Kazan (11 thousand rubles) (our calculation. - L. M.). In other Russian provinces, the intensity of trade turnover is generally 2–3 times weaker (3–6 thousand rubles in customs duties).

For the development of trade, Peter I undertakes the construction of a number of canals that unite the waterways of different river basins. So, in 1703-1708. The Vyshnevolotsky Canal was built in the 1920s. The basins of the Oka and Don rivers were connected through Ivanovskoye Lake, the projects of the Tikhvin and Mariinsky canals were completed, and the construction of the Volga-Don Canal began. True, the last construction stalled, but a defensive line was built that blocked the way for the Nogai hordes to raid the Russian villages of the Volga region.

Foreign trade began to play a huge role in the Russian economy of the Petrine era. Until 1719, the port of Arkhangelsk had an annual turnover of 2 million 942 thousand rubles. (of which export is 74.5%). By 1726, the turnover of the St. Petersburg port reached 3 million 953 thousand rubles. (export about 60%). True, the turnover of Arkhangelsk had fallen by this time by about 12 times.

Astrakhan was the traditional center of trade with the countries of the East. In the mid 20s. 18th century the customs annual fee here reached 47.7 thousand rubles. If you name the amount of such a fee for St. Petersburg (218.8 thousand rubles), it will become clear that the turnover of the Astrakhan port was four times less. But at the same time, up to 44.2 thousand rubles were paid here alone in "fish duties", which is almost as good as the customs tax and emphasizes the enormous role of the Astrakhan fisheries.

Of particular note is the growing role of the port of Riga, the annual turnover of which in the mid-20s. was over 2 million rubles. (the amount of customs fees is 143.3 thousand rubles). After St. Petersburg, it became the most important center of Russian foreign trade, opening the way to the European market for the vast southwestern region of the country. Large quantities of such bulky goods (unfavorable in land trade) as hemp, flax, canvas, leather, lard, honey, wax, grain, etc. went abroad through the Western Dvina. Indeed, in those days, the trade route along the Dnieper was a dead end only because of the Dnieper rapids, but also because of the hostility of neighboring states. However, in the Left-bank Ukraine there were a number of cities that had foreign bargaining through Greek merchants who settled there and local merchants (Kyiv, Nizhyn, Chernihiv, etc.).

On the Baltic coast, Russia began to use such ports as Revel (customs duty 15.7 thousand rubles), Narva (10.4 thousand rubles), Vyborg (13.9 thousand rubles).

Treasury goods and trade monopolies. Foreign trade played a very significant role in the revenues of the treasury. Under Peter I, the number of goods traded only by the treasury increased markedly. This is not only caviar, fish glue, rhubarb, tar, potash, but also hemp, linseed and hemp seeds, tobacco, yuft, chalk, salt, tar, torn and pickled lard, cowhide, bristles, fish oil, etc. Merchants, when they could, they bought the right to trade this or that commodity from the treasury and became monopolists. Not infrequently the tsar himself handed out such monopoly rights. So, AD Menshikov had a monopoly on the export of tar, seal skins and Arkhangelsk fish products. Since 1719, the list of state-owned goods began to decline rapidly. In case of crop failure, the state forbade the export of grain abroad (it is true that grain trade was still very small). The export of Ukrainian saltpeter was banned.

Already during the construction of large manufactories, Peter I sought to protect young entrepreneurship, by separate decrees he prohibited the import of certain products from abroad. The ban on the import of metal needles followed immediately after the construction of the needle factory by the Ryumins and I. Tomilin. As soon as the Russian production of linen, silk products and stockings was established, the import of these goods from abroad was immediately banned. In the interests of the domestic cloth industry, the export of wool was banned. The patronizing policy towards Russian industrialists (coinciding with the principles of mercantilism) ended with the creation of the Customs Tariff of 1724. This most interesting piece of legislation was a very flexible instrument of trade and industrial policy. He put a strong barrier against the penetration of even high-quality products of Western countries, if the domestic industry fully satisfied domestic demand (the duty in this case was 75%).

This tariff, of course, did not meet the needs of the nobility, who were interested in foreign goods, and the merchants also wanted other tariffs. In 1731, a different tariff was adopted, which did not have such a pronounced protective character.

From the book History of Ancient Greece author Andreev Yury Viktorovich

4. Trade A rather populous population of trade and craft policies with its diverse needs, which are growing more and more as urban life becomes more complicated, lack of grain and different types raw materials for crafts, on the one hand, surpluses of wine and oil, stocks

From the book A Short Course in Russian History author Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich

XI. Trade From the underdevelopment of the arts and crafts and from the predominance of the original industry, one can already conclude what items of trade the country put on the market and what it itself needed: it put agricultural products, furs and raw products in general, needed

author Kovalev Sergey Ivanovich

Trade The gradual separation of handicrafts from agriculture, which can be traced throughout the first four centuries of Roman history, is inextricably linked with the development of domestic trade. A professional craftsman usually sold his products himself.

From the book History of Rome (with illustrations) author Kovalev Sergey Ivanovich

Trade The growth of local production against the background of a general improvement in the situation of the provinces, the development of transport, the increase in the safety of communications, and so on. led in the era of the Empire to a significant revival of Italo-provincial and interprovincial trade. In the 1st century

From the book History of Russia from the beginning of the XVIII to the end of the XIX century author Bokhanov Alexander Nikolaevich

§ 4. Trade Domestic trade, based on the geographical division of labor, relied heavily on grain trade. At the beginning of the XVIII century. the main grain flow was connected with Moscow and the Moscow region. Along the Oka and the Moscow River, grain products, hemp, hemp oil,

From the book Ireland. Country history by Neville Peter

TRADE In the 16th century, economic development was hampered by the position of the leaders of the Gaelic clans. This happened because of the financial rent they imposed on merchants who tried to trade with the Gaelic areas. Therefore trade within and outside of Ireland (always small)

From the book "Illustrated History of Ukraine" author Grushevsky Mikhail Sergeevich

15. Trade For the same reasons that made decotr places over the other, over the big cities, trade and trade roads were of great importance. On the Ukrainian land, as we already know, there has long been trade with the Black Sea coastal places, and with the Caspian

From the book History of Denmark the author Paludan Helge

Trade Skone fairs, which in the XIII and XIV centuries. represented an international market for all kinds of goods, in the XV century. limited to the herring trade. The Dutch passed by on their ships, buying grain from Prussia, primarily from Danzig; Prussian merchants

From the book of Galla by Bruno Jean-Louis

TRADE The Gauls are not merchants. They don't have that spirit. They prefer to provide themselves with natural resources or plunder what they themselves cannot produce. At the same time, trading networks were based in Gaul from the Neolithic era. First of all, for transportation to the south

From the book Mayan People author Rus Alberto

Trade Differences in geological, orographic, hydrographic and climatic conditions between individual areas of the Maya region determined a noticeable diversity natural resources in each of them. Although, in order to satisfy their elementary needs, the peoples of this

From the book Mayan People author Rus Alberto

Trade Often, ethnographers describe Maya communities as completely or almost completely isolated, as if they were excluded from the life of the country. In fact, the Maya through trade is drawn into the regional economy and, accordingly, into national life. In the Indian markets

author Golubets Nikolay

Trade "Mothers of Ukrainian cities" - Kiev, vyrisshі zmogutnіv up to the level of the capital of the largest European state of the country, is located at such an important trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" like the Dnipro with a university of doplivіv. Trade and bula tim chinnik, sho instilled

From the book Great History of Ukraine author Golubets Nikolay

Trade In the world of that, like a viklikan of Khmelnytsky region, the revolutionary praise will calm down, Ukrainian trade will return to normal. By the road to the Baltic piers, and headly Koenigsberg and Danzig, go from Ukraine to the wide world of Syria in exchange for crafts and crafts

From the book World History. Volume 3 Age of Iron author Badak Alexander Nikolaevich

Trade The production of products specially intended for sale was very poorly developed in Homeric society. True, the poems contain mention of individual cases of exchange, for example, the exchange of captives for bulls, weapons, wine. exchange item in

author Kerov Valery Vsevolodovich

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The wise man avoids all extremes.
Lao Tzu

The Russian economy in the 17th century lagged far behind European countries. Therefore, the economic policy of Peter 1 was aimed at creating conditions for the economic development of the country in the present and future. Separately, it should be noted that the main direction of the development of the economy of that era was the development, first of all, of the military industry. It is important to understand this, since the entire reign of Peter 1 took place during the period of wars, the main one of which was the Northern War.

The economy of the era of Peter and should be considered from the point of view of the following components:

The state of the economy at the beginning of the era

The Russian economy before Peter 1 came to power had a huge number of problems. Suffice it to say that in a country with a huge amount of natural resources, there was no necessary material for their own provision, even for the needs of the army. For example, metal for cannons and artillery was purchased in Sweden. The industry was in decline. Throughout Russia there were only 25 manufactories. For comparison, in England during the same period there were more than 100 manufactories. As for agriculture and trade, the old rules were in effect and these industries practically did not develop.

Features of economic development

Peter's great embassy to Europe opened up to the tsar the problems that were in the Russian economy. These problems were exacerbated with the start of the Northern War, when Sweden cut off the supply of iron (metal). As a result, Peter I was forced to melt church bells into cannons, for which the church called him almost the Antichrist.

The economic development of Russia during the reign of Peter the Great was aimed primarily at the development of the army and navy. It was around these two components that the development of industry and other objects took place. It is important to note that since 1715, individual entrepreneurship has been encouraged in Russia. Moreover, part of the manufactories and factories were transferred to private hands.

The basic principles of the economic policy of Peter 1 developed in two directions:

Protectionism. This is support for domestic producers and encouragement of the export of goods abroad.
Mercantilism. Predominance of exports of goods over imports. In economic terms, exports prevail over imports. This is done to concentrate funds within the country.

Industry development

By the beginning of the reign of Peter I, there were only 25 manufactories in Russia. This is extremely small. The country could not provide itself even with the most necessary. That is why the beginning of the Northern War was so sad for Russia, since the lack of supplies of the same iron from Sweden made it impossible to wage war.

The main directions of the economic policy of Peter 1 fluttered in 3 main areas: the metallurgical industry, the mining industry, and shipbuilding. In total, by the end of Peter's reign in Russia, there were already 200 manufactories. The best indicator that the economic management system worked is the fact that before Peter came to power, Russia was one of the largest importers of iron, and after Peter 1, Russia came out on the 3rd place in the world in iron production and became an exporting country.

Under Peter the Great, the first industrial centers in the country began to form. Rather, there were such industrial centers, but their significance was insignificant. It was under Peter that the formation and rise of industry in the Urals and Donbass took place. The reverse side of industrial growth is the attraction of private capital and difficult conditions for workers. During this period, ascribed and sessional peasants appeared.

Posession peasants appeared by decree of Peter 1 in 1721. They became the property of the manufactory and were obliged to work there all their lives. Posessional peasants replaced the ascribed ones, who were recruited from among the urban peasants and assigned to a specific factory.
History reference

The problem of the peasants, expressed in the creation of a possessive peasantry, was associated with the lack of a skilled workforce in Russia.

The development of industry in the Petrine era was distinguished by the following features:

The rapid development of the metallurgical industry.
Active participation of the state in economic life. The state acted as the customer of all industrial facilities.
Employment of forced labor. From 1721 factories were allowed to buy peasants.
Lack of competition. As a result, large entrepreneurs had no desire to develop their industry, which is why there was a long stagnation in Russia.

In the development of industry, Peter had 2 problems: poor efficiency government controlled, as well as the lack of interests of large entrepreneurs for development. All this was solved simply - the tsar began to transfer, including large enterprises, to the management of private owners. Suffice it to say that by the end of the 17th century, the well-known Demidov family controlled 1/3 of all Russian iron.

The figure shows a map of the economic development of Russia under Peter 1, as well as the development of industry in the European part of the country.

Agriculture

Consider what changes took place in Russian agriculture during the reign of Peter. The Russian economy under Peter I in the field of agriculture developed along an extensive path. The extensive path, in contrast to the intensive one, did not imply an improvement in working conditions, but an expansion of opportunities. Therefore, under Peter, active development of new arable land began. The most quickly developed lands were in the Volga region, in the Urals, in Siberia. At the same time, Russia continued to be an agrarian country. Approximately 90% of the population lived in villages and was engaged in agriculture.

The orientation of the country's economy towards the army and navy was also reflected in the agriculture of Russia in the 17th century. In particular, it was precisely because of this direction in the development of the country that the development of sheep and horse breeding began. Sheep were needed to supply the fleet, and horses to form the cavalry.

It was during the Petrine era that new tools of labor began to be used in agriculture: a scythe and a rake. These tools were purchased from abroad and imposed on the local economy. Since 1715, what year did Peter I issue a decree to expand the sowing of tobacco and hemp.

As a result, an agricultural system was created in which Russia could feed itself on its own, and also, for the first time in history, began to sell grain abroad.

Trade

The economic policy of Peter 1 in the field of trade generally corresponds to the general development of the country. Trade also developed along a protectionist path of development.

Until the Petrine era, all major trade was conducted through the port in Astrakhan. But Peter the Great, who loved St. Petersburg terribly, by his own decree forbade trading through Astrakhan (the Decree was signed in 1713), and demanded a complete transfer of trade to St. Petersburg. This did not bring any special effect for Russia, but it was an important factor in strengthening the position of St. Petersburg as a city and capital of the Empire. Suffice it to say that as a result of these changes, Astrakhan reduced its trade turnover by about 15 times, and the city gradually began to lose its rich status. Simultaneously with the development of the port in st. petersburg, ports in Riga, Vyborg, Narva and Revel were actively developing. At the same time, St. Petersburg accounted for approximately 2/3 of the foreign trade turnover.

Support for domestic production was achieved through the introduction of high customs duties. So, if the goods were produced in Russia, then its customs duty was 75%. If the imported goods were not produced in Russia, then its duty varied in the range from 20% to 30%. At the same time, the payment of the duty was made exclusively in foreign currency at a favorable exchange rate for Russia. This was necessary to obtain foreign capital and be able to purchase the necessary equipment. Already in 1726, the volume of exports of products from Russia was 2 times higher than the volume of imports.

The main countries with which Russia traded at that time were England and Holland.

In many respects, the development of transport went on for the development of trade. In particular, 2 large canals were built:

Vyshnevolotsky Canal (1709). This canal connected the Tvertsa River (a tributary of the Volga) with the Msta River. From there, through Lake Ilmen, a path to the Baltic Sea opened.
Ladoga Bypass Canal (1718). Went around Lake Ladoga. This detour was necessary because the lake was turbulent and ships could not move on it.

Development of finance

Peter 1 had one oddity - he loved taxes very much and in every possible way encouraged people who came up with new taxes. It was during this era that taxes were introduced on almost everything: on stoves, on salt, on government forms, and even on beards. In those days, they even joked that there were no taxes only on air, but such taxes would soon appear. The increase in taxes and their expansion led to popular unrest. For example, the Astrakhan uprising and the uprising of Kondraty Bulavin were the main major discontents of the masses of that era, but there were also dozens of minor uprisings.

In 1718, the tsar carried out his well-known reform, introducing a poll tax in the country. If earlier taxes were paid from the yard, now from every male soul.

Also, one of the main undertakings was the financial reform of 1700-1704. The main attention in this reform was paid to the minting of new coins, equating the amount of silver in the ruble with silver. The very weight of the Russian ruble was equated to the Dutch guilder.

As a result of financial changes, the growth of revenues to the treasury was increased by about 3 times. This was a great help for the development of the state, but made it almost impossible to live in the country. Suffice it to say that during the Petrine era, the population of Russia decreased by 25%, taking into account all the new territories that this tsar conquered.

Consequences of economic development

The main results of the economic development of Russia in the first quarter of the 18th century, during the reign of Peter 1, which can be considered the main ones:

Growth in the number of manufactories by 7 times.
Expansion of the volume of manufactured products within the country.
Russia has taken the 3rd place in the world in metal smelting.
In agriculture, new tools began to be used, which later proved their effectiveness.
The founding of St. Petersburg and the conquest of the Baltic states expanded trade and economic ties with European countries.
St. Petersburg has become the main commercial and financial center of Russia.
Due to the state's attention to trade, the importance of the merchant class has grown. It was during this period that they established themselves as a strong and influential class.

If we consider these points, then a positive reaction to the economic reforms of Peter 1 suggests itself, but here it is important to understand at what cost all this was achieved. The tax burden on the population increased greatly, which automatically caused the impoverishment of most peasant farms. In addition, the need to develop the economy at a rapid pace actually contributed to the strengthening of serfdom.

New and old in the Petrine economy

Consider a table that presents the main aspects of the economic development of Russia in the era of the reign of Peter 1, indicating which aspects were before Peter and which appeared under him.

Table: features of the socio-economic life of Russia: what appeared and what was preserved under Peter 1.

Factor	Appeared or survived
Agriculture as the basis of the country's economy	Preserved
Specialization of economic regions	Appeared. Prior to Peter, specialization was insignificant.
Active industrial development of the Urals	Appeared
Development of local land tenure	Preserved
Formation of a single all-Russian market	Appeared
Manufactory production	Preserved, but greatly expanded
Protectionist policy	Appeared
Registration of peasants to factories	Appeared
Excess of exports of goods over imports	Appeared
Canal construction	Appeared
Growth in the number of entrepreneurs	Appeared

Regarding the growth in the number of entrepreneurs, it should be noted that Peter 1 actively contributed to this. In particular, he allowed any person, regardless of his origin, to conduct research on the discovery of minerals and establish their own factories at the location.