П.Я. Марпергер и его труд «Московитский купец…» («Moscowitischer Kauffmann…», 1723)

Abstract

The scope of work carried out by the German scholar and entrepreneur P.J. Marperger is much broader than its title and represents a sort of a reference for foreign business people, who arrived in Russia, steering them through the country. The author, using authentic documents, oral sources and, possibly, his own observations, provided extensive information about the international commerce as such, trade laws and rules, features of the Russian customs, types of coins, common measures and weights. He also (mainly, referring to the available Western European literature in English, French and Latin) obtained in-depth insights into the internal and overseas political and military history of our country, depicted its geography with natural and climatic conditions, the largest cities, rivers, lakes and seas; described the living conditions, way of living and manners, customs and religious preferences of the peoples living in the country. P.J. Marperger introduces readers to the convenient ways of quick traveling of travelers and postal officers through the empire. A special chapter is the Russian-German dictionary and phrasebook.