Abstract
The reign of Peter the Great (1682-1725) is known not only for transforming Russia into a powerful empire but for a radical change in its economy and rapid industrial development. These changes were dictated by the Northern War with the Swedes and Peter's ideas onto how to manage the economy. The article examines two main aspects of the policy - in relation to trade and industry. For Russia’s merchants this era was a difficult time entailing their actual ruin. Huge taxes and various duties were imposed on merchants and townspeople in general with state active intervention in business, taking it away from entrepreneurs and introducing monopolies for purchase and sale of raw materials and goods. Only towards the end of Peter I reign the system of pressure on merchants weakened. Industry followed a different path: the state used all its means to develop manufacturing. Officials took special care of the sectors focused on military needs. The authorities launched a broad program of protectionism, they in every way assisted the organizers of production, with finance, benefits, protecting the enterprises from foreign competition. It resulted in greenhouse conditions for industrial development. A special issue was labor force at enterprises: the government developed the procedure of attaching local peasants to factories, allowing the owners of manufactories to buy out serfs. These measures contributed to the transformation of industry into a kind of serfdom. All this had an extremely negative impact on the formation of Russian capitalism and the future of Russia.
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