Danube strategy of St. Petersburg and Russian-Serbian economic relations late XIX – early XX centuries

Abstract

The article, based on documents from the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire, for the first time introduced into scientific circulation, reveals the plans of the Russian Empire for economic penetration into the markets of Serbia and other Balkan countries during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A decisive factor in the economic strategy of the St. Petersburg ruling circles in relation to the Balkan region were the activities of the Russian Danube shipping company, which was assigned not only a commercial, but also a political role, as this strengthened Russian influence in the Balkan countries, primarily in Serbia. In addition, the development of navigation along the Danube in the late 19th and early 20th centuries allowed the Russian Empire to gain a foothold in the oil markets of both the Balkan countries and Austria-Hungary and Germany. From 1914–1915, during a special-purpose expedition headed by M.M. Veselkin, military cargo was transported to Serbia, namely on the ships and barges of the Russian Danube Shipping Company, which was an important factor of Russian-Serbian military cooperation during the First World War