Russia's Foreign Trade and Economic Expansion in the Seventeenth Century: Windows on the World. The Northern World: North Europe and the Baltic 400-1700 AD. People's Economies and Cultures, 13 by J. T. Kotilaine (review)

Abstract

reviews 557 theciviland foreign warsofhisage,he willbe bestremembered forhisState ofthe Russian Empire, an intelligent and well-informed accountof Muscovy. Itfalls intothree mainparts.First, we havea generaloverview ofthecountry at theend of thesixteenth century, comprising geographical, ethnographic and historical information. Secondly,thereis a narrative accountofevents whichtookplace duringMargeret'spresencein Russia, fromthe famine of 1601to thecoup againstDmitriiand thebeginning oftherevoltagainst Shuiskii's usurpation in 1606.The finalsectionis a somewhat naiveattempt to arguethatDmitrii was notan impostor butthetrueson ofIvan IV ('the Terrible').University teachersin the English-speaking worldwillno doubt continueto recommend Dunning'seditionto theirstudents, but specialists willfindthenewRussiantranslation ofMargeret's book,withitsup-to-date commentary and references to themostrecent literature, a valuableaddition toscholarship. The othersections of thevolumeprovideimportant evidence relating to thelaterperiodofMargeret's life;thecollected documents constituteessential sourcesforanyattempt towrite a biography ofthecaptain,and theyalso provideusefulmaterials forthe history of the concludingstages of the Time of Troubles.The editorsand theirteam of assistants are to be congratulated formakingso many primarysources,some previously unpublished, and others availableonlyin rarepublications, accessibleto the broaderacademiccommunity in thisexemplary work. Centre forRussian andEastEuropean Studies Maureen Perrie University ofBirmingham Kotilaine, J. T. Russia'sForeign TradeandEconomic Expansion in theSeventeenth Century: Windows ontheWorld. The Northern World:NorthEurope and theBalticc. 400-1700AD. People's Economiesand Cultures,13.Brill, LeidenandBoston, MA, 2005.xvii+ 611pp. Maps. Illustrations. Figures. Tables. Notes.Bibliography. Index.£161.00:$240.00. J. T. Kotilaine has written the mostcomprehensive studyto date of the impactofforeign tradeon thedevelopment oftheRussianeconomyduring theseventeenth century. Thisambitious book,basedon careful study ofvirtuallyall relevant primary and secondary sources(ineightlanguages) dispersed throughout many archivesand librariesacross Russia and Europe, ably surveys and quantifies Russia's extensive commercial relations withEurope (and to a lesserextentAsia) duringthe seventeenth century. Methodical, cautious and mindfulof the incompletedata sets available to modern researchers, Kotilainehas produceda workoflasting value to scholarsand students interested in Russianhistory, theearlymodernworld,and thebirth ofcapitalism. Historians havelongdebatedaboutthesize and character oftheRussian economyin the century beforePeterthe Great.Emerging badlydamaged fromtheTime ofTroubles(1598-1613), Russia'soveralleconomyand state finances staggered fordecades whilesome regionsthrived as foreign trade 558 seer, 87, 3, July 2009 resumedand increasedundertheearlyRomanovs.Sovietscholars(starting withLenin)emphatically declaredthatRussia'seconomyunderwent significantdevelopment duringtheseventeenth century, layingthefoundation for ImperialRussia'semergence as a GreatPower.No doubttherewas growth in someareasofRussia'seconomyin thedecadesfollowing theTroublesas the country recoveredfromcivilwar and foreign intervention, and as the Romanovempirerapidly absorbedSiberiaand advanceditsbordereastward to the PacificOcean. Nevertheless, thereis stillno scholarlyconsensus concerning thenature ortrajectory ofthateconomicdevelopment, thegrowth and importance ofRussiantowns,or eventhesize ofRussia'seconomyon theeveofPetertheGreat'sreign.Kotilaine'sbookattempts tofillinsomeof theblankspacesconcerning thedevelopment oftheearlymodernRussian economy byfocusing on foreign tradeas a driving force. Kotilaineplausibly arguesthatRussia'seconomygrewsignificantly in the seventeenth century, in theprocessbecominglessand lessautarkic as itwas increasingly integrated intothe expandingeconomyof WesternEuropean capitalism. The earlychaptersof the book describeRussia's international tradeand examine'Russia'sOutletsto theWorldMarkets', starting withthe vitalArctic seaport ofArkhangelsk. A greatstrength ofthis bookisitsdetailed examinationof Russia's White Sea trade with England and the Dutch Republic,and Russia'sextensive BalticSea and overlandtradewithSweden and Poland-Lithuania. Otherregions also receiveconsiderable attention, but Russia's tradewiththe East is examinedless thoroughly thanitsWestern trade.Kotilainedrawsattention to Tsar Aleksei's New CommercialCode of 1667whichestablished official entrepôts at Arkhangelsk, Novgorod,Pskov, Smolensk, Putivi'and Astrakhan', and he painstakingly describes each major tradetown'scommercial hinterland. The bookisespecially strong indetailing the activities of Westernmerchants in Russia, and it attempts withsome degreeofsuccessto evaluatetheimpactoftheir activity on thedevelopment oftheRussianeconomy. The bookincludes basicdescriptions (and excellent quantitative analysis)of Russia's main imports(especiallysilver)and its principal exports (furs, hides,wax,navalstores and potash).Numerous maps, tablesand illustrations significantly enhancethetext. The authoris to be commendedforwriting an important book about a complexand controversial topic.Thanksto Kotilaine'swork,therecan no longer be anyserious doubtaboutthegrowing importance offoreign tradeto Russia'seconomicdevelopment inthedecadesbefore PetertheGreat.There is still room,however, fordebateconcerning theextent and precisenatureof thatimpact.Some specialists willundoubtedly challenge Kotilaine'sestimate thatRussia'sforeign tradeamountedto 20 per centofthecountry's overall economicactivity intheseventeenth century (p.513);indeed,thatfigure seems too highto thisreviewer. Otherscholarshave calculatedthatforeign trade amountedto a much smallerpercentageof Russia's totaleconomy,and Kotilainewillneedto grapplewiththeir workbefore we can putmuchfaith in his ballparkestimate.Finally,to thisreviewer at least,it appears that Kotilaine'sfindings wouldbe enhancedby a moredetailedexamination of thespecific case histories ofsomeofRussia'smajorexportcommodities. For reviews 559 example,careful study ofRussia'spotashtraderevealsthatitwas developed byforeigners undera speciallicensegranted bythetsarand apparently promisedtoyieldhighreturns . Bymid-century, Russia'srapidly growing potash industry reachedsucha largescalethatitresulted in significant deforestation in severalparts of Russia while simultaneously enrichingTsar Aleksei's favourites, including theMorozovand Miloslavskii clans,as wellas Charles IPs personalenvoyto thetsar. Department...