Russian Merchants Research Articles

Правила переселения народов Северо-Западного и Центрального Кавказа в Османскую им-перию в российских документах 2-й половины XIX века

The rules intended to regulate the emigration of peoples of the Northwestern and Central Caucasus to the Ottoman Empire in the 2nd half of the 19th century are contained mainly in the office doc-umentation of Russian military and administrative bodies: the administrations of the Caucasian Military District, the Main headquarters of the Caucasian Army, the headquarters of the troops of the Kuban region, the administrations of the chiefs of the Kabardin and Natukhai districts, the administrations of the Lower Kuban cordon line, the Maykop fortification, etc. (reports, letters, prescriptions, reviews, relations, conditions). The content of the paragraphs of many documents in this group is the same. The rules established for groups and individuals preparing to move to the Ottoman Empire a time frame, points for obtaining foreign passports and departure, routes and conditions for their movement in the Caucasus, conditions for their sale of livestock, etc. A num-ber of documents contain the conditions under which Russian merchants were obliged to transport Circassians from the Caucasian to the Ottoman coast of Black Sea. A number of documents also say that military officials demanded that their subordinates speed up the emigration of the Circas-sians. The prescription of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the envoy to the Ottoman Empire (dated July 19, 1861) contains the positions and mutual demands of the Ottoman and Rus-sian governments on the issue of the resettlement of Caucasian Muslims to the Ottoman Empire, as well as the some legal aspects of this process. The content of the rules for regulating the migration of peoples of the Northwestern Cauca-sus to the Ottoman Empire in subsequent periods, in general, coincides with the content of such rules of the late 50s – 60s XIX century.

Russian-Spanish Relations During the Development of North American Territories in the Second Half of the 18th century

The article is about the relations between Russia and Spain in the second half of the 18th century. The article identifies the factors that influenced the nature of the emerging interaction between the powers: it shows the ambivalence of Russian-Spanish relations, on the one hand, due to the growing fears of the Spanish authorities provoked by Russia’s advance towards California, and, on the other, to the development of mutually beneficial trade relations. We draw attention to aspects related to Russia’s discovery of the Aleutian archipelago and Alaska and the activity of Russian merchants. The reaction of the Spanish court to messages of Spanish diplomats in Russia about Russian discoveries in America is shown. The analysis of the texts of diplomatic reports (1761−1792) has shown that the Spanish ambassadors were skeptical about the success of Russian expeditions to the American continent but changed their mind in the second half of 1760s. The article also examines the trade and economic aspect in the relations between the powers, showing the intention of Spain and Russia to establish direct trade. At the same time, we note that the nature of such interaction was influenced by the general political situation, which was determined by the leading powers of that time. The article has been written using historical and philological methods and approaches and aims to show the various aspects and stages of Russian-Spanish relations during the period of colonization of the Northwest of America. The results of the study can be used in practical activities of diplomatic services within the framework of international dialogue.

«Парадная» сторона общественной жизни купечества Вологодской губернии во второй половине XIX века

Despite the fact that the history of the Russian merchants has been of great interest to researchers for more than two decades, there are still little studied aspects in this area, including the «ceremonial» side of the public life of representatives of the merchant class. This area of research activity seems very promising, as it can significantly complement the sociocultural portrait of the merchant class. The purpose of this paper is to recreate the picture of the participation of the merchants of the Vologda province in festive and solemn events as an important part of public life in the second half of the XIX century. Based on the «Vologda Provincial Gazette» for 1861-1899, using the methods of formalizing and systematizing historical data, such components of the «ceremonial» side of the public life of the local merchants as the celebration of important dates related to the Romanov House; accompanying members of the imperial family who visited the province; participation in official events organized by the Governor; Clubs membership were identified. The published materials indicate that the merchants took an active part in local celebrations dedicated to the events from the life of merchants, as well as provided significant financial support to the related various charitable initiatives. The most important events of the provincial authorities could not do without representatives of the merchant class. Besides, in the second half of the XIX century, the general urban leisure space for a wide range of people, including merchants, began to take shape. These aspects nevertheless allow us to outline the main facets of the «ceremonial» side of the public life of the merchants of the Vologda province in the second half of the XIX century and set directions for further research.

"No Profit Needed, Glory Would be Good": the Family of Kursk Merchants Gnuchevs in the 18th – early 20th

Relevance. During the Soviet period, the activities of the merchant class were criticized for ideological reasons. Meanwhile, it was the entrepreneurial abilities of Russian merchants that were the most important factor in the development of the economy of the economy of the Russian state. Today, the state is making significant efforts to develop entrepreneurship. It is of interest to study the experience of developing entrepreneurship in the pre-revolutionary period.The Purpose. The study of the formation and development of the Kursk merchant dynasty of the Gnuchevs.Objectives. Within the framework of the article, the following tasks are solved: to trace the origin of the Gnuchev merchant dynasty, to identify the contribution of the Gnuchev merchants to the economy of the city of Kursk, to study the social activities of representatives of the Gnuchev merchant dynasty.Methodology. The article carried out a comprehensive analysis of archival sources and publications, used the methods of statistics and data comparison, analysis, synthesis, personal biographical method. Results. In the 18th - the first half of the 19th century, the Gnuchev dynasty of merchants developed. By the middle of the 19th century, the role of the Gnuchev merchants in the economic life of Kursk reached its maximum. In the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. there was a decrease in the importance of trade and production activities of representatives of the dynasty.Conclusion. The success of the Gnuchev merchant dynasty was ensured by the determination and hard work of several of its key representatives who managed to achieve success in the entrepreneurial field. In the Gnuchev family, they include the ancestor - Ivan, who, thanks to his own efforts, was able to move from a seedy family of service people to the merchant class, Foma Afanasyevich, who decided to move from the small town of Oboyan to the center of the Kursk province, and Afanasy Fomich, who managed to concentrate in their hands control over a number of important commercial and industrial enterprises of Kursk. None of the merchant dynasty of the Gnuchevs disgraced the honest name of the family. None of them were held accountable for misconduct related to entrepreneurial activities. And today the descendants of the Gnuchev merchant dynasty live in Kursk.

The State Church Policy of the Russian Empire in Alaska

This article deals with the management of missionary activity in Alaska in the late eighteenth – nineteenth centuries. The main objective is to reconstruct the management strategy of the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska with reference to archival documents and published sources. The research methodology relies on analysing the regional approach, where the region is perceived both as an object and a subject of empire-building. In the eighteenth century, the management of Alaska was carried out by the Shelikhov – Golikov Company, a Russian fur trading venture. The Russian merchants fully supplied the Orthodox mission consisting of monks. Later, the Russian authorities entrusted control over the Russian overseas lands to Shelikhov’s heirs, represented by the Russian-American Company. The conflicts between the colonial administration and the missionaries called for a new strategy, i. e. sending secular clergy to Alaska. Meanwhile, the Management of the Russian-American Company returned to the plans of G. Shelikhov, who knew the region well, unlike the metropolitan authorities.

Трифон Кириллович Чоков, человек фронтира, и его трагедия

The article is devoted to the life and activities of Trifon Kirillovitch Chokov (d. 1911), a Russian entrepreneur and tea merchant in Ceylon, who was one of the first Russian tea-merchants to settle in the island and start the tea-trade there. Being a very proactive and resilient person, he became the head of a small Russian community in Colombo. When the Russian vice-consul was absent, Chokov replaced him as a consular agent and as such played the role of the head of the house for those Russians who visited the island. The author valued Chokov as a man of the frontier, a certain territory which he wanted to “colonize”, to promote his business and to promote Russian trade and political influence there. He tried to involve Russian merchants in this trade, to show that that this distant island could be a profitable catch for Russia. His dream was to be appointed Russian Vice-Consul in Colombo, but all his initiatives ended in failure. That remote island was never appreciated as a frontier by the Russian authorities, which turned out to be a tragedy for Chokov.

Russian export of cotton fabric to Persia in the 19th - early 20th century

The author analyzes the process of conquest of the Persian textile market by Russian producers in the context of acute rivalry with British competitors during the 19th - early 20th century. The author has determined the hindering factor of the Russian textile exports activation during the 19th century; the reasons for the beginning of the increase in the supply of textiles to the Persian market in the last decade of the century; the measures used to improve export conditions and the results that the Russian Empire managed to achieve by the end of the peaceful period of its existence at the beginning of the 20th century. The author comes to the conclusion that since the end of the 19th century the Russian merchants took an active position in the export issue and began to perceive it as a matter of national importance.

Безналичные расчеты россиян в Европе в эпоху Петра I

The paper considers financial technologies that were used in the time of Peter the Great to organize non-cash payments abroad. The sources for the study were legislative documents, letters of Peter the Great’s contemporaries and mentions of historians about financial calculations in Peter the Great’s time. The author considers the use of promissory notes and bills of exchange that were used in the time of Peter the Great to organize non-cash payments abroad. Russian merchants used them in trade settlements in Arkhangelsk long before Peter I. During the reforms of the first quarter of the XVIII century notes and bills settlements were carried out by Russian people on the territory of Europe already. This explains the wider use of the notes and bills in both interstate and private settlements, including the purposes of obtaining scholarships for young people sent abroad by Peter to study. Peter himself and his pets used all the means of payment available at that time in Europe – both cash (gold and silver coins) and non-cash means (promissory notes and bills of exchange). An important issuer of bills of exchange for Russians was the Amsterdam bank, since Amsterdam was the center for the sale of Russian goods. Not only trade transactions, but also the payment of royal orders in different countries, and the issuance of stipends to scholarship holders, took place by transferring bills of exchange from the Amsterdam bank or Amsterdam merchants accepted to other European cities of Europe. In addition to mastering the ‘basic’ profession, those staying abroad needed to show some financial literacy (which could not be obtained at home), skills in handling modern (for that time) securities, and visit banks from time to time. Russian students were prevented from studying not only by the possible temptations and pastime of a beautiful life abroad, but also by serious life difficulties that arose in connection with the financial crisis in France in 1720-21.

Relationship of Russian Merchants with the Tuvan Population in the Second Half of the 19th - Early 20th Century

The author identifies the main factors that influenced the relationship between Russian merchants and the Tuvan population in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries taking into account a number of features and attracting new sources. The author studies the influence of debt trade on Russian-Tuvan relations, characterizes the policy of the Tuvan noions towards Russian merchants, determines the role of Chinese capital in the development of Russian trade in Tuva, considers the image of Russian merchant in the view of the Tuvans. In the course of the work, the system approach was used which allows us to consider the object of the study as a set of interrelated elements. The novelty of the study is the involvement of previously unused sources that considered the nature of the relationship between Russian merchants and the Tuvan population in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries: the materials of the State Archive of the Irkutsk Region, the Central Archive of the Republic of Tyva, the Scientific Archive of the Manuscript Fund of the Tuva Institute for the Humanities and applied research, the State Archive of the Tomsk Region. The author comes to the conclusion that in the second half of the 19th - early 20th century the Russian-Tuvan relations were contradictory. On the one hand, the Tuvan population that needed goods of Russian merchants showed interest and did not oppose the economic development of the region. Some of the Russian merchants managed to firmly adapt to the Tuvan territory and contact with the local population. On the other hand, the increased inflow of Chinese capital at the beginning of the 20th century, the hostility of the Tuvan noions incited by the Chinese side, as well as the terms of debt trade contributed to the aggravation of Russian-Tuvan economic relations. However, despite numerous difficulties and the unstable situation, Russian merchants managed to maintain their positions in Tuva.

Celevye kapitaly kak forma organizacii blagotvoritel'noj deyatel'nosti v dorevolyucionnoj i sovremennoj Rossii

The article examines the forms, mechanisms and successful practices of charitable activities in the field of target capital, which became widespread among Russian merchants in the second half of the 19th - early 20th century, and the development of endowments in philanthropy in modern Russia.

Клятва ганзейских купцов из коллекции Ruthenica в архиве Любека

The article presents two versions of the oath of the Hanseaticians who traded with Russian merchants on the Russian bridge in Riga in 1583. The Russian Bridge was the name given to the area of compact residence of merchants who participated in the transittrade of Russian goods, and the place of their sale within the city. Like the German court in Bergen, Norway, this quarter had its own legal norms, in the regime of which the text of the oath was formulated. Its content reflects, first, the destruction process of the traditional Hanseatic network trade cooperation, the system of agency, lending, capital sharing and then the transition to individual entrepreneurship, which was carried out with the assistance of the city authorities.

The role of the Russian Imperial Consulate in Nyuzhuang (Yingkou) in expanding trade and economic ties between Russia and China from 1906 to 1909.

The article describes the activities of the Imperial Consulate of Russia in Niuzhuang (Yingkou) during the period from 1906 till 1909. One of the priorities of the work of Russian diplomats at that time was the restoration of Russian-Chinese trade and economic relations as the part of the social and cultural policy in South Manchuria. A young diplomat, consul Andrey Terentyevich Belchenko, played a special role in expanding the commercial contacts between Russian and Chinese players. Thanks to the assistance of the Imperial Consulate, the problems associated with the local branch of the Russian-Chinese Bank for the return of allocated funds were resolved. Paying great attention to the promotion of the Russian manufactory in Niuzhuang (Yingkou), Consul Belchenko ordered assistance in this abrupt return of “The company Vikula Morozov with Sons”, “Ivan Konovalov with Son”, “Manufactory of N.N. Konshina "and others. Having visited at the beginning of 1908 Harbin, the Russian consul in Yingkou, had negotiations with Russian merchants who had big business problems due to the consequences of the Russian-Japanese War. In the spring of the same year, Harbin entrepreneurs came to Niuzhuang and made contacts with Chinese partners on the realization of the flour and oil industry. The Imperial Consulate, despite the high competition of the parties with foreign companies (Great Britain, Japan, Germany, etc.), actively promoted the Russian trading company in the inexpensive market, and by the end of 1909, the sale of domestic goods exceeded the pre-war level. The shipping traffic of Russian transport was also restored, which became regular since 1908.

РОССИЙСКОЕ КУПЕЧЕСТВО В БОРЬБЕ ЗА СОСЛОВНЫЕ ПРАВА ВО ВТОРОЙ ПОЛОВИНЕ XVIII В.

The article studies social and legal aspects of the trading activities of the Russian merchants in the second half of the 18th century. The author reveals the forms of the merchants’ struggle for the estate rights, first of all, for the right of trade. The attempts of merchants to include the persons engaged in the city trade, but not registered as suburbanites, into the register of taxpayers were significant among them. The article analyzes the history of confrontation between the Kazan merchants and the Kazan sloboda Tatars that lasted from the late 17th century till the early 1760s. An important form of defending the merchants’ estate rights was filing collective petitions. The author analyzes the petitions of the merchants of Pskov and Opochka submitted to Empress Catherine II in 1780. They allow examining the merchants’ complaints against the economic and court peasants, as well as those against the nonresident and foreigners engaged in illicit trade. The article shows the attitude of Empress Catherine II to such petitions. Addressing the authorities by means of collective petitions had no prompt response, but eventually led to the legislature granting merchants the exclusive right to trade in the “Charter to the Towns”. After the 1775–1785 reforms, the means for asserting the right of trade remained official publications, detours to trading posts, and the fight against illegally built stores in towns. The merchants defended their rights within the framework of existing legislation, while taking advantage of new institutions at different administrative levels and actively resorting to the assistance of the city’s self-government bodies.

Kafa’s merchant Khozya Kokos Zhidovin is an intermediary between Moscow and Crimea at the end of the 15th century

The publication, accompanied by an introductory article and comments, is based on the documents on the history of diplomatic relations between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Crimean Khanate. They reflect the intermediary role of the Kafа’s Jewish merchant Khozya Kokos in the negotiations between the rulers of these states, the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III Vasilyevich and the Crimean Khan Mengligirey, who contributed to the establishment and strengthening of the alliance between them at the end of the 15th century. In addition, Khozya Kokos contributed to the expansion of trade of Russian merchants in the Crimea, and also carried out various assignments of a personal nature of Ivan III.

СПЕЦИФИКА ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОЙ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ РОССИЙСКОГО КУПЕЧЕСТВА В СРЕДНЕЙ АЗИИ ПОЗДНЕИМПЕРСКОГО ПЕРИОДА (ПО ВОСПОМИНАНИЯМ Н.А. ВАРЕНЦОВА)

The paper describes the business trip of the Moscow merchant Nikolay A. Varentsov to Central Asia in 1891 from the perspective of the history of everyday life. The published memoirs of Varentsov served as the basis of the study. Certain aspects of the daily life of Russian merchants, presented in these ego-materials, have not yet become the object of research, which makes the presented work valuable. In addition to these materials, other documents were used in the study, including those of personal origin (diaries, travel notes, historical and geographical essays, etc.), which logically supplement and confirm Varentsov's story about the specifics of solving business problems in the Asian direction. The purpose of the study is to identify and analyze the features of the life of Russian merchants in the urban environment of the khanates of Central Asia in the late 19th century during their visits on trade matters. The author of the memoir went on his journey reluctantly, sharing the idea common among Russian people that Asia was a very distant and dangerous place. Varentsov emphasized the problem of recruiting employees for managerial positions, which was relevant for businessmen. While inspecting the Central Asian representative offices of the Moscow Commercial and Industrial Association, located in different towns of the region, the visitor learned about the dangers to the traveler posed by wild animals and robbers. Participating in negotiations with local merchants and representatives of the administration, Varentsov, despite his will, experienced certain traditions of the Turkic peoples. The research showed a number of differences between the conditions of professional activities of merchants who traded with the Asian khanates during the period of their independence, and entrepreneurs operating in the late 19th century. For example, by the time of Varentsov’s trip, camels, which had previously been the only transport capable of delivering merchants and their goods to the markets of Central Asia, had already lost their leading positions to rail transport.

Odesa in the integration processes of the XIX century

This publication is devoted to the study of the economic component of the integration processes that took place in the 19 century thanks to trade operations through the Odesa port. The complex of archival and published documents and research literature used in the process of work made it possible to reconstruct the peculiarities of the development of the Odesa port. It was found that Odessa had not only a favorable geographical position, which contributed to the development of the port, but also became an attractive city for foreign merchants interested in the development of foreign trade, primarily in agricultural products. The activity of Odesa merchants and its contribution to the process of international trade is analyzed. It is noted that Greek, Italian and Jewish merchants achieved the greatest success in grain export. It was found that the number of Russian merchants of the 1st guild, which was engaged in foreign economic operations, was replenished at the expense of foreign merchants who, under the pressure of government policy, were forced to accept Russian citizenship. The Russians themselves, with minor exceptions, belonged to the 3rd guild and engaged in internal trade.

Merchants of the Russian Empire Trading with Central Asia: Cultural-Anthropological Aspects

This article examines the personal qualities of Russian merchants who traded with Asian states in the nineteenth century. The author analyses the mental characteristics of entrepreneurs in demand in international trade and the correspondence of merchants’ behaviour to business conditions. The research methodology relies on the anthropological approach, which makes it possible to examine entrepreneurs’ personality traits and physical characteristics as the main elements of business success. The innovative character of the study lies in the fact that for the first time, the author considers the foreign trade activity of merchants in the Asian direction from the perspective of the moral, psychological, intellectual, and physical readiness of individuals to master the labour-intensive sphere of commerce. The lack of specialised works that detail the mental properties, specific skills, and knowledge intended to help merchants to solve business problems in the external arena makes the article relevant and innovative. Researchers have not considered the health and physical potential of entrepreneurs previously. The new sources introduced into scholarly circulation will help fill the research gaps and harmoniously supplement the existing historiographic block. In addition, the search for the most effective mechanisms to adapt to the rapidly changing realities of the modern market has made works reflecting the historical experience of developing labour-intensive areas of entrepreneurship relevant. This work refers to materials from the State Archives of Orenburg Region (GAOO) available in the fund of the Office of the Military Governor. Also, the author examines published sources of personal origin produced by direct participants and contemporaries of the events. The negative factors that turned foreign trade business operations into an extremely risky venture included robbery, severe natural and climatic conditions, the inconvenience of long journeys in a caravan, the need to temporarily get by without familiar food, and discrimination against Russian Christian merchants by Asian officials. Doing business in extreme conditions radically influenced the mentality of merchants. The desire to compensate for losses or gain excess profit sometimes pushed merchants to violate the law. At the same time, these same businesspeople had a high level of intelligence, courage, and unshakable willpower, which made them take on a seemingly hopeless business with renewed vigour. The high-level communication abilities of merchants, a combination of their skills, knowledge, and physical characteristics made them ideal actors for the Russian advancement into Asian markets in the nineteenth century.

The schoty (abacus) as the phenomenon of Russian accounting

The Russian abacus (the schoty [счёты]) is a unique Russian counting device that has no comparable counterparts anywhere in the world. It was developed when a decimal system was introduced in Russia in the sixteenth century. The Russian abacus took its familiar form in the eighteenth century, and it is still used for arithmetic calculations and for teaching maths at school, as an example of decimal calculations. The widespread use of the Russian abacus in business activities made it an integral part of entrepreneurship and accounting. The Russian abacus became more associated with Russian merchants and accountants than ledgers, and it was depicted in works of fine art. This article describes the history of the schoty, evidence about them from Western historians and mathematicians, the principles for its use as well as its role in accounting, and the descriptions of the schoty in literature and art.

History of Kyakhta Trade and Russian Merchants in Research Works of Zhargal Z. Tagarov (1952–2020): Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of His Birth

The article is dedicated to the pioneering contribution of the Irkutsk scholar, associate professor of Baikal State University, Zhargal Z. Tagarov, to the study of the Kyakhta trade phenomenon and the Russia-Mongolia-China trade relations in the XVIII–XX centuries. The Irkutsk school of Oriental and Mongolian Studies has deep scientific traditions, laid down by the first Irkutsk translators and interpreters, who conducted complex negotiations with the officials of the Qing Empire and Outer Mongolia back in the XVII century. Irkutsk, due to the geographical and historical reasons, became the place of the making of the first Russian experts in Mongolian and Chinese studies, experts in the Chinese, Manchu and Mongolian languages. Providing Zhargal Z. Tagarov’s research works as an example, the authors make an attempt to show the contribution of the Irkutsk school of Mongolian Studies of the last quarter of the XX century to the research studies of complicated processes of economic and trade interaction between Russia, Outer Mongolia and the Qing Empire.

Autobiographical and Epistolary Heritage of the Merchants of the Regions of Russia: The Latest Research Areas and Perspectives of Study

The article is devoted to an overview of the latest trends in the study of the written heritage of the merchants of Russia. The author examines the principles and approaches to the study and publication of merchant autobiographical and epistolary texts set forth in the works of the last two decades. Special emphasis in the article is made on the study and publication of the written heritage of merchants from different regions in the context of the complex ethno-cultural structure of Russian society in the modern era. The main trends in the study of memoirs and epistolary complexes of the Russian merchants of the 17th - early 20th century are highlighted, and their main publications are characterized. The observations and remarks make it possible not only to characterize the current state of the study of the written heritage, cultural level, mentality and self-consciousness of the merchant class, but also to outline the prospects for such research area. The author comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to conduct complex interdisciplinary research, including historians, literary scholars, linguists, and carried out through the use of modern technical methods of working with handwritten texts.