In the 17th century, the most profitable and prestigious industry was foreign trade. Thanks to her, the most scarce goods were supplied from the Middle East: jewelry, incense, spices, silk, and so on. The desire to have all this at home stimulated the formation and further strengthening of our own production. This was the first impetus for the development of internal trade in Europe.
Introduction
Throughout the Middle Ages, there was a gradual increase in the volume of foreign trade. Towards the end of the 15th century, there was a noticeable leap as a result of the series. European trade became world trade, and smoothly passed into the period of primitive accumulation of capital. During the 16th-18th centuries, there was a strengthening of economic interaction between a number of regions and the formation of national trading platforms. At the same time, the formation of nation-states of absolute centralized monarchies is noted. All economic policy these countries was aimed at the formation of the national market, the formation of foreign and domestic trade. Great importance was also attached to the strengthening of industry, agriculture, and means of communication.
The beginning of the formation of the all-Russian market
By the 18th century, new regions gradually began to join the sphere of general trade relations of Russia. So, for example, products and some industrial goods (saltpeter, gunpowder, glass) began to arrive in the center of the country. At the same time, Russia was a platform for the sale of products of local artisans and manufactories. Fish, meat, bread began to arrive from the Don regions. Back from the central and Volga districts were dishes, shoes, fabrics. Cattle came from Kazakhstan, in exchange for which the neighboring territories supplied bread and certain industrial goods.
Trade fairs
Fairs had a great influence on the formation of the all-Russian market. Makaryevskaya became the largest and had national significance. Goods were brought here from various regions of the country: Vologda, the west and north-west of Smolensk, St. Petersburg, Riga, Yaroslavl and Moscow, Astrakhan and Kazan. Among the most popular are precious metals, iron, furs, bread, leather, various fabrics and livestock products (meat, lard), salt, and fish.
What was purchased at the fair then dispersed throughout the country: fish and furs - to Moscow, bread and soap - to St. Petersburg, metal products - to Astrakhan. During the century, the trade turnover of the fair increased significantly. So, in 1720, it was 280 thousand rubles, and after 21 years - already 489 thousand.
Along with Makaryevskaya, other fairs also acquired national significance: Troitskaya, Orenburg, Blagoveshchenskaya and Arkhangelskaya. Irbitskaya, for example, had connections with sixty Russian cities in 17 provinces, and interaction was established with Persia and Central Asia. was connected with 37 cities and the 21st province. Together with Moscow, all these fairs were of great importance in uniting both regional and district, as well as local trading platforms into the All-Russian market.
Economic situation in a developing country
The Russian peasant, after his complete legal enslavement, in the first place, was still obliged to pay the state, like the master, dues (in kind or in cash). But if, for example, we compare the economic situation in Russia and Poland, then for the Polish peasants the duty in the form of corvee became more and more intensified. So, for them, it was ultimately 5-6 days a week. For a Russian peasant, it was equal to 3 days.
The payment of duties in cash implied the existence of a market. The peasant was supposed to have access to this trading platform. The formation of the all-Russian market stimulated the landlords to manage their own economy and sell their products, as well as (and to no lesser extent) the state to receive fiscal cash receipts.
The development of the economy in Russia since the 2nd half of the 16th century
During this period, large regional trading floors began to form. By the 17th century, the strengthening of entrepreneurial ties was carried out on a national scale. As a result of the expansion of interactions between individual areas, a new concept appears - the "all-Russian market". Although its strengthening was largely hampered by Russian chronic off-road conditions.
By the middle of the 17th century, there were some prerequisites due to which an all-Russian market arose. Its formation, in particular, was facilitated by the deepening social division labor, industrial territorial specialization, as well as the necessary political situation that appeared due to the transformations that were aimed at creating a single state.
The main trading platforms of the country
From the 2nd half of the 16th century, such main regional markets were formed and strengthened, such as the Volga region (Vologda, Kazan, Yaroslavl - livestock products), the North (Vologda - the main grain market, Irbit, Solvychegodsk - furs), North-West ( Novgorod - sale of hemp and linen products), Center (Tikhvin, Tula - purchase and sale of metal products). The main universal trading platform that time was Moscow. There were about one hundred and twenty specialized rows in it, where you could buy wool and cloth, silk and fur, lard and metal products, both domestic and foreign.
Influence of state power
The All-Russian market, which emerged as a result of the reforms, contributed to the increase in entrepreneurial initiative. As for the social consciousness itself, ideas of the rights and freedoms of the individual arose at its level. Gradually, the economic situation in the era of the primitive accumulation of capital led to the freedom of enterprise both in trade and in other industries.
In the agricultural field, the measures taken by the feudal lords are gradually replacing state decrees to change the rules of land use and farming. The government promotes the formation of a national industry, which, in turn, influenced the development of the all-Russian market. In addition, the state patronized the introduction of agriculture, more advanced than it was before.
In the field of foreign trade, the government seeks to acquire colonies and conduct. Thus, everything that was previously characteristic of individual trading cities is now becoming the political and economic direction of the entire state as a whole.
Conclusion
The main distinguishing feature of the era of primitive capital accumulation is the emergence of commodity-money relations and a market economy. All this left a special imprint on all spheres of social life of that period. At the same time, it was a somewhat contradictory era, in fact, like other transitional periods, when there was a struggle between feudal control of the economy, society, politics, spiritual human needs and new trends in bourgeois freedoms, due to the expansion of trade scales, which contributed to the elimination of territorial isolation and limited feudal estates.
Both craft and crafts are small family production. First large enterprises in the XV-XVI centuries. were state. Artillery pieces were being prepared at the state-owned Cannon Yard in Moscow. For example, master Chokhov worked there, who cast the famous Tsar Cannon. According to the testimonies of foreigners, Russian artillery was not inferior to the Western one. There were the Armory, where small arms and edged weapons were prepared, and the Tula Armory Sloboda, which specialized in small arms. Thus, the first large state-owned enterprises were military. But not only.
The state sector of the economy was the construction business. All major construction works were carried out under the direction of the Order of stone affairs. Under his leadership, brick walls and towers of the Moscow Kremlin, Kremlin cathedrals, St. Basil's Cathedral, buildings in other cities were built.
That, that large-scale production was originally state-owned, was an important feature of the economic development
Formation of the all-Russian market
In the 17th century the all-Russian market began to take shape. Prior to this, feudal fragmentation was still economically preserved: the country was divided into a number of regions (local markets), closed
The fact that large-scale production was originally state-owned was an important feature of Russia's economic development.
twists of Russia. This happened because we had a centralized state before the emergence of capitalist entrepreneurship. Since there was no one to order the industrial products necessary for the state, the needs for them, in particular for weapons, had to be satisfied at the expense of state entrepreneurship.
And in the XVII century. state-owned enterprises - the Cannon Yard, the Armory and others - have become clearly defined manufactories, as evidenced by significant amount workers at each of the enterprises (100-300 people) and the division of labor. In the lists of craftsmen for the manufacture of squeakers, we see specialists in lock, barrel, stock business.
In Kadashevskaya Sloboda, the state-owned Khamovny Yard operated - a weaving enterprise located in a two-story stone house, where more than 100 looms operated.
In addition to state-owned, a number of manufactories were built by foreigners. The Dutchman Andrei Vinius and his companions built 8 ironworks near Tula, and then his companions founded several factories near Lake Onega. Basically, these factories produced military products for arming the army: cannonballs, cannons, edged weapons.
Manufactories of foreigners were, in essence, state-owned. They worked for the treasury, not for the market. The state invited foreigners and provided them with everything necessary for production in order to receive the products needed by the state. And outside this state economy, industry remained at the stage of handicrafts and handicrafts.
on themselves, between which there were no stable trade relations.
The merging of individual regions into the all-Russian market meant the establishment of a stable exchange of goods between individual regions. But if the regions exchanged goods, then they specialized in the production of certain goods for export to other regions: bread is not exchanged for bread.
It has already been said about the regional specialization of crafts. But such specialization began in agriculture as well. The main regions for the commercial production of bread are the Middle Volga and Upper Dnieper regions, the commercial production of flax and hemp - the regions of Novgorod and Pskov.
But the connections between individual districts were still weak, and this led to a huge difference in the prices of goods in different cities. Merchants profited by using precisely this difference in prices, they bought goods in one city, transported them to another and sold them at a much higher price, receiving from trade transactions up to 100% profit and more on invested capital. Such high profits characteristic of the period of primitive accumulation of capital.
A consequence of the weakness of trade ties was that fairs played a major role in trade. The merchant could not travel around the country, buying the things he needed for retail goods at their places of production - this would take several years. Merchants from different cities came to the fair, which operated at a certain time, and each brought those goods that were cheap at home. As a result, a full range of goods from different places was collected at the fair, and each merchant, having sold his goods, could purchase the goods he needed.
The largest fair in the XVII century. was Makarievskaya - at the Makariev Monastery near Nizhny Novgorod. Not only Russian merchants came here, but also Western European and Eastern ones. The Irbit fair in the Urals played an important role, which connected the European part of the country with Siberia and the eastern markets.
International trade Russia in the XV-XVI centuries. was weak. After all, medieval trade was predominantly maritime, and Russia did not have access to the Baltic Sea and therefore was actually isolated from the West. This economic isolation slowed down the economic development of the country. That's why important role for
The merger of individual regions into the all-Russian market means the establishment of a stable exchange of goods between them and the specialization of regions in the production of certain goods of Atyatorgati.
Russia was played by Chancellor's expedition. Departing from England in search of a northern passage to India, Chancellor lost two of the three ships of his expedition and instead of India in 1553 ended up in Moscow. Along this route, English and then Dutch merchants followed Chancellor to Russia, and trade with the West revived somewhat. In the 80s. 16th century the city of Arkhangelsk was founded on the shores of the White Sea, through which the main trade with the West now went.
The economic backwardness of Russia, the contradiction between the centralized structure of the state and the feudal economy manifested itself in public finances. A lot of money was needed to maintain the state apparatus. They were also required for the maintenance of the army: at that time in Russia, in addition to the noble militia, there were already regular regiments of the “foreign system” and the archery army, service in which was paid for with money, and not with estates. When the country is dominated market economy, these costs are successfully covered by taxes. But the Russian state arose on a feudal basis, and subsistence feudal economy did not provide sufficient monetary resources for taxation. Therefore, the Order of the Great Treasury (Ministry of Finance) was forced to resort to special methods of covering public expenditures.
One of the sources of replenishment of the treasury were monopolies and farming. Trade in many goods - hemp, potash, vodka, etc. - was a state monopoly. Merchants could trade in these goods only by buying the right to trade from the treasury, by taking a “payoff”, that is, by paying a certain amount of money to the treasury. For example, the tsarist monopoly was the drinking business and the sale of vodka. Naturally, it was sold 5-10 times more expensive than its procurement price. The tax farmer had to pay this difference in order to obtain the right to trade. But, as it turned out, this enriched not so much the treasury as tax farmers, and drinking farms became one of the main sources of initial capital accumulation in Russia.
Indirect taxes were widely practiced, and not always successfully. So, in the middle of the XVII century. the tax on salt doubled its market price. As a result, thousands of pounds of cheap fish, which the people ate during Lent, rotted. There was a popular uprising, a salt riot, and the new tax had to be cancelled.
Then the government decided to issue copper money with a forced exchange rate. But the people did not recognize them as equal to silver ones: when trading for a silver ruble, they gave 10 copper ones. There was a new uprising - the Copper Riot. It was started by archers, who were given a salary in copper money. And copper money had to be abandoned. They were withdrawn from circulation, and the treasury paid 5, and then even 1 kopeck for a copper ruble.
Thus, in the Russian economy in the XVII century. capitalist elements arose: the all-Russian market began to form, the first manufactories appeared. The process of initial accumulation began. But capitals were accumulated by merchants in the process of non-equivalent trade, especially in farming. The second side of primitive accumulation - the ruin of the peasants and their transformation into hired workers - was not observed: the peasants were attached to the land and to their landowners.
Initially, the society of the Franks consisted of tribal communities, large families consisting of blood relatives leading a common household.
The tribal community was replaced by a rural community (brand), where only the land remained in common ownership, but it was also divided for use among members of the community. The house, livestock and other property were privately owned, and each family ran its own household.
Gradually, a ruling military elite emerged in society, but this was not yet feudalism. Feudalism begins with the emergence of feudal landownership, but the feudal class was born as a military class.
The basis of feudal relations was feudal ownership of land, which consisted in the right to receive a fixed feudal rent from the people living on this land.
Feudal relations presupposed the existence of two owners of the land at the same time: the feudal lord, who had the right to receive rent, and the peasant, who disposed of this land. The feudal lord could not take the land from the peasant.
All economic relations within the feud were natural, in the feudal estate everything was produced that was necessary for domestic consumption and nothing that would be required in other feuds. Nothing is bought from the outside and nothing is sold to the side. This economy is adapted for an isolated existence. From this property of the feud comes feudal fragmentation - the natural political organization of feudalism.
As the productive forces developed, the main direction in the development of feudalism in agriculture in Western Europe became the growth of commodity production.
Gradually, the feudal economy begins to lose its isolation and naturalness, it is drawn into trade, which means it becomes less and less feudal. There is a process of gradual elimination of natural forms of feudal rent, their conversion into money (switching).
From the very foundation of the city, they opposed the feudal lords: it was from the urban burghers, from the third estate, that the bourgeoisie grew up, which replaced the feudal lords.
The great geographical discoveries played a huge role in the transition from feudalism to capitalism. They had three main prerequisites:
- 1. The conquest of Byzantium by the Turks led to a reduction in the flow of oriental goods.
- 2. Lack of gold as money supply.
- 3. The development of science and technology, primarily shipbuilding and navigation.
The main paradox of the Great geographical discoveries was that the flow of gold did not enrich Spain and Portugal, but dealt a blow to their economy, because feudal relations still dominated in these countries. On the contrary, the price revolution strengthened England and the Netherlands, in which commodity production was already developed.
Before the invasion of the Mongols, the development of Kievan Rus followed the same path as other European states, and its economy and culture were at a high level. By the end of the Mongol yoke, it lagged far behind the European countries.
As a result of the Mongol invasion, Russia not only lagged behind in its development, but also took a different path: many elements of the Asian mode of production were included in its economy.
The Russian nobility was formed from the military class. But the nobles were not the owners of the land, the land was owned by the state and was used by it to maintain the army. The nobility was in the service of the state, and the state kept the nobles in economic subordination through the distribution of estates.
In Russia there were no workshops and merchant guilds, and at the head of the cities were administrators appointed by the tsar from among the noble boyars.
The main feature of the Asiatic mode of production introduced by the yoke was that large-scale production in Russia was originally state-owned.
A prerequisite for the formation of the all-Russian market was the regional division of labor. Moscow by this time had become the most important transport hub, the center of the intersection of trade routes and was of exceptional importance for the formation of the all-Russian market.
Let's trace the movement of goods of that time. Meat and vegetables were supplied to Moscow from the Moscow region. Cow butter was brought from the Middle Volga region. Pomorye, Rostov uyezd, the Lower Volga region and the Oka region constantly supplied fish. Vegetables also came from Vereya, Borovsk and the Rostov district. Moscow was supplied with iron by Tula, Galich, Zhelezopolskaya and Tikhvin; skins were brought mainly from the Yaroslavl-Kostroma and Suzdal regions; wooden utensils were supplied by the Volga region; salt - cities of Pomorye. Traditionally, Moscow has been largest market sale of Siberian furs.
Based on the production specialization of individual regions, markets were formed with the primary importance of any goods. In Yaroslavl it was well possible to sell leather, soap, lard, meat and textile products. Veliky Ustyug and especially Salt Vychegodskaya were the largest fur markets - furs coming from Siberia were delivered from here either to Arkhangelsk for export, or to Moscow for sale on the domestic market.
Smolensk and Pskov were considered centers of trade in flax and hemp, since these goods were produced in the surrounding areas and then entered the foreign market.
Some regional markets turned into centers of trade in one or another traditional type of product that was important for the whole country. Intensive trade relations were established with cities far removed from them. For example, Tikhvinsky Posad with its annual fair supported trade with 45 Russian cities. Buying cheap ironworks from local blacksmiths, buyers resold them to larger merchants. The latter transported significant consignments of goods to Ustyuzhna Zhelezopolskaya, as well as to Moscow, Yaroslavl, Pskov and other cities.
In addition to specialized regional markets, fairs of all-Russian significance, such as Makarievskaya (near Nizhny Novgorod), Svenskaya (near Bryansk), Arkhangelsk, and others, played a large role in the country's trade turnover. Such fairs were characterized by an abundance of goods and auctions continued for several weeks. .
The formation of the all-Russian market increased the role of the merchants in the economic and political life of the country. In the 17th century, the top of the merchant world stood out more and more noticeably from the general mass of merchants. The state encouraged individual representatives of the merchant class by giving them the title of guests. These largest merchants became financial agents of the government - on his behalf, they conducted foreign trade in furs, potash, rhubarb, etc. The functions of merchants bearing the title of guests included the execution of construction contracts, they also purchased food for the needs of the army, collected taxes, customs duties, tavern money, etc. The guests attracted smaller merchants to carry out contract and buy-out operations, sharing with them huge profits from the sale of monopoly goods: wine and salt. State farms and contracts provided an opportunity for the accumulation of capital, which then large merchants could profitably place.
Quite large capitals accumulated in the hands of individual merchant families. So, the merchant N. Sveteshnikov owned numerous salt mines. The Stoyanovs in Novgorod and F. Emelyanov in Pskov were among the first people in their cities. Possessing entire fortunes, they could influence not only the governor, but also the tsarist government. The guests, as well as merchants close to them in position from the living room and the cloth hundreds (associations), were joined by the top of the townspeople, who were called the “best”, “big” townspeople, who enjoyed authority in the merchant environment.
Trade in the country, in which crafts were slowly but steadily developing, there were huge raw material reserves, formed a new class in society. Having considerable capital, the merchant class begins to act before the government in defense of their interests. In petitions, they asked to restrict, if not completely prohibit English merchants from trading in Moscow and in other cities, with the exception of Arkhangelsk. The petition was granted by the tsarist government in 1649 under the pretext that the British had executed their king, Charles I.
The fact that significant changes took place in the country's economy was reflected in the Customs Charter of 1653 and the New Trade Charter of 1667. For political reasons, the head of the Ambassadorial Order, A. L. Ordin-Nashchokin, took part in the creation of the charter of 1667. He well understood the needs of the Russian merchants, he took them into account when justifying customs duties on foreigners, while respecting, however, the state interests. It is curious that in the 17th century many countries of Europe were characterized by mercantilistic views in matters of international trade. Russia is no exception among them. The new trade charter noted the special importance of trade for Russia, since "in all neighboring states, in the first state affairs, free and profitable auctions for collecting duties and for the worldly possessions of the world are guarded with all sorts of care."
The customs charter of 1653 abolished a number of small trading fees, preserved from the time of feudal fragmentation, and instead of them introduced one so-called trade duty - 10 kopecks. from the ruble for the sale of salt, 5 kop. from the ruble from all other goods. As for the duties for foreign merchants who sold goods within Russia, in the interests of the Russian merchant class, the New Trade Charter of 1667 further increased customs duties on them.
Formation of the all-Russian market
The 17th century was marked major event in the economic life of the country - the formation of an all-Russian market. For this, certain prerequisites have appeared in Russia. As mentioned earlier, the territorial division of labor deepened more and more noticeably in the country. A number of regions specialized in the production of various industrial products. In agriculture, a certain regional specialization also developed, agricultural enterprises began to produce products for sale. In the north-west of Russia, they preferred to grow flax for the market, in the south and south-east - bread and beef cattle, near large cities - vegetables, dairy cattle. Even monasteries were engaged in the production of various products for sale: leather, lard, hemp, potash, etc.
All this contributed to the strengthening economic ties between regions, the gradual merging of local markets into one, all-Russian. In addition, the centralized state encouraged the process of such unification. The Left-bank Ukraine, the Volga region, Siberia were gradually drawn into economic ties, North Caucasus.
If in the 16th century internal trade was carried out mainly in small markets, then in the 17th century regular fairs began to appear (from German Jahrmarkt - the annual market). As a rule, they were held at certain times of the year for several days and even weeks, near large monasteries during major church holidays or in the fall, after the completion of field work. Merchants from different cities and countries came here, wholesale trade took place here, large trade and credit transactions were concluded.
All-Russian fairs arose: Makarievskaya (Nizhny Novgorod), Svenskaya (Bryansk), Arkhangelsk, Tikhvinskaya, Irbitskaya, Solvychegodskaya. Special place among shopping centers occupied Novgorod the Great, which was famous for trade back in the 11th-12th centuries. So, the legendary gusler Sadko, who became a merchant, had a real prototype of Sotko Sytin, whose name is mentioned in the Novgorod chronicle of the 12th century, since he built the temple with his own money.
In Veliky Novgorod, guest trade was carried out by artels-companies. One of these companies has been known since the 13th century and was called "Ivanovo-sto" (after the church of St. John the Baptist). She had a common gostiny yard (warehouse for goods), a "gridnitsa" (a large chamber for meetings). The wax merchants who founded this company were not only engaged in the wax trade, but also actively participated in the political life of the Novgorod Republic. The company was led by an elected headman, who oversaw the order, the correctness of paperwork. The company had large special scales to check the authenticity of the weight of goods, and small scales weighed money bars. It had its own merchant court, headed by a thousand court, which resolved various conflicts. It was difficult to join the Ivanovo artel, for this it was necessary to pay a fee of 50 hryvnias, donate 30 hryvnias of silver to the temple. With this money it was possible to buy a herd of cows of 80 heads. Later, membership became hereditary and passed on to children if they continued to trade.
Since the 15th century, the Novgorod merchants Stroganovs have become famous. They were among the first to start the salt-making business in the Urals, they traded with the peoples of the North and Siberia. Ivan the Terrible gave the merchant Anika Stroganov a huge territory to manage: the land of Perm along the Kama to the Urals. With the money of this family, Yermak's detachment for the development of Siberia was later equipped.
But in the XV-XVI centuries, the center of trade gradually moved to Moscow. It was in Moscow in the 17th century that the merchant class was formed as a special estate of citizens, which played an increasingly prominent role in the economic and political life of the country. Particularly eminent merchants (“guests”) stood out here, about 30 people. This honorary title was received from the tsar by those who had a trade turnover of at least 20 thousand rubles a year (or about 200 thousand gold rubles on the scale of prices at the beginning of the 20th century). These merchants were especially close to the kings, carried out important financial assignments in the interests of the treasury, conducted foreign trade on behalf of the king, acted as contractors at important construction sites, collected taxes, etc. They were exempted from paying duties, could buy large land plots into their possession . G.L. Nikitnikova, N.A. Sveteshnikov, representatives of the families of the Stroganovs, Guryevs, Shustovs and others.
The merchants, who had smaller capitals, were included in two trading corporations - the living room and the cloth "hundred". Their representatives also had great privileges, had elected self-government within the "hundreds", which were led by "heads" and "foremen". The lowest ranks were "black hundreds" and "sloboda". This, as a rule, included those who produced products and sold them themselves.
Foreigners who visited Russia in the 15th-16th centuries were amazed at the scale of trade. They noted the abundance of meat, fish, bread and other products in the markets of Moscow, their cheapness compared to European prices. They wrote that beef was sold not by weight, but “by eye”, that representatives of all classes were engaged in trade, that the government supported trade in every possible way. It is important to note that the Western European “price revolution”, which took place in the 16th century, also affected Russia. It is known that during the era of the great geographical discoveries, great amount cheap gold and silver from America, which led to a sharp depreciation of money and an equally sharp general rise in prices. In Russia, connected with Western Europe by economic relations, prices also rose by the beginning of the 17th century by about three to four times.
In the 16th-17th centuries, the process of primitive accumulation of capital began in Russia precisely in the sphere of trade. Later, merchant capital began to penetrate into the sphere of production, rich merchants bought craft workshops and industrial enterprises. Along with patrimonial and state-owned merchant manufactories, which used the labor of free citizens, quitrent peasants released for seasonal work, foreign craftsmen were also involved. About 10,000 free people were employed in the various industries of the Stroganovs (salt, potash).
One of the sources of the accumulation of merchant capital was the system of farming, when the government granted wealthy merchants the right to sell salt, wine and other goods important for the treasury, to collect tavern and customs duties. So, the Moscow guests Voronin, Nikitnikov, Gruditsyn and others traded in grain, had large ironworks, were shipowners, were tax-farmers for the supply of food and uniforms to the army.
In the XVI-XVII centuries, Russia began to develop foreign trade more actively. Even under Vasily III, trade agreements were concluded with Denmark; under Ivan IV, strong ties were established with England. English merchants were given great privileges in trade, which was carried out with virtually no duties for both sides. The British founded several trading houses-factories in Vologda, Kholmogory, Moscow, Yaroslavl, Kazan, Astrakhan.
Bilateral Anglo-Russian relations date back to the middle of the 16th century, when English merchants started looking for ways to India and China across the Arctic Ocean. In 1553, three English ships were lost in the ice of the White Sea near the mouth of the Northern Dvina. Some of the sailors died, and the rest of the expedition landed on the shore near the village of Kholmogory. The British, led by the commander of one of the ships, Richard Chancellor, were transported to Moscow to the court of Ivan the Terrible, where they were received with great honors.
In 1554, the Moscow Company was founded in London, which carried out not only trade, but also diplomatic relations between the two countries. England exported from Russia canvas, ropes, hemp, ship timber and other goods necessary for the arrangement of her fleet. And for centuries England occupied a leading place in Russia's foreign trade. And in Moscow, on Varvarka Street, the building of the Old English Court (English Embassy), built in the 16th century, is still preserved.
Following England, Holland and France rushed to the Russian market. Foreign trade on a large scale was carried out with Lithuania, Persia, Bukhara, Crimea. Russian exports were not only traditional raw materials (timber, furs, honey, wax), but also handicraft products (fur coats, linen, horse saddles, dishes, arrows, knives, metal armor, ropes, potash and much more). Back in the 15th century, the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin visited India 30 years before the Portuguese Vasco da Gama, lived there for several years, learned foreign languages, strengthened trade relations with eastern countries.
Foreign trade in the 17th century was carried out mainly through two cities: through Astrakhan there was foreign trade with Asian countries, and through Arkhangelsk - with European ones. Arkhangelsk, founded in 1584 as a seaport, was of particular importance, although Russia did not have its own merchant fleet and the entire cargo flow was on foreign ships. In the middle of the 17th century, goods worth 17 million rubles were exported abroad through this port annually. gold (at the prices of the beginning of the 20th century).
Russian merchants were not yet able to compete in domestic market with strong foreign companies, and therefore it sought to consolidate its monopoly position with the help of the state. The merchants in letters of petition asked the government to establish protectionist measures to protect domestic interests, and the government largely met them halfway. In 1649 duty-free trade with England was abolished. In 1653, the Charter of Trade was introduced, which established higher trade duties on foreign goods. According to the New Trade Charter of 1667, foreign merchants were allowed to carry out wholesale operations in Russia only and only in certain border towns. The charter established great benefits for Russian merchants: the customs duty for them was four times lower than for foreign merchants. The charter strongly encouraged the reduction import operations and increase in exports in order to attract additional funds to the treasury Money and the formation of an active trade balance in Russia, which was achieved at the end of the 17th century. A great merit in this belonged to A.L. Ordin-Nashchekin, Russian statesman under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The government, under the influence of Ordyn-Nashchekin, tried to pursue a mercantilist policy, i. policy of all-round enrichment of the state at the expense of foreign trade.
However, the possibilities of Russian international economic relations were noticeably constrained by the lack of convenient ice-free ports on the Baltic and Black Seas, so the search for Russia's access to the seas became a vital need at the end of the 17th century.
An important element in the formation of the all-Russian market was the creation of a single monetary system in the country. Until the end of the 15th century, practically all the principalities of Russia — Tver, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, etc. — were engaged in minting coins independently. Prince Ivan III began to prohibit the minting of money to all princes who were part of a single state. He approved the Moscow money issue. On Moscow coins appeared the inscription: "The Sovereign of All Russia." But the parallel money issue in Veliky Novgorod continued until the time of Ivan IV. His mother Elena Glinskaya, the widow of Vasily III, in 1534 took certain steps towards the creation of a unified monetary system. She introduced strict rules for minting coins according to standard samples (weight, design), and violation of these standards was severely punished. Under Elena Glinskaya, small silver coins were issued, on which a horseman with a sword in his hands was depicted - sword money. More money heavy weight a horseman-warrior was depicted, striking a snake with a spear - spear money, which later became known as a penny. These coins were irregularly shaped, the size of a watermelon seed. Smaller coins were also issued - polushki, or 1/4 kopecks, with the image of a bird, etc. Until the end of the 16th century, the year of issue was not indicated on the coins. Under Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, they began to beat out the date "from the creation of the world." At the beginning of the 17th century, Tsar Vasily Shuisky managed to issue the first Russian gold coins - hryvnias and nickels, but they did not last long in circulation, turning into treasures.
Yet the most important factor in the unsustainable monetary circulation there was an acute shortage of precious metals, and especially silver. Since the time of Kievan Rus, foreign coins have been used for money circulation for many centuries. In particular, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, from 1654 on German and Czech thalers - round silver coins - the sovereign's stamp was minted in the form of a horseman with a spear or a double-headed eagle of the Romanov dynasty. Such coins were called efimok with a sign, they went in parallel with Russian coins. In addition to their independent circulation, small coins were minted from efimka. From the very beginning, a fixed rate was set: 1 efimok = 64 kopecks, i.e. that is how many kopecks could be minted from one thaler. The real content of silver in one thaler was only 40-42 kopecks.
By the middle of the 17th century, for a number of reasons, the state treasury was practically empty. The consequences of the Polish-Swedish intervention and the "Time of Troubles" also affected. For several years in a row there was a big crop failure, to which we can add the plague epidemics of 1654-1655. Up to 67% of all government spending in the middle of the 17th century went to the maintenance of the army and to constant wars: with Sweden (1656-1661) and Poland (1654-1667).
To cover the costs, the government first introduced inferior silver, and then, in 1654, copper money with a forced official rate at which a copper penny was equal to a silver penny of the same weight. Such copper money was issued for 4 million rubles. This immediately led to the depreciation of money and an increase in prices, since copper is much cheaper than silver. For one silver kopeck, at first they gave 4, and later - 15 copper kopecks. There were double prices for goods in the country. With servicemen and townspeople, the state paid with copper, and taxes required to be paid in silver. Peasants refused to sell food for copper money. All this led to a decrease in the standard of living of the population, especially its lower strata, and to the Copper Riot in Moscow in 1662, which was brutally suppressed, and copper coins were withdrawn from circulation.
In the 17th century, the desire of the state to streamline the entire monetary and financial system intensified. This was primarily due to the fact that government spending on the maintenance of the administrative apparatus, the growing army (streltsy troops, reiters, dragoons), and the huge royal court were constantly growing.
In 1680, Russia adopted the first the state budget, where sources of income and items of expenditure were indicated in detail. The main part of income was made by direct taxes from the population. During this period, a census of peasants was carried out and a household taxation (from the yard or tax) was established instead of the former sow tax "from the plow", a conventional financial unit. This step made it possible to increase the number of taxpayers at the expense of slaves and other categories of the population, from whom taxes were not previously taken. It should be noted that the feudal lords, the clergy, as a rule, did not pay any taxes. Moreover, they also established their exactions from the serfs.
Indirect taxes on salt and other goods, as well as customs duties, were a major source of budget revenue. A separate source of income was state-owned monopolies of the state - the exclusive right to trade vodka within the country, and outside it - bread, potash, hemp, resin, caviar, sable fur, etc. The number of state-owned goods included raw silk brought from Persia. Monopolies were often farmed out, which also replenished the budget. For example, the richest Astrakhan fishing in the country was in the hands of the treasury, which either rented them out or rented them out, or itself managed there through faithful heads or kissers.
But all these sources of income did not cover expenditure part, and the state budget from year to year remained in deficit, which inevitably raised the question of the need for fundamental reforms in the country.
Review questions
1. What are the main conditions and stages of the unification of Russian lands.
2. How was the Boyar Duma formed and functioned in the 15th-16th centuries? What is "locality"?
3. What are "orders"? Name the orders you know and their functions.
4. What is the meaning of the term "feeding"?
5. What do you know about the relationship between the supreme power and the church in the 15th-16th centuries?
6. Tell us about the reforms of Ivan IV.
7. Who are the "serving nobles"? On what principles was their service based?
8. What was the archery army like in the 16th-17th centuries?
9. What is "oprichnina" and "zemshchina"? What is their socio-economic essence?
10. How was the process of enslaving the peasants? Explain the meaning of the concepts: “elderly”, “reserved years”, “lesson years”.
11. What categories and on what grounds were the peasants divided in the 16th-17th centuries?
12. How it developed industrial production in the 16th and 17th centuries? What is a "manufactory"?
13. What are "outside trades", what are the reasons for their appearance?
14. How was the formation of the all-Russian market?
15. What are "state monopolies" and what was their economic meaning?
16. Tell us about Russia's foreign trade in the 16th-17th centuries. How did protectionism manifest itself in foreign trade?
17. How was the Russian unified monetary system formed? List the main causes of the Copper Riot.
The 17th century was marked by the most important event in the economic life of the country - the formation of the all-Russian market. For this, certain prerequisites have appeared in Russia. As mentioned earlier, the territorial division of labor deepened more and more noticeably in the country. A number of regions specialized in the production of various industrial products. In agriculture, a certain regional specialization also developed, agricultural enterprises began to produce products for sale. In the north-west of Russia, they preferred to grow flax for the market, in the south and south-east - bread and beef cattle, near large cities - vegetables, dairy cattle. Even monasteries were engaged in the production of various products for sale: leather, lard, hemp, potash 1, etc.
All this contributed to the strengthening of economic ties between the regions, the gradual merging of local markets into one, all-Russian. In addition, the centralized state encouraged the process of such unification. The Left-bank Ukraine, the Volga region, Siberia, and the North Caucasus were gradually drawn into economic ties.
If in the 16th century, internal trade was carried out mainly in small markets, then in the 17th century regular fairs began to appear (from it. Jahrmarkt- annual market). As a rule, they were held at certain times of the year for several days and even weeks, near large monasteries during major church holidays or in the fall, after the completion of field work. Merchants from different cities and countries came here, wholesale trade took place here, large trade and credit transactions were concluded.
There were all-Russian fairs: Makarievskaya(Nizhny Novgorod), Svenskaya(on the river Sven near Bryansk), Arkhangelsk, Tikhvin, Irbit, Solvychegodskaya. Novgorod the Great occupied a special place among the shopping centers, which was famous for trade back in the 11th-12th centuries. So, the legendary gusler Sadko, who became a merchant, had a real prototype of Sotko Sytin, whose name is mentioned in the Novgorod chronicle of the 12th century, since he built the temple with his own money.
In Veliky Novgorod trade-guest was carried out by artels-companies. One of these companies has been known since the 13th century and was called "Ivanovo-one hundred"(according to the church of St. John the Baptist). She had a common guest yard (goods warehouse), "gridnitsa"(large chamber for meetings). The merchants who founded this company waxers, not only engaged in the wax trade, but also actively participated in the political life of the Novgorod Republic. The company was led by an elected headman, who oversaw the order, the correctness of paperwork. The company had large special scales to check the validity of the weight of goods, and on
" Hemp- coarse bast fiber from hemp stems for the manufacture of ropes, ropes, etc. Potash - a wood ash processing product, was used to make soap, glass, and also as a soil fertilizer.
small scales were weighed ingots. It had its own merchant court, headed by a thousand court, which resolved various conflicts. It was difficult to join the Ivanovo artel, for this it was necessary to pay a fee of 50 hryvnias, donate 30 hryvnias of silver to the temple. With this money it was possible to buy a herd of cows of 80 heads. Later, membership became hereditary and passed on to children if they continued to trade.
Since the 15th century, the Novgorod merchants Stroganovs have become famous. They were among the first to start the salt-making business in the Urals, they traded with the peoples of the North and Siberia. Ivan the Terrible gave the merchant Anika Stroganov a huge territory to manage: the land of Perm along the Kama to the Urals. With the money of this family, Yermak's detachment for the development of Siberia was later equipped.
But in the XV-XVI centuries, the center of trade gradually moved to Moscow. It was in Moscow in the 17th century that the merchant class was formed as a special estate of citizens, which played an increasingly prominent role in the economic and political life of the country. Here stand out eminent merchants ("guests"), about 30 people. This honorary title was received from the tsar by those who had a trade turnover of at least 20 thousand rubles a year (or about 200 thousand gold rubles on the scale of prices at the beginning of the 20th century). These merchants were especially close to the kings, carried out important financial assignments in the interests of the treasury, conducted foreign trade on behalf of the king, acted as contractors at important construction sites, collected taxes, etc. They were exempted from paying duties, could buy large land plots into their possession . G.L. Nikitnikova, N.A. Sveteshnikov, representatives of the families of the Stroganovs, Guryevs, Shustovs and others.
Merchants with smaller capitals were included in two trading corporations - living room and cloth"hundred". Their representatives also had great privileges, had elected self-government within the "hundreds", which were led by "heads" and "foremen". The lowest ranks were "black hundreds" and "liberties". This, as a rule, included those who produced products and sold them themselves.
Foreigners who visited Russia in the 15th-16th centuries were amazed at the scale of trade. They noted the abundance of meat, fish, bread and other products in the markets of Moscow, their cheapness compared to European prices. They wrote that beef was sold not by weight, but “by eye”, that representatives of all classes were engaged in trade, that the government supported trade in every possible way. It is important to note that the Western European “price revolution”, which took place in the 16th century, also affected Russia. It is known that in the era of the great geographical discoveries, a huge amount of cheap gold and silver from America poured into Europe, which led to a sharp depreciation of money and the same sharp general increase in prices. In Russia, connected with Western Europe by economic relations, prices also rose by the beginning of the 17th century by about three to four times.
In the 16th-17th centuries, the process of initial accumulation of capital began in Russia precisely in the sphere of trade. Later, merchant capital began to penetrate into the sphere of production, rich merchants bought craft workshops and industrial enterprises. Along with patrimonial and state-owned merchant manufactories, which used the labor of free citizens, quitrent peasants released for seasonal work, foreign craftsmen were also involved. About 10,000 free people were employed in the various industries of the Stroganovs (salt, potash).
One of the sources of the accumulation of merchant capital was the system of farming, when the government granted wealthy merchants the right to sell salt, wine and other goods important for the treasury, to collect tavern and customs duties. So, the Moscow guests Voronin, Nikitnikov, Gruditsyn and others traded in grain, had large ironworks, were shipowners, were tax-farmers for the supply of food and uniforms to the army.
In the XVI-XVII centuries, Russia began to develop foreign trade more actively. Even under Vasily III, trade agreements were concluded with Denmark; under Ivan IV, strong ties were established with England. English merchants were given great privileges in trade, which was carried out with virtually no duties for both sides. The British founded several trading houses-factories in Vologda, Kholmogory, Moscow, Yaroslavl, Kazan, Astrakhan.
Bilateral Anglo-Russian relations date back to the middle of the 16th century, when English merchants started looking for ways to India and China across the Arctic Ocean. In 1553, three English ships were lost in the ice of the White Sea near the mouth of the Northern Dvina. Some of the sailors died, and the rest of the expedition landed on the shore near the village of Kholmogory. The British, led by the commander of one of the ships, Richard Chancellor, were transported to Moscow to the court of Ivan the Terrible, where they were received with great honors.
In 1554, London was founded Moscow company, which carried out not only trade, but also diplomatic relations between the two countries. England exported from Russia canvas, ropes, hemp, ship timber and other goods necessary for the arrangement of her fleet. And for centuries England occupied a leading place in Russia's foreign trade. And in Moscow, on Varvarka Street, the building is still preserved Old English Court (English Embassy), built in the 16th century.
Following England, Holland and France rushed to the Russian market. Foreign trade on a large scale was carried out with Lithuania, Persia, Bukhara, Crimea. Russian exports were not only traditional raw materials (timber, furs, honey, wax), but also handicraft products (fur coats, linen, horse saddles, dishes, arrows, knives, metal armor, ropes, potash and much more). More In the 15th century, the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin visited India 30 years before the Portuguese Vasco da Gama, lived there for several years, learned foreign languages, and strengthened trade ties with eastern countries.
Foreign trade in the 17th century was carried out mainly through two cities: through Astrakhan there was a foreign trade turnover with Asian countries, and through Arkhangelsk- with European ones. Arkhangelsk, founded in 1584 as a seaport, was of particular importance, although Russia did not have its own merchant fleet and the entire cargo flow was on foreign ships. In the middle of the 17th century, goods worth 17 million rubles were exported abroad through this port annually. gold (at the prices of the beginning of the 20th century).
Russian merchants were not yet able to compete in the domestic market with strong foreign companies, and therefore they sought to strengthen their monopoly position with the help of the state. The merchants in letters of petition asked the government to establish protectionist measures to protect domestic interests, and the government largely met them halfway. In 1649 duty-free trade with England was abolished. In 1653, the Charter of Trade was introduced, which established higher trade duties on foreign goods. According to the New Trade Charter of 1667, foreign merchants were allowed to carry out wholesale operations in Russia only and only in certain border towns. The charter established great benefits for Russian merchants: the customs duty for them was four times lower than for foreign merchants. The Charter in every possible way encouraged the reduction of import operations and the increase in exports in order to attract additional funds to the treasury and form an active trade balance in Russia, which was achieved at the end of the 17th century. A great merit in this belonged to A.L. Ordin-Nashchekin, Russian statesman under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The government, under the influence of Ordin-Nashekin, tried to pursue a mercantilist policy, i. policy of all-round enrichment of the state at the expense of foreign trade.
However, the possibilities of Russian international economic relations were noticeably constrained by the lack of convenient ice-free ports on the Baltic and Black Seas, so the search for Russia's access to the seas became a vital need at the end of the 17th century.
An important element in the formation of the all-Russian market was the creation of a single monetary system in the country. Until the end of the 15th century, practically all the principalities of Russia - Tver, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, etc., were engaged in minting coins independently. Prince Ivan III began to prohibit the minting of money to all princes who were part of a single state. He approved the Moscow money issue. On Moscow coins appeared the inscription: "Sovereign of All Russia". But the parallel money issue in Veliky Novgorod continued until the time of Ivan IV. His mother Elena Glinskaya, the widow of Vasily III, in 1534 took certain steps towards the creation of a unified monetary system. She introduced strict rules for minting coins according to standard samples (weight, design), and violation of these standards was severely punished. Under Elena Glinskaya, silver coins of small weight were issued, on which a rider with a sword in his hands was depicted - sword money. On larger weight dengs, a rider-warrior was depicted, striking a snake with a spear - spear dengs, which later became known as a penny. These coins were irregularly shaped, the size of a watermelon seed. Smaller coins were also issued - half-coins, or 1/4 kopecks, with the image of a bird, etc. Until the end of the 16th century, the year of issue was not indicated on the coins. Under Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, they began to beat out the date "from the creation of the world." At the beginning of the 17th century, Tsar Vasily Shuisky managed to issue the first Russian gold coins - hryvnias and nickels, but they did not last long in circulation, turning into treasures.
And yet the most important factor in the unstable monetary circulation was the acute shortage of precious metals, and above all silver. Since the time of Kievan Rus, foreign coins have been used for money circulation for many centuries. In particular, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, from 1654 on German and Czech thalers - round silver coins - the sovereign's stamp was minted in the form of a horseman with a spear or a double-headed eagle of the Romanov dynasty. Such coins were called efimok with a sign, they went in parallel with Russian coins. In addition to their independent circulation, small coins were minted from efimka. From the very beginning, a fixed rate was set: 1 efimok = 64 kopecks, i.e. that is how many kopecks could be minted from one thaler. The real content of silver in one thaler was only 40-42 kopecks.
By the middle of the 17th century, for a number of reasons, the state treasury was practically empty. The consequences of the Polish-Swedish intervention and the "Time of Troubles" also affected. For several years in a row there was a big crop failure, to which we can add the plague of 1654-1655. Up to 67% of all government spending in the middle of the 17th century went to the maintenance of the army and to constant wars: with Sweden (1656-1661) and Poland (1654-1667).
To cover the costs, the government first introduced inferior silver, and then, in 1654, copper money with a forced official rate at which a copper penny was equal to a silver penny of the same weight. Such copper money was issued for 4 million rubles. This immediately led to the depreciation of money and an increase in prices, since copper is much cheaper than silver. For one silver kopeck, at first they gave 4, and later - 15 copper kopecks. There were double prices for goods in the country. With servicemen and townspeople, the state paid with copper, and taxes required to be paid in silver. Peasants refused to sell food for copper money. All this led to a decrease in the standard of living of the population, especially its lower strata, and to the Copper Riot in Moscow in 1662, which was brutally suppressed, and copper coins were withdrawn from circulation.
In the 17th century, the desire of the state to streamline the entire monetary and financial system intensified. This was primarily due to the fact that government spending on the maintenance of the administrative apparatus, the growing army (streltsy troops, reiters, dragoons), and the huge royal court were constantly growing.
In 1680, the first state budget was adopted in Russia,
where sources of income and items of expenditure were specified in detail. The main part of income was made by direct taxes from the population. During this period, a census of peasants was carried out and a house-to-house taxation (from the yard or tax) was established instead of the former sow tax "from the plow", a conventional financial unit 1 . This step made it possible to increase the number of taxpayers at the expense of slaves and other categories of the population, from whom taxes were not previously taken. It should be noted that the feudal lords, the clergy, as a rule, did not pay any taxes. Moreover, they also established their exactions from the serfs.
Indirect taxes on salt and other goods, as well as customs duties, were a major source of budget revenue. A separate source of income was state-owned monopolies of the state - the exclusive right to trade vodka within the country, and outside it - bread, potash, hemp, resin, caviar, sable fur, etc. The number of state-owned goods included raw silk brought from Persia. Monopolies were often farmed out, which also replenished the budget. For example, the richest Astrakhan fishing in the country was in the hands of the treasury, which either rented them out or dues, or itself managed there through faithful heads or