The Russians
Russia owes her first progress in civilisation and industry toher intercourse with Greece, to the trade of the Hanseatic Townswith Novgorod and (after the destruction of that town by IvanWassiljewitsch) to the trade which arose with the English andDutch, in consequence of the discovery of the water communicationwith the coasts of the White Sea.
But the great increase of her industry, and especially of hercivilisation, dates from the reign of Peter the Great.The historyof Russia during the last hundred and forty years offers a moststriking proof of the great influence of national unity andpolitical circumstances on the economic welfare of a nation.
To the imperial power which established and maintained thisunion of innumerable Barbaric hordes, Russia owes the foundationsof her manufactures, her vast progress in agriculture andpopulation, the facilities offered to her interior traffic by theconstruction of canals and roads, a very large foreign trade, andher standing as a commercial power.
Russia's independent system of trade dates, however, only fromthe year 1821.
Under Catherine II.trade and manufactures had certainly madesome progress, on account of the privileges she offered to foreignartisans and manufacturers; but the culture of the nation was stilltoo imperfect to allow of its getting beyond the first stages inthe manufacture of iron, glass, linen, &c., and especially in thosebranches of industry in which the country was specially favoured byits agricultural and mineral wealth.
Besides this, further progress in manufactures would not, atthat time, have been conducive to the economic interests of thenation.If foreign countries had taken in payment the provisions,raw material, and rude manufactures which Russia was able tofurnish if, further, no wars and exterior events had intervened,Russia by means of intercourse with nations more advanced thanherself would have been much more prosperous, and her culture ingeneral would in consequence of this intercourse have made greaterprogress than under the manufacturing system.But wars and theContinental blockade, and the commercial regulations of foreignnations, compelled her to seek prosperity in other ways than by theexport of raw materials and the import of manufactures.Inconsequence of these, the previous commercial relations of Russiaby sea were disturbed.Her overland trade with the westerncontinent could not make up for these losses; and she found itnecessary, therefore, to work up her raw materials herself.Afterthe establishiment of the general peace, a desire arose to returnto the old system.The Government, and even the Emperor, wereinclined to favour free trade.In Russia, the writings of HerrStorch enjoyed as high a reputation as those of Mons Say inGermany.People were not alarmed by the first shocks which the homemanufactories, which had arisen during the Continental Blockade,suffered owing to English competition.The theorists maintainedthat if these shocks could only be endured once for all, theblessings of free trade would follow.And indeed the circumstancesof the commercial world at the time were uncommonly favourable tothis transition.The failure of crops in Western Europe caused agreat export of agricultural produce, by which Russia for a longtime gained ample means to balance her large importation ofmanufactured goods.
