Russia's economy in the 1600s: the big picture
In the 1600s the large majority of Russians were peasants. They grew grain, flax, and raised animals. Each region began to do one thing better than others: the Volga lands sold grain, the north sold fish and salt, Tula made iron, Yaroslavl made leather. Regions started to trade with each other, and a single all-Russian market slowly formed.
This growth came after the Time of Troubles (the hard years before 1613). The first Romanov tsars needed money for the army and the state, so they helped trade and crafts grow.
Fairs: big yearly markets
A fair is a large market held at one place and at a fixed time of year. Merchants came from far away, sold their goods wholesale and bought new ones.
- Makaryev fair (near Nizhny Novgorod, on the Volga) became the biggest. Furs, cloth, metal goods and goods from the East were sold there.
- Irbit (from the 1640s, in the Urals) linked Siberia to Russia, mainly for furs.
- The Svensk fair (near Bryansk) and the Arkhangelsk fair were also important. Arkhangelsk was then the only sea port for trade with western Europe.
Fairs showed that local markets had grown into a country-wide trade.
Manufactories: the first big workshops
A manufactory is a large workshop where many workers each do a part of the work for one product. Machines are not yet used; the work is done by hand. In the 1600s the state and rich merchants built the first ones, often with help from foreign experts.
- Iron works near Tula (from 1632, started by the Dutch merchant Andrei Vinius).
- Cannon Yard and Armoury in Moscow for weapons.
- Khamovny Yard for linen and the Money Yard for coins.
Most workers were hired people, or peasants and craftsmen who were assigned to the work. These manufactories were still few, and most goods came from small village crafts. Real factories with machines came later.
Trade charters of 1653 and 1667
Before 1653 there were many local tolls. A cart could be stopped again and again, and each stop took a share of the goods. This slowed trade.
The Trade Charter of 1653 replaced the many small tolls with one duty of 5 percent, taken at the sale. Trade became easier to count and to plan.
The New Trade Charter of 1667, linked with the statesman Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin, was protective: foreign merchants had to pay higher duties and could sell wholesale only in the border towns. The aim was to help Russian merchants. Earlier, in 1649, the tsar had also taken away the special rights of English merchants.
Why it matters and what is examined
Exams ask you to name and explain: (1) what is a manufactory, (2) the main fairs and what they sold, (3) what the 1653 and 1667 charters changed. Remember the cause chain: more regional crafts → more trade → fairs and one market → the state wants order and taxes → charters.
Key formulas and definitions
- Fair = a big market at one place and one time each year
- Manufactory = a large hand-work workshop with a division of labour
- Trade Charter 1653 = many tolls replaced by one 5% duty
- New Trade Charter 1667 = protection for Russian merchants (higher duties for foreigners)
- Key fairs: Makaryev (Volga), Irbit (Urals), Svensk, Arkhangelsk
Worked examples
1. A merchant sells goods worth 200 coins. Under the 1653 charter the duty is 5%. How much duty does he pay and how much does he keep?
Duty = 5% of 200 = 10 coins. He keeps 200 − 10 = 190 coins.
2. Before 1653 a merchant passed 6 toll posts and each took 2 coins out of 100. After the charter there is one 5% duty. Compare the money kept.
Before: 6 × 2 = 12 coins paid, 88 kept. After: 5 coins paid, 95 kept. He keeps 7 coins more, and the road is faster too. (Numbers are an example.)
3. Why did a fair like Makaryev help the economy of the whole country, not just one town?
Merchants came from many regions, so each region could sell what it made best (grain, furs, iron, leather) and buy what it lacked. This linked local markets into one all-Russian market.
4. Give two differences between a village craft and a manufactory.
In a village craft one person or family makes the whole product at home. In a manufactory many workers work together in one large place, each doing a part, and the product is made in larger numbers.
Common mistakes
- Saying manufactories used machines and steam. In the 1600s they were still hand-work workshops.
- Mixing the charters: 1653 = one 5% duty (simpler tolls); 1667 = protection of Russian merchants.
- Thinking most Russians worked in industry. Most were still peasants.
- Writing that Arkhangelsk was on the Baltic. It is on the White Sea in the north.