Count N. S. Mordvinov on the Prospects of Russian Policy in the Pacific Ocean 1810-1820s, Trade and the New Imperial Geography

Scientific article

doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-2-349-366

For citation

Kopelev, Dmitry N. (2025). Count N. S. Mordvinov on the Prospects of Russian Policy in the Pacific Ocean 1810-1820s, Trade and the New Imperial Geography, Herald of an Archivist, № 2, pp. 349–366, doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-2-349–366

Kopelev, Dmitry N., Herzen University, St. Petersburg, Russia

Count N. S. Mordvinov on the Prospects of Russian Policy in the Pacific Ocean 1810-1820s, Trade and the New Imperial Geography

Abstract

The article presents previously unpublished archival materials from the Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA) related to the activities of a prominent Russian state dignitary, economist and one of the leaders of the Russian-American Company (RAC) Count Nikolai Semenovich Mordvinov. The analysis of the sources, some of which are being introduced for the first time, allows us to reconstruct the mechanisms of formation in the Russian administrative circles of the Nicholas I era of a new concept of imperial space, aimed at the priority study of Russia's internal regions to the detriment of the creation of a maritime empire. Focusing on the history of Russian trade in the Pacific Ocean, the author proceeds from the analysis of the international situation in the 1820s, which is a reaction to the crisis of globalization of the early New Age, expressed in the rejection of the universalism of the Enlightenment, the formation of national ideologies, the shift of emphasis from world trade to the development of agriculture (and then industry) in domestic (national) territories as the main source of wealth. Within the framework of these trends there was a revision of the geopolitical strategies of the Russian Empire, which was marked by a shift from offensive maritime expansion in the World Ocean and the restructuring of government policy towards the development of Eurasian space, its natural and human resources. Showing increased attention to the internal territories and distancing itself from “overseas” possessions, Russia entered the stage of “self-colonization”, which took place in a special scenario compared to the Western European powers, and included vast areas of Eurasia in the processes of development. The prehistory of this stage was revealed in the documents of N. S. Mordvinov, one of the most influential Russian analysts of maritime policy and trade in the Pacific, whose analysis showed close links between the trade policy of the Russian-American Company in the Pacific in 1810-1820 and the awareness in government circles of logistical problems in the remote Pacific periphery. Having severely criticized the leadership of the RAC, N. S. Mordvinov developed program projects for the organization of trade in the Pacific Ocean, however, realistically assessing its possibilities, he pointed out to the authorities of the empire the “weak” points in the system of overseas possessions of the Russian Empire, the awareness of the vulnerability of which ultimately influenced the shift of the geopolitical vector and the increased state interest in the study of the internal space of the empire, one of the consequences of which was the establishment of the Russian Geographical Society in 1845.

Keywords

Н. S. Mordvinov, Russian State Historical Archive, Russian Empire, Russian America, Russian-American Company, Manila, Novo-Arkhangelsk, China.

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About authors

Kopelev Dmitry N., Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, Herzen University, St. Petersburg, Russia, +7-931-306-34-61, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Grant information

This article has been prepared with financial support of the Russian Science Foundation (science project no. 23-28-00335: The "Imperial Turn" of the 1820s-1850-s and the foundation of the Russian Geographic Society), https://rscf.ru/prjcard_int?23-28-00335

The article was received in the editorial office on 21.06.2024, recommended for publication on 20.03.2025