ABSTRACT
The first Muscovy Merchants were given what became known as the English House in Varvanka Street, now No 12 Razin Street. From here correspondence shuttled to England inviting architects, doctors, apothecaries and assayers. Parts of the house survived the fire of 29 January 1612, and today (1968) it is under process of restoration as a national monument. England's need for naval stores became so pressing, and further outlets for English merchandise so necessary, that determined efforts were made to strengthen contacts. Analogous to an underdeveloped country today, Russia afforded scope for many Britons to rehearse and develop their skills in a native laboratory. Russian rivers tried the skill of English engineers such as John Perry, whose experience on the Volga-Don canal later helped him drain the Thames from the flats of Dagenham. The Russian army enlisted Scots like Patrick Gordon who helped drive the Turks from the Ukraine, and James Keith who became a Russian general.
