ABSTRACT
The Russian elite began to discuss the problems of economic growth, the only means of increasing the fiscal capacity of the nation’s subjects and developing the country’s immense resources. Russia was in a constant state of war, with the primary objective of overpowering Sweden in the Baltic. The success of Peter the Great’s nationalist policy after his victory against Sweden in the Great Northern War radically changed Russia’s role in Europe. The raw materials imported to supply Russian industry paid a moderate rate of tax, whereas luxury goods were among those most heavily taxed. The government paid the starting costs of industries that were underdeveloped or non-existent in Russia. The Russian economy was modelled by its past, its geography and climate, by the location of its resources and its social structures, by the actions of political power and by international relations.
