Command and Contract in Russia from the Mid-16th Century to 1725 : Contractor State, Private Entrepreneurs(hip), and Supplying the Russian Armed Forces

Sashalmi, Endre (2024) Command and Contract in Russia from the Mid-16th Century to 1725 : Contractor State, Private Entrepreneurs(hip), and Supplying the Russian Armed Forces. RUSSIANSTUDIES.HU, 6 (1). pp. 157-183. ISSN 2677-0660

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Abstract

The present study aims to give a general overview of what the role of the state and private entrepreneurs(hip) was in supplying the Russian army (and the Baltic navy created by Peter the Great) with armaments and victuals in a period falling between two major European wars in which Russia was heavily involved: the Livonian War (1558-1583) and the Great Northern War (1700-1721). It makes use of the paradigm of the “contractor state” adopted by recent Western historiography, and places Russia in a European context while highlighting the peculiarities of the Russian case. The study concludes that the modernization of Russian statecraft and the armed forces under Peter the Great opened up opportunities to native entrepreneurs on an unparalleled scale, and that the autocratic state had to rely heavily on private entrepreneurs.

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