Iron export organization in Russia during the reign of Peter the Great

The foundation for the organization of exporting iron to Western Europe following the development of metallurgical production in Russia was gradually laid during the first quarter of the XVIII century. The government of the country had to solve the problem of entering the European market with a new domestic product and overcome product competition from more industrially developed countries. For modern Russia, the problem of industrial development and export expansion is one of the most important ones, so the study of historical experience will help us to avoid repeating mistakes, will clearly represent the driving forces of economic processes, and will enable us determine the strategic directions of the state policy. The purpose of the article is to study the organization of iron exports during the reign of Peter the Great using a systematic historical method. The scientific novelty arises from the fact that this is the first work in which the analysis of historical sources and data from domestic and foreign historiography is used for a comprehensive study of the elements that formed the basis for organizing the export of ferrous metal during the reign of Peter the Great. Despite the active construction of state-owned and private steel plants, the government for a long time did not think about measures to organize foreign iron trade. Foreign entrepreneurs engaged in the production and sale of metal served as trade agents of the Russian government and made an important contribution to the promotion of Russian metal on the European market. It was only at the end of Peter the Great’s reign that pricing policies were developed, the needs of foreign consumers were taken into account, and protectionist customs duties were introduced.