DOI 10.51255/2311–603X_2025_2_91

M. N. Baryshnikov. Batum in the Operations of the Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company (1874–1913) // Petersburg Historical Journal, no. 2, 2025, pp. 91–102

Abstract:

The article, which is based on documents from the Russian State Historical Archive, examines
the main directions of operations of the Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company in the port of Batum between 1874 and 1913. The data sources were used to address three research questions. Firstly, what were the regional directions and content (cargo and passenger transportation) of these shipping operations? Secondly, the importance of these operations in terms of the regional needs of Batum was investigated. Thirdly, the investigation sought to ascertain whether these operations exerted a substantial influence on coastal and international shipping. The methodological framework utilised facilitated the identification of key stages,
institutional agreements between stakeholders (public-private partnerships) and goods movements within supply chains, and the nature of trade relationships between regions. It also illuminated how corresponding change and development is shaped by consumer demand, geopolitical and socio-economic situation, and, naturally, the functioning of maritime transport. The findings reveal that these changes and developments are driven by several factors: favourable infrastructural conditions in the port of Batum; location-specific advantages such as the ability to coordinate domestic and foreign transportation and effectively redirect cargo
and passengers; and governmental negotiations processes as a result of the shipping company’s strong position, peculiarities of the multinational character and Black Sea region’s economic capabilities.

Key words: Russian empire, Black Sea, Batum, steamship company, coastal and international shipping.

Author:

Baryshnikov, Mikhail Nikolaevich — Dr. in History, professor, Honored Scientist of the
Russian Federation, Head of the Department of History, The Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia (St. Petersburg, Russia).
E-mail: mbarishnikov@herzen.spb.ru
ORCID 0000-0002-0636-8864

References:

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Frary, L. Pilgrims and Profits. The Russian Company of Steam Navigation and Trade, 1856–1914. In Canadian-American Slavic Studies. 2019. August. Vol. 53. Iss. 3, pp. 286–305. DOI: 10.1163/22102396–05303005

Fursenko, A. A. Dinastiya Rokfellerov; Neftyanye voiny (konets XIX — nachalo XX veka) [Rockefeller Dynasty; Oil Wars (Late 19th — Early 20th Century). In Russ.]. Moscow: Delo, 2015. 701 p.

Pod flagom Rossii: Istoriya zarozhdeniya i razvitiya morskogo torgovogo flota [Under the Flag of Russia: The History of the Origin and Development of the Merchant Marine. In Russ.]. Moscow, Soglasie, 1995. 564 p.

Sydorenko, A. The Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company: The Transition from Sail to Steam in the Russian Black Sea (1856–1914). In Delis, A., Ibarz, J., Sydorenko, A., Barbano, M. (eds.). Mediterranean Seafarers in Transition Maritime Labour, Communities, Shipping and the Challenge of Industrialization 1850s-1920s. Brill, Leiden, Koninklijke, 2022. P. 478–508. DOI: 10.1163/9789004514195_018

Tchkoidze, E. Oil and Soil: the Role of Batoum’s Economic Development in Shaping of Geopolitical Significance of the Caucasus. In Harlaftis, G., Konstantinova, V., Lyman, I., Sydorenko, A., Tchkoidze, E. (eds.). Black Sea History Working Papers, vol. 3. Between Grain and Oil from the Azov to the Caucasus: the Port-Cities of the Eastern Coast of the Black Sea, Late 18 th — Early 20 th Century. Rethymnon, Published by the Centre of Maritime History, Institute for Mediterranean Studies — Foundation of Research and Technology, 2020. P. 461–520.

Yangfel’dt, B. Nobeli v Rossii: kak sem’ya shvedskikh izobretatelei sozdala tseluyu promyshlennuyu imperiyu [Nobels in Russia: How a Family of Swedish Inventors Created an Entire Industrial Empire. In Russ.]. Moscow, Eksmo, 2022. 495 p.

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