DOI 10.51255/2311–603X_2025_2_33

R. S. Astashkin. Organization of the Transit Trade of the Armenian Company in the Russian
Empire in the Second Half of the 17th Century (on the Question of Persia’s Position) //
Petersburg Historical Journal, no. 2, 2025, pp. 33–42

Abstract:

In 1667, the Armenian family firms based in New Julfa (Persia) were granted trade privileges in
Moscow, which included the right to export oriental goods to Europe via the Russian Empire. The subject of this study is the question of the participation of the Persian Safavid state in this trade project. This inquiry is situated within the broader context of the “Russian transit” phenomenon, which is associated with the Russian Empire’s role in the European expansion towards the East. The factual material on the subject of publication was analysed by using the problem-chronological and comparative methods. The trade agreements that regulated the status of the Armenian Company were also studied. In preparing the article, the scientific works of historians, both domestic and foreign, including those with a specialism in the field of historical Iranian
studies, were used. The analysis culminated in the formulation of a conclusion regarding the distinctive hybrid character of the accords established between the Russian authorities and the Persian Armenians. The study established that official Persia was not a full participant in these relationships and did not have a significant impact on their development. The hypothesis that the Safavids were uninterested in transferring the export of Persian raw silk to the northern (Russian) direction during the period under review is also put forward. The scientific results obtained can be used to further study the specifics of the Russian-Persian relations in the early
modern history and the position of Russia at that time in the international trade system.

Key words: early Modern history, history of international trade, the Muscovy empire, Persia, Safavid dynasty, history of the Russian-Persian relations, transit trade, raw silk, Armenian merchants, New Julfa.

Author:

Astashkin, Ruslan Sergeevich — PhD in History, associate professor of the Department of
Philosophy and History of Science, Volga State Transport University (Samara, Russia).
E-mail: biblio.min@mail.ru
ORCID: 0000-0002-8435-3318

References:

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Astashkin, R. S. Rossiya i torgovaya ekspansiya evropeicev na Vostok (vtoraya polovina XVI — XVII v.) [Russia and the European Trade Expansion to the East (Second Half of the 16th — 17th Centuries). In Russ.]: dis. … kand. ist. nauk. Samara, 2007. 260 p.

Ghougassian, V. S. Julfa I. Safavid Period. In Encyclopaedia Iranica. 2011. Vol. XV. Fasc. 2–3. P. 217–224, 225–231.


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Shagidanova, K. I. Rol’ armyanskogo torgovogo kapitala v ekonomike Rossiiskogo gosudarstva vtoroi poloviny XVII veka [The Role of Armenian Trade Capital in the Economy of the Russian State in the Second Half of 17th Century. In Russ.]. In Gumanitarnye i yuridicheskie issledovaniya. 2021. No. 3, pp. 79–85.


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