Abstract
- Nikolai S. Mordvinov (1754-1845) was an official of the tsarist government and economic thinker whose service and writings at the time of the Napoleonic Wars provided the first detailed defense of Russia's development of manufactures. Mordvinov was chiefly concerned with the monetary system and defense of Russia's currency abroad, as a key element of Russian "sovereignty." His strongest arguments in support of manufacturing are rooted in monetary concerns. In the years 1810-1812, he was a key figure in the articulation and implementation of M. M. Speranskii's Financial Plan. Mordvinov's 1815 essay on tariffs and manufacturing further linked manufacturing to an influential vision of Russian identity that included a secure sovereignty and an industrious population fulfilling its economic and cultural potential.