An Unpublished Document on the Measures of the Russian Authorities to Counteract the Competition of the Danubian Ports of Galaţi and Brăila and to Favour the Trade of Odessa

Abstract

This paper refers to an unpublished report presented by the Minister of the Finance of the Russian Empire, E. F. Kankrin, to the Emperor Nicholas I, on 15 April 1838. The document presents the increasing preoccupations of the Russian authorities regarding the augmentation of the commercial navigation on the Danube, namely that of the Romanian Principalities via the ports of Galaţi and Brăila. The report contains interesting data as regards the evolution of these ports after the Treaty of Adrianople, but it also shows the measures discussed by the Russian government in order to encourage the commerce of its own ports, especially Odessa. The document is presented in Russian, the original language, and in Romanian translation.