Transport Communications of the Russian State at the Turn of the Late Middle Ages to the Modern Era: Features and Patterns of Development

The features and patterns of the development of the country’s land transport road network in the 16th to mid-19th centuries are examined. Particular attention is paid to the main objective factors that had a decisive influence (both positive and restraining) on the development of land communications. Without considering them, it is impossible to assess objectively road construction and the functioning of the Russian road network, as well as to abandon a number of persistent stereotypes that are not so much a reflection of objective processes as their interpretation in the context of ideological positions and interpretations of different times. This work covers the period from the formation of Russian statehood to the victory of the concept of mass railway construction. The study provides a description of both the entire road network and the main highways, shows the process of their improvement within the framework of existing capabilities and tasks, and assesses the place of land communication routes in the unified transport system of Russia.