Monopoly Steamship Companies on Lake Baikal in the Last Third of the 19th Century. Part 1

This article examines the activities of monopoly steamship companies operating on Lake Baikal from the 1870s to the late 1890s. Drawing on archival sources and periodical press from the last third of the 19th century, the study provides an overview of several steamship partnerships founded by merchants from Irkutsk, Selenga, and Kyakhta. Engaged in trade, these local merchants sought to conduct cargo transportation profitably, especially along major transport routes. Given the sparse population, the vast expanse of transportation networks, and the challenging navigation conditions in the water basins of Lake Baikal, the Angara, and the Selenga, even the mere attempt to establish steamship routes proved highly costly and risky. In this context, merchants who formed steamship partnerships — many of which operated as limited partnerships — sought state privileges for launching their enterprises. When these privileges expired, they agreed to maintain steamship routes with the financial support of annual government subsidies. The study illustrates methods used to eliminate competition from small-scale steamship owners, focusing on the operations of the Kyakhta and Nemchinov steamship companies. Both companies sought to force competitors out of the market by acquiring all available land plots along the shores of Lake Baikal suitable for the construction of piers, thereby compelling independent vessel owners to pay for harbor access, pier usage, or storage space for goods. However, the launch of the Baikal ferry crossing fundamentally changed the situation.