Trends in Foreign Trade of Russian Empire and German Customs Union in 1833-1837 through the Business Press

The author examines the nature of Russian-German trade in the early years of the German Customs Union and identifies the main trade trends at its initiation. By the 1830s, the tariff solution for the disparate German territories was the creation of the German Customs Union, which essentially became a new form of economic integration in the European space. Although the internal effect of the German Customs Union is well-studied, the nature of its external activity for pan-European trade requires examination; this study addresses this problem using the example of trade relations with Russia. The source base is the domestic and German business press covering the changes in the trade policy between Russia and the German states. The analysis showed that with the establishment of the German Customs Union, the measures to protect German industry had significantly expanded their scope. In addition, the interests of the German Customs Union were repeatedly mentioned in the press as an important benchmark in decision-making on foreign trade issues. However, consistent protectionism led to mutual mistrust between Russia and Prussia, which manifested itself in the conclusion of conventions with other countries that infringed on the privileges of long-standing trading partners. By 1837, the crisis had partially been overcome by easing restrictive measures on the part of Russia regarding overland trade.