N.W. Mordvinov (1754–1845): Father of Economic Freedoms in Russia?

Gives an account of Count N.S. Mordvinov (1754‐1845) who was a Minister of Economics, an economist and a scholar of Adam Smith′s economics who effectively politicized Smithian economic ideas and the need for economic freedom in Tsarist Russia. His advice, given to Tsar Alexander I and to Tsar Nicholas I, was embodied in legislation but did not appear to have administrative impact. Although the economic ideas of Adam Smith had a political dimension alien to the objectives of the Russian rulers, the Smithian values, as promoted by Count Mordvinov and embodied in his written works, having been imported as early as 1760‐1770, have not previously been discussed and debated in the twentieth century.