Commerce amid suspicion: Inside Russia’s 19th-century push to trade with India

In March 1871, the 3,200-tonne steamship Nakhimoff departed from the Black Sea port of Odessa for a voyage to Bombay. It was a landmark journey made possible by the opening of the Suez Canal two years earlier – the ship would pass through major ports in the Mediterranean and Red Seas before heading toward India.

At the time, full diplomatic ties persisted between the Russian and British Empires. Yet relations were steeped in mutual suspicion. The “Great Game” for dominance in Central Asia was at its height, and lingering resentment from the Crimean War still coloured their diplomacy. Consulates would often double as intelligence posts, with the British mission in Odessa serving chiefly as an observation point for Russian movements in the Black Sea region.

Despite this mutual distrust, there was interest on both sides in expanding trade. Before this, Indian goods had been making their way to Russia either via Britain or through Persia and the Caspian Sea, but these routes were slow and expensive. A direct sea passage promised faster and cheaper access and the Nakhimoff’s voyage was an early attempt to establish that link.

The Nakhimoff carried coal to Bombay and returned with 4,539 bales of cotton and 520 packages of rice, coffee, gum and pepper....

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