Communication in Russia in the 17th century: Patrick Gordon’s correspondence

Authors

  • Daniel Waugh University of Washington

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2015.3.115

Abstract

A unique 17th-century historical source, the diaries of Patrick Gordon, a Scot in Russian service, contains a great deal of information about Russian history. A close reading of the detailed record of daily events in the author’s life reveals details about Russian life, which are not found in other documents. From Gordon’s diaries and correspondence, the article’s author extracted information, which helps us understand the functioning of the postal service in Russia in the late 17th century. Several aspects of the problem are treated. Firstly, information about his correspondents is systematized, including personal, official, and more casual acquaintances. Analysis of the correspondence underscores Gordon’s wide-reaching national, social and familial connections. Secondly, the article describes the routes that letters traveled to and from their addressees. There was a clear preference for sending letters via special couriers or acquaintances who happened to be traveling, even if a government system of communication was available. Thirdly, the article establishes transit times and explains the possible objective or subjective reasons why they might be faster or be delayed. This analysis also reveals something about the interactions between Patrick Gordon and his contemporaries, which is evidenced by the frequency of the correspondence and the direct responses. The author discusses concrete circumstances around the organization of the official postal network and its development in its early stages.

The publication of the article is in two thematically delineated parts. The first examines data about Gordon’s communications network, such as communication routes, official and personal agreements, as well as speed and frequency of exchanges. To a degree the content of the letters is examined here, though their more detailed treatment is to be found in the second part of the article devoted to the analysis of how he obtained political news and intelligence information. Both parts are organized roughly chronologically: it is important to see what changes occurred over nearly half a century covered in the diaries.

The author’s conclusions provide evidence about the broad connections of Russia and Europe as well as the active diplomacy, which made it imperative in the Petrine era to establish a state postal system. In the case of Patrick Gordon, who was an active participant in the political process, we can see how it was essential for him to take advantage of all means of communication in order to maintain his extensive correspondence about political, military, and personal affairs.

 

Author Biography

Daniel Waugh, University of Washington

Professor Emeritus

References

Birgegård, U. (Ed., transl. & comment.). (2002). J. G. Sparwenfeld’s Diary of a Journey to Russia 1684–1687. In: Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akadien. Slavica Suecana, Series A—Publications. Vol. 1. Stockholm.
Brikner, A. (1877). Patrik Gordon i ego dnevnik [Patrick Gordon and His Diary], Zhurnal Ministerstva narodnogo prosveshheniya. September (ch. CXCIII); November (ch. CXCIV).
Brikner, A. (1878). Patrik Gordon i ego dnevnik [Patrick Gordon and His Diary]. In: Zhurnal Ministerstva narodnogo prosveshheniya March (ch. CXCVI); May (ch. CXCVII).
Charles Middleton, 2nd Earl of Middleton. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Middleton_2nd_Earl_of_Middleton (accessed 26.09.2014).
Chary′kov, N. (1906). Posol′stvo v Rim i sluzhba v Moskve Pavla Meneziya [Paul Menesius’ Embassy to Rome and Service in Moscow]. Saint-Petersburg, Tipografiya Suvorina.
Dem′yanov, V. G., Kornilaeva, A., Podshivalova, E. A., Shamin, S. M., Moldavan, A. M. & Majer, I. (Eds.). (2009). Vesti-Kuranty′. 1660–1662, 1664–1670 gg. [ Curanty (Herald). 1660–1662, 1664–1670 years]. (Part 1: Russian Texts). 856 p. Moscow, Rukopisny′e pamyatniki Drevnej Rusi.
Demidova, N. (2011). Sluzhilaya byurokratiya v Rossii XVII veka (1625–1700). Biograficheskij spravochnik [Service Class Bureaucracy in 17th Century Russia (1625–1700). A Biographic Reference Book]. 718 p. Moscow, Pamyatniki istoricheskoj my′sli.
Dooley, B. (Ed.). (2010). The Dissemination of News and the Emergence of Contemporaneity in Early Modern Europe. Farnham, Surrey; Burlington, VT, Ashgate.
Dukes, P. (1988). Patrick Gordon and His Family Circle: Some Unpublished Letters, Scottish Slavonic Review, 10, pp. 19–49 (reprinted in the Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies. 2015. Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 125–151).
Dukes, P., Herd, G., & Kotilaine, J. (2009). Stuarts and Romanovs: The Rise and Fall of a Special Relationship. 262 р. Dundee.
Eekman, T. (1992). Muscovy’s International Relations in the Late Seventeenth Century: Johan van Keller’s Observations, California Slavic Studies, 14, pp. 46–67.
Fraser, P. (1956). The Intelligence of the Secretaries of State & Their Monopoly of Licensed News 1660–1688. 362 р. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Gordon, P. (Fedosov, D., ed.). (2009–2014). Diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries 1635–1699 (Vol. 1: 1635–1659, With a Foreword by Paul Dukes; Vol. 2; 1659–1667; Vol. 3: 1677–1678; Vol. 4: 1684–1689; Vol. 5: 1690–1695). Aberdeen, AHRC Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies, University of Aberdeen.
Gordon, P. (Fedosov, D., ed., comment.). (2000–2014). Dnevnik [Diary] (Vol. 1: 1635–1659; Vol. 2: 1659–1667; Vol. 3: 1677–1678; Vol. 4: 1684–1689; Vol. 5: 1690–1695. Moscow, Nauka.
Konovalov, S. (1964). Patrick Gordon’s Dispatches from Russia, 1667, Oxford Slavonic Papers, 11, pp. 8–16.
Konovalov, S. (1967). Sixteen Further Letters of General Patrick Gordon, Oxford Slavonic Papers, 13, pp. 72–95.
Kozlovskij, I. (1913). Pervy′e pochty′ i pervy′e pochtmejstery′ v moskovskom gosudarstve [The First Post Offices and First Postmasters in Muscovy]. Warsaw.
Maier, I. (2004). Niederländische Zeitungen (‘Couranten’) des 17. Jahrhunderts im Russischen Staatsarchiv für alte Akten (RGADA), Moskau. In: Gutenberg-Jahrbuch, pp. 191–218.
Majer, I. (Ed.). (2008). Vesti-Kuranty′. 1660–1662, 1664–1670 gg. [Kuranty (Herald). 1660–1662, 1664–1670]. (Part 2: Foreign Originals to the Russian Texts). 648 p. Moscow, Yazy′ki slavyanskih kul′tur. National Archives, London.
Pernal, A. (2003). The London Gazette as a Primary Source for the Biography of General Patrick Gordon, Canadian Journal of History, 38, pp. 1–17. 140 Problema voluminis
Vigilev, A. (1990). Istoriya otechestvennoj pochty′ [The History of Domestic Post]. 312 p. Moscow, Radio i svyaz′.
Waugh, D. & Maier, I. (2009). How Well Was Muscovy Connected with the World? In: Hausmann, G. & Rustemeyer, A. (Eds.). Imperienvergleich. Beispiele und Ansätze aus osteuropäischer Perspektive. Festschrift für Andreas Kappeler (Vol. 75, pp. 17–38). Wiesbaden (= Forschungen zur osteuropäischen Geschichte).
Waugh, D. (2015). The Best Connected Man in Muscovy? Patrick Gordon’s Evidence Regarding News and Communications in Muscovy in the 17th Century, Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies (Aberdeen), 7/2, pp. 61–123.

Published

2015-10-01

How to Cite

Waugh, D. (2015). Communication in Russia in the 17th century: Patrick Gordon’s correspondence. Quaestio Rossica, (3), 119–140. https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2015.3.115

Issue

Section

Vox redactoris