Aleynikov A.V. “To erect no barriers that impede anyone earning an honest living”: for the 240th anniversary of the Manifesto on the Freedom of Entrepreneurship of Catherine the Great

Abstract: The object of this article is an in-depth research on the grounds of rethinking the vast historical materials on a multifaceted problem of historical and cultural specificity of the genesis of Russian entrepreneurship and various compositions of its relationship with the government. Based on the analysis of the economic reforms of Catherine the Great, the author examines the problem of establishment and main parameters of the Russian model of relationship between entrepreneurship and the government. A special attention is given to Catherine the Great’s policy to remove restrictions and significant limitations on development of private entrepreneurship from government authorities; the difference between this policy and preceding and future compositions of relations between entrepreneurship and the government; measures on strengthening the role of entrepreneurship, state policy on stimulation of entrepreneurial activity, and creation of a favorable environment for its development within the historical and cultural context of the correlation of formal and informal rules. Among the main conclusions is the fact that despite the importance of Catherine the Great’s reforms, the dominant business strategy and criterion for success of entrepreneurship in Russia, remained the acquisition of the businesses of others, rather than creation and effective management thereof.

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