Russian-German relations and trade agreements of 1894 and 1904 in Russian public opinion

Baybikov Vyacheslav Yurievich

In 1914, the first world war began, one of the reasons for which were contradictions in relations between Russia and Germany. The differences between Russia and Germany began in 1880-ies, when both States have adopted the policy of protection of national economy from foreign competition and as a result began to create more favorable conditions for domestic producers, and competitors ' products to impose high duties. This caused discontent of some producers who received income from exports to other countries. To streamline relations between Russia and Germany, trade agreements were concluded in 1894 and 1904. The first put an end to the so – called customs war of 1893-1894 and arranged both Germany and Russia, the second, concluded in difficult time for Russia-during the war with Japan was unprofitable for Russia. This agreement caused a sharply negative reaction of the Russian society and led to the deterioration of the attitude towards Germany on the part of Russia.

Keywords:customs war, customs tariff, trade agreement, duty, protectionism, customs policy.