In the Middle Ages and early modern period, the Russia trade comprised mainly the commerce of Western European countries with Russia – from the 12th century on with the principality of Novgorod, then from the 16th century on with the principality of Moscow, and finally in the 18th and 19th centuries with Tsarist Russia (Russian Empire). From the 12th through the 16th centuries, the merchants of the Hanseatic League traded with Novgorod. For a long time, Russia e…