The Ambassador's Report of Zakharia Meyer

Abstract

The article contains a translation and an original text of the report of the ratmann of Lübeck Zhachariah Meyer about his diplomatic trips to Moscow in 1586-1587. The document is stored in the Archives of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (Archiv der Hansestadt Lübeck) and has not been published so far, although it is of great importance for characterizing Russian-Hanseatic relations after the Livonian War and the trade strategy of Lübeck in Russia. On behalf of a magistrate of Lübeck Meyer visited the court of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich in Novgorod and Pskov, thereby laid the foundation of direct contacts between Lübeck and the Russian government. In the context of the transformation of the Hanseatic League which took place in the second half of the 16th century, in order to retain the status of its head, Lübeck needed to take a leading position in the supply of Russian export products to the Western European market. To achieve this goal, he had to abandon the trade and diplomatic mediation of the Hanseatic cities of Livonia, which during the Livonian War ended up in foreign citizenship, and carry out his own program, set out in the pamphlet "Kürtzer Bericht..." of 1571. This program involved the creation of a network of Lübeck trading courtyards in the cities of the Russian North-West, which thereby turned into a hinterland of Lubeck, securing the privileges of the Hanseatic people in Russia for Lübeck, obtaining guarantees from the Russian sovereign for the supply and unhindered export of Russian goods. Meyer's report which includes the German text of the letters patent from Fyodor Ioannovich to Lubeck in 1586, the translations of the tsar`s letters to the governors of Novgorod and Pskov, the Meyer`s petitions testifies to the successful start of this program. The report, among other things, contains information about situations in the trading courtyards of Novgorod and Pskov, in particular, about their relations with the city administration. Their lack of self-government and administrative dependence on the Russian authorities distinguishes the Lübeck courtyards from the Hanseatic offices of the heyday of the Hansa.

Keywords:

Hanse, Lubek, Zakharia Meyer, trade yards of Lubek in Novgorod and Pskov