The Flourishing Condition of the All-Russian State
Publication year: 1727
Author: Ivan Kirilov
Contents: 7 provinces. For SPb and “all towns, whether provincial or otherwise: what they are built of, on what rivers and seas, on dioceses, monasteries, churches, schools, and hospitals; infantry, naval, and artillery regiments and info re quartering; factories; post stations; irregular troops.
While the intention was to provide this information for all locations, “such that nothing remained unknown about the provinces,” this proved impossible. Despite the mountain of information held by the Colleges and Senate, it was messy. Unsystematic. “While we might know the merchant population or number of churches in one town, there might be no reports at all describing the next.” Kirilov cautioned against using his text as an “exhaustive description of all towns.”
