Abstract
This paper discusses the history of the Northern Steamship Company from 1899 to 1918. The company was Russian, but the parent company was based in Copenhagen, starting operations on the route between Odessa and Vladivostok in 1900. Sergei Witte, the Russian minister for finance, permitted the company to be founded to encourage the export of Russian goods to Asia. After Witte resigned in 1903, however, the Russian government kept an eye on the workings of the company because it was operated with foreign capital. After the Russo-Japanese war, the directors of the company decided to open new routes on the Black and Baltic Seas. This is because they considered the free port system in the Russian Far East and Suez Canal Tolls as obstacles on the route to Vladivostok. However, the company faced stiff competition on these routes from other steamship associations, especially the Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company, which was supported by the Russian government. After 1911, the Northern Steamship Company concentrated its resources on operations on Asian routes. Meanwhile, the situation in the Russian Far East turned to the company's advantage; for example, the free port system was abolished in 1909.
