Travel to Russia

Travel to Russia was a difficult business and not always without danger. Routes traversed land and water, frequently crossing the Baltic Sea and the Baltic states.

In search of a northern trade route to China in the mid-16th century, the English happened upon a route that crossed the White Sea subsequently reaching Archangelsk and then Russia.

On reaching Moscow, the Western envoys and the Russian ambassador considered their own honorary priorities in the diplomatic protocol to be of great importance. As a result, lengthy quarrels were not uncommon.

J. G. Korb referred to these squabbles on the occasion of the arrival of the Imperial legation in 1698 and noted with satisfaction that diplomatic priority prevailed on the Imperial side. With a good deal of condescension and rather less self-criticism, he noted of the Russians that "these people will probably no longer crumble in the face of such ridiculous demands".