Background
Nikolay Semyonovich Mordvinov was born on April 17, 1754 in the village Pokrovskoye, Novgorod Oblast, Russian Federation.
Nikolay Semyonovich Mordvinov was born on April 17, 1754 in the village Pokrovskoye, Novgorod Oblast, Russian Federation.
Nikolay Semyonovich was an admiral's son and started his career in the Navy at an early age. He started his service in 1766 in the rank of midshipman. An Anglophile like his peer Chichagov, he spent three years – from 1774 to 1777 – serving on English ships in British North America. In 1783, he accompanied Chichagov during his expedition into the Mediterranean. However, he felt ill at ease with Potemkin's and De Ribas's management of the Imperial Russian Navy and retired in the late 1780s.
In 1799, Nikolay Semyonovich was appointed Vice-President of the Admiralty. Three years later, when the Admiralty was transformed into the Navy Ministry, he became the first Navy Minister of Imperial Russia, but ceded this post to Pavel Chichagov within three months. In 1806, the Muscovite nobility elected him to lead a volunteer corps rallied against Napoleon. He became particularly popular with young liberals, who admired his courage to oppose the government when needed.
In 1823, Nikolay Semyonovich was elected President of the Free Economic Society, a high-profile position which he filled for 17 years. During his term in office, he outlined his economic views in a number of writings.
Mordvinov died at the age of 90 in Saint Petersburg.
Nikolay Semyonovich considered serfdom to be the main obstacle to the successful economic development of Russia, and wrote that "Freedom, property, enlightenment and justice are the main and only origins of wealth". He also advocated free enterprise, principles of private property and, like Vorontsov, defended a protectionist customs tariff.