Snapshot of a Multi-Scale Economy

How do you get an oak tree from a state forest in Kazan to the naval shipyards on the Baltic and Black Sea coasts? Solving this logistical puzzle caused Russian officials to measure and mark trees, survey and map forests and rivers, and develop hydrographical and bureaucratic technologies that would allow them to both manage and transform the Russian environment. This section presents a brief case study in an attempt to shed light on the ways in which economic and environmental infrastructures shaped one another in the early/mid-19th century.