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Hemp, Flax, and Iron: The Russian Vieweconomic centers of gravity. By 1800, 70 per cent of Russia'sforeign trade went on through her Baltic ports. 6Most important of the cities of this newly Russian coast wasSt. Petersburg. In 1703, Peter founded it; and in 1721, heordered that the factories of the foreign merchants be establishedthere. His ambitions for his city to be Russia's greatestport were well founded, and as St. Petersburg approached onehundred years of age it was handling half of all Russia's foreigntrade. St. Petersburg's growth as a seaport was not easily managed.At the site of that city where the Neva River flows intothe Gulf of Finland, the shore is low (which made for wetcellars) and the water shallow. This is typical of the east Balticcoast, and the Nev a is typical of rivers flowing into that sectorof the Baltic—in fact, typical of any large river flowing into ashallow sea. It piles up at its mouth a permanent sand or mu dbar. In our period this bar prevented all vessels that drew morethan seven or eight feet of water from coming up to St. Petersburg.7 Thus, though tsars might order St. Petersburg to becomea great and magnificent city, which it did, they could nevermak e it into a proper seaport.The solution to the problem was Kronstadt, which playedPiraeus to St. Petersburg's Athens. Some twenty miles downthe gulf from St. Petersburg, on the other side of the bar, is theisland of Retusari. On this island was built the port of Kronstadt,and at this port moored practically all vessels which cameto trade with St. Petersburg. Between Kronstadt and St. Petersburgshuttled a constant procession of shallow-drafted, cargoladengalliots, permitting the foreigner and the merchant of St.Petersburg to deal with one another, although direct consummationof their business was impossible. 829