Pierre B. Boucher, French economist in the service of the Russian Tsar Alexander the First

Abstract

This article is devoted to the prominent French economist, accountant, and lawyer Pierre B. Boucher (1767–1838). Boucher had a special destiny for a French man who was born in the eighteenth century and died in the nineteenth. He witnessed wars and revolutions, and travelled extensively between France and Eastern Europe. Boucher authored several books on law, trade, political economy, and commercial fleets. Currently he is well-known for his excellent treatise La Science des Negocians et Teneurs de Livres, strongly inspired by Mathieu de la Porte’s book by the same name. Boucher’s treatise was translated into Russian and adapted by Ivan Akhmatov, who made it known throughout Russia. Boucher practiced many professions, such as banker, bookkeeper, law professor, state adviser, lawyer (in France), brigadier, adviser to the Tsar, and expert in maritime law in Russia. His life had a thousand facets, each representing a research interest. This article presents an outline of Pierre Boucher’s biography and an analysis of his activities in service to Russia. Boucher’s achievements during this period of his life have not been studied before, even though they made a significant contribution to improving Russian accounting and commerce. Refs 45. Table 1.