Peter's reforms at the beginning of the XVIII century covered all spheres of social and economic life in Russia, including foreign trade. The emperor sought to expand foreign trade relations not only with neighboring countries, but also with remote corners of the planet. Far-sighted, erudite and purposeful, Peter the Great was convinced that strengthening the trade relations of the Russian Empire with various countries of the world would contribute to the growth of the economic, political and military power of his state. The monarch's foreign trade interests extended all the way to Latin and North America, remote corners of Asia and Africa. Of course, not all of the emperor's projects were destined to come true. Nevertheless, already in the first quarter of the 18th century, the geography of Russia's foreign trade relations expanded significantly. Keywords: Russian Empire, Africa, trade relations, foreign trade. Trade expeditions of Russians to Africa during the XVIII century were quite rare. In 1701, the Old Believer priest John Lukyanov visited Egypt, who in his memoirs noted: "The land of Egypt is very happy with everything, both people and housing. What to say! This is the land of the Turk - a golden bottom, stuff from Egypt to Constantinople ships go" [Afrika..., 1974, p. 55]. The Orthodox priest Andrey Ignatiev (1707) wrote about the fertility of the Nile Valley, date plantations, and plentiful rice harvests [Afrika..., 1974, pp. 56-57]. More often, Russian pilgrims came to Egypt, for example, Father Ignatius (Dentin), a monk of the Sarov monastery near Tver (1766-1776). The Ukrainian traveler Vasyl Grigorovich-Barsky wrote in sufficient detail about the commercial significance of Egypt. In his memoirs, in particular, it was pointed out: "Egypt is famous for a lot of merchants with various and precious goods, which is a haven for merchants returning from India" [Afrika..., 1974, p.72]. The author noted that merchants brought incense, myrrh, pepper, cardamom, v ... Read more