Quote Originally Posted by gaelic cowboy View Post
Could they afford it Iran I mean by the time Russia could trade in 19th early 20th there industrila development was primitive at best.
Russia has traded with Persia for a lot longer than that.

Later there products were not required because until the Shah was toppled as Iran was outside there orbit. Afterwards what did they have to give them only weapons a typical obsession of a land based power.
It wasn't an issue of orbit. Shah's dollars were just as green, and Russia traded extensively.

Interesting and this proves what exactly that you can send a cartload of barrels to Poland it will still be more exspensive and awkard to trade this way. A horse needs feeding and it can only travel in daylight, while a ship can move all day an night and can carry it's crew supplies and trade goods together.
Don't sailors need to eat and sleep?

Land based trade required the train and the further east you went the less developed and integrated a rail network you had.
If the land based trade required the train, then how was it possible to conduct land based trade before railroads came to be?


I said Russia can be powerful due to it's size I did not say they would or even can be all powerful.
And I didn't accuse you of saying that. My point all along has been that neither size nor population nor coastline can account for the success of the US as a nation: Russia has far more land, China has far more people, and Britain historically had a far better maritime trade network.