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During the first quarter of the twentieth century in Russia rapidly developed management thought, generated by many reasons, including socio-economic and political transformations, the results of scientific and practical activities of domestic and foreign experts in management. The purpose of this paper is, first, to acquaint readers with some of factors of the development of the history of Russian Management Thought in nineteenth century and at the beginning of twentieth century and, second, to present the most striking results of the formation of the History of Soviet Management Thought (SMT) in post-revolutionary Russia in the form of the movement of the so-called “The scientific organization of labor” (SOL), including “The scientific organization of managerial labor” (or SOML).

The review and causal analysis of the process of formation of the SMT and historiography of the SMT, a brief description of the institutions of SOL and SOMT and a comparative analysis of little-known works of some Russian authors on management topics of nineteenth century are chosen as research methods.

The paper emphasizes the action of objective historical inertia (or “non-Markoviness”) of the process of development of managerial thought, manifested, on the one hand, in the stable action of some management paradigms but, on the other hand, in identifying paradigmatic anomalies, in identifying the need for constant development of managerial thought, in the development of sought-after ideas and concepts of management, and even in the institutionalization of applied scientific research in the field of management throughout the country (in the form of SOL and SOML).

The paper attempts to attract the attention of researchers to the little-known Russian and Soviet authors and their little-known works in the field of management thought.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the convergence and divergence aspects of the Russian modernisation experience of c.1450–c.1600 and its role in both Russian history and management history.

This study combines in-depth data collection from multiple sources such as Russian Chronicles, eyewitness accounts (mostly by foreigners) and papers in history and management. The applied methodology also includes an examination of Ivan III’s modernisation initiative and its implementation in c.1450–c.1600. The analysis is conducted with an eye to understanding the extent to which Russian experiences converged or diverged from those found in Western Europe.

Russian modernisation is usually associated with Peter the Great. Early initiatives, such as those that occurred in Russia between 1462 (the ascent of Ivan III) and 1606 (the Time of Troubles) are overlooked. This paper, however, argues that without these earlier modernisation efforts Russia would not have survived as a country. Given the central role that Russia has played in European and world history, and understanding of this period is key to comprehending the modern world and global systems of management.

This paper seeks to understand a decisive period in Russian history and Russian management, highlighting the extent to which Russian experiences both diverged and converged with those found in Western Europe.

The paper helps us to understand both the successes and problems of Russian management since the 15th century.

To the best of author’s knowledge, this study is the first to consider Russian modernisation during the period c.1400–c.1600 with an eye to current debates in convergence/divergence theory.