Аннотация:The four cases are discussed in the paper:
1) creation of Waldmeister office under Peter I;
2) experts debate happened at the start of the 20th century, e.g. industrial police agenda of Dmitry Mendeleev (in 1902-1905);
3) the Decree on Land in 1917 explaining the new definition of natural treasures; and
4) the “resource curse” debate launched with the Oil shock in 1970s in the USSR?
Main questions we pose to retrospective development of usage of natural resources are the following:
Does the ‘plenty’ strike productivity? Does the ‘plenty’ slow technology? Does the ‘plenty’ disrupt distribution? And more metaphorically, is the ‘plenty’ a bless or a curse?
These questions are quite important for general framework of retrospective understanding of natural resources contribution into economic growth, especially in Russia.