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Western Europe Looks at Muscovy Guillaume de L’Isle (1675–1726), engraved by Matthaeus Seutter (1678–1756) Mappae Imperii Moscovitici [Maps of the Muscovite Empire] Augsburg?, 18th century NYPL, Slavic and Baltic Division

Although Muscovy maintained its distance from western European cultural and religious ideas, it sought to benefit from foreign interest in Russia's potential as a land route to eastern markets, and as a source for timber, furs, and other natural resources. For most European merchants, the White Sea port of Arkhangel'sk was the principal point of maritime entry to the Muscovite Tsardom, the core of which lay far inland, so accurate maps of the northern parts of the Muscovite state, particularly its navigable rivers, carried great importance.