From April to December 1829, Humboldt traveled through Russia, reaching the Chinese border in the east and the Caspian Sea in the south, before returning to St Petersburg.

[7] Cancrin had taken pains to guarantee the success of Humboldt's trip, arranging for his expenses to be paid as well as assuring the cooperation of Russian officialdom.

[citation needed] Cancrin's policies often sought to maintain the status quo due to the limitations of the Russian government in carrying out large scale economic reform.

His policies have been characterized as being aimed at reducing budget deficits through curtailment of government expenditure rather than attempts at stimulating the economy.

[12] He advanced loans to the gentry class in order to preserve, in the words of historian Walter Pintner, "the social status quo".