[1] An Anglophile like his peer Chichagov, he spent three years – from 1774 to 1777 – serving on English ships in British North America.

However, he felt ill at ease with Potemkin's and de Ribas's management of the Imperial Russian Navy and retired in the late 1780s after opposing the Turkish siege of Kinburn in 1787.

His career took a leap forward under Emperor Paul, who shared his intense dislike of Potemkin's coterie and recalled Mordvinov to service with the rank of admiral.

He also advocated free enterprise, principles of private property and, like Vorontsov, defended a protectionist customs tariff.

In 1823, Mordvinov was elected President of the Free Economic Society, a high-profile position which he filled for 17 years.