Abstract. Two outstanding scientists of the late 19th – early 20th century V.P. Semenov-Tyan'-Shan'skii, a successor to encyclopedic traditions, and P.N. Savitskii, a promoter of the Eurasian movement, can be justly entitled the founders of the Russian economic-geopolitical school. Their generalizations are interesting not only for the history of geopolitical doctrines, but also for modern geoeconomics and a comparative historical-economical study methodology. In the article, the main Russia's development concepts formulated and introduced by the above mentioned scientists are investigated, also their predecessors' works both here and abroad are examined.