The aim of the article is to analyze the influence of the created in 1780 by Catherine the Great’s system of armed neutrality on the American Revolution in the context of countering British naval domination, whose preservation was one of the counterrevolutionary appearing of the British struggle with the rebellious colonists. The author examines the creation of a system of armed neutrality, describing the motives that guided both Catherine II and the Americans who supported her initiative. The article concludes that two approaches to armed neutrality collided - the American principle of “free ships carry free goods” and the British understanding of measures to counter military smuggling, which ensured the Maritime, military and political dominance of Albion. Catherine’s creation of the League of armed neutrality, based on principles close to the Americans, actually made Russia an unwitting defender of the American Revolution and an opponent of the British counter-revolution in matters of interpretation of international trade law and the limits of its protection of Imperial might.