The paper examines the development of the state owned industry in Russia at the turn of the 17-18th centuries during the reign of Peter the Great. The research shows that the economic policy of the government was built on the basis of the doctrine of mercantilism. The history of the creation of state owned enterprises is described. The statistics of these enterprises is analyzed. The main types of activities in which they functioned more than three centuries ago are studied. It is revealed that in general there were slightly more than half of private enterprises, however, the situation varied in different industries. The issue of transferring enterprises from the state to private individuals is studied in detail. At the same time, he practiced a rather coercive order, which can be called one of the features of managing state owned industry. The main three ways of transferring enterprises from the treasury are highlighted: by transferring the products of the enterprise to the treasury in full or part of it within a certain time, or at the expense of monetary contributions to the treasury for a certain time. The main conditions of the transfer are revealed, including the purpose, term, price, and etc. It is suggested that one of the areas of possible future research could be a comparison of regulatory regulation of state and private enterprises in the period of 17 18 centuries.