In 1913, the per capita level of GDP in Russia was 1605 dollars of the 1993 "sample". This is less than in Italy in 1300. The work of a team of English economists and historians on the structure of the economy of England and Europe from 1270 to 1870 generally shows that the growth rates of per capita GDP in the Middle Ages and at the dawn of capitalism were very heterogeneous.
In this work (pdf), a team of economists and historians from the Universities of Warwick, Belfast and Exeter examines the structure of the economy of England, but also - briefly - of several other European countries of the time.
Economic growth throughout the Middle Ages in England was sluggish: for example, in the period 1300-1348, only an average of 0.19% per year. And even on the eve of the capitalist revolution, in 1700, it was 0.48%.
At the same time, in the same England, already in 1522, the contribution of industry to GDP exceeded that of agriculture - 43.7% against 35.6% (another 20.7% were services).
In more detail, you yourself can read about 60 pages on this topic. We are interested in another point - the standard of living in the European Middle Ages and at the beginning of the capitalist era.
So, in England in 1270, GDP per capita was $ 638 in 1990. This is roughly comparable to the current standard of living in Afghanistan or Burma. In 1400, it climbed to $ 1303. Why such a sharp increase, given that we remember the very sluggish growth at the time? It's just that the population of England from 1250 to 1400 fell from 4.23 million people to 2.08 million (the main culprit is the plague epidemic of the middle of the XIV century). But in 1700 per capita GDP in England was equal to 1506 dollars, and in 1750 - 1660 dollars.
Let's look at other countries. The richest territories in the Middle Ages are the territories of modern Italy. Already in 1300, the average per capita GDP there was $ 1,644 (unfortunately, the authors do not "break" Italy at that time into cities and separate provinces; it can be assumed that in Venice or Florence this value was much higher).
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The peak of Italian prosperity is 1400, when this figure was equal to 1726 dollars. After this time begins a long-term decline: in 1570 - 1463 dollars, 1650 - 1255. Even in 1850 Italy as a whole lived poorer (1350 dollars) than 550 years ago.
But at the end of the 16th century, Holland bursts into the ranks of the richest countries. Back in 1400, the standard of living there was lower than in England (1195 dollars), but already in 1600 - 2662. For clarity: this is approximately the standard of living of Ukraine or Georgia in the early 1990s.
Spain, despite the huge colonies in America with silver mines, has lived relatively poorly since the 1500s. GDP in 1600 was $ 1382 per person (less than in Italy in 1300), by 1750 this value had dropped to $ 1191.
The same "lost 300 years" are characteristic of Germany: 1500 - per capita GDP of 1332 dollars, and even in 1800 this figure was not surpassed - 1140 dollars. It is not surprising that the entire 18th and 19th centuries Germany is the country-leader in emigration: the Germans from poverty go anywhere - according to the "Catherine's" call to Russia, to the USA, to Brazil. According to various sources, over these 200 years, 15-20 million people left the country (for example, today the German community in the United States is the largest in the country - about 50 million people).
Sweden at that time was the poorest country in Europe observed by the authors of this study. In 1570, per capita GDP is only $ 860 (this is England in the 1350s) and slightly higher than India in 1600 (researchers also give figures for it). In 1800 the figure was $ 953.
And what about Russia? Its English researchers do not mention it. But the country's indicators for per capita GDP in 1913 are known - $ 1605, moreover, in 1993 dollars (this is 5-6 percent more than in 1990 - that is, about a little more than $ 1500 in 1990). It turns out that in 1913 the per capita GDP in the Russian Empire was even slightly lower than in Italy in 1300. Well, or roughly - like in England at the beginning of the 18th century.