This article explores the discourse surrounding commercialization within Catherine II’s Legislative Commission and scrutinizes the rhetorical strategies employed by representatives in advocating for the advancement of a commercial society in Russia. The advent of commercial society posed a significant concern in Enlightenment Europe and called for a paradigm shift necessitating a reevaluation of various aspects including human nature, social constitution and forms of government. While considerable attention has been devoted to examining theories of commercial society in Western Europe, progress has been gradual in shedding light to regions with which there was an exchange of people and linguistic context, yet with certain variations. Furthermore, the study of Russian history has often been politicized, particularly influenced by Marxist interpretations of stages of historical development, thereby impeding research into the genuine understanding of discussions regarding commercial society among eighteenth-century contemporaries. This article contends that participants in the Legislative Commission exhibited a shared aspiration for the advancement of commerce in Russia, and proceeds to analyze the divergent viewpoints among deputies regarding the approach and ideology of commercial development. Merchant deputies advocated for a mercantilist stance in promoting commerce, while non-merchant deputies sought to formulate novel approaches to political economy, often invoking the language of natural rights and liberty. By examining their deliberations in light of recent scholarly contributions on theories of commercial society, this article underscores the anachronistic interpretations shared by Soviet historians, who interpreted the presence of a bourgeoisie in a Marxist context, and their counterparts in the West. (Seoul National University / clairdelune@snu.ac.kr)