This article considers the formation of the contemporary notion of profit (Rus. прибыль). Contrary to the well-established idea that profitability was the main motive of the economic activity of the nobility, the author argues that “profit” was conceptualised among the nobility as late as the second half of the 18th century, mainly due to the use of forest land. Starting from the middle of the century, Russian forestry acquired unique features that markedly distinguished it from other areas of agricultural production on estates. First, forests were the second most common privately-owned natural resource (following land), which gives the author reason to believe that forestry practices were widespread in large parts of Russia. Secondly, the nobles mainly had to use hired labour for felling trees and transporting timber because this activity not only required skills, but also time: serfs could not be involved on an ongoing basis because it distracted them from agriculture. The combination of all these factors led to the formation of the modern meaning of the concept of “profit” among the nobility. For the purposes of the study, the author refers to a new complex of unpublished archival sources, mainly draft accounting documents, which allows her to analyse the real financial practices of the nobility.