The appearance of paper banknotes in Russia in the second half of the 18th century was preceded by a long period of circulation of metallic money in the form of silver bars, and then coins of copper, silver and gold. Coinage first appeared in Kievan Rus in the 9th - 10th centuries ( See: Sotnikov M.P., Spassky I.G. Millennium of the most ancient coins of Russia. Consolidated catalog of Russian coins of the 10th - 11th centuries. - L.: Art, Leningrad department, 1983. - P. 5 - 111). Coin circulation began to develop especially quickly in the period following the creation of a centralized Russian state in the 15th century. and the formation of a unified national monetary system as a result of the monetary reform (1535-1538) of Elena Glinskaya ( On the monetary reform of Elena Glinskaya, see: Numismatics and epigraphy. - T. XIII. - M.: Nauka, 1980. - P. 85 - 96).

Conditioned by the objective process of development of productive forces, the Russian monetary system as a whole played a positive role in strengthening the feudal economy, economic ties between individual regions of the country, the formation of the internal market, and the maturation of the prerequisites for the development of capitalist relations. However, the circulation of full-fledged metal money by its nature is not free from a number of significant disadvantages. Their overcoming, as appropriate conditions were created, led to the emergence of paper banknotes, which was natural for any country, including pre-revolutionary Russia, and the transformation of the latter into the main means of circulation and payment.

Firstly, coin circulation required a large consumption of precious metals - gold and silver. Their accumulation in the country depended on the level of production of these metals, the state of trade with other countries, receipt of external loans and some other circumstances. Therefore, the ability of one or another state to expand coin circulation was very limited. At the same time, as social production and commodity-money relations developed, the sale of an increasing mass of goods required a correspondingly larger amount of money and, consequently, in coin circulation, precious metals. This contradiction intensified with the beginning of the development of capitalist relations in the depths of feudalism. It could be fully resolved by replacing high-grade money (gold and silver) in monetary circulation with inferior ones - paper banknotes.

Secondly, the production of coins from gold, silver and copper limited the country's consumption of these metals for other purposes, for example, for the manufacture of gold and silver jewelry or copper weapons.

Thirdly, the long-term use of banknotes made of metal, primarily gold and silver, caused them to wear out, leading to the appearance of inferior coins that clogged circulation. The natural physical wear and tear of coins was often supplemented by their deliberate damage on the part of individuals, for example, by cutting off gold or silver coins. Because of this, the amount of monetary metal in the country, which is part of the national wealth, decreased. The state was forced to withdraw defective coins from circulation and replace them. The costs associated with this increased the costs of coin circulation and further burdened the state budget.

Fourthly, as trade turnover expanded, not only the total amount of cash payments in the country grew, but also their one-time, individual size. With the enlargement of the payment amount, another significant drawback of coin circulation was revealed - the lack of portability of metal money, which sometimes led to considerable physical costs for moving a significant mass of metal in the form of coins when making cash payments. This deficiency was especially acute if heavy copper coins predominated in circulation.

Finally, the circulation of money in the form of coins made of gold, silver and copper allowed the state of pre-socialist society to extract relatively limited income from the monopoly right to mint coins - coin regalia. Reducing the weight and fineness of the metal in a coin while keeping its nominal value unchanged was a very common technique, which was often used to replenish the state treasury, especially during the war. However, the first experiments in issuing paper banknotes in North America (late 17th century) and Western Europe (early 18th century) showed that for the state their issue was a more profitable and easier way to finance its expenses than damaging coins, since production paper banknotes required much less material costs and time.

In Russia in the 18th century, in ruling circles and different classes, there was a growing understanding of the shortcomings of a monetary system based solely on coin circulation.

Under the successors of Peter I, the financial economy of Russia was in a very neglected state, which was facilitated by frequent palace coups. For decades, the country did not compile financial statements or a list of state income and expenses. This created fertile ground for embezzlement and various abuses. Government expenditures were burdened by the extravagance of successive empresses on the throne, as well as by the enormous costs associated with waging wars. These circumstances could not but affect the state of the state budget, which was chronically in deficit.

It became common practice to use coin regalia to increase government revenue. The 18th century was characterized by a sharp increase in the minting of coins for fiscal purposes, which was especially characteristic of the government of Catherine II (1762-1796). The overflow of monetary circulation channels with a huge amount of copper coins caused its depreciation, and as a result, an increase in prices for goods, including copper. The latter led to a drop in government profits from coin regalia. The issue of copper money into circulation lost its importance as one of the sources of government revenue.

Depreciated copper coins displaced a significant portion of silver from circulation. Having become the main means of circulation and payment, copper coins entered the treasury in the form of taxes and other payments. This reduced the overall effect of their minting and increased the financial difficulties of the government of Catherine II. For this reason, the ruling circles of Russia were forced to temporarily abandon further abuse of the minting of copper coins and a decrease in the content of pure metal in silver and gold coins. They needed new sources of income through the release of money into circulation. Subsequently, the issue of paper banknotes became a similar source. Moreover, such an issue was actually not news for the ruling circles of Russia.

In Russia, historical facts of the circulation of banknotes made of paper were known, which took place in other countries, in particular in China, where during the reign of the Yuanhe dynasty (806-821) instead of heavy metal coins, state paper banknotes, called “ flying coins." During the reign of the Yuan dynasty (1280-1368), they were the main means of circulation, while paper banknotes were still unknown in Europe. These facts were described by the great European travelers - the ambassador of Louis IX, William of Rubruck, who visited China in the 11th century, and then, 200 years later, by the Italian Marco Polo.

The Tsarist government of Russia also knew about the paper money issued in December 1690 in Boston, Massachusetts in North America, and about the experiments of John Law ( About John Law's experiments, see in more detail: Anikin A.V. Youth of Science. The lives and goals of economic thinkers before Marx. - 4th ed. - M.: Politizdat, 1985. - P. 93-110) with the issue of credit notes. Even at the beginning of the 18th century, individual statesmen in Russia repeatedly turned to the idea of ​​​​using paper money. Thus, Peter I (1689-1725) made attempts to invite John Law or at least one of his relatives to Russia if he knew his secret. The complete failure of the experiment of the royal court in France in 1720 using the issue of notes of credit as a source of additional income cooled interest in them.

During the reign of Elizaveta Petrovna (1741 - 1761), Director General B. Minich proposed a plan to improve state finances based on the issue of paper money. However, this plan did not receive the approval of the Senate, which found “that it would be reprehensible to circulate pieces of paper, and it would be dangerous not to give reasons for bad reasoning in advance” ( Quote by: Dmitriev-Mamonov V. A., Evzlin Z. P. Money/Ed. prof. M. I. Bogolepova. - P., 1915. - P. 179).

The Senate's refusal to use paper money was apparently explained not only by fear of “bad reasoning.” Until the middle of the 18th century, the urgent need and possibility of transition to a new type of banknotes had not yet arisen in the Russian Empire. The presence of remnants of internal customs barriers hindered the final formation of the national market, which was an obstacle to the further development of domestic and foreign trade and the expansion of the sphere of functioning of money. Commercial and industrial activities in the country could still manage with coin circulation.

The feudal-serf economy of Russia, with its predominance of subsistence farming, hampered the growth of credit relations, which predominantly developed in the form of usurious as well as state credit. Unlike Western European countries, commercial, especially banking, credit developed slowly in Russia. Until the mid-18th century, there were practically no credit institutions in the Russian Empire. The exception was the so-called Coin Office, which carried out the first banking operations in 1729 and 1733. during the reign of Emperor Peter II (1727-1730) and Empress Anna Ivanovna (1730 - 1740). However, the volume of these operations, which consisted of issuing short-term loans secured by gold or silver, was small. The coin office did not have a significant impact on the commercial and industrial development of the country.

Finally, all internal customs duties were abolished in Great Russia in 1754. At the same time, internal customs duties between Ukraine and Russia were abolished. These measures contributed to the growth of the all-Russian market, the development of which was evidenced by the increase in the number of manufactories, the involvement of peasants in trade, and the emergence of new cities in the country. The expansion of trade relations, which covered the vast territory of the Russian Empire, not only required improved transport, the creation of new roads and canals, but there was also an urgent need for a sufficient number of means of circulation of goods, i.e. money, and more practical ones in terms of their use .

Meanwhile, copper coins served mainly small-scale trade turnover, and were of little use for large-scale trade. A payment of 100 rubles, made by copper five-kopeck coins, set in motion a mass of metal weighing more than 6 pounds. When making large sums of money, carts were required to transport the money, which was extremely inconvenient. The lack of portability of metallic money facilitated the introduction of paper banknotes into circulation.

The development of commodity-money relations, the need to combat usurious loans, the interest for the use of which reached colossal proportions, required the creation of credit institutions in the Russian Empire. Under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1754, the State Bank for the nobility was created in the country with offices in St. Petersburg and Moscow for lending to the nobility secured by gold, silver, diamonds, villages and villages with peasants and land. In the same year, a Merchant Bank was organized at the Commerce Collegium, which issued cash loans secured by goods. However, the small amount of capital of this bank and the limited scope of its activities, which covered only the merchants of the St. Petersburg port, did not allow the Merchant Bank to have a serious influence on trading activities. In 1770, this bank stopped issuing loans, and in 1782 it transferred its capital to the State Bank for the Nobility.

In addition to the above-mentioned state credit institutions, in 1758, according to the project of Count Shuvalov, Banking offices for bill production for the circulation of copper money (Copper Bank) were created in St. Petersburg and Moscow. The goals of their creation were to improve the circulation of heavy copper coins in the country and to attract silver coins to the treasury. The Copper Bank issued loans to merchants, industrialists, and landowners, and transferred bills of exchange from persons who deposited copper coins. The activities of the Copper Bank took place in difficult conditions: landowners and factory owners often did not return the capital they had taken. Due to unsuccessful activities, the bank was closed in 1763. In 1760 the Bank of the Artillery and Engineer Corps was created, the capital of which consisted of copper coins minted from old copper cannons. The insignificant initial capital of banks, the low level of development of deposit operations, the ability to issue loans mainly for a short period, and weak interest in profit determined the short-lived nature of the existence of many of the first banks. At the same time, the experience of these credit institutions was useful for developing projects for creating the first bank of issue in the country.

Thus, the chronic deficit of the state budget and the need to replace heavy copper coins necessitated the issuance of paper banknotes in Russia in the 60s of the 18th century, the transition to which was made possible thanks to the development of commodity-money relations, credit institutions, and the creation of an appropriate technical base.

The state budget deficit under Peter III (1761-1762) amounted to 1,152,000 rubles. forced the tsarist government to seriously consider the issue of creating a bank with the issuance of its own notes. Experiencing a lack of funds for the planned campaign in Denmark, Peter III came to the conclusion that it was necessary to issue banknotes, which were supposed to be called “banko-zettels”. At a meeting of the Assembly established at the royal court on May 18, 1762, the decree was read: “... if there are no monetary sums for this, as the most important and necessary methods are available, and the 4 million sought by the Senate for emergency expenses cannot be received so quickly, then His Imperial Majesty finds a convenient and closest means in making bankot-zettels" ( Quote by: Evzlin 3. P. Money (Paper money in theory and life) / Ed. and with a foreword by Prof. M. I. Bogolepova. - Part II. - L: Science and School, 1924. - P. 130). However, as a result of the palace coup that followed in 1762, thanks to which Catherine II ascended the throne, the planned plan was not implemented.

The state of the state budget under Catherine II made it necessary to return to the issue of issuing paper banknotes. Since the beginning of the Russian-Turkish War (1768-1774), the budget deficit amounted to 1,880,100 rubles, of which 1,800,000 rubles. were spent on the needs of the war ( See: Gusakov A.D. Monetary circulation in pre-revolutionary Russia. - M.: VZFI, 1954. - P. 25). Catherine was presented with several projects for issuing a new type of banknotes, the authors of which were Count Karl Sievers and Prince A. A. Vyazemsky. In their notes, they substantiated the idea that issuing banknotes from paper is in all respects preferable to minting copper coins. According to Count Sievers, a government bank should have been established in Russia with the right to issue banknotes - the so-called “zettels”, which would be exchangeable for hard cash and fully backed by the metal - copper.

The head of finance, Prosecutor General of the Senate, Prince Vyazemsky, proposed using paper notes issued for circulation - “assignations” - to cover military expenses. The plans developed by Sivers, Vyazemsky and other government dignitaries were approved by a special meeting and considered by the empress. They received approval in the manifesto of December 29, 1768, according to which the first paper banknotes in Russia, banknotes, were issued into circulation. Catherine II justified the need for their release in her manifesto as follows:

“First, We made sure that the burden of the copper coin, which approves its own price, burdens its circulation; secondly, that the long-distance transportation of any coin is subject to many inconveniences, and finally, thirdly, We saw that the great disadvantage is that in Russia, following the example of various European regions, there are not yet such established places that would maintain proper money circulation and they would transfer capital to private people everywhere without the slightest difficulty and in accordance with the benefit of everyone.

Daily experience shows what fruits many states have reaped from such institutions, mostly called banks. For, in addition to the benefits already mentioned, they bring him the benefit that issued to the public from those places, for various amounts, printed, signed, obligations of various names, through their credit, are voluntarily used among the people just like cash coins, without however having any associated With it, the difficulties in transportation and the difficulties in saving them significantly facilitate the circulation of money. Considering all these briefly explained circumstances with the space of Russia, and feeling how necessary it is to facilitate the circulation of money in it, We are pleased to begin the establishment of exchange banks in Our Empire...” ( Quote by: Pechorin Ya. Our state banknotes before their replacement with credit notes. 1769-1843/Bulletin of Europe. - T. IV. - 1876. - P. 610).

On December 29, 1768, a decree was issued on the establishment of banks, which outlined in detail the procedure for their operation. Below are selected excerpts from this document:

"St. 1. Although the banks for the exchange of state notes are called one St. Petersburg and the other Moscow, however, they essentially constitute, so to speak, a single body. And therefore, both of them should be under a special banking board established by Us here in St. Petersburg.

Art. 2. This board consists of three persons: one chief director of banks and two advisers.

Art. 3. This bank board should be under Our Own jurisdiction and not give an account of all its incidents to anyone other than Ourselves.

Art. 4. The bank board shall meet twice a week and meet at 9 am.

Art. 5. He also receives from the Senate, on paper specially made for this purpose, printed state banknotes, signed by two senators, which the chief director signs, and then the board sends from them to each bank the appropriate number for use...

Art. 24. Although banks receive state banknotes from the board of banks, signed by the chief director, however, no banknotes can be issued from banks unless the name of the director of the bank that issues that banknote is signed under the name of the chief director. So, each government bond must be signed by four persons, namely: two senators, the chief director of banks and one director ( This article was supplemented by a decree given to the Senate on May 8, 1769, which stated: “so that there is no slowdown in the satisfaction of the public with banknotes, from now on banknotes sent from the board of banks must be signed either by the chief director or by an adviser; both banknotes should have equal advantage and dignity” (quoted from: Pechorin Ya. Op. cit. - P. 612)).

Art. 25. Each of those signing state notes had to write: chief director or director of such and such a bank, name and nickname...

Art. 27. As soon as notes are sent from each state government, signed by those present in that place, so that such and such a bank will issue a certain amount of government notes for which the money is presented in cash, then that bank, upon accepting the money, has to immediately release the appropriate number of banknotes and must record the entire incident in his office books.

Art. 28. If the state banknotes released in this way to the government are brought back by private people to the bank to receive money for them, then that bank is guilty of making the utmost diligence so as not to detain that bringer in the least; but, having accepted from him how many banknotes he brought, he must immediately give back the number of money written on them, without making any determinations and not only without requiring a signature, but also without asking who he is, where he received the banknote from, but only must be written down in the books accepting banknotes and issuing money.

Art. 29. Do not make any marks on banknotes received from private people so that one banknote can enter and leave the bank several times...

Art. 31. If someone, for sending to another place, or for more convenient storage, wanted to receive government notes from banks and deposit money for them, then he is free to do this, and in this case the bank’s job is to please everyone and accept cash without the slightest delay, because by establishing banks solely for the good of the common, so that every person could feel that benefit.

Art. 32. It is allowed for everyone who wants to receive a banknote from banks, to pay for it, instead of money, gold and silver in business and not in business, as well as any foreign coin, and the banks take them at the price at which they accept it at the mint; however, the above items are no longer returned, because banks pay cash for all banknotes.

Art. 33. Each state note is exchangeable only in the bank to which it is allocated, i.e. St. Petersburg - in a St. Petersburg bank, Moscow - in a Moscow bank...

Art. 35. Each bank keeps state notes in a special chest, which is always in the privacy of those present. This chest is locked with two keys and is always sealed, the senior member of the bank has a special seal for that chest, the next member and the cashier each keep one key...

Art. 38. Members of banks must treat all people who come, no matter what their rank, with politeness and never show contempt or rudeness, for the well-being of banks depends greatly on the good behavior of members” ( Quote by: Pechorin Ya. Decree. op. - pp. 611-613).

Initially, the main goals of the exchange banks - in 1786 both banks were united into one, called the State Assignation Bank (Fig. 1) - were to issue banknotes into circulation and ensure the exchange of banknotes into specie. To complete the last operation, each bank was allocated fixed capital in the amount of 500,000 rubles in the amount of the intended issue of banknotes - one million rubles. copper. This capital could not be used for purposes other than the exchange of banknotes. For this amount, banknotes were issued (see Appendix, Table 1.1, No. 1-8) of four denominations:

(Lamansky V.I. Historical sketch of monetary circulation in Russia from 1650-1817. - St. Petersburg, 1854. - P. 128)

Exchange (or exchange) banks were required to distribute banknotes among government agencies, where they were used to pay salaries to government employees, make payments for the purchase of food, etc. In accordance with the decree of the Senate, banknotes were sent to the following government agencies for putting into circulation:

(Lamansky E.I. Historical sketch of monetary circulation in Russia from 1650-1817.-S. 128)

In addition to distributing banknotes between government organizations, the task of exchange banks was to ensure the exchange of banknotes into hard currency. The manifesto of December 29, 1768 on the introduction of banknotes did not specifically say which coin - copper, silver or gold - was used to provide exchange. In fact, from the very beginning, exchange was made for copper coins, which constituted the fixed capital of banks.

Banknotes were printed on thick white paper with complex watermarks (see Watermarks, No. 1B). The design of the banknote consists of a patterned frame and text, made with black paint in one pass, and two oval embossing (so-called medallions). The reverse side is clean, without drawings. Each note contains the signatures (in ink) of two senators, a councilor and a bank director.

In the left oval (medallion) of the banknotes, the attributes of war are depicted by embossing on paper - banners, cannon, cannonballs, as well as emblems of trade and industry - a bale of goods, a barrel, a skipper-caduceus of Mercury, a ship can be seen in the distance. The entire center of the oval is occupied by a double-headed eagle with half-spread wings. He touches one dad to the gun, ready to lower himself onto it. On the eagle's neck is a chain with the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, framing a heraldic shield with the image of St. George (coat of arms of Moscow). At the top of the left oval in a semicircle there is the inscription “Keeps and protects.” In the center of the right oval there is an inaccessible rock, below - a raging sea and the heads of monsters, on top in a semicircle is the inscription “Unharmed” (Fig. 2). The first banknotes differed from each other only in the corresponding denomination and the indication of the bank - St. Petersburg or Moscow ( Unfortunately, the authors do not have illustrations of banknotes issued in 1769.).

Banknotes replaced copper money, which was extremely inconvenient for transportation and storage. Their release helped eliminate the shortage of circulating medium caused by the revived trade turnover. For these reasons, the banknotes initially enjoyed great success. In this regard, the government took measures to facilitate the issuance of banknotes. In accordance with the royal decree of November 19, 1769, given to the Senate, each bank had to create a stock of paper banknotes worth 250,000 rubles, and the Senate had to have ready signed notes for 1,000,000 rubles. and for the same amount of unsigned ones.

From the very first days of issue of banknotes, the government took measures to introduce them into circulation. The State Treasury began to accept them as payment of taxes. In St. Petersburg and Moscow, a mandatory rule was introduced, according to which, when paying taxes, at least a fifth of the amount must be paid in 25-ruble banknotes.

Due to the growing demand for government notes, the government in 1772 decided to create exchange offices in large cities of the country. All government institutions in the province where the money changers were located were required to bring copper coins to them and receive banknotes. The offices, in turn, exchanged banknotes for copper money and, notifying governors and voivodes about the availability of banknotes, again received a copper coin for paper banknotes. From 1772 to 1778, these offices were created in 22 cities. Subsequently, 14 of them were abolished and 8 offices were left in Yaroslavl, Smolensk, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Orel, Kherson, Vyshny Volochyok and Arkhangelsk ( See: Lamansky E.I. Historical sketch of monetary circulation in Russia... - P. 131). By the end of the 18th century, only three such offices remained.

The appearance of paper banknotes in circulation gave rise to attempts to counterfeit them. The first experience of counterfeiting was discovered in 1771. Since the first banknotes differed only in the corresponding denomination, year of issue and indication of the bank, the falsification consisted of counterfeiting 25-ruble notes as 75-ruble notes. To do this, the number “2” and the word “twenty” were scraped out and replaced with the number “7” and the word “seventy” ( Right there. - pp. 130-131). Therefore, just two years after the issue of paper notes, the government was forced to withdraw 75-ruble banknotes. This was carried out in accordance with the royal decree given to the Senate on July 20, 1771: “In the future, do not make 75-ruble banknotes, and if there are any made in the Senate, signed and unsigned, then all of them, having examined and made a correct account, in the presence of the Senate destroy, uniformly let all government and government agencies know that they no longer release the 75-ruble banknotes they have from the treasury, but send them for exchange to banks: St. Petersburg banknotes - to St. Petersburg, and Moscow - to Moscow, and instead they will receive banknotes of other denominations" ( Quote by: Pechorin Ya. Decree. op.-S. 615). Owners of 75-ruble banknotes were required to exchange them for banknotes of other denominations or for copper or silver coins.

In the first years after the adoption of the manifesto of December 29, 1768, the government began to issue large amounts of banknotes, including to cover emergency expenses caused by the war with Turkey. In 1769-1775 As a result of the war, the issue of banknotes amounted to 12.7 million rubles, and in 1775-1786. (the period between the Russian-Turkish wars) their additional issue was equal to 26.2 million rubles. After 1769, banknotes came into circulation almost every year (see Appendix, table 1.1, No. 9-102; ill. 1.1.1 - 1.1.2). The nominal expression of the mass of banknotes in circulation reached significant sizes - 46.2 million rubles. ( ) The rather simple appearance of the banknotes issued during these years continued to give rise to attempts to counterfeit them. Every year more and more counterfeit banknotes appeared in circulation. In order to prevent this, the royal decree of March 16, 1786 ordered the Senate to “print state banknotes on paper of a new composition and according to a new sample, and prepare them for 50,000,000 rubles, to replace all banknotes of the previous sample” ( Quote by: Pechorin Ya. Decree. op. - pp. 615-616). The operation that began to replace banknotes was soon supplemented by a decision to increase their number in circulation.

In connection with the chronic deficit of the state budget, Count Shuvalov in 1786 drew up a plan to increase treasury funds through a new issue of banknotes. He proposed increasing the number of banknotes in circulation from 46.2 million to 100 million rubles. To increase the purchasing power of banknotes, Shuvalov’s plan provided for 28.5 million rubles. put newly issued banknotes into circulation by issuing mortgage loans to the nobility and cities with maturities of 20 and 22 years, respectively (to carry out these credit operations, the plan proposed creating a special bank). In addition, 4 million rubles. it was supposed to be used for expenses of the royal court, 2.5 million - to reinforce the state treasury, 15 million rubles. - for military expenses. ( See: Evzlin 3. P. Decree. op. - P. 131)

In accordance with this plan, although with some changes, notes were issued for more than 50 million rubles, a new bank was created, which was reflected in the manifesto of June 28, 1786 “On the establishment of the State Loan Bank.” The capital of the created bank amounted to several tens of millions of rubles. He was given 22 million rubles from exchange banks. for loans to the nobility and 11 million rubles. - for loans to cities. The State Loan Bank received the capital of the liquidated State Bank for the Nobility. Created in the interests of the nobility, the new bank provided loans against landowners' estates. In addition, he credited internal trade, crafts, trade with China, Persia and other countries.

The government of Catherine II was well aware that additional issue of banknotes could undermine their purchasing power and confidence in them. Therefore, in order to reassure the people, the manifesto of June 28, 1786 solemnly promised: “We legitimize the autocratic power given to Us by God, and we promise the holiness of the Tsar’s word for Us and the Successors of the Imperial Russian Throne, that the number of bank notes should never and under no circumstances extend in our state above one hundred million rubles" ( Quote by: Pechorin Ya. Decree. op. - P. 616). The same manifesto introduced signs (see Appendix, Table 1.2) of new denominations: “To facilitate the circulation and circulation of money, we command: to establish banknotes of ten rubles and five rubles, which should be printed for better differentiation - ten-ruble on red, and five-ruble on blue paper with different patterns" ( Ibid.). There were watermarks along the edges of these banknotes on four sides (see Watermarks, No. 2B). These banknotes had signatures written in ink. They belonged to the director of the State Assignation Bank, the cashier (front side), and the advisor to the bank's board (back side). At the top of the banknote there is a relief oval embossed image.

Meanwhile, the solemn promise of the tsarist government to limit the number of banknotes in circulation was broken within two years. In 1787, another long-term Russian-Turkish war began (1787-1791). State budget deficits became chronic, and to cover them the government was forced to resort to increasing the mass of banknotes in circulation. By the end of the reign of Catherine II, who died in 1796, banknotes worth 157.7 million rubles were in circulation, i.e. 57.7 million more than the manifesto of June 28, 1786 provided for. In this regard many owners of banknotes sought to exchange them for hard coin. Since the State Assignation Bank did not have sufficient coins to carry out the exchange operation, the government was forced by the end of the 80s of the 18th century. suspend the exchange, which was carried out without issuing a special government act. At the same time, gold and silver coins began to disappear from circulation. By the end of the reign of Catherine II, the main means of circulation and payment were state banknotes, the mass issue of which led to a drop in their real value in comparison with the silver ruble. A long period of inflationary circulation of banknotes began.

In conditions of rapid growth in the number of banknotes in circulation, the rate of banknotes fell compared to the rate of the silver ruble on the St. Petersburg stock exchange (Table 1).

Thus, in 1796 for 1 rub. banknotes gave 79 kopecks. silver, i.e. the assignation ruble depreciated by a fifth.

Inflation had a negative impact on the national economy and on the position of the peasant masses. Defender of the interests of the peasantry, an irreconcilable opponent of autocracy and serfdom, Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev, in the following words, pointed out the disastrous consequences of inflation for the national economy: “The influx of paper money is evil; The flood of the broken dam will cover all trade circulation, agriculture and handicrafts will languish, and the number of paper coins will increase to the point that its price will be less than the sheet of paper used for it" ( Radishchev A. N. Op. - T. 2. - M.-L., 1941. - P. 31.). Radishchev pointed out that the excessive issue of banknotes is a real national disaster - “paper money is the people’s hydra” ( Right there. - P. 16.).

During the reign of Paul I (1796-1801), the government continued to use the issue of banknotes to increase government revenues. At the same time, it made timid attempts to strengthen the rate of banknotes. By decree of December 18, 1797, it was announced that banknotes were recognized as “... a true national debt on the treasury...”. The decree ordered that each bearer of banknotes be satisfied with the issuance of a copper or silver coin with a value of 30 kopecks. for 1 rub. In other words, the exchange had to be made according to the ratio: 130 assignation kopecks to 100 kopecks in silver. However, the limited supply of specie in the bank did not allow satisfying all note bearers, and exchange was soon stopped. By the end of 1800, there were banknotes in circulation in the amount of 212,689,335 rubles. Their exchange rate compared to the silver ruble rate was 66.3% ( See: Pechorin Ya. Decree. op. - P. 620).

Table 1

Source. Pechorin Ya. Decree. op. - pp. 619-620.

In the first years of the reign of Alexander I (1801-1825), the issue of banknotes increased especially noticeably. The period of Russia's wars with Napoleonic France (1805, 1806-1807), Turkey (1806-1812), and Sweden (1808-1809) required the state to spend heavily on maintaining the army. In conditions of constant state budget deficit and limited possibility of obtaining external and internal loans, the government was forced to resort to additional issue of paper banknotes. Their number in circulation by the end of 1910 reached 579,373,880 rubles. For 1 rub. banknotes gave only 25.4 kopecks. silver ( Ibid.). The economic situation that was then created in the country was described in the official publication of the Ministry of Finance in this way: “Prices of goods have increased greatly, property relations have lost strength, credit transactions have become extremely difficult, productive activity has taken on a speculative nature; the entire national economy was shaken in its foundations. At that time, the state treasury also suffered huge losses, receiving its income in depreciated banknotes" ( Ministry of Finance. 1802-1902. Part one. - St. Petersburg: Expedition for the procurement of state papers, 1902. - P. 62).

The inflationary process in Russia devalued the monetary savings of the propertied strata. A fortune of 100 thousand rubles. securities with payment on banknotes, created at the end of the 18th century, had a real value at the beginning of 1810 only in the amount of 50 thousand rubles. silver, in July 1810 - 33 thousand, in December 1810 - no more than 25 thousand rubles. ( See: Teaching about money. A special course in political economy, given by Professor A. A. Manuilov at the Moscow Commercial Institute. - 5th ed. - M., 1918. - P. 119)

The depreciation of banknotes made it unprofitable to provide loans. Due to the fall in the exchange rate of banknotes, the real amount of debt on loans decreased, the creditor received depreciated paper money from the debtor. The first suffered huge losses, while for the borrowers, who were often nobles, it was profitable. For this reason, this period is characterized by a sharp decline in credit relations. The establishment of joint-stock enterprises also turned out to be an extremely dangerous matter - the fall in the exchange rate threatened to reduce the real value of share capital. Thus, inflationary circulation hampered the development of capitalist relations, trade, and credit.

Under these conditions, the tsarist government took certain steps to stabilize monetary circulation. The planned activities were based on the famous “Financial Plan”. It was prepared by the famous statesman of that era M. M. Speransky ( M. M. Speransky (1772-1839) in 1803-1807. was director of the Department of Internal Affairs, and from 1808 became the closest confidant of Alexander I on issues of internal policy) with the assistance of Professor Balugyansky of the St. Petersburg Pedagogical Institute and a prominent Russian economist, author of books on banks, Count N. S. Mordvinov.

According to the “Finance Plan,” it was planned to carry out monetary reform through the withdrawal and destruction of all previously issued banknotes, as well as the establishment of a new bank of issue. He had to have a sufficient supply of silver to back the banknotes that were supposed to be put into circulation. In addition, it was planned to improve the organization of the Russian monetary system. Its basis was to be the silver ruble. From the provisions of the “Finance Plan” it follows that Speransky had a negative attitude towards irredeemable paper money and considered it necessary to eliminate their circulation in the country. “Appropriations,” he wrote, “are papers based on assumptions. Having no authenticity of their own, they are nothing more than hidden debts" ( Quote by: Guryev A. Monetary circulation in Russia in the 19th century. - St. Petersburg, 1903. - P. 66). Speransky expressed a progressive idea for his time that the issue of paper money essentially acted as a tax on the population, worsened its financial situation, and restrained the development of industry and trade.

After much hesitation, the tsarist government began to implement some of the provisions of the “Financial Plan”. Speransky's ideas were partially reflected in the manifesto of February 2, 1810. In accordance with it, all previously issued banknotes were declared a state debt, secured by the entire wealth of the Russian Empire. The manifesto announced the cessation of further issue of banknotes and the decision to repay the specified debt, for which it was planned to conclude an internal loan. In the same manifesto, the government announced an increase in taxes and taxes in order to increase state budget revenues. However, a few months after the adoption of the manifesto, the government was forced to issue an additional 44.3 million rubles in banknotes.

To gradually repay the government's debt for banknotes in order to raise their exchange rate and improve monetary circulation, the manifesto of May 27, 1810 announced the issue of an internal loan for 100 million rubles. The purpose of the loan was to ensure the receipt of banknotes into the treasury, which were then ordered to be publicly burned. The government announced in its manifesto a complete cessation of further issue of banknotes. These provisions were supplemented by the manifesto of June 20, 1810, which introduced new principles for organizing the Russian monetary system. This document established the ruble with a pure silver content of 4 spools 21 shares (18 g) as the universal legal monetary unit of account for all payments in the country.

All previously issued silver and gold coins remained in circulation. Their value was expressed in accordance with the new silver ruble. Somewhat later, the manifesto of August 29, 1810 finally determined the purpose of the copper coin, which was recognized as a change. The country announced the introduction of a system of open minting of silver and gold coins - anyone could bring metal in bullion to the Mint for its conversion into coins, for which no fee was charged. It was assumed that all these events would form the foundation for the creation of a new monetary system in Russia, based on silver monometallism with the circulation of banknotes backed mainly by silver.

The project of monetary reform and other financial reforms proposed by Speransky was aimed at streamlining monetary circulation in the country and stopping the depreciation of the ruble. However, this was unprofitable for the landowners. Many of them were mortgage debtors and were interested in reducing the actual amount of their debt through the continued depreciation of banknotes. Therefore, the measures taken met with fierce resistance from the reactionary nobility and court nobility, who brought forward a number of accusations against Speransky regarding his foreign policy (he advocated an alliance with France) and domestic. By this time, Alexander I was increasingly moving away from the liberal aspirations of the first years of his reign, and he no longer needed the author of the “Plan of Finance,” a project for the state transformation of Russia. In March 1812, Speransky was exiled first to Nizhny Novgorod, then to Perm. The government, which expressed the interests primarily of large landowners, was in no hurry to complete the reforms begun in the field of finance and monetary circulation. Many of them remained on paper.

In 1812, Napoleon's armies invaded Russia. The war required enormous material and monetary costs, and the government was unable to complete the reform. Speransky's ideas were forgotten.

After the fall of Speransky, the policy of the imperial government in the field of monetary circulation took a different direction. Minister of Finance D. A. Guryev abandoned the idea of ​​withdrawing banknotes from circulation. On the contrary, he proposed to keep them in circulation and prevent them from being replaced by specie. According to Guryev, these measures would contribute to an increase in demand for banknotes, which would lead to an increase in their exchange rate and an end to depreciation. The Manifesto of April 9, 1812 recognized banknotes as legal tender and established their mandatory circulation throughout the empire, including in the Western and Baltic provinces, where all transactions were made in silver. The manifesto noted that all calculations and payments were to be made primarily in banknotes; the banknote ruble retained its previous value as a monetary unit of account. Thus, government notes remained in circulation. At the same time, the manifesto of April 9, 1812 retained the previous monetary unit, determined by the manifesto of June 20, 1810. Therefore, contracts could be concluded either in banknotes or in coins at the exchange rate. The ratio between paper and metal money was set by private individuals, not by the government. As a result, there were constant fluctuations in the rate of banknotes, which was the main drawback of the new principles of organizing the monetary system. At the same time, when setting the price of a product in metal (rather than paper) money, a premium to it was officially recognized. Such a mess was established by law for the first time in the entire history of circulation of state banknotes.

In 1812-1815 To finance the expenses caused by the Patriotic War and the foreign campaign of the Russian army, the government issued a number of new large issues of banknotes. By 1818, the total amount of government notes in circulation amounted to 836 million rubles. against 581.4 million rubles. By the end of 1811, the situation was worsened by counterfeit banknotes imported by Napoleon's troops. The exchange rate of the assignat ruble fell in 1814-1815. up to 20 kopecks silver - the lowest level in the 19th century. (Table 2).

On January 13, 1813, in an order addressed to Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov, the government ordered Russian troops to pay the population of all regions of Prussia and Germany occupied by the Russian army during the victorious foreign campaign against Paris with devalued banknotes. To receive them from local residents and exchange banknotes for specie, exchange offices were established under the Russian army in Warsaw, Kalisz, Bromber, Konigsberg, Berlin and Frankfurt am Main. These offices issued receipts instead of banknotes, payment for which in specie was then to be made in the cities of Grodno, Vilna, Warsaw and St. Petersburg. The exchange rate for the assignat ruble in Prussian currency was set as follows: 5 rubles. banknotes were equal to 1 thaler, 31 groschen, 3 3/12 dikhta. Such receipts in 1813 and early 1814 were presented in St. Petersburg alone for an amount of up to 30 million rubles. The government was unable to promptly exchange them for cash, and therefore confidence in banknotes abroad fell ( See: Pechorin Ya. Decree. op. - P. 631).

table 2

Exchange rate of the assignat ruble (1811-1817)

Years	Issued again, RUR	In circulation, rub.	Course, cop.
1811	2 020 520	581 394 400	26,4
1812	64 500 000	645 894 400	25,2
1813	103 440 000	749 334 400	25,2
1814	48 791 500	798 125 900	20,0
1815	27 697 800	825 823 700	20,0
1816	5 600 000	831 423 700	25,33
1817	4 576 300	836 000 000	25,17

Source. Pechorin Ya. Decree. op. - P. 620.

State notes issued in 1786 were in circulation until 1819. In 1786-1818. Banknotes were put into circulation annually, on which the corresponding years of issue were indicated (see Appendix, Table 1.2, No. 103-267; Ill. 1.2.3 -1.2.7; Watermarks, No. 2B). At the beginning of the 19th century. The government prepared the issue of banknotes of the 1802-1803 model. (see table 1.2a, No. 268-271; ill. 1.2.8 - 1.2.11; Watermarks, No. 3B), however, due to various circumstances, including due to insufficient protection of these banknotes from counterfeiting, in they did not receive the appeal.

After the end of the war with Napoleon, the national economy of the Russian Empire, which had suffered from the invasion, began to recover. The government decided to improve the disrupted finances and money circulation. In accordance with the “Finance Plan” developed by the Ministry of Finance (Fig. 3), headed by Guryev, starting in 1817, the government took measures to withdraw a certain number of banknotes from circulation in order to raise their rate. For this purpose, external and internal loans, income from property, etc. were used. For four loans, about 302 million rubles were received for the withdrawal of banknotes from circulation. V. 1818-1822 In this way, paper banknotes worth 229.3 million rubles were withdrawn from circulation. During this period, the amount of banknotes decreased by 28% and by 1823 amounted to 595,776,330 rubles. However, the results of such an event were extremely insignificant. The banknote rate increased only from 25 to 26.4 kopecks, i.e. by 5.6%. This had no practical significance for strengthening the country's monetary circulation ( See: Ministry of Finance. 1802-1902. Part one. - P. 68). For this reason, in 1822 the withdrawal of banknotes was suspended. Their mass in circulation did not change until the monetary reform of 1839-1843.

In 1818, 25- and 50-ruble banknotes came into circulation, then in 1819 - banknotes with nominal values ​​of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 200 rubles. Their appearance was significantly different from the design of previously issued banknotes. The design of the new banknotes reflected the style of classicism - a movement in art that received significant development in Russia in the 18th and first quarter of the 19th centuries. They were distinguished by rationalistic precision and clarity, strict balance of composition and plastic completeness of the drawings. A specific image of the coat of arms of Russia was placed on the banknotes. Similar state banknotes were issued for circulation annually until 1843 (see Appendix, table 1.3, No. 272-423; ill. 1.3.12 - 1.3.17). The paper used for them had a number of watermarks (see Watermarks, No. 4B). The notes contained the signatures of the bank manager and cashier. Of these, the first was applied by printing, and the second by ink. In 1822, a project for issuing a 20-ruble banknote was prepared, which, however, was not implemented (see Table 1.3a, No. 424; Ill. 1.3.17a; Watermarks, No. 5).

With the appointment of E.F. Kankrin as Minister of Finance in April 1823, the policy pursued by the Russian government changed dramatically. According to the new minister, repayment of banknotes through interest-bearing loans was a useless and extremely expensive measure, and therefore he proposed to stop further withdrawal of banknotes. Recognizing the need to maintain the existing number of banknotes in circulation, Kankrin proposed, however, to refuse to increase their number. Despite the fact that starting from 1823 the government abandoned its deflationary policy, the exchange rate of the assignat ruble in subsequent years increased slightly in relation to the silver ruble (Table 3).

Table 3

Exchange rate of the silver ruble in banknotes (1824-1839), kopecks.

Years	Well	Years	Well
1824	374	1832	366
1825	372	1833	361
1826	372	1834	359
1827	373	1835	358
1828	371	1836	357
1829	369	1837	355
1830	369	1838	354
1831	372	1839	350

Source. Gusakov A.D. Monetary circulation in pre-revolutionary Russia. - P. 33.

The cessation of depreciation of the assignat ruble was explained by the created economic conditions in the country. After the war of 1812-1815. The process of formation of capitalist relations, developing in the conditions of the disintegration of the feudal economy, intensified. The production of goods, the sale of which required a large amount of money, expanded. With the growing need for means of circulation and payment, there was a process of reducing the excess supply of paper banknotes, which increased their exchange rate. The withdrawal of banknotes carried out in 1818-1822, as well as the growing need for means of circulation and payment, led to the appearance of gold and silver coins in circulation, which for a long time remained as treasure in the hands of the population. At the same time, the country's production of silver and gold increased, and the government increased the minting of coins from these metals (Table 4).

Table 4

Source. Gusakov A.D. Monetary circulation in pre-revolutionary Russia. - P. 34.

Thus, silver and gold reappear in circulation, where they function in parallel with devalued banknotes. By this time, the appearance of special surcharges - lazhey - for agreeing to accept payment in banknotes, and not in silver coins. The size of these allowances varied depending on the province, the nature of the transactions, and the types and denominations of banknotes. So, in Moscow and nearby provinces for 1 rub. in large silver they gave 4 rubles. banknotes, and for 1 rub. small silver - 4 rubles. 20 kopecks ( See: Sudeikin V.T. Restoration of metal circulation in Russia (1839-1843). - M., 1891. - P. 33) Such additional payments gave rise to speculation and hampered trade turnover. The population suffered losses from fluctuations in exchange rates and from deception by traders when calculating the value of the mistake.

The restoration of coin circulation in Russia occurred in conditions when, in accordance with the manifesto of 1812, the government continued to take measures aimed at keeping banknotes in circulation. It artificially reduced the scope of functioning of specie, demanding that all payments to the treasury in the form of taxes and duties be made exclusively in banknotes at their exchange rate. For this reason, there was a steady demand for banknotes, which supported their rate. The latter increased abruptly when payments to the treasury became due. In some provinces during this period, the population could hardly get banknotes to pay taxes and taxes.

So, starting from 1818, the Russian Empire operated a monetary system based on the parallel circulation of silver and gold coins and banknotes devalued by 3.5-4 times, which had a relatively stable exchange rate. Such a phenomenon, observed in the country for the first time, was contradictory in nature. The circulation of devalued paper banknotes met the interests of the majority of the nobles, whose property was in debt. However, this state of monetary circulation did not suit the bourgeoisized landowners and the emerging bourgeois class. It was a brake on the development of capitalist activity and devalued the income from it. For this reason, representatives of the second group of the wealthy segments of the population were interested in hard currency. Consequently, the parallel circulation of banknotes and specie reflected the existing contradiction between the declining serfdom and developing capitalism.

The poor, especially the peasantry, were especially interested in hard currency. The plight of the Russian peasants, caused by the oppression of the landowners and crop failures, was intensified by the chaotic, disordered state of monetary circulation. The depreciation of money and the existence of various fluctuating craps have assumed the character of a nationwide disaster. The struggle of the peasants against the serf-owning nobles grew every year. Fearing peasant unrest, which was becoming increasingly widespread, the government of Nicholas I (1825-1855) was forced to change its position in the field of monetary policy in a certain way.

The disordered monetary circulation caused a huge number of complaints from the merchant class and other segments of the population. Therefore, despite the resistance of most of the reactionary nobles, the government decided to radically streamline monetary circulation in the country. On the report of the Kursk military governor, which was presented to Nicholas I in 1837, the latter wrote a resolution: “This situation will continue to be intolerable and measures must be taken to eliminate it” ( Quote by: Dmitriev-Mamonov V. A., Evzlin Z. P. Decree. op. - P. 191). In accordance with this decision, a monetary reform was prepared and carried out in the country, eliminating Russian state banknotes from circulation.

Why do some rulers become great and others not? You can’t help but come to the conclusion that money plays an important role in this.

In Russia, all the “Greats” who bore the imperial title - both Peter I the Great and Catherine II the Great - distinguished themselves in the monetary field. We have already discussed Peter the Great (see "").

Catherine the Great also stands out for her activities in the financial field.
By the time of Peter's death in January 1725, the income of the imperial treasury had risen to 7.4 million rubles per year.
In 1796, when Empress Catherine II the Great died, tax revenues to the treasury were already 46.2 million rubles per year, increasing more than six times. Almost 85% of this increase occurred during the three glorious decades of Catherine the Great's reign.

Catherine II the Great was empress from 1762 to 1796.

Unfair reproaches

Before talking about the empress’s merits, let’s first touch on two stereotypical “financial” reproaches against Catherine the Great.

Firstly , she is reproached for the fact that after her 34 years of reign she left her son and successor Paul I a large external public debt, of the order 41.4 million rubles in silver (Kropotov, 2016). First of all, we note that this amount is less than the state budget revenues for just one year, 1796.
But if we take into account that during the five years of his reign (by 1801) Paul brought the debt to 62.6 million rubles, and by the end of the reign of Alexander I (by 1825) the debt had already reached 107 million rubles, then this reproach seems even more unfair.

Second A common reproach against Catherine the Great is that the banknotes, the issue of which began under her, began to depreciate by the end of her reign. But this reproach is only partly fair.
If you look at the graph of the fall in the exchange rate of the “assignment ruble” against the “silver ruble”, we will see an interesting picture (graph 1)
Schedule 1. The fall in banknote prices under Catherine did not exceed 30% over 9 years (1788-1796). Before this, the exchange rate was stable for eighteen years (1769-1787).


Source: Kaufman, 1910

As can be seen from the diagram, for 18 years from the beginning of the issue of banknotes (1769-1787), the banknote ruble was quoted almost at the level of the silver ruble. And only in 1788 the price of the assignat ruble began to fall, which did not exceed 30% in 9 years.
Taking into account the fact that Catherine’s successors did not stabilize the banknote exchange rate, but devalued it even more (see chart), monetary policy under Catherine can be considered quite successful.
This policy looks especially successful if we compare the devaluation of banknotes under Catherine (in relation to the “world currency” of that time - silver) with the fall in the exchange rate of the ruble against the dollar that occurred in 2014. Under Catherine, banknotes lost 30% of their value in 9 years, that is, they lost an average of 3.8% per year. In 2014, the ruble lost more than 50% of its value in a matter of months, if not days.

Monetary innovations of Catherine II

Reproaches against Catherine II the Great are unfair, especially if we evaluate them against the background of her achievements in the monetary sphere.
For example, her merit is that she established a firm ratio between silver and gold at the level accepted in Europe of 1 to 15. Previously, due to the fact that gold in Russia was valued lower than in Europe, it “floated” from Russia.

But the main achievement of Catherine II was, undoubtedly, the introduction of paper money in Russia - banknotes. It was thanks to the issue of banknotes that began in 1769 that the average annual issue of money in circulation increased to 12.8 million rubles per year, which is an order of magnitude higher than the same figure in the last years of the reign of Peter the Great.
Schedule 2. In the last decade and a half of Catherine's reign, the average annual issue of money in circulation exceeded 12 million rubles.


Sources: Yukht, 1994; Kaufman, 1910; calculations by Sergei Blinov.

It was the increase in the amount of money in circulation that contributed to the increase in taxes collected. Both the “money supply” and budget revenues increased sharply after the circulation of paper money - banknotes - was organized in Russia.

This project of Catherine the Great can without a doubt be called one of the most successful projects for the introduction of paper money circulation. This becomes especially obvious against the background of the failures of the introduction of paper money in France (“Lo system”), Sweden and a number of other countries.
If in France (1716-1720) paper money completely depreciated after four years, then in Russia under Catherine II for 18 years they were valued on an equal basis with specie, that is, with silver money, and then over the course of 9 years they lost in value. only 3.8% per year.

In many ways, the successes of the reign of the Great Empress, including victories in wars, expansion of territories (including the annexation of the Northern Black Sea region and Crimea), owe to this filling of the country with money and the tax revenues that grew as a result.

P.S. This is a continuation of the conversation on the topic of the greatness of rulers (see "

249 years ago, on January 9 (December 29), 1769 (1768), Catherine II signed a manifesto № 13220 on the introduction of paper bills in Russia banknotes, this is how the first paper money appeared in the trade turnover of the Russian Empire, which existed under the name of banknotes until 1843.

Previous manifesto number № 13219 "Moscow and St. Petersburg banks" were established to exchange government notes.

Until now, the people were completely unaware of the sophisticated Latin word “assignment”, together with the object that it meant. Simply put, Rus' did not know paper money. People carried heavy copper and silver, and more or less substantial sums were usually transported in carts - a thousand rubles, for example, weighed more than sixty-two pounds; two carts were needed for transportation.

Before this, copper coins were mainly used in Russian trade. And gold and silver coins were used mainly to cover annual military and palace expenses.

In 1768, Count K.E. Sivers submitted a note to Catherine II, in which he argued the necessity and benefits of introducing paper banknotes in Russia. He proposed establishing a government bank with the right to issue paper money and exchange it for specie, which would be fully backed by copper. On behalf of Catherine II, Prosecutor General Prince A.A. Vyazemsky, the manager of the state's financial affairs, prepared a detailed plan for issuing paper money. They also proposed that paper signs issued for circulation—“assignats”—be used to cover military expenses.

Beginning her reign, Catherine II understood the need for “mobility” of the currency in every sense - the lack of copper money hampered the development of the economy, and the Russian-Turkish and Russian-Polish wars that began in 1768 only increased the state’s costs.

Her overthrown husband, Peter III, planned their introduction back in 1762, but the empress herself came to this decision only in 1768. Also, it is worth mentioning such a significant step in the economic policy of Catherine the Great as the ban on the free exchange of silver money for copper in 1763 year - this measure was an attempt to reduce inflation.

As the main reason for the introduction of banknotes, the Manifesto of December 29, 1768 indicated the need to exchange copper coins for banknotes that were convenient for transportation. Banknotes of the first issue 1769-1786. firmly entered into Russian monetary circulation. They were not obligatory for private individuals, but for that time their exchange rate was very high - from 98 to 101 kopecks. silver for ruble banknotes, that is, they were equivalent to a silver coin.

Before this, the basis of monetary circulation was the silver ruble, which played the role of a universal equivalent and was backed by the price of the metal contained in it. But the productivity of domestic mines (6-7 thousand kg of silver per year) was insufficient to meet the increased requirements for the volume of money in the economy. The banknotes were also used to finance the war with Turkey.

The backwardness of the feudal economy, based on the slave labor of serfs, numerous wars, the desire to intensively develop territories acquired during conquests and diplomatic victories - all this forced the state to additionally issue (issue) paper banknotes, often without backing in the form of real silver or copper coins.

The first issue of banknotes consisted of 10,000 pieces in denominations of 25 rubles, 5,000 pieces in denominations of 50 rubles, 3,333 pieces in denominations of 75 rubles and 2,500 pieces in denominations of 100 rubles

By order of the economic empress, the first Russian banknotes were made from old palace tablecloths and napkins, which in such an unusual way gave a second life in a new noble form, in the form of paper money.

At first, little paper money was issued and no care was taken to protect it. All banknotes, regardless of denomination, were issued on identical sheets of white paper with the same inscriptions: "Love for the Fatherland" at the top and “Acts for the benefit of onago”- at the bottom. In the center of the banknote was an uncrowned double-headed eagle with outstretched wings and a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.
By mid-1771, craftsmen had learned to convert 25-ruble banknotes into 75-ruble banknotes, and a decision was made to stop issuing 75-ruble banknotes. To further deter counterfeiters, the death penalty was introduced for counterfeiting money.

In addition to this misfortune, another soon arose: having made sure that the people were happy to exchange awkward copper for convenient banknotes, they printed a mountain of paper money. There were not enough coins for this mountain, and for a paper ruble they began to give sixty kopecks. The deceived population went through economics universities in practice and felt inflation much earlier than they learned this learned word.

The increased issue of banknotes, which exceeded the security, led to a fall in its rate. In 1797, the government decided to withdraw part of the banknotes issued to the market; A ceremonial burning of banknotes worth 6 million rubles took place in the presence of Paul I himself. Constant wars required emergency expenses and by 1802 the total amount of banknotes rose from 151 million to 212 million rubles, which finally reduced the exchange rate of the paper ruble, the value of banknotes depreciated by a third - 1 paper ruble was regarded as 68 copper kopecks, the fall of the ruble especially intensified during Patriotic War of 1812.

In 1770, a decree was issued allowing the exchange of banknotes only for copper coins. At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, the linking of banknotes to a copper coin led to a fall in the exchange rate of the latter, the emergence of a double account for silver and banknotes (for a copper coin) and to a general breakdown of the Russian monetary system
A decree of 1780 introduced a ban on the export of banknotes abroad.

In Crimea, Russian paper notes appeared after April 8, 1783, when Her Imperial Majesty Catherine II issued a manifesto on the annexation of Crimea, Taman and the Kuban Tatars to Russia.

But Catherine was later thanked: her portrait was placed on a hundred-ruble bill, for which people immediately nicknamed the banknote “ Katerina". (The general appearance of the banknote was used when issuing the 100-ruble Soviet banknote in 1947)

7 interesting facts about Russian banknotes

1.“Money is paper”?
The first paper money in Russia could have appeared under Elizaveta Petrovna. The Seven Years' War was going on, copper was needed primarily for casting cannons, and not for minting coins. But Elizaveta Petrovna was nevertheless dissuaded from her plan. Elizabeth's nephew Peter III was unlucky: he had already issued a decree “On the establishment of the State Bank,” but three days before the opening of the bank there was a palace coup. Catherine II managed to put paper notes into circulation. White paper with watermarks was produced at the Krasnoselsk paper mill. The watermark was a letter frame that could be read against the light: at the top - “love for the Fatherland”, at the bottom - “acts for the benefit of the Fatherland”, and on the sides - “State Treasury”. The corners were decorated with the coats of arms of the kingdoms: Astrakhan, Moscow, Kazan and Siberian.
2. The insidious Napoleon
Until the Patriotic War of 1812, the production of banknotes remained so simple that counterfeiting them was widely practiced. There is evidence that even the treacherous Napoleon issued counterfeit Russian banknotes. For what? I didn’t want to leave my soldiers with empty wallets in Russia in case no one gave them their property for free. According to legend, the French hid a machine for making counterfeit banknotes in the Preobrazhenskoye cemetery in Moscow.
3. Brutovsky ruble
A cashier named Brutus signed banknotes from 1898 to 1910, including ruble banknotes. An avid gambler, Brutus lost a large sum of government money at cards in 1914, became upset and hanged himself. At the beginning of 1915, everyone in Russia indulged in gambling. Among superstitious players there is an opinion that a noose or a personal item of the hanged man brings good luck in the game. Here everyone believed that the ruble with Brutus’ signature was “lucky” and began the “hunt for the banknote.” The exchange rate of the “Brutovian ruble” increased so much that the government had to intervene.
4. Swastika
It is no secret that the cross symbol with curved ends has long been loved in Rus', until in the twentieth century it began to be used as a symbol of Nazism. In Russia, the swastika first appeared in official symbols in 1917 - when the Provisional Government issued new banknotes in denominations of 250 and 1000 rubles - they were popularly called Kerenks. On the 250-ruble banknote, the swastika was hidden in the center behind the eagle. It is interesting that on the front side of the bill there was also a Buddhist “Infinity Knot.” On the first Soviet banknotes, the swastika was also present - it was passed on, so to speak, by inheritance. Dull and ugly kerenki quickly depreciated in value, hyperinflation did not allow them to be properly disposed of, so they were drowned people began to associate them with an unnecessary piece of paper that even the last beggar on the street would not pick up.
5. Banknote for one pood of bread
1921 Famine, rampant hyperinflation of Soviet rubles. The Kyiv Natural Union “Reason and Conscience”, headed by engineer M. Kalina, issues settlement checks “tied” to the hardest currency in the famine years - “1 pood of bread”. “A ruble of labor is a pound of bread” - this inscription appeared on a paper check, which was supposed to mark the transition to socialism and the abolition of the monetary system. But not a single pood of bread was given out for the checks received. “Reason and conscience” soon disappeared.
6. Solovki
The reverse side of the modern 500 ruble banknote caused a lot of outrage among knowledgeable people. It depicts the Solovetsky Monastery, the main historical and architectural landmark of the Arkhangelsk region. But the monastery appears disfigured on the banknote. Dilapidated, without domes and crosses, this is how it was during the stay of the special purpose camp (ELEPHANT) on Solovki. In addition, geographic discrepancies are noticeable in the figure. Simply put, the artist dreamed up. For the best protection, banknotes are often updated and improved, but the unsuccessful design is not touched.
7. 5000 rubles
And on the largest modern Russian banknote of 5,000 rubles we see the city of Khabarovsk. On the front side there is a monument to the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, Count Nikolai Nikolaevich Muravyov-Amursky. Nikolai Nikolaevich returned to us the Amur, which was then located in China. Muravyov received the title of Count of Amur for concluding the agreement. The reverse side of the bill depicts the Tsar's Bridge over the Amur, called the “Amur Miracle”. It was built incredibly quickly, and even in the conditions of the First World War, and then it became the longest bridge in the Old World. The banknote is protected from counterfeiting by micro-holes on the number “5000”, magnetic and luminescent elements, a security gray thread, watermarks, raised inscriptions, and seven stripes of microtext, but it is still counterfeited more often than other banknotes.

Definition

Assignation ruble

Banknotes 1769-1785

Banknotes 1786-1818

Banknotes of 1802

Note - This the historical name of paper money issued in the Russian Federation from 1769 to 1849 and appeared in connection with the development of commodity production and the economic feasibility of withdrawal from circulation as money gold and other metals. To a certain extent, the name "A." has survived to the present day.

Note - this is the name of the order that one person - the assignee - gives to another - the assignee - to receive from a third - the assignee a certain value, and at the same time the assignee receives an order to make this issue. It may happen that the assignee is a debtor of the assignataire and a trustee of the assignat, and in this case, by means of an assignat, he simultaneously fulfills his claim and destroys the obligation lying on him. However, it also happens that the assignee does not have the right to demand anything, but only uses the assignat to borrow from the assignat; he may not even be a debtor of the assignat, but simply wants to help him through the assignat loan or just authorize him to collect money at his, the assignee's, expense. Normalizing the ordinary banknote more closely (it makes no difference whether it is expressed in writing or simply verbally), most current legislation follows in the footsteps of Roman law, which highlighted not the property nature of the obligation and the associated right of claim, but the personal one, and looked at them only as an individual relationship between strictly defined individuals. The issuance of a banknote by the assignee only implies the acceptance of an order to collect, and therefore does not oblige the assignee to anything. But only the last one accepts it offer, he is already obliged to fulfill the order given to him, must induce the assignat to fulfill it by announcing to him about the assignat, and is responsible for the malfunction, for example. for non-collection. In the same way, it is not necessary for the assignat to accept the order to make the payment; only from the moment of the announcement of its acceptance does the latter become obligatory for him. If he evades the promised payment, he must unconditionally answer to the assignee for the harm and losses resulting from this.

The question of whether the assignee can independently demand from the assignee by the court the fulfillment of the promise to accept the assignat, or whether only he is given the right of recourse to the assignee, seems controversial. After satisfying the assignee, the assignee may demand from the assignee, on the basis of the authority received from him, the repatriation of what was paid, if he did not owe the same amount to the assignee or received from him the corresponding amount of money for this payment. If the acceptance or payment of the assignation has not taken place, the legal relationship arising in this regard between the assignee and the assignee must be determined. If the assignee's demand was to be satisfied by means of an assignment, then his right of recourse against the assignee arising from the original obligation is returned to him, for example. he has the right to demand payment of the purchase price if he has been authorized to collect by means of an assignation the amount due from the assignee for the said payment. In this case, the objection that he has already received satisfaction from the provision of the banknote cannot matter, since " banknote- non-payment" and the debtor-assignee remains obligated until the assignee is actually satisfied. In the case where the assignee completely deprives the assignee of his right of claim, for example, when assigning an obligation, assignment, the assignee is responsible only for authenticity (ventas nominis), but not for successful implementation (bonitas nominis) of the demand; if the assignation is expressed in the form of a delegation, then he is exempt from all liability. An assignment that has not yet been executed can be unilaterally destroyed at the will of the assignee, and, like all other powers of attorney, terminate with his death.

There are many deviations from these basic provisions in banknotes made by merchants, called trade banknotes. These deviations are caused by the need to put future values ​​into circulation as components of property and use them for payment. In view of this, the law allows certain deviations from the provisions that determine the relations of the persons participating in the original transaction, and an independent system of rights and obligations arising from the abstract assignment transaction is created for all participants. According to German law, a trade note (kaufm dnische Anweisung) consists of a written act, also called “Anweisung” and containing an indication of the amount, an order for payment, the names of the assignee, the assignee and the assignee, the time of payment, the place and date of issue. Such banknotes are similar to bills of exchange and therefore are compared with them by legislation: Saxon, Bavarian, Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Altenburg and Reis principalities. A. is mainly used by small manufacturers and merchants in order to create for themselves loan. When a note is issued by a reputable trading house, it is tacitly assumed that the assignee wishes to induce the assignee to payment for delivered goods after revenue within a certain period. The assignee cannot induce the assignee to pre-announce the acceptance payment according to the banknote and, nevertheless, if one is denied to him, to take advantage of the established for bills the right of recourse against the previous scribe or the person who issued the note. But once the note is accepted by the assign, then the power of bill law applies to it. In the same way, in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Britain and the United States of North America, banknotes, and even non-commercial ones, are given promissory notes. Other German states, besides those mentioned above, guided by the German trade statute, distinguish trade notes from ordinary ones in the sense that the assignee can force the assignee as soon as the latter has accepted the note for payment according to trade custom, without being embarrassed by any excuses arising from special assignee-to-assignee relationship. In addition, such a note, if it is only issued for payment not only to the original recipient, but also “to whomever he orders,” can be further transferred by signature and, finally, in case of loss, can be depreciated in the same way as .

In our legislation we do not find any special instructions on banknotes. An order given to the debtor to make a payment to a third party can be carried out as a transfer by signature of a promissory note, which, if its object consists of a cash payment not secured by a pledge, can be transferred regardless of the will of the debtor, but without recourse (recourse) to lender(Article 2058, X volume, 1 part of the St. Civil Law), and by way of a power of attorney or assignment given to a third party, i.e., without providing him with an independent claim, much less recourse. In our legislation, a banknote in the precise sense of the word merges with the concept of a draft.

Assignment ruble

Assignment ruble- first the settlement, auxiliary, and then the main monetary unit united Rus' from 1769 to January 1, 1849, which circulated on a par with the silver ruble with the market exchange rate for both currencies. In total there were 4 monetary issues of Russian banknotes: in 1769-1785, 1786-1818, 1802 and 1818-1843. On Russian banknotes the inscriptions “Acts for the benefit of the Fatherland” and “Love for the Fatherland” were used.

Banknotes 1769-1785

The appearance of assignation rubles was caused by large government expenditures on military needs, which led to a shortage of silver in the treasury (since all payments, especially with foreign suppliers, were carried out exclusively in silver and gold coins). a lack of silver and the huge amounts of copper money in domestic Russian trade meant that large payments were extremely difficult to make. Thus, the district treasuries were forced to equip entire expeditions when collecting poll taxes, since a separate supply was required to transport on average every 500 rubles of tax. All this necessitated the introduction of certain state obligations, a kind of bills for large calculations.

The first attempt to introduce banknotes was made by Peter III, who signed a decree on May 25, 1762 on the establishment of a state bank, which was supposed to issue banknotes in denominations of 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rubles for a total amount of 5 million rubles.

The decree was not implemented due to a coup d'etat carried out by Catherine II, who in turn returned to the idea 7 years later issue of securities banknotes. On December 29, 1768, a manifesto was signed and published on February 2, 1769 on the establishment of branches of the Assignation Office in St. Petersburg and Moscow jar who received the exclusive right release banknotes. The manifesto stated that banknotes circulate on a par with coins and are subject to immediate exchange for coins on demand in any quantity. It was established that the issue of paper money should not exceed the cash amount of the coin in bank. The original Assignation Bank amounted to 1 million rubles in copper coins - 500 thousand rubles each in the St. Petersburg and Moscow offices. The monetary issue of banknotes was also determined at 1 million rubles. The bank issued the following denominations: 25, 50, 75 and 100 rubles. This issue of securities had a primitive appearance, which simplified falsification. Banknotes in denominations of 25 rubles were converted into 75. Therefore, by decree of June 21, 1771, banknotes in denominations of 75 rubles were discontinued and withdrawn from circulation. Size of banknotes 1769-1773 190 x 250 mm. These banknotes are rare and are of collector's interest.

Initially, the issue of banknotes was a great success, but since there was only a copper coin in the bank, the banknotes were exchanged only for it. This provision was enshrined in law by a decree of January 22, 1770. Thus, the banknote was firmly tied to the copper coin, which from now on became in fact only a means of exchange for the latter. At the beginning of the existence of the new monetary system, this disparity could not yet greatly influence the purchasing power of the new ruble, not backed by precious metal. Since 1780, the import and export of bank notes abroad was prohibited: the banknote ruble ceased to be convertible. At the same time, the monetary allocation increased, and from the second half of the 1780s. a sharp decline in the exchange rate of paper money began, pulling with it its exchange equivalent - copper coins. Price scissors appeared, from now on there were two independent monetary units in the country: the silver ruble, backed by precious metal reserves in the treasury and equal to 100 silver kopecks, and the assignation ruble, unbacked by anything other than the population’s trust in the authorities and equal to 100 exclusively copper kopecks.

Banknotes 1786-1818

By the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, the rate of banknotes fell sharply. Military costs Russian Federation were so great that in 1814-1815 the exchange rate was 20 kopecks per ruble

The government promised to reduce the amount of paper money, but it was never kept. The manifesto of June 1787 provided for the number of banknotes at 100 million rubles, but it grew to 57.7 million rubles.

In order to undermine the Russian economy, Napoleon began issuing counterfeit banknotes. It was difficult to distinguish a fake banknote from a real one - the fakes often looked even more convincing because they were printed on better paper. Unless the signatures were made in a typographical way (on the original banknotes these were genuine signatures made in ink). Some fakes had spelling errors: for example, the word “walking” on the fakes was displayed as “holyacheyu”.

Banknotes of 1802

Banknotes of this type are known only in samples. Number 515001 is the same on all issue notes. The sizes of banknotes of each denomination are not the same.

INTRODUCTION OF PAPER NOTES IN 1769

Although the topic I have chosen concerns mainly paper notes, I would like to note the importance of coins for me personally and for society as a whole. In addition to the fact that a coin is a monetary sign, it is also part of history: economic, political, or carries information of a personal nature. Every collector has that same coin that keeps his history. And it doesn’t matter whether it was found by chance or you went a long way to get it.

But, in my opinion, numismatics would not have given such pleasure and delight if not for the introduction of paper banknotes at one time. After all, if it were not for the introduction of paper bills, then an unlimited number of coins would have freely entered into circulation and, as a result, the numismatic value of the coins would have been significantly reduced, despite their historical significance.

In Russia, the first paper money, which were called banknotes, appeared during the reign of Catherine II, in 1769. Their release was due to the following reasons. Coin circulation during the reign of Elizabeth () and several years later was based on copper money, since there was a shortage of silver and gold, while the expansion of trade relations required a large amount of money more convenient than copper coins. Thus, a payment in the amount of 100 rubles in five-kopeck copper coins weighed more than 6 poods (about 1 centner). Agree, in our time it would not be very convenient to go to the supermarket with a bucket of money.

However, the issue of paper money is closely related to paper production and printing technology; a special enterprise and specialists in the production of money were also necessary. In Russia, until the beginning of the 19th century, there were no optimal conditions for this, which hindered the introduction of paper money. Despite this, according to the manifesto of Catherine II, banknotes began to be issued in Russia. They were not like modern paper money: they were bank obligations - receipts for receiving coins, a kind of modern checks.

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25 rubles sample 1769

Banknotes were convenient for trade transactions; they were also used to pay salaries to civil servants.
At first, all issued banknotes were backed by coin, and when they were brought to the bank, they were freely exchanged for copper, silver and gold coins. But soon the number of banknotes began to exceed the supply of coins. Especially during the war with Turkey, when a lot of banknotes were issued, their rate began to fall in relation to the coin. In the last year of the reign of Catherine II, their exchange rate for one ruble in banknotes was 68.5 kopecks.

The quality of the first banknotes was low due to paper and poor printing performance. The printed image consisted only of text and numbering. Paper for banknotes was produced at the Krasnoselskaya manufactory (later at the manufactory in Tsarskoe Selo), it had watermarks. The printing was carried out at the Senate Printing House. The ease of making banknotes has led to the emergence of a large number of counterfeits. The government was forced to issue a new type of money. However, those banknotes that were issued in 1786 turned out to be primitive. They were also easily forged by both the favorites of Catherine II and ordinary people. When Napoleon invaded Russia, he also used the imported printing press to issue a lot of counterfeit banknotes (Napoleon generally carried with his army masses of counterfeit money from the countries with which he fought). From 1813 to 1817, 5.6 million rubles of counterfeit banknotes were identified.

probably a fake 100 ruble banknote from 1769.

Since in the ruble exchange rate fell to 20 kopecks, Alexander I was presented with a report on the need to replace existing banknotes and establish a special institution for the production of paper banknotes.

The creation of such an enterprise was entrusted to Augustin Augustinovich Betancourt (). To create paper money, Betancourt recommended creating a special enterprise. He developed a project for the construction of a new paper-making and printing plant, which was later called the State Paper Procurement Expedition. On March 4, 1816, the plan for the Expedition presented by Betancourt received the highest approval from Alexander I.

Construction of the new enterprise was largely completed at the beginning of 1818. An entire town was built, which included a paper mill building, a printing house, mechanical, engraving, numbering and plate workshops, a board of directors, apartments for officials and employees, barracks for workers, a store, and a guard post.

Along with English and German printing presses, Russian ones from the Izhora plant also worked on the Expedition. Even before the official opening of the enterprise, on March 30, 1818, they began to produce new banknotes, and by the autumn of the same year the first batch of banknotes in denominations of 25 rubles was printed. On August 21 (old style), 1818, the Expedition was officially opened, and with its creation, the production of full-fledged paper money began.

From 1769 to 1914, a characteristic feature of paper money in all periods (with rare exceptions) was its inflationary nature. This led to the depreciation of paper money. In Russia, there are only two periods of relatively stable paper money circulation, backed by silver and gold coins. The first period, "silver monometallism" falls on years, the second - the period of "golden monometallism" was from 1897 to 1914, when Nicholas II reigned. In 1897, on the initiative of the Minister of Finance, a monetary reform was carried out with the introduction of www. *****

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6. www. ru. wikipedia. org