Who introduced the gold chervonets in Soviet Russia. Chervonets The appearance of the coin

30.12.2017 13:02

Moscow, December 29 - Vesti.EkonomikaIn 1922, a gold chervonets was issued in the Soviet Republic - a hard currency that was quoted on the stock exchanges of a number of countries. After many years of turmoil and wars, inflation and devaluation, a monetary unit appeared in the country, which was backed by gold, precious metals and foreign currency, as well as short-term obligations. The monetary reform was led by Grigory Sokolnikov, Lenin's comrade-in-arms and People's Commissar for Finance. About the difficult fate of the "chervonets" commissar, about the history of the rise and fall of his chervonets - in the material "Vesti.Ekonomika".

G.Ya.Sokolnikov

Grigory Yakovlevich Sokolnikov was a participant, as he himself described in his questionnaire, in the October Revolution. His daughter Geliana Grigorievna recalls: “When it was allowed to open the party archives, I came across this questionnaire, in which it was written in his hand that on the night of the October Revolution, he and Lenin slept in Smolny on newspapers. Somewhere in the morning, Antonov-Ovseenko, a well-known Bolshevik, came from the Winter Palace and said: "The Provisional Government has withdrawn its powers." My father does not describe any assaults, any shooting, any strangers in this questionnaire.

The fate of this handsome, educated man from a wealthy family is amazing. Father - a collegiate adviser, military doctor, mother - the daughter of a merchant of the first guild. The family lived in the very center of the capital - on Trubnaya Square. However, the boy from childhood was embarrassed by Jewish origin. The real name of the future People's Commissar is Girsh Yakovlevich Brilliant. He graduated from the gymnasium No. 5, known at that time, where he studied with Pasternak. He entered the law faculty of Moscow University. However, he did not get a diploma: he became interested in the Jewish economist Marx. New ideas spurred him to join the RSDLP. The university was abandoned, and the young man plunged headlong into revolutionary activities.

The house of the family of G.Ya. Sokolnikov (Brilliant) on Trubnaya Square. The Commissar's father kept a pharmacy

In 1907, a nineteen-year-old student was sentenced by the tsarist secret police to life exile in the village of Rybnoe, Yenisei province, for campaigning among the weavers in Sokolniki. Hence his last name, with which he entered Soviet history - Sokolnikov. Grigory fled from Siberia after 1.5 years and was able to get to Paris, where he met Lenin. An active young man was the editor of a party newspaper, led the club "Proletary" and entered the Sorbonne. He graduated from the Faculty of Law, attended a doctorate in economics. Thus, at the age of 26, he became a doctor of economic sciences, knew six languages.

After the October Revolution, he entered the first Central Committee. In addition, Lenin appointed him Assistant Commissioner of the State Bank. It was Sokolnikov who in 1918, as a lawyer, dealt with the issue of Russia's exit from the First World War and signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

The meeting of the Soviet government in the Kremlin. At the head of the table - Lenin

During the Civil War, the intellectual, who had never before held a weapon in his hands, became a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the two southern armies. “I was shown a questionnaire in the archive, where Sokolnikov urgently telegraphs Lenin to stop decossacking Cossacks on the Don, because the First Cavalry under the command of Budyonny and Sverdlov is behaving badly here. For this, Budyonny did not really love him all his life. But decossackization was stopped,” says the daughter of People's Commissar Geliana Sokolnikova.

Then Grigory Sokolnikov was appointed commander of the 8th Army. For the maneuvers of this army, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, which is still kept in the Gokhran. According to Sokolnikov's daughter, her father did not wear the order, because he believed that it was impossible to wear the order for fighting against one's own people.

Grigory Sokolnikov in the first row, second from the left

In 1920, at the end of the Civil War, he was appointed commander of the Turkestan Front. There Sokolnikov began to carry out the first reforms. He, a Bolshevik, released politically loyal clerics from prisons - mullahs, allowed frequent trade, private markets, the surplus was canceled. And he exchanged all the various money that went around the villages for the single money of the Soviet state. In addition, he managed to solve the problem of the Basmachi. Those who were more or less loyal to the new government were appointed to positions in local government so that they would not fight. The rich paid with money. The irreconcilable fled to Afghanistan. “Before perestroika, a colonel came to me from Central Asia, who said that they found documents, how Sokolnikov helped people who lived in villages and auls in the 1920s. The locals wanted to erect a monument to him!” - shares Geliana Grigorievna. The monument, however, was never erected.

In Turkestan, trouble happened to Sokolnikov - a horse hit him in the kidney, and he was forced to leave for Moscow. Lenin came to the Botkin hospital as a simple visitor, without bodyguards. On the advice of doctors, Sokolnikov was sent to Germany for an operation. He returned to Russia in 1922. And the country is hungry. The entire financial economy has been destroyed. Some Bolsheviks believed that money was not needed at all. Sokolnikov was first appointed to the post of Deputy People's Commissar of Finance of the USSR, and then he headed the department. At that time, renting an apartment in Moscow cost 20 billion. Haircut at the barbershop - 1 million. And, besides, a lot of heterogeneous hand-drawn and self-printed money went around the country.

golden dutch

For 2.5 years, Grigory Sokolnikov and the team he assembled of scientists and economists, including the "tsarist", managed to implement a monetary reform, two denominations. (Later, in 1937, almost all of the comrades-in-arms were shot). The "chervonets" was introduced into circulation - a hard currency equivalent to a 10-ruble gold coin of the tsarist coinage. Chervonets was backed by 25% of its value with gold, other precious metals and foreign currency, and another 75% by short-term liabilities and liquid goods. Treasury notes and changeable silver and copper coins were issued. In the USA, China, Italy, Great Britain, Turkey and other countries, the Soviet chervonets was officially quoted on the stock exchanges. For example, one chervonets cost 1.9 dollars. Under Sokolnikov, the State Bank resumed its work, and savings banks began to operate throughout the country. Local governments have their own budgets. Sokolnikov, in fact, created the financial system of the young Soviet state.However, after the death of Lenin, the situation changed - People's Commissar Sokolnikov fell into the camp of the opposition. In political matters, he adhered to the same position with Bukharin, Kamenev and Zinoviev. At the 14th Party Congress, he delivered a speech in which he protested the need for the post of general secretary, which Stalin claimed. As a result, in the 26th year, Sokolnikov was removed from the post of Minister of Finance. Along with him "rolled" and gold coins. The former People's Commissar was reminded that he opposed collectivization, but for the kulaks and middle peasants. After the removal, he was sent as deputy Krzhizhanovsky, chairman of the State Planning Commission. Then he was demoted to the chairman of the USSR Oil Syndicate. Sokolnikov did not let up - he criticized harsh industrialization, drew attention to the fact that the country needed consumer goods - light industry should also be raised. The educated and active Sokolnikov was removed from all government positions. He earned money by teaching at the largest Moscow universities, wrote books, and spoke 250 times in various newspapers.

Galina Serebryakova and Grigory Sokolnikov

However, Stalin again called on Grigory Sokolnikov, sending him as ambassador to England. “Winston Churchill, Bertrand Russell, Herbert Wells, Academician Ioffe visited him for dinner,” Sokolnikov’s daughter, Geliana, comments on that period. However, his wife, the famous Soviet journalist and writer Galina Serebryakova, wrote a critical book about England. A scandal broke out, and they were expelled from foggy Albion.

Returning to Russia in 1932, Sokolnikov met with Stalin in the Kremlin, who said: “They say the British liked you very much. Why did you come? I had to live with them...” This was one of the warnings. Sokolnikov was appointed Litvinov's deputy, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs for the Far East (China, Mongolia, Japan). The former People's Commissar for Finance wrote to Stalin. “I saw these three letters that he does not like paperwork,” says Geliana Grigorievna: “He was humiliated, and his last position was - Deputy Minister of the Forestry Industry. In 1936 he was arrested."

Geliana Grigorievna Sokolnikova

Sokolnikov was arrested in the case of the "Parallel Anti-Soviet Trotskyist Center", although, according to his daughter, he was never a Trotskyist. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The family was repressed: Galina Serebryakova spent almost 20 years in camps and exile, where the then very young Geliana was also sent with her mother. On May 21, 1939, Sokolnikov was killed in the Tobolsk cell. Until now, his grave is unknown.

Once the introduction of the golden gold piece saved Russia from chaos and ruin. The coin was put into circulation in 1922 by a graduate of the Sorbonne, an ally of Lenin, a man whom Stalin respected and feared - Grigory Sokolnikov. The memories are shared by his daughter.

From People's Commissar Sokolnikov left 26 works on finance and one art book about the signing of the Brest peace. Despite a significant contribution to the creation of the financial system of the Soviet Republic, to significant posts and friendship with top officials, this person did not amass any property. “He is an intellectual, in his image a scientist, and a very decent person. My father never even had his own apartment, he lived with his wife - my mother, in an apartment bought for a fee from her book “The Youth of Marx” - says Sokolnikov’s daughter Geliana: “There was no car. On business trips, he saved money, and then handed over the money to the State Bank. And he said: the money in my pocket is the money of my country.

Despite the end of the civil war and the gradual stabilization of the situation within the RSFSR, the situation in the country remained deplorable. The production facilities were destroyed. To boost the economy, it was necessary to urgently restore them, which was impossible without external purchases. But then politics intervened. "We will fan the world fire on the mountain to all bourgeois" - this is one of the most popular slogans of that time. Bourgeois foreign powers paid us the same coin, considering the Soviet government illegitimate and refusing to cooperate. There remained a tricky move: to offer such a good deal that the possible profit would exceed the political benefits of the moment. For this purpose, it was decided to issue gold coins.

10 rubles (chervonets) 1923

Like the fifty kopeck, which is destined to appear a year later, this coin is devoid of a digital denomination. But for those years, the word "chervonets" is inextricably linked with the concept of "ten rubles". The minting was carried out in 900 gold. The parameters of the coin correspond to the royal gold tens. The weight of the coin is 8.6 grams (deviations are possible, calculated in hundredths of a gram). Of these, pure metal is 7.742 grams. The coin has a diameter of 22.6 mm and a thickness of approximately 1.7 mm (slight deviations from the indicated values ​​are allowed for both diameter and thickness). On the edge there is an indented inscription "1 GOLDEN 78.24 SHARE OF PURE GOLD".

Like the rest of the coin series of those times, the gold piece was intended to act not only as a coin, but also to be a poster promoting a new way of life. On the obverse is the coat of arms of the RSFSR. Framing inscription "PROLETARIANS OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!" made in Slavic script (which distinguishes the chervonets from other coins of that era). The reverse is almost entirely devoted to the image of a sower.

The development of the stamp of the coin was carried out by Anton Fedorovich Vasyutinsky, already known to us. The peasant-sower, whom we see on the reverse, is made according to the sculpture of Ivan Dmitrievich Shadr (those who made the USSR will surely remember his other, more famous sculpture "Cobblestone - the weapon of the proletariat", and copies of "Girl with an oar" stood in almost every park of a huge country). Note that the sower on the 1923 coin is not a copy of the sculpture, because the sculpture is a half-length portrait. But her real image appeared on paper banknotes.

To embody the sower in full growth, Anton Fedorovich had to revise the concept of the image. On the coin field, besides the peasant himself, the attributes of a new life appear: the rising sun and a working factory. We can see them on the ruble coin of 1924. Chervonets was minted at the Petrograd Mint in an impressive circulation of 2,751,000 copies. The question arises, where are all these coins? It turns out that the "poster" reverse, coupled with the coat of arms of the RSFSR, played a negative role in international trade. Foreign sellers refused to consider this coin as legal tender, regardless of the gold content. Nevertheless, it became clear that the "world bourgeois" is not averse to trading for gold. Most of the circulation was melted down into gold bars. Many coins were minted with preserved royal stamps. The chervonets with a portrait of the emperor was recognized by foreign suppliers as a means of payment, and the purchases necessary for the state were made.

10 rubles (chervonets) 1925

In connection with the formation of the Soviet Union, the obverses and reverses of coins have undergone significant changes. So the Soviet chervonets was planned to appear with the coat of arms of the USSR and the date "1925". To the greatest regret for numismatists, things did not progress further than trial coins. To date, five such copies of the new sample are known. The Museum of the Pushkin Museum has two copies. Three coins are kept in the Goznak Museum. The journey through the collections is continued only by a trial chervonchik of 1925, minted not in gold, but in copper. The unique coin is constantly updating price records. So in 2008, at an auction, this copy changed its owner with a final price of five million rubles. One-sided imprints made on brass are on display at the Museum of the St. Petersburg Mint and the Hermitage. Now the business of selling "copies of rare coins" is widely developed. This sad fate did not bypass the gold coins. Below is one such instance. You don’t even need to check it with a jeweler, “unreal” is immediately given out by crooked date numbers.

In internal circulation, chervonets of 1923 were extremely rare (as long-term savings, the people continued to use gold fives and tens, preserved from tsarist times). Therefore, the government decided not to speed up the previously announced "gold standard", but to quietly withdraw the coins from circulation. The official version is considered to be a sufficient strengthening of the country's financial system and the return of confidence in paper money, undermined by the numerous and motley issues of the civil war.

However, the history of the legendary coin turned out to be unfinished. In the period from 1975 to 1982, the State Bank of the USSR carried out a new issue of chervonets from gold. The reasons why the coat of arms of the RSFSR, and not the Soviet Union (from the sample of 1925), was taken for minting are unclear, although many hypotheses are put forward. The total circulation of the issue of "remakes" is 6,565,000 copies.

This is the only investment coin of the Soviet Union that has kept circulation even after its collapse. By decision of the Bank of Russia, from January 1, 1999, these coins lose the status of the currency of the Russian Federation. But chervonets are not destined to become an exclusively collectible coin. Already in 2001, the circulation of gold chervonets resumed (the coin is a mandatory banknote at face value). Chervonets of the USSR are bought and sold in branches of banks of the Russian Federation at a daily changing rate, along with other investment coins of the Bank of Russia. The 1923 coin has the same rights and could theoretically be among the other copies offered for purchase. In practice, collectors eager to get a coin with the date "1923" not at the market price, but at the investment price, have repeatedly checked the vaults of the regional branches of Sberbank, but no positive results of the search have yet been recorded.

Latest auction prices for coins in Russian rubles

A photo	Description of the coin	G	VG	F	VF	XF	AU	UNC	proof

One of the main problems facing the young Soviet state after the 1917 Revolution was the lack of a hard currency. The financial situation of the country was difficult. Already by 1921, a cash account in private households was kept for millions, while almost everyone was a "millionaire", and paper money was printed in denominations of 25, 50 and 100 thousand rubles.

Prices for groceries and essential commodities were in the thousands. For example, a pood of potatoes cost an average of 20,000 rubles, and a pood of rye flour was sold for 140,000 rubles.

The pood was approximately 16 kg, this unit of the tsarist system of measures was canceled only in 1924.

The country tried to develop free trade and restore monetary relations, which was impossible in the conditions of an unsecured ruble. The first steps to improve the situation were taken in the autumn of 1921, when the decision of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) “On the Establishment of the State Bank” was issued. The State Bank was supposed to promote the development of trade and money circulation between the RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus and the Transcaucasian republics. Then the first denomination was held. For 10,000 old rubles they gave 1 new ruble.

The government faced the issue of introducing a new national currency, which would be backed by gold. Its possible names were vigorously discussed. Among the proposed options were: "federal", "hryvnia", "rule" and "chervonets".

In Russia, it was customary to call a silver coin of 1 ruble a ruble (that is, a whole) ruble. The “hryvnia” was also abandoned, since during the Civil War, money with this name was issued by counter-revolutionary governments.

As a result, they settled on “chervonets”, because this word was traditionally used for coins made of pure gold (usually foreign ones). Among the people, "chervonets" were associated with the reliability of gold and inspire confidence.

The word "chervonets" has long been used for coins made of high-grade pure gold, where the minimum proportion of the precious metal was 90%.

In November 1922, the State Bank put into circulation banknotes with a nominal value of 5 and 10 chervonets, later three more denominations were added: 1, 3 and 25 chervonets. All of them were backed by platinum, gold and silver.

A banknote in denomination of 1 chervonets was exchanged for 8.6 grams of pure gold. It is noteworthy that the royal gold coin of 10 rubles weighed the same amount. The royal money made of silver and gold was still kept by the population, so the government allowed them to pay. 10 tsarist rubles (a coin) cost about 12,500 paper rubles of the 1922 model on the market, and the government valued 1 Soviet chervonets (banknote) at 11,400 rubles. old bills.

In the fall of 1922, the government decided to issue gold chervonets in the form of coins. The development of design and minting of new coins was entrusted to the Petrograd Mint. In the requirements for appearance, it was said that the chervonets should have the inscriptions "RSFSR", "One chervonets" and the slogan "Proletarians of all countries, unite!"

The medalist Anton Fedorovich Vasyutinsky (1858-1935) became the author of the gold chervonets design. He decorated the front side of the coin with the image of the Peasant Sower, which he created according to the famous sculpture by I.D. Shadra (Ivanova):

Later, the Sower appeared on only coins, but also on banknotes of 1924-1927.

On the reverse side of the chervonets, Vasyutinsky placed the coat of arms of the RSFSR, the name of the issuing country "RSFSR" and its slogan, written in the style of Old Slavonic script. The minting of the gold chervonets of the RSFSR began on November 27, 1922.

In large cities, paper and gold chervonets appeared quickly, and peasant villages were still in poverty with Soviet banknotes of old denominations. To correct the situation, another denomination was carried out, after which, by October 1, 1923, the share of chervonets in the total money supply rose to 74%. The use of tsarist coins was banned, workers began to receive salaries in chervonets.

Introduction

The period of the New Economic Policy (1921 - 1928) can rightly be considered the golden age of the Soviet era, given the grandeur of the tasks that were solved then. The first quarter of the twentieth century was a turning point for our country. There were profound social, political, economic changes that influenced the further historical development of Russia. Many problems required an immediate solution. After the civil war, in peacetime, "war communism" turned out to be an extremely inefficient method of managing. The economic collapse and the threat of a full-scale war with the peasantry, who did not reconcile themselves to the surplus appropriation, forced V. Lenin to stop the communist assault and take a step towards the market. In particular, it was necessary to resolve the crisis of the monetary system, and first of all, to normalize monetary circulation. This was the role of the chervonets.

The purpose of this work: to consider such an important part of the economic history of Russia as the introduction of the Soviet convertible currency "Chervonets".

Objectives: to identify the prerequisites, to trace the progress of the monetary reform in general and the introduction of the convertible currency "Chervonets" as an integral part of this reform.

During the preparation of the test, several sources of information were used, including literature on the history of monetary reforms, articles in periodicals and official resources on the Internet.

1. Prerequisites for monetary reform

The reforms of 1922-1924 largely determined the conditions that prevailed at the beginning of the transformation of the monetary system. By March 1, 1917, the money supply in circulation had increased by more than 4 times in comparison with the level of 1913. The intensive work of the printing press and the simultaneous reduction of production and its reorientation to fulfill military spending caused a rapid rise in prices. And if in 1915 prices rose by only 30%, then in 1916 by 100%. By February 1917, the ruble in the domestic market had depreciated by almost 4 times.

In 1917, the state budget deficit reached 22,568 million rubles. The ways to cover it were traditional: increasing taxes, internal and external loans, issuing paper money. In eight months, from March to November 1917, the Provisional Government put into circulation approximately the same number of banknotes as was issued during the two and a half years of the war.

Despite the significant issue of money in circulation, there was not enough money all the time. Rising prices and, consequently, an increase in the monetary value of the mass of commodities, the theft of large banknotes by the wealthy sections of the city and especially the countryside, caused a shortage of money in circulation and disproportions in the banknote composition of the money supply. The lack of circulation of banknotes, especially small and medium-sized banknotes, led to the fact that, in addition to national banknotes, some cities and provinces had their own means of circulation. In other words, under the Provisional Government, the unified monetary system of the country began to disintegrate, which increased the general disorganization of monetary circulation and contributed to a further increase in inflation.

The Soviet government faced the same problems that neither the tsarist nor the Provisional government could cope with. Trying to solve them, the new government of the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) carried out measures that became integral parts of the prevailing in 1918-1920. a specific system of production, exchange and non-monetary distribution (the so-called system of war communism), which assumed the gradual withering away of money. But since economic turnover at that time really could not do without money, the Bolsheviks had to put up with their presence, and the Council of People's Commissars had to fight the money hunger and solve the problem of delivering money to different parts of the Soviet Republic.

During the years of the First World War, revolution, civil war and after its end, during the period of inflation in the country, on the territory of the Soviet Union, more than 10 (and according to other estimates - about 20) thousand varieties of various denominations of central and local banknotes were issued, such as mandatory circulation, i.e., issued by any authority, and not mandatory - “private”, issued by various organizations and enterprises.

At the Fourth Congress of the Comintern, Vladimir Lenin remarked that the Russian ruble could be considered famous, if only because the number of rubles exceeded a quadrillion. In August 1921, Lenin recommended that the people's commissariat of food supplies sell salt to the peasants exclusively for bread and in no case for banknotes.

It was at this time that the checks of the Arkhangelsk branch of the State Bank appeared in Arkhangelsk, nicknamed "walrus eyes", because. walruses were also depicted on them. In addition to the “walrus flowers”, there were also “seagulls” in Arkhangelsk, already named after the head of the Provisional Government of the Northern Region N.V. Tchaikovsky.

The rise in market prices in a dilapidated monetary system was also unprecedented. In March 1921, market prices were almost 30,000 times higher than pre-war levels.

A significant decline in the real incomes of the population caused discontent, and, ultimately, led to mass strikes in the cities and peasant uprisings.

The transition to the New Economic Policy (NEP) has begun in the country. One of the conditions for the implementation of the NEP was the existence of a stable monetary unit, which was also necessary for the preparation and execution of the state budget, the restoration of the credit system, and the organization of trade.

It should be emphasized that, since one of the principles of the NEP was the inclusion of the country in the international division of labor and the development of cooperation with foreign countries, the new currency had to be convertible, and this required the creation of a monetary system of the same type as in industrialized capitalist countries.

2. Preparation of monetary reform

The decision to stabilize the ruble in conditions when the country was exhausted by imperialist and civil wars, military intervention, and in connection with this, the policy of economic and financial blockade of the Soviet state pursued by the capitalist countries during the first years of the NEP, presented enormous difficulties.

In fact, the problem of reforming the monetary system is to use the period until the death of the old monetary system and improve the entire financial economy during this time, that is, to correctly identify the start and end points of monetary transformations, leaving a sufficient period of time for liquidation budget deficit.

It was precisely because of the conditions of the economic situation and as a result of considerations that the idea of ​​the inevitability of creating, along with the treasury issue of Soviet banknotes, a second issue of some other and, moreover, necessarily better money in comparison with them, grew stronger and stronger.

Until the autumn of 1921, monetary policy was, in fact, still limited to issues of issuing and distributing banknotes. In October 1921, the State Bank was created - this is the first important step in the regulation of money circulation. The primary task of the State Bank was to strengthen monetary circulation and develop commodity-money relations in the country.

By this time, several projects of monetary reform have already been prepared. One of them, the project of N. Kutler, proposed, using the gold reserves available at that time, to issue gold coins into circulation and stop issuing paper money. Already issued paper money had to be devalued at the then existing market rate and circulate along with newly issued coins. He proposed linking the future monetary system with the restoration of state credit and achieving a quote for the Russian ruble abroad. Another project of the banker V. Tarnovsky, known before the revolution, proposed to put into circulation banknotes that could be exchanged for gold, which were supposed to be in circulation along with paper banknotes. At the direction of the Chairman of the Board of the State Bank A. Sheinman, a devaluation project was developed, which was based on the ideas of both N. Kutler and V. Tarnovsky.

In the meantime, the People's Commissariat of Finance, right up to the early autumn of 1923, sought to normalize monetary circulation by stabilizing the Soviet sign. The head of the People's Commissariat, G. Sokolnikov, planned to first gradually reduce the issue of soviet marks, and then to bring a gold base under the soviet mark and subsequently move on to gold circulation.

Plans for the stabilization of the Soviet sign in the period from 1921 to the early autumn of 1923 were developed repeatedly. But some of them never materialized, and those that were implemented did not lead to the expected results. In the course of the struggle of the People's Commissariat of Finance for the stabilization of the Soviet sign, two monetary reforms were carried out in the form of a denomination.

3. Denomination

In order to eliminate the great variety in the types of banknotes in circulation in the country and in order to save paper and paints, at the end of 1921 it was decided to carry out a denomination, that is, the exchange of old money for new ones according to a certain ratio.

Thus, in the fall of 1922, state banknotes of the RSFSR of the 1922 model were issued. The new 1 ruble was equal to 10 thousand former rubles.

This denomination got rid of the diversity of the composition of the paper money supply in the country. However, she did not fulfill all the tasks assigned to her, since the recalculation from the old rate to the new one had to be carried out by “discarding four zeros”, which seriously hampered the use of new banknotes. The new 100 rubles continued to be called "lemon", as they corresponded to the previous one million rubles.

Therefore, in October 1922, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR decided to hold a second denomination. 1 ruble of new banknotes of the RSFSR of the 1923 sample was equated to 100 rubles of the 1922 model or 1 million rubles of old banknotes withdrawn from circulation by that time. As noted in the explanatory note of the People's Commissariat of Finance for the second denomination, its purpose was to eliminate the difficulties encountered in settlement transactions. With large numbers, the feeling of the size of the price was lost and the ground for a disproportionate increase in prices expanded for speculators. Since the “lemon” now corresponded in terms of its purchasing power to the ruble, the counting order introduced with the second denomination turned out to be more convenient. On banknotes of the sample of 1923 it was indicated: “One ruble of 1923 is equal to one million rubles in banknotes of 1922. Reception according to this calculation is obligatory for everyone.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the ruble began to fall rapidly. There were several reasons: the lack of money to restore the ruined economy, the struggle of the Bolsheviks against the "white" movements that were emerging throughout the country, the appearance of their own money in different territories and even in individual organizations, the introduction of collectivization of the population, the creation of a surplus appraisal. At the dawn of Soviet power, ideas arose about the abolition of money in general and the introduction of barter. Monetary reform was postponed, but it became increasingly clear that it was necessary. In February 1919, the first money of the RSFSR came out, which received the popular name "sovznaki". The population treated the new, unsecured money badly, which led to hyperinflation. The denominations of 1922 and 1923 did not lead to its stop, the chervonets became the salvation - a hard currency backed by gold, and treasury units of the 1924 model.

"Pyatakovka", "walrus", "sparrow", "blacksmith"

The circulation of money during the Civil War has not yet been fully studied. History has not yet known such a variety of banknotes that could circulate on the territory of one country, having completely different exchange rates. One banknote could circulate freely in one territory and be completely useless in another. Let us consider in more detail what happened after the establishment of Soviet power at the end of 1917.

The spread of the new political system was slow, and in most cases caused resistance from local authorities and entire regions of the country. It was possible to more or less establish Soviet power only in the central part of the country, and in the northwest, south, Siberia, the Far East and Central Asia, state formations arose, forced to print their own money in order to cover the shortage of money supply. Power in such territories most often simply enriched itself at the expense of the population, without looking into the future. But there were also those who sought to unite the lands of the former Russian Empire around themselves and return the position that was before the Revolution. In Siberia (with the center in Omsk) A.V. Kolchak, in the Baltic N.N. Yudenich, in the south A.I. Denikin and P.N. Wrangell. There were many other figures who called themselves "the saviors of Russia." Between themselves, they could not agree, since each saw the continuation of the royal dynasty in different ways. The jewels went abroad, from where they received weapons and support in the fight against Soviet power. The ultimate goal of other states was to seize separate regions from the collapsed country and establish full control over them.

20 rubles "Kerenka"

Local banknotes often received folk names. In Arkhangelsk, colorful banknotes were printed with the image of the animal world of the Arctic, they were called "morzhovki". In Siberia and the Far East, the main production centers were Omsk, Chita, Kyakhta (a city on the border with Mongolia), Khabarovsk and Vladivostok. Here the government often changed, old money was overprinted, or replaced by new ones. For example, in Chita at one time there were "sparrows" and "pigeons", named so because of the poorly executed double-headed eagle without crowns and regalia. After the establishment of power in Chita, the Soviet government introduced the first money in history with the image of a sickle and a hammer, called "blacksmiths". But there was still not enough money, and it was often possible to get banknotes of private organizations, which were issued by merchants or petty local officials, for change. In total, at that time, according to various estimates, there were several thousand types of money, and dozens of different banknotes could be accepted in one settlement. The quality was also very diverse: from full-fledged watermarked banknotes to checks with a handwritten font, or even silk rags that went in the city of Khiva.

The Bolsheviks acted more harmoniously, but even the annexation of territories to the RSFSR did not allow the immediate introduction of national banknotes there due to the difficult financial situation. There was simply not enough money to print banknotes and send them, so the banknotes that were in circulation were often supplied with overprints, or gave orders to issue local temporary bonds. For example, in the Turkestan Republic (parts of modern Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan), exactly the same banknotes were introduced, but instead of the name of the emir, an indication was printed about "providing all the property of the republic."

At first, banknotes of the tsarist type, including money-stamps with a denomination in kopecks, greatly depreciated due to uncontrolled printing, belonged to the "nationwide" ones. The fall in the exchange rate began as early as 1914, but it was a relatively low inflation, the ruble depreciated by the beginning of 1917 only 2 times. In November and December 1917, several times more royal banknotes were printed than during the entire reign of Nicholas II. Now in the collections you can mainly find the money of the Soviet issue, which differ in a certain series. The money circulation was much more filled with the so-called "Kerenki", developed by the Provisional Government headed by Kerensky, and "dumka" with the image of the building of the State Duma. Small "kerenki" in denominations of 20 and 40 rubles were printed in sheets of 40 pieces. They were produced before the reform of 1922, in contrast to the "royal" banknotes, the printing of which stopped by the end of 1917. In the middle of 1919, banknotes, which the Provisional Government planned to introduce in 1918, entered circulation, but they were already signed by People's Commissar G.L. Pyatakov, hence the name "pyatakovka". As on the "kerenki", a two-headed eagle without crowns and regalia (the coat of arms of the Russian Republic) was depicted here. All national issues were considered credit notes and had an equal exchange rate in relation to royal banknotes.

25 rubles 1918 ("pyatakovka")

From the end of the 19th century, the so-called "series" appeared - tickets of the state treasury. Each ticket was accompanied by cut-off coupons, 2 per year, 20 coupons in total. Buying such a ticket at the bank at face value, the depositor received a fixed percentage gain twice a year (from 4% to 5%). Upon expiration, the ticket was either extended or canceled by the bank. There were other bonds, such as loans from the Land Bank. In February-April 1918, redeemed bonds, as well as individual coupons for which the term had expired, were put into circulation along with banknotes (to avoid the introduction of those that were in the hands of the population). In addition, bonds of the "Liberty Loan" of the Provisional Government, which were not in demand after the start of their sale, began to be used as money. Coupons from bonds were cut off, since their term was to come out only after 9 years.

The need to stabilize the monetary system was reinforced by the fact that foreign money began to actively spread throughout the country. In Central Asia, the British government introduced its banknotes, in the Far East and partly in Siberia, Japanese yens circulated everywhere. Japan intended to annex these lands, and it was hard to find a better way. But still, the population was reluctant to accept foreign banknotes, preferring Russian ones.

"Lemons" and "limards" of Soviet signs

"sovznak" denomination of 60 rubles

The Soviet government constantly had disagreements in financial matters, since half of the economists were experienced people who began their careers under the tsarist government. The other half were party leaders who were poorly versed in economic issues. It was the latter who advocated the complete abolition of money, so the reform of the financial system was delayed. The top of power was captured by those who had a similar mindset, this led to the emergence of such phenomena as surplus appropriation and collectivization. The products of peasant labor were seized for the purpose of distribution among the population in kind, industrial goods became scarce, and factories suffered bankruptcy. The motto "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" turned out to be unworkable, since no one wanted to work only for the sake of a common goal, without receiving any bonuses for exceeding the norm. The distribution went unevenly, "by pull", and most of the goods went to the market, where prices were constantly rising due to high demand and low supply. Having almost completely switched to agriculture, the state could not provide the population with food.

As chairman of the People's Commissars, Lenin saw all the problems well and tried to solve them in a competent way, but the process had already been launched and it turned out to be impossible to correct the mistakes. Nevertheless, scientists who remained in state institutions and were constantly persecuted by the new government made attempts to improve the economy, and this later led to the creation of the NEP.

The first move was the release of Soviet settlement signs in March 1919, which immediately received the name "sovznaki". The government did not have high hopes for them, therefore, anticipating the continuation of inflation, "sovznaks" were immediately printed so that their issue would not hit the state budget too hard. They were issued in uncut sheets of several pieces on poor quality paper, they looked more like coupons than money. The population treated the new money badly, despite the fact that they had the State Emblem of the RSFSR and the inscription "provided with all the property of the republic."

Why does money depreciate? Until 1914, credit notes could be freely exchanged for a gold coin, due to which the population valued them equally with a coin. Of course, if everyone rushed to the bank branches to exchange their banknotes, the state would immediately go bankrupt, but the simplicity of the exchange led to the fact that people were in no hurry to part with banknotes, preferring to use them to purchase goods and even for savings. Paper takes up less space and is easy to carry and transport. With the outbreak of the First World War, the exchange stopped, and gold quickly began to settle in capsules. Later, silver and even copper underwent this. That is why it was necessary in 1915 to issue postage stamps as money, replacing the token. The lack of confidence in banknotes led to their gradual depreciation, but inflation reached a large scale under the Provisional, and then the Soviet government.

Wages in 1919 were far below what was required to provide families with food, not to mention clothing and household items. This is what has generated high demand in the markets, and high demand leads to higher prices. When receiving a salary, citizens immediately went to the store, where they hurried to buy at least something, otherwise they could soon be left with empty pieces of paper.

The largest banknote in the history of Russia

"Sovznaki" came out in very unusual denominations (1, 2, 3, 15, 30 and 60 rubles), but in 1920 100, 250, 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 rubles were added to them. The following year, 5 and 50 rubles were issued, as well as more simplified signs of a new type. In the summer of 1921, denominations of 25, 50 and 100 thousand rubles were issued. At the same time, a kilogram of potatoes on the market cost 22 thousand, a pood of flour - 140 thousand. Since old issues of small denominations of money also remained in circulation, they had to go shopping with bags of banknotes. Among local issues, inflation reached even greater proportions, and in some cities the services of a cab were required to transport money. The situation was aggravated by uncontrolled fakes, which were not always possible to distinguish from the real ones due to the poor quality of the former. At the same time, gold coins and silver of the royal issue were circulating in the country, which were in great demand. Instead of large sums of money, payment obligations of the RSFSR were often used, which were issued in denominations of up to 5 million rubles. These one-sided papers were watermarked with a sun.

In the 90s of the XX century, the word "lemon", meaning "million", was often used to denote amounts of money. Only it appeared long before that, during the Civil War. For larger calculations, the word "limard" (billion) was used.

Attempts to introduce a stable ruble

The policy of "war communism" did not live up to expectations, the need to reform the financial system began to be realized even by those who had previously advocated the abolition of money. On March 14, 1921, the New Economic Policy (NEP) was adopted, which lasted until 1928, after which the first five-year plan began with a clear state plan. The ideas of the NEP were the creation of a hard ruble and the emergence of cooperatives. It was these transformations that led to the restoration of the monetary system and the economy as a whole. The stable ruble made it possible to regulate prices at the state level, so cooperatives were soon abandoned, and the order that existed until the end of the 80s reigned in the country.

In Narkomfin there were disputes about how to heal the monetary system. N. Kutler proposed to introduce money fully backed by gold, the idea was developed by V. Tarnovsky. S. Strumilin was against such measures and spoke in favor of price regulation at the state level, which was implemented much later. The creation of the NEP made it possible to reduce inflation, but in the fall of 1921 it began to grow again. As a result, they settled on the option of creating parallel money denominated in gold, and making a silver coin a bargaining chip. This innovation was organized in the spirit of that time, at a "revolutionary" pace. The Mint minted silver coins with the date "1921", but released them much later, when the ruble finally strengthened. The issue of the gold coin was delayed and was produced in a very limited way in 1923.

Before issuing gold-backed banknotes, it was planned to build confidence in the Soviet signs, although some economists opposed it. For this, on November 3, 1921, the exchange of all money for new "sovznaks" with the date "1922" began at the rate of 1: 10,000. Local issues were exchanged at different rates set by local authorities. The new banknotes were not much better than the previous ones, and their appearance betrayed the idea of ​​their temporary issue. The denominations were constantly increased and in the summer a bill of 10,000 rubles was issued. The decrease in the purchasing power of the ruble made printing large banknotes unprofitable, and the government developed the so-called "stamps", reminiscent of the stamps that were used to pay some taxes and fees during the Russian Empire, sticking them on documents.

Banknote denomination of 50 kopecks

A year later, due to high yields, there was a slight decrease in food prices, and it was decided to carry out another denomination of the Soviet sign. By decree of the Council of People's Commissars of October 24, 1922, new banknotes with the date "1923" are put into circulation at the rate of 1:100 for the issue with the date "1922", or 1:1,000,000 of all rubles of early issues. This money had an inscription about the denomination, but in October 1923 all old issues were replaced with new ones, so the inscription was no longer placed. At the same time, banknotes with the inscription remained in circulation. At the same time, stamps of a new type, prepared earlier, were put into circulation, but their denomination began to be divided by 100. In March 1923, stamps of the first type were issued, but with the note "banknotes of 1923". At the same time, for the gradual introduction of coins into circulation, 50-kopeck notes appeared, on which a coin was depicted. Smaller denominations did not have time to issue due to the depreciation of the ruble.

At the very end of 1923, the first banknotes with the coat of arms of the USSR were issued (before that, all the money belonged to the RSFSR) in denominations of 10, 15 and 25 thousand rubles. They had a very complex and colorful design, an indication of the denomination in different languages. On 10 thousand, the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge in Moscow was depicted with a view of the Kremlin, on 15 and 25 thousand sculptures of a peasant and a Red Army soldier by Shadr.

Inscription on 5 rubles of 1923 of the first issue

On 5 rubles of 1923 of the late issue, the inscription is different

The name of the parallel currency, backed by gold, had to correspond to the new era, while being associated with those previously generally accepted, so that the population would perceive this money in the same way as pre-revolutionary ones. Among the options were: "ruble" (tsarist silver ruble), "federal" (similar to "imperial", that is, 15 rubles) and "chervonets". The word "chervonets" arose under Peter I, then it was an independent coin that did not have an exact expression in rubles and corresponded in weight to a European gold coin. Later, chervonets began to be called 10 rubles. During the Civil War, gold 10-ruble notes were the most sought-after form of money, which means that tying a new bill to them should have given it a solid foundation.

At the end of November 1922, the newly formed State Bank was allowed to start issuing chervonets, but they had to be at least 25% backed by precious metals, 25% by hard foreign currency, and half were in demand consumer goods. The banknotes were one-sided, had the form of a letterhead with watermarks and a font similar to handwritten. They largely repeated the design of stable English pounds.

Chervonets sample 1922

For the exchange of paper banknotes, the issue of the gold coin "One chervonets" began, with a size, weight and breakdown corresponding to 10 pre-revolutionary rubles. For settlements with other countries, they were not suitable because of the Soviet symbols, so it is assumed that the government resorted to a circulation of 10 rubles of the royal sample with the dates "1898" or "1911", but this information has not been confirmed. The paper chervonets turned out to be so stable that it was even quoted on foreign exchanges. The need for a coin almost immediately disappeared, moreover, in the USA, Switzerland and the UK, gold coins were gradually abandoned. The circulation of gold coins was stopped, having released only 2 million 751 thousand copies, now they are in great demand among collectors. There were attempts to start minting copper chervonets, but they did not go further than trial specimens. In 1975-1982, the Soviet government issued remake chervonets with new dates, but with the coat of arms of the RSFSR. Now such coins are considered investment coins and are sold by banks at special selling prices.

The population willingly accepted paper chervonets, but their denomination was too large. Sometimes there were even cases of issuing one bill to several workers, and the exchange turned out to be problematic. The Soviet sign, which continued to depreciate, was exchanged for chervonets at the same rate as the gold coin, although there were exceptions both up and down. At the end of 1922, about 12 thousand Soviet signs of 1922, or 120 million rubles of old issues, were given for a banknote. Constant speculation and a shortage of small money led to an increase in the inflation of the Soviet mark, which flew down at an even faster rate. For example, due to the high cost, chervonets were not delivered to the village, and the population was forced to use state signs. Oil was added to the fire by the decision of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of July 6, 1923 on limiting the issue of Soviet signs, which should not exceed 15 million rubles a month in gold terms. The share of chervonets in circulation reached 80%. There was a danger that the cities would be isolated from agriculture. It was necessary to make attempts to improve the situation with small money. As a result, it was decided to abandon Soviet signs and introduce change treasury notes.

Chervonets in the original version did not last long. In 1925, a course of industrialization was adopted, and the country again needed gold. Chervonets was officially equated to 10 rubles and no longer had a solid basis. However, he largely improved the economy and allowed the transition to a planned economy.

golden ruble

5 rubles "tractor"

The last stage in the reform of the monetary system in the USSR was the introduction of a previously minted silver coin. Additionally, a huge circulation of coins of the 1924 model was issued with denominations from 1/2 kopeck to the ruble. Small coins (up to 5 kopecks) were made of copper, large ones (up to a ruble) were made of silver. Their size and weight fully corresponded to the "Nikolaev" ones. All this was to create the basis for the issuance of the first treasury notes in denominations of 1, 3 and 5 rubles, which did not have an indication of the gold content, but the inscription "ruble in gold" indicated their hardness. New banknotes were issued on February 22, 1924, exchanged at the rate of 1:50,000 Soviet signs of 1923. Thus, the new ruble was worth 50 billion rubles in banknotes. Purchasing power turned out to be close to pre-revolutionary and inflation was forgotten for many years.

The new money was decorated with Soviet symbols. A sheaf of wheat ears was depicted on rubles, on three rubles workers reading a book (symbolizes general enlightenment), and on 5 rubles the process of sowing the crop (the people called them "tractor"). In 1924, new 3 chervonets came out with the image of a sower, made according to the sculpture of Shadr.

The very next year, due to the abolition of the golden expression of the ruble, a slight inflation began, but it was practically not noticed by the population. The government, in order to regulate purchasing power, began to resort to subscription loans, which were distributed, as a rule, by force. So it was possible to withdraw the "extra" money from circulation. In the same year, a new type of money came out without indicating a gold expression. Thus ended the era of fully secured money in our country forever, giving way to bank notes.

Photos provided by bull, Andrey_P, Shurik92, 3715 and Admin. Text author - Admin