assignatsia of Catherine II of Russia

The reforms of Pedro I

In the first place, Pedro I tried to reorganize the administrative machinery of the Empire, and next she was sent to a deep modernization TO SEE SEE HERE PASS PAGE 50/51 At the outset, this paper money could change by silver, but the problems began in 1802, when the convertibility was suspended. It stops to avoid this loss of value, the government decided to by the way suspend to time the minting of metallic currency, with object to stimulate the use of tickets. Assignatisii had a course stabilized by the march of market, that is that quoted in stock market, and this period his real value slightly remained inferior to the nominal value. A 1812 law also turned east paper money legal means of payment between individuals, with which already nobody could refuse to accept it. The legal circulation of metallic currencies and paper raised, without embargo, a serious problem: since the course of assignats were variable, with occasion of each payment it was necessary to decide between the parts the relation of change between currency and paper money. This relation varied from a city to another one, and often by day in day. In addition, whatever greater it was the number of assignats emitted, was increased the price of the silver more. In order to deal with which it descended, the Ministry of Finances let accept the silver coined for the payment of taxes, resolution that caused serious disadvantages, because in some provinces the white metal was the only type of circulating. Although it continued growing the speculation, the necessities forced the Russian government to maintain emissions, thus creating inflation.

The secret emissions

In order to deal with to restrain the loss of value paper money, in 1810 the government completed a plan of radical reform. In the first place, it promised solemnly that no longer more would be emitted, and soon programmed its gradual retirement to make increase its course until arriving at the parity with the metallic currency. Finally, assignats definitively would be separated from the circulation. The czar Alexander 1 committed itself also to guarantee its value with the public patrimony. The application of project deparó some disagreeable surprises. After announcement of 1 81 0, in fact the government continued emitting secretly enormous amounts of assignats, reason why its course increased of inexorable way. At the end of 1810, these tickets arrived a to have a real value that only corresponded to the 19% of nominal, and to obtain a silver blonde copecs did lack not less than to 520 in assigned. Two years later, Napoleón marched towards Moscow and nobody doubted the French victory. These political vicissitudes had had to cause a notable devaluates ción of blond in the international market, but, strangely, was not thus. In June of that year, the paper blonde it quoted in London to 16 pennies. In the following autumn, with Napoleón already in Moscow, the quotation had increased to 25 pennies. English retailers who concerned of Russia hemp, tallow and wool monopolized currency of that country from fear of which after the invasion French the exports of these products were blocked because of embargo established by Napoleón against hated England. The enormous acquisitions conducted in advance had turned to the English indebted of Russia by elevated extreme of money, and in order to pay them a strong demand of exchange effects and Russian paper money was registered in stock-market of London. On the contrary, supply of these titles diminished of a day for another one, since the Russian retailers no longer bought English merchandize from fear of which, in case of French victory, was sent to burn like retaliation. It happened, then, that when increasing the probability of the conquest of Russia by Napoleón, the course of assignats in the English market increased, whereas after the defeat, the recovery of the normality of commercial interchanges between Russia and Great Britain caused their reduction. In Russia, on the contrary, the advance of the French made to go down value of assignats, among other reasons because the invaders falsified them in great number. It can say that assignats died of natural death and fell in disuse in 1839, after in the last years 100 blondes of paper they got to change by 25 of silver. One was a very low value, but after all nondespicable if one thinks about the authentic one pulverization that underwent the French assigned ones and the tickets of Bank of Vienna.