Financial hunger.
The first paper money - banknotes - were issued in Russia in 1796. Unlike the gold coins that existed at the same time, they did not have a fixed exchange rate. Their value often fluctuated, and they were almost always valued lower (sometimes several times) than their nominal value. In the first third of the 19th century, Russia operated a bimetallic system, where gold, silver, and banknotes circulated simultaneously. In the 1830s, preparations began for a monetary reform, which was carried out from 1839 to 1843. The issuance of banknotes was completely halted, and the main state payment medium became silver coins (monometallism). By the beginning of 1840, three types of paper money were in circulation in Russia: banknotes, deposit tickets (certificates for silver deposited in banks), and credit tickets. At that time, the following metal coins were in circulation: kopecks (1 kopeck, 2 kopecks, 5 kopecks); silver coins (10, 20 kopecks), half a ruble (25 kopecks), and a ruble; gold coins - imperial (10 rubles) and half-imperial (5 rubles). Copper coins with a silver exchange rate of 1/2, 1, 1/4, 2, and 3 kopecks were also in circulation. The state was then an absolute monopoly in banking.
The Crimean War caused a huge emission of paper money and, consequently, their inflation. Attempts to regulate it in 1862-1864 were fruitless: paper money never reached the value of silver. From 1867, the government embarked on an intensive accumulation of a reserve fund in precious metals. Over ten years, it reached more than 310 million rubles, increasing fourfold, while the amount of loans during the same time increased by only 10 percent. All this would have allowed financiers to hope for a complete stabilization of the ruble, but the Russo-Turkish War dispelled that hope.
The treasury notes issued in the 1850s often depicted massive architectural details like the portal of a princely palace. In the 1860s, portraits of Russian historical figures began to appear on banknotes: Dmitry Donskoy (5 rubles), Mikhail Fyodorovich - the founder of the Romanov dynasty (10 rubles), Alexei Mikhailovich (25 rubles), Peter I (50 rubles), and Catherine II (100 rubles). Small coins also had traditional designs: the denomination on one side and the imperial coat of arms or the monogram of the reigning emperor on the other. Larger coins featured portraits of kings, sometimes adorned with images of architectural monuments. The monograms of the reigning figures were printed on credit tickets.
Starting in 1881, the government again aimed to accumulate a significant gold reserve to stabilize the ruble, and soon Russia had an active foreign trade balance. Additionally, a series of government loans were issued, and gold production in the country sharply increased. All this, along with the expansion of the issuance of deposit receipts that could be freely exchanged for gold, allowed the gold reserve to increase more than 3.5 times from 1881 to 1897.
From 1887 to 1895, new monetary signs were issued - state credit tickets with nominal values of 1, 3, 5, 10, and 25 rubles. They were designed very elaborately: Russian commanders on the 1 and 3 ruble tickets, a heraldic shield with the imperial coat of arms and numerous ancient Russian weapons on the 5 ruble tickets. Banknotes were adorned with the Monomakh's Cap and a woman in rich princely attire.
A new monetary reform carried out from 1895 to 1897 introduced gold coins with a 150 percent exchange rate: 5 rubles in gold equaled 7.6 rubles in credit tickets. From 1897, the exchange rate of the credit ruble was set at 66 2/3 kopecks in gold, and the gold imperial, while maintaining its weight and appearance, had a nominal value of 15 rubles. Thus, the devaluation of the ruble was legislatively formalized. Since then, the minting of gold coins began very actively. In addition to the imperial and half-imperial coins, gold coins with denominations of 5 and 10 rubles appeared in circulation.
