Table Of ContentCopyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
DMITRY L. KONDRATIEV
THE EXCHANGE
SHOULD BE BUILT HERE
Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange
2000
Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
УДК 336.762; 336.764
ББК 65.262.6
К64
Кондратьев Д. Л.
К64 Ныне где пристойно, сделать биржу.—М.:ММВБ, 2000.—176 с.: ил.
ISBN 5(8341(0010(4
На английском языке
УДК 336.762; 336.764
ББК 65.262.6
ISBN 5(8341(0010(4 © Кондратьев Д. Л., 1999
© English Translation. Moscow
Interbank Currency
Exchange, 2000
Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
Several centuries have passed since the
beginning of exchange activity in Russia.
It has been a long way of creative work in
the field of commerce. Financial institu(cid:30)
tions for organization of trade in various
instruments and exchange commodities
were built.
Although, there were not many detailed
documents of interesting and long life of
Russian exchanges left by our precursors.
Scant information did not give one an
opportunity to imagine full scale of
exchange activity before the October
Revolution of 1917.
The foundation of this book is a story about the origin of exchange work in
Russia, how the first exchanges made their appearance, how the great network of
them developed on the territory of Russia. The reader will learn how exchange
merchants carried out their trade, which goods they traded, how they lived, what
they were interested in apart from commercial affairs. A lot of pictures will help
the reader to perceive information.
This book may serve as a historical aid of the exchange activity led by our pre(cid:30)
cursors. It tells about dedication and honour in business matters, skilful entre(cid:30)
preneurship, and real charity.
During the last ten years we have been restoring once interrupted historical
succession and following the way of those pioneers who stood at the beginning of
exchange trade in Russia thinking of the new progressive ways of development.
They are handing over to us and our young generation their knowledge and expe(cid:30)
rience through the depth of the centuries.
MICEX Chief Executive Officer
Alexander V. Zakharov
Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
Contents
7
BEGINNINGS IN THE
“IVANOV HUNDREDS”
16
THE “CITY” OF MOSCOW
40
RUSSIA'S “DISTRIBUTOR OF SECURITIES”
75
THE STATE SEEKS LOANS
100
IN THE “KITCHEN” OF THE EXCHANGE
122
THE MERCHANTS' CLUB
AND MERCHANT PHILANTHROPY
132
RUSSIA ACQUIRES ITS REGIONS
167
POSTSCRIPT
170
KEY EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF RUSSIAN EXCHANGES
173
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
The merchant class should not be neglected
or humiliated because no state, not to mention
a great one, can do without it.
I.T. Pososhkov,
Russian economist and writer
The history of Russian exchange began not from the
foundation of St. Petersburg, as it was considered
before, not even from “the window to Europe” (access
to the Baltic sea), hewed through by Peter the Great.
Russian merchants laid the foundation of it in the
twelfth century in Novgorod the Great. Although the
word “exchange” was not used in Russian then, because
it has foreign origin and the very meaning of it did not
exist at that time; it was only being created.
Later the centre of trade moved to Moscow, then to
St. Petersburg and other Russian cities, and a great net(
work of exchanges was built throughout Russia.
Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
BEGINNINGS IN THE
“IVANOV HUNDREDS”
T
he trading port of Lord Novgorod
the Great hummed with activity. One
after another, cargo ships with sails of
many colours put into harbour on the
Volkhov River, laden with goods from dis(
tant lands. Burly dockers rushed around in
search of work. Hawsers secured the ves(
sels firmly to the gangways. Piles of goods
in sacks, bales, and boxes, protected by
fibre mats, lined the pitch(coated sides of
the cargo vessels. Huge, hoop(bound
casks filled to the brim with foodstuffs
held out the promise of an abundant win(
ter. From the harbour, a line of long(
shoremen loaded the goods onto horse(
drawn carts. Excited by the bustle of
activity and impatient for their cargo, the
sturdy cart(horses stamped their hooves.
The weather(beaten sea(traders were also
anxious to proceed with their business. No
sooner were they on shore than they
began negotiating the sale of their goods.
Time was of the essence. First wholesale,
then retail trading got underway at the trad(
ing square. Negotiations were conducted
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Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
A.Vasnetsov, “Novgorod Market”
briskly. Buyers rushed to and fro, picking out the best of the highest
quality goods. In the intensity of this trading activity, the town resem(
bled a colony of ants. The citizens of Novgorod had never had to go to
war. Absorbed in their work, they toiled only for the prosperity of their
republic.
In meeting demand for their goods (the fur, flax, hops, wax, and
honey of Novgorod were held in high esteem) the merchants of
Novgorod travelled to all parts but particularly to the South, where
they purchased grain, a staple commodity. But they did not neglect
the traditional exports of Byzantium – gold, wine, and vegetables.
From the West they bought tin, lead, salt, and broadcloth. One can
read in the mediaeval chronicle, “Since my people from Lithuania,
Vitebsk, Polotsk, Smolensk, and my other Russian lands have by
ancient custom traded without hindrance in Novgorod, then let the
people of the Novgorod province trade without hindrance throughout
the Lithuanian land.”
8
Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
Some information has come down to us concerning Novgorod's
trade with the eastern Rus principalities. The citizens of Novgorod
understood the importance of this trade for them in spite of the fact
that the eastern territories were bandit country, and the merchants
had to take steps to protect their caravans against all possible risks. In
this they were assisted by commercial treaties with the Eastern
Princes, but they also drew upon their extensive links with other rulers
and persuaded the Mongol Khans to grant them licenses to “trade
without frontier, by charter granted by the
sovereign.”
Even in these early times trading in Nov(
gorod was strictly organized. Some inter(
esting documents of the twelfth and thir(
teenth centuries describe the activities of
the merchant corporations, which trad(
ed in a whole range of goods needed by
the population. Either the merchants'
enterprises were owned by Boyar cap(
ital (the Boyars were the local landed
elite), or the merchants borrowed
from the Boyars, or acted as their
agents in commercial operations.
One of the best known and most
prestigious associations of the Nov(
gorod merchants was the “Ivanov A Russian Merchant
Hundred”, named after the Church of
John the Baptist; in its vicinity the merchants carried out their trading
activity. This guild operated according to a rigorous statute, which had
been confirmed by Prince Vsevolod around 1135.
Admittance to the Ivanov Hundred was by a single money pay(
ment. In one of the chronicles of the time we encounter the follow(
ing passage, “He who wishes to join the Ivanov merchants must pay
a fee of 50 silver grivnas*, a bale of Insk broadcloth to the military
*
The grivnain the twelfth century was a unit of weight and of value constituting a bar of
silver weighting half a pound. It was replaced by the rouble in the fifteenth century. In the
sixteenth century it referred to a unit of currency equivalent to 10 kopecks.
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Copyright ОАО «ЦКБ «БИБКОМ» & ООО «Aгентство Kнига-Cервис»
commander, and 15 grivnas to the Church of St. John… Аnd he who
does not wish to join the merchant guild need not pay 50 silver griv(
nas, but he will not be considered a member of the guild and a real
merchant.”
This subscription was a substantial sum for those times, and by the
rules of the association payment conferred upon the member the sta(
tus of a “real” merchant. To distinguish him from other traders, the
guild member wore a golden belt.
The “real” merchant acquired the
right to be elected to the ranks of
the merchant elders and to take
an active part in the management
of commerce.
The merchant guild also acted
as a commercial court and fre(
quently passed judgement in
complicated disputes. Close to
the Church there was a public
Merchants'Yard(“Gostinydvor”),wherethemerchantslaidouttheir
goods. This was where deals were transacted and the official scales
were located. These scales were controlled by elected officials, who
hadresponsibilityfortheaccuracyoftheweightsandtheproprietyof
trading.Thiswaswherealltheinstrumentsofmeasurewereheld:the
twin(cuppedscalesforwax,thecopperpudspring(scale*,therouble(cid:30)
grivna scale for the weighting of silver, and the Ivanov rule (loko(cid:30)
tok**) for the measurement of
length.Merchantswhojoinedthe
Ivanov Hundred acquired exten(
sive privileges. If they got into
financial difficulties, they were
entitledtoloansandtonon(reim(
bursable aid. This was how the
Russian merchant associations
*
The pudwas a measure of 36 lbs. or 16.38 kg.
**
The lokot' or lokotok was a measure of length of between 38 and 46 centimetres employed
from the eleventh to the sixteenth centuries.
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