The Soviet Gold Reserve 
(1921-1923) 
From “European Currency and Finance”, Commission of 
Silver Inquiry, United States Senate Foreign Currency and 
Investigations, Serial 9. Vol. II: Washington, 1925. 
Gold and 
Exchange 
DISSIPATION OF THE GOLD RESERVE 
By M. L. JacossoN 
At the outbreak of the war the total gold holdings of the state 
bank were about 1,744,000,000 rubles, of which about 1,604,000,000 
constituted the portion held in the country. One of the earliest 
financial measures: following the declaration of war was the law 
of July 27 (August 9, Gregorian Calendar) 1914, which suspended 
gold payments by the bank and modified the provision of the bank 
act, which restricted the issue of uncovered bank notes to 300,000,- 
ooo rubles. This opened the era of paper money inflation, dis- 
cussed in previous sections. The bank was authorized to issue an 
additional 1,200,000,000 of uncovered notes, and the new issues were 
made largely for account of the Government and against the security 
of short-term Government obligations. But these measures were in- 
sufficient to meet the war necessities of the Government. Large war 
orders for munitions had to be placed abroad, funds had also to be 
sent to foreign financial centers to pay the interest and amortization 
on Russian state and corporate obligations held in the allied and 
neutral countries, while the efforts of the Government to obtain for- 
eign credits did not prove immediately successful. 
In October, 1914, therefore, the Russian Government in accord 
with the British Government made a first shipment of gold to 
England of 75.3 million rubles (equivalent to about £8,000,000 
sterling), which was to cover a credit granted by the British Gov- 
ernment for war orders placed in Great Britain and in the United 
States. As the war proved more protracted than expected, and the 
British Government found it impossible to extend further credits, 
unless the allied Governments shared in gold shipments to the 
United States for the purpose of maintaining sterling exchange in 
New York, the Russian Government in conjunction with the French 
and Italian Governments undertook to make further shipments of 
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