History of central banking in Russia

The following diploma thesis is devoted to the history of central banking in Russia before the Great October Socialist Revolution (1917). The first acts of state regulation of the banking sector in Russia date back to the historical period of the middle of the 18th century, however, the most significant changes in banking activity are associated with the reign of Emperor Alexander II, when the State Bank of the Russian Empire was founded and the economic prerequisites for the development of commercial credit institutions in country. At the beginning of the 20th century, a relatively stable three-tier structure of the banking system developed in Russia, but it was not without serious shortcomings. In particular, the State Bank was heavily dependent on the policies of the country's Ministry of Finance and did not have the necessary political powers to develop the domestic banking system and control the activities of commercial credit institutions. At the same time, at the beginning of World War I in Russia, the banking system became an important part of the economy, there were more than 600 credit institutions and over 1,800 bank branches in the country.