Emission of money surrogates by Soviet authorities in Kiakhta in summer 1918

The release of banknotes performed in a small town of the Trans-Baikal Kiakhta by decision of the local Soviet authorities in the summer of 1918 is an example of one of the most curious of the regional emissions of money surrogates during the Civil War in Russia. This money, since the 1920s, is well-known by experts in bonistics. Kyakhta bons are described in the scientific and popular writings on currency in the east of Russia during the Civil War. The main aim of this publication is to comprehensively analyze the history of monetary surrogates' emission by Soviet authorities in the summer of 1918 in Kyakhta on the basis of historical sources, newly identified by the author, as well as using the achievements of historiography. To achieve this aim it is necessary to complete the following tasks: Firstly, to identify common and specific features of currency on the territory of Siberia and Trans-Baikal, in particular, on the eve of the Civil War. Secondly, to indicate the reasons that caused the issue of Soviet bons in Kyakhta in the summer of 1918. Thirdly, to consider the procedure for the implementation of this emission and to reveal the features of using the bons. Fourthly, to analyze the Kyakhta bons' output procedure by the anti-Bolshevik authorities in the summer of 1919 and to represent further fate of bons. Fifthly, to solve the existing historiographical controversy associated with the beginning of the emission of Soviet bons in Kyakhta. The main source base of the study was the reporting documentation and records of Kyakhta branch of the State Bank, dating from the first half of 1919. These sources are stored in the State Archive of the Russian Federation in the fund of Central management of the State Bank of the Ministry of Finance of A.V. Kolchak's government. Supporting role plays the official correspondence by the manager of Kyakhta branch of the State Bank N.I. Shuvalov with the Division of banknotes of the State Bank, dated early 1918. This sources are deposited in the fund of the Ministry of Finance of the USSR in the Russian State Archive of Economics. The study revealed that contributions to this theme were made by finance historian A.I. Pogrebetskiy and collector M.S. Safonov. Subsequent works of Soviet and modern historians did not introduce anything new to the development of the emission and only cited the information from the works of A.I. Pogrebetskiy. On the basis of unpublished sources the author eliminated inconsistencies of historiography. In particular, it was concluded that the work by M.S. Safonov about the emission of Kyakhta bons is the most complete up to nowadays. In addition, thanks to the introduction into circulation of new sources the reasons for the beginning of a local emission were identified, the course of the preparation and implementation of monetary surrogates' issue was presented, the fate of Kyakhta bons was traced. All statistical and analytical material on the history of Kyakhta emissions are summarized in tabular form. According to the author of the publication, curious emission of bons in Kyakhta in summer of 1918 is an example of a very well thought-out (albeit involuntary) financial measure of the regional Soviet authorities.

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