Catherine the Great
Russia's Economy, 1762-1796 		Russia's Economy
1815-1855






Russia 1796-1815 : the Economy



When Alexander assumed rule in 1801, Russia already had a paper currency. The wars were very costly, in part financed by the issuance of additional ASSIGNATS (banknotes) which caused an inflation as expressed in rising state revenues. A discrepancy between paper roubles and silver roubles emerged.
When Napoleon's Grande Armee invaded in 1812, the Russians pursued the SCORCHED-EARTH-POLICY, even setting Moscow on fire while Napoleon held it. The war caused heavy damage affecting wide areas, a damage it cost years to repair.


Russian Government Revenue and Expenditure, 1803-1815
Source : B.R. Mitchell, International Historical Statistics 1750-1988, pp. 796, 808
figures in Russian Paper Roubles
Year

1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809 		Revenue

102,000,000
103,000,000
107,000,000
106,000,000
115,000,000
123,000,000
134,000,000 		Expenditure

109,000,000
122,000,000
125,000,000
122,000,000
159,000,000
248,000,000
278,000,000 		Year

1810
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815 		Revenue

178,000,000
233,000,000
236,000,000
270,000,000
297,000,000
323,000,000 		Expenditure

279,000,000
272,000,000
342,000,000
423,000,000
457,000,000
391,000,000








EXTERNAL
FILES
DOCUMENTS Silver roubles, struck 1762-1801, 1801-1825, from S. Sekine's Collection
Russian banknotes 1802-1812, from Wad Nensberg's Home Page
Russian coins 1802, 1804, 1811, 1812, 1814 from Napoleonic Medals
Napoleonic Medals : the Russian Campaign, from Fortiter
REFERENCE Simon Dixon, The Modernisation of Russia 1676-1825, Cambridge : UP 1999


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on November 8th 2004

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