The “gold fund of the nation,” which has partially survived to this day, is the gold reserve of the USSR. The amount of precious metal plays a major role in the state’s economy, opportunities and potential of the country. Often, the supply of precious metal became a cause for pride and a way to prove the power of the state; it determined and showed the extent of the extravagance of a particular ruler. The size of the reserve changed, sometimes decreasing, sometimes growing in different years of the history of our state. Since the collapse of the USSR, many have been concerned about the question of where the party’s gold went.
The first years of the USSR
During the First World War, the economy of the Russian Empire faltered. Large quantities of gold were distributed as collateral in order to obtain loans to restore the war-ravaged economy. The reserve, distributed to foreign countries, began to be called “war gold.” After the collapse of the USSR, attempts were made to return the disappeared capital, but all efforts were unsuccessful.
In 1917, the size of the gold reserve was about 1,100 tons of metal, which was transported to different parts of the empire, caches were created where the gold was hidden from prying eyes. A year later, most of these caches were discovered, and at the end of the war, the transported gold began to be collected together. Nevertheless, more than 180 tons of reserves were irretrievably lost.
Part of the stock, about 100 tons, went to Germany as reparations after peace was concluded with the Germans. Gradually, the gold of the USSR, inherited from the empire, melted away, going towards endless military needs: military equipment, equipment, food. Part of the reserve was spent on supporting revolutions in foreign countries. The locomotives purchased from Great Britain and Sweden alone required approximately 200 tons of precious metal from state storehouses. As a result, by 1923 the reserve amounted to 400 tons, and by 1928 - 150 tons of gold. In 1924, 1 ruble was worth approximately 0.770 grams of gold.
Thus, over the course of 20 years, the country’s economy was completely destroyed, and the new authorities wasted the remaining reserves, not intending to share with their people. Gold mining during these years was not completely controlled by the government due to the location of the mines. For this reason, only a small percentage of actual metal production reached the treasury.
Industrialization
The current situation and the arrival of the new government have become an incentive to search for alternative ways to raise funds. Industrialization required about 4-5 billion rubles to implement its processes, while the amount of approximate profit to the treasury was 400 million.
It was decided to save the situation using any available methods. As a result, new plans and standards began to emerge that had to be implemented in the so-called five-year plans. Increased performance required an accelerated pace of work.
In 1927, Stalin personally established a five-year plan for the Soyuz-Gold trust, according to which it was now necessary to extract the required amount of the precious metal. The special task was for gold mining in the USSR to take first place in the world, ahead of even the richest mines.
However, the idea of expanding production seemed to the government insufficient to replenish the treasury, so a number of measures were taken to take away the gold in the hands of the population. Precious metal was taken through confiscation, as well as through a system of special stores where goods could be purchased and paid for in gold items. In such stores they sold simple products: flour, sugar, cereals. At the same time, the violent method of selection replenished the state treasury by only 30 tons, and trade for the precious metal - by approximately 220 tons.
The metal extracted in the mines amounted to 130 tons per year, but the USSR lost to South America in this matter, taking second place in the world in gold production. However, little of these funds went towards the development of the state; most of it simply ended up in the treasury’s vaults. The table according to (Fig. 1) shows what a leap occurred in this industry in the 30s.
Stalin carried out a monetary reform, which helped change the monstrous exchange rate of the ruble. If you compare how much the ruble was worth against the dollar before and after the reform, you can see how the national currency rose from an absolute minimum to 2 rubles. for a dollar.
Post-war time
Before World War II, the state treasury contained 2,800 tons of gold. Thanks to this reserve, the USSR was not only able to recover after the war in conditions of total devastation, but also gained a certain weight on the world stage for the next decades.
Each new leader of the state significantly reduced the fund increased by Stalin. Khrushchev left behind 1,600 tons, and Brezhnev - about 437. However, under Andropov and Chernenko, the stock was replenished by 300 tons. And already under Gorbachev, the fund began to steadily decrease; a huge amount of gold was sent for export. In general, during Gorbachev's reign, about 1,200 tons of gold reserves managed to disappear from the treasury. In 1980 alone, the summer of which passed under the banner of the Olympics, 90 tons of the precious metal were sold.
After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian Federation inherited debts and, which amounted to 290 tons. Putin took the reins with a fund of 384 tons, but Russia's gold reserves now stand at about 850 tons of the precious metal. Russia's entire reserve had to be restored anew. Where the CPSU gold could have gone and in whose pockets it ended up, one can only guess.
How were the USSR's gold reserves stolen?
Eh, liberal reforms. Perhaps in any other country in the world such innovations would bring positive changes, but not in our country. Unfortunately, the noble-sounding slogans “For democracy!”, “For fair elections!”, “For human rights,” which we have heard more than once in our history, are in fact accompanied by total robbery and geopolitical weakening.
The wind of change blows away everything in its path: the army, navy, public order, industry and state sovereignty. The values of the defeated power immediately become the object of all sorts of scams and speculation. This can be confirmed by the “despicable metal” - gold. And, to be more precise, the gold reserves of Russia, which in the 20th century twice left the country’s national territory forever due to mass betrayal.
The famous blogger, writer and publicist Nikolai Starikov, in his article entitled “Where did the gold of the USSR disappear?” published an interesting letter from one of his readers, in which the author describes how and by what routes the gold reserves of the USSR were exported at the end of Gorbachev’s perestroika. You can read this message. Nikolai Viktorovich ends his post with these words: “This is the story. Maybe some of you, dear readers, have encountered, by the will of fate, that same “mysteriously disappeared gold?”.
In answer to this question, I will say that I have encountered it. Not in reality, of course, but when reading journalistic literature. Now the author of these lines is finishing reading the book “Crisis”, written by State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein back in 2009. I would like to make my small contribution to conveying truthful information about the dashing 90s to the maximum possible number of my compatriots. In this regard, let me quote an excerpt from this work, which describes in sufficient detail the procedure for treacherous export of gold reserves USSR to the West. We read:
“The former Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian government, who studied in detail the closed archives of the Politburo, devoted many years to unraveling this tangle. Poltoranin saw with his own eyes documents confirming that in the late 1980s gold reserves were actively exported from the USSR. All these decisions of the Politburo were, of course, not just secret, but carried the stamp "Of special importance". Accordingly, operations to export gold also took place in an atmosphere of the strictest secrecy.
It was transported by Vnesheconombank couriers with certificates from the KGB and the International Department of the CPSU Central Committee; Among them is, by the way, a trusted person Igor Malashenko (later the general director of the NTV television company). At the border, no one inspected gold-bearing couriers - the customs service was instructed to let them pass through Sheremetyevo-2 without hindrance. According to the papers, the export of gold was formalized as foreign trade operation, allegedly it was used to pay for imported goods, mainly food. In fact, it was pure fiction. In return to the country almost nothing was returned.
All. As one movie character said, an oil painting.
What about the products? - you ask. But there is no problem with the products. There were no products abroad; there, too, apparently, there was a raging shortage. Instead, toilet soap was brought to the USSR. True, in several small batches. But then, it’s imported.
According to this scheme, from the Union from 1989 to 1991, more than 2 thousand 300 tons of pure gold. (In 1990 alone, a record amount was exported: 478.1 tons). No one kept any records of the gold trenches, as testified by former KGB active reserve officer Viktor Menshov (he worked under the “roof” of the assistant to the chairman of the board of the USSR). There was so much gold, recalls the first deputy chairman of the board of the same Vnesheconombank, Thomas Alibekov, that the bars were loaded onto planes directly from the runway.
This was far from the only way to privatize the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the USSR, invented by the combinators of that time. Secret orders of the State Bank and the Council of Ministers, for example, established a brisk trade in the country's foreign exchange reserves. Officially, dollars were sold based on 6 rubles 26 kopecks; for “their” structures controlled by department managers, a special preferential rate was established - 62 kopecks. The purchased currency immediately went abroad, and wooden rubles fell like dead weight into the Gokhran vaults.
How do you like this detective story, waiting for its Nestor the Chronicler?
At the rise of Soviet power, the KGB learned that Israeli intelligence services were preparing to seize the Lebanese People's Bank, where the so-called valuables of Yasser Arafat were kept, worth a total of $5 billion. The raid on the bank actually took place. Only it was not organized by the Israelis. calmly transported the Arab treasures next door, to the Beirut branch of the Moscow People's Bank - one of the subsidiaries of Vnesheconombank of the USSR. And just a day later, the Beirut branch closed its operations. Further traces of Palestinian gold are lost in the stuffiness of the Middle East...
The country was sliding into the abyss, the people were impoverished, even the simplest products - milk, meat, eggs - disappeared from the shelves. Meanwhile, having found herself in the right place at the right time, she made fabulous fortunes. Let's compare just two numbers. Over the last three years of perestroika, no less than by 30 billion dollars.
And, exactly, at the same time - from 1989 to 1991 - the external debt of the USSR increased by 44 billion dollars. When Gorbachev read out his last address to the nation in December 1991, he (in the sense of duty) had already achieved 70.2 billion dollars. For decades to come, this debt will weigh heavily on the national economy. Under Yeltsin, it also doubled. (Putin will inherit obligations for 158 billion).
With such unbearable people, not only did she end up in foreign bondage, she also lost the opportunity to develop normally. The threat of bankruptcy has constantly hovered over the country all these years. A step to the right, a step to the left - and the creditors immediately pulled on the leash. Annual interest payments alone amounted to 15 billion dollars.
Gold reserves of the USSR during the war and the post-war period
Gold reserves of the USSR at the beginning of the war. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the USSR's gold reserves had grown to 2,600 tons. This figure is contained in the work of V.V. Rudakov and A.P. Smirnov. One of them, V.V. Rudakov, is personally known to me. Valery Vladimirovich was at one time the main person in the country responsible for gold (head of Gokhran, deputy minister of finance in charge of gold issues, head of Glavalmazzoloto, etc.). Apparently, the mentioned assessment can be trusted.
The period of the Great Patriotic War is a blank spot in the history of Russian gold. There is no information on gold production volumes. There is no data on the use of gold by the Soviet Union to cover its needs for weapons, equipment, equipment and other goods vital in war conditions.
However, it can be assumed that the USSR did use gold in some quantities. Foreign trade statistics of the USSR show that during the war there was an excess of imports over exports (we are talking about commercial turnover; Lend-Lease deliveries are not taken into account). The trade balance deficit of the USSR was (million rubles): 1941 – 100; 1942 – 116; 1943 – 106; 1944 – 84. In 1945, there was already an excess of exports over imports and the positive balance amounted to 42 million rubles. Thus, in general, for the period 1941–1945. The negative balance of foreign trade of the USSR was equal to 364 million rubles. In currency equivalent, this is approximately 68.7 million dollars (since 1937, the exchange rate of the ruble for foreign economic transactions was established: 1 dollar = 5.30 rubles). In terms of gold, this was equivalent to approximately 70 tons of metal.
Various sources also mention that during the war, as part of the Soviet-American Lend-Lease agreement, the USSR was not only a recipient of assistance, but also supplied various raw materials, as well as platinum and gold, to America as a reciprocal Lend-Lease. No quantitative estimates of gold supplies are provided.
About trophy gold. For this stage, cross-border movements of the so-called trophy gold, i.e., gold that was captured during military operations in occupied territories. Moreover, to assess cross-border flows of gold during the war, two categories of captured gold should be taken into account: a) gold that Germany captured on the territory of the Soviet Union; b) gold that the USSR captured on the territory of Germany and other countries of the fascist bloc.
To date, no generalized estimates of the amount of gold captured by Germany on the territory of the USSR, not available in open sources. We believe that it was not possible to capture a large amount of gold from Nazi Germany in the occupied Soviet territories for the reason that the USSR took timely measures to evacuate gold from the vaults of the State Bank located in the European part of the country to the east of the country.
Let's take a closer look at the question movement of trophy gold from Germany to the USSR. It should be borne in mind that the USSR refused to coordinate efforts with the allies to develop a unified reparations policy towards Germany (including on gold). This is explained by the fact that the positions of the USSR, on the one hand, and the USA and Great Britain, on the other, differed significantly. The essence of these differences is outlined in our literature. For example, K.I. Koval, First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany for economic issues, notes that the Allies insisted that reparations be carried out in the form of payments in foreign currency. I. Stalin insisted on reparations in kind. The latter’s calculation was that with this form of reparations it would be difficult to control their real value volume; the monetary equivalent would have a conditional value. In addition, there was no confidence that Germany would be able to earn the necessary amounts of foreign currency. Even if the USSR received the currency due to it, it would not be used to restore the destroyed economy, but to pay off external debts (primarily, obligations to the United States under Lend-Lease). Therefore (and for a number of other reasons), the USSR relied on receiving dismantled factories, raw materials, technologies, works of art, gold and other “natural goods” from Germany, the cost accounting of which was beyond the control of the allies.
Having voluntarily renounced demands for gold located in the zone of occupation of Western countries, Stalin paid great attention to the search and seizure of Nazi gold in the zone under the military control of Soviet troops or under the political influence of the USSR. Here is what is noted in this regard in one of the publications on Nazi gold: “In 1945, the USSR renounced its claims to Nazi gold confiscated by the Allied armies. In exchange, Moscow received gold discovered by the Red Army in the territories of Germany, Austria, Finland, Hungary and other countries. Moscow did not participate and does not participate in the activities of the TGC (tripartite commission for the restitution of Nazi property. – VC). The USSR never provided information about the fate of the gold it confiscated, interest in which increased sharply after the collapse of the Warsaw bloc. Bank archives of Germany, Austria, Hungary and other countries are located in Moscow. Access to them remains difficult. Only recently did Bergier’s commission announce Moscow’s readiness to open part of the archives to it.” First of all, in the Soviet occupation zone in Germany, all banks were closed and an inventory of their assets was carried out; in addition, the population was ordered to hand over all currency, precious metals and other valuables.
There are a large number of sources that indicate that the leaders of the Third Reich in the last months and even days of the war actively withdrew their most valuable assets (including gold) from areas of Germany that could be occupied by Soviet troops to those areas that they planned to occupy our allies. Secret separate negotiations were conducted on this matter between the Nazis and the Allies. In the last days of the war, Soviet intelligence learned that the gold reserves had been evacuated to Central and Southern Germany. Based on this, Stalin did not count on receiving any large amount of captured gold. On May 15, 1945, in the basements of the Reichsbank, Soviet representatives found only 90 gold bars and $3.5 million in currencies from different countries, as well as various bonds. Everything else disappeared without a trace.
An interesting unofficial message from the head of the Russian delegation at the international conference on Nazi gold, which was held in December 1996 in London, Ambassador Valentin Kopteltsev: “Under the Potsdam agreements, all German assets that were located in the eastern occupation zone and on territories of Germany's allies in Eastern Europe. 98.5% of German gold went to the Americans(italics mine. – VC). The rest may have ended up with us, although there is no documentary evidence of this.” This assessment once again proves that the amount of Nazi gold received by the Soviet Union in the occupied territories was extremely small.
Search for Nazi gold by the USSR MGB in 1945–1953. carried out as part of the special operation “Cross”. According to some reports, Operation Cross was aimed at finding not only Nazi, but also tsarist gold, which ended up outside Russia after the First World War and the 1917 revolution; Moreover, the operation was started by Stalin in the late 1920s. Probably, the scope of the search for Nazi gold extended beyond the borders of the countries that were located in the zone where Soviet troops were located. The fact is that at the end of the war, the authorities of the Third Reich sent significant quantities of gold to Switzerland and other neutral countries - Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Turkey. There is a large amount of evidence supported by documents that a significant amount of Nazi gold ended up outside the Third Reich at the end of the war.
Taking into account the above, it is clear why the task of identifying Nazi gold was entrusted by I. Stalin to state security agencies, including Soviet foreign intelligence. Materials related to Operation Cross have not yet been made public.
About the so-called gold ruble of Stalin . To raise the prestige of the Soviet ruble and for political purposes, in 1950 it was freed from its direct “peg” to the US dollar and other Western currencies, the rate of which fluctuated quite noticeably, and its direct “peg” to gold was established. True, such a “link” did not provide for the possibility of exchanging rubles for gold either for foreigners or for individuals and legal entities within the country.
On this occasion, S. M. Borisov writes: “In order to demonstrate the firmness of the position of the Soviet ruble against the background of the massive devaluation of Western currencies, its exchange rate from January 1, 1950 was transferred to a gold basis with the gold content being established at the level of 1 ruble. = 0.222168 g of pure gold. Based on this value, the exchange rate increased to 4 rubles. for 1 dollar versus 5 rubles. 30 kopecks, used in all cash payments for foreign economic transactions since July 19, 1937.
How was the new gold content of the ruble determined? There is a version that it was originally planned to establish a new exchange rate ratio at the level of 1 dollar = 5 rubles. However, when the draft of the corresponding resolution was shown to Stalin, he crossed out the number “5”, wrote “4”, and this decided the matter. “The required gold content was obtained by dividing the gold content of the dollar, which then amounted to 0.888671, by this figure.”
Thus, we see that the gold parity of the Soviet ruble was established without taking into account the size of the country’s gold reserves.
USSR gold reserves in 1953 . In the post-war years (1946–1953), the accumulation of the country's gold reserves continued due to domestic production, and the export of gold abroad was practically stopped. The search for gold continued actively, primarily through the above-mentioned Operation Cross (the operation was curtailed after Stalin’s death in 1953). Vyacheslav Molotov spoke about these Stalinist reserves in conversations with Felix Chuev: “We had a huge gold reserve accumulated, and there was so much platinum that we did not show it on the world market, for fear of devaluing it!”
In 1953, the country's gold reserve reached a maximum of 2048.9 tons. In total, during 1925–1953. the increase in gold reserves of the USSR amounted to 1900 tons. This means that in order to accumulate such a reserve, an average of about 70 tons of metal per year had to be sent to the gold reserve through domestic production annually. During this period, according to various expert estimates, the average annual gold production was no more than 100–150 tons. Some part of the gold from the new production had to be used to satisfy the country’s internal needs. In the best case, on average, approximately 50 tons could be exported per year during the specified period. Various publications that socialist industrialization, preparations for war, the war itself and the liquidation of its consequences were financed by large-scale exports of gold are a clear exaggeration.
So, 2049.8 tons in 1953. For comparison: in 1953, according to the data of T. Green, already mentioned by us, the leading countries of the world had the following volumes of gold reserves:
USA - 19631 tons;
Great Britain – 2011 tons;
Switzerland - 1296 tons;
Canada - 876 tons;
Belgium – 689 tons;
Netherlands - 658 tons;
France - 548 tons.
Thus, in 1953, the USSR, despite the enormous losses in World War II and the need to restore the destroyed economy, found itself in second place in the world in terms of official gold reserves (although, of course, lagging behind the United States, which managed to enrich itself in the war, was almost tenfold).
The main task of accumulating the country's gold reserves was to provide it with a strategic resource in case of emergency situations. At the same time, the task of providing the ruble with gold reserves after the war was not practical, and the so-called gold content of the national currency was in no way tied to the gold reserve of the State Bank of the USSR.
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The civil war significantly depleted the gold reserves of Russia (one of the richest countries of its time), 2/3 of the gold was spent or stolen. The young Bolshevik state, in addition to a number of conflicts, received an empty treasury.
The stocks sold out in just a few years (). The funds were spent on the purchase of weapons, ammunition, and on paying indemnities for the separate Brest-Litovsk Peace (and, according to some sources, on bribes to foreign officials for concluding a peace that was so necessary for the country). Some funds went to friends from communist parties in Europe. A significant amount of gold (judging by some documents and research) was sold to the West to ensure the survival of the state in the first years after the establishment of Bolshevik power.
In some studies, the authors insist that by the end of the 1920s the country was on the verge of bankruptcy. This is perhaps a very bold statement: there were resources, albeit meager. Another thing is surprising: in the 30s, the USSR made a powerful industrial leap. Where did you find funds for?
Stalin, having taken power, began to replenish his gold reserves again (in one of the articles from the early 90s, he was compared to the tsars for this, they say he followed their path). After Koba's death, the following leaders had about 2804 tons of gold at their disposal. But do not rush to praise the leader.
In 1927, the Soviet Union began an accelerated process of industrialization. Stalin hoped that income from the sale of agricultural products and raw materials abroad would be able to ensure the development of industry in the country, but hopes were not justified (the crisis significantly reduced prices for agricultural products). In 1931 - 1933, the USSR dumped on the grain market, bringing discounts to 50%. And within the country millions were starving. Resolution of the State Duma of the Russian Federation dated April 2, 2008 N 262-5 State Duma In memory of the victims of the famine of the 30s on the territory of the USSR: about 7 million people died, the reason for which was “repressive measures to ensure grain procurements, which significantly aggravated the severe consequences of the crop failure of 1932 . Think about it: 7 million.
Undoubtedly, many processes were forced, and the lack of broad experience in governing the country also affected.
The state's external debt has increased almost 5-fold since 1926; loans were mainly from Germany. Loans were covered by grain, oil, timber, and gold.
In 1928, the country's museum collections began to be sold. 48 masterpieces by such masters as Jan van Eyck, Titian, Rembrandt, and Raphael were sold from the Hermitage. Andrew Mellon and Calouste Gulbenkian jumped at the chance and put together stunning collections. 
Gold mining
Before the First World War, 60.8 tons of gold were mined in Russia in 1913. At that time the industry was in the hands of foreigners. However, wars and revolutions destroyed the gold mining industry. During the NEP, gold mining began to revive. In 1927, only 20 tons of gold were mined.
Despite the collapse, Stalin in 1927 allowed private miners to continue their business, understanding their merits and importance for the gold mining industry (it is believed that he paid attention to the experience of the gold rush in the United States, where it was private initiative that drove the processes).
At the beginning of 1928, the Kolyma gold rush broke out. In the spring of 1928, F. R. Polikarpov ceded his rights to the Bezymyanny spring deposit to the state joint-stock company Soyuzzoloto. After the hype of private mining, the stage of state development of Kolyma riches began.
Alexander Pavlovich Serebrovsky traveled to the USA twice and adopted the experience of American gold miners. He studied technology and equipment and recruited American engineers to work in the Soviet Union.
In 1932, in addition to civilian gold mining, which was under the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry, Dalstroi began mining the precious metal - Kolyma prisoners - almost free labor.
The amount of gold mined in the Soviet Union increased every year. In the second half of the 1930s, the USSR ranked second in gold mining, ahead of the USA and Canada. The Soviet Union was second only to South Africa.
Between 1932 and 1941 Dalstroy produced about 400 tons of gold. “Civilian” gold mining for the period 1927-1935 brought 300 tons.
Carrot and stick
Prosperous citizens became another source of gold. At the end of the 1920s, all affairs of currency traders and holders of valuables were transferred to the Economic Directorate of the OGPU. Persuasion, deception and violence were used to confiscate valuables from citizens. During the period from 1930 to 1932, the OGPU was able to extract 15.1 million rubles, which equals 12 tons of gold.
However, there are not many wealthy citizens, and yet the 160 million population has small things in the form of wedding rings, gold crosses, etc. Small things, but in the grand scheme of things... The state encroached on this too.
In 1930, Torgsin stores were created - “All-Union Association for Trade with Foreigners on the Territory of the USSR.” The range of these stores was impressive.
Initially, Torgsin served exclusively foreign tourists and sailors in the ports of the USSR. In 1931, the doors of Torgsin were open to all Soviet citizens. People exchanged cash, gold jewelry, precious stones, household gold and silver for money, which they then spent in torgsin stores. The network of torgsins gradually covered the entire country.
In 1933, people brought 45 tons of gold and 2 tons of silver to Torgsin. What did the people acquire for these riches? Real estate? Technology? Not at all. 80% of goods sold through Torgsin were products (flour, cereals, rice, sugar). According to Torgsin's analysis of prices in the USSR, the cost of products to its citizens was three times higher than what was sold abroad.
Over the five years of its existence, Torgsin produced 287.3 million rubles, which equals 222 tons of gold.
Stick for the rich, carrot for the poor
The OGPU and Torgsin almost completely devastated all the citizens' savings. However, the funds were used for their intended purpose and went to pay for industrial equipment of large Soviet enterprises.
Results of efforts
The country has overcome the gold and foreign exchange crisis. After victory in World War II, the USSR replenished its gold reserves through confiscations and reparations. After the end of the war, the state stopped selling gold abroad.
- After Stalin's death, Khrushchev began to spend gold reserves, mainly on the purchase of grain.
- Brezhnev spent gold to support third world countries. By the end of Brezhnev's reign, the stock had decreased by more than a thousand tons.
- Gorbachev completely squandered the treasury. The USSR reserve by 1991 was only 240 tons. At that time, the United States had accumulated more than 8,000 tons of gold. Post-Soviet Russia had to collect its gold and foreign exchange reserves from scratch.
One of the main factors determining the stability of a country's monetary system and its reliability as a borrower is the availability and size of the state gold reserve. In my opinion, it is also a kind of measure of the economic diligence of managers. Let us consider from this point of view the change in the value of the gold reserves of Russia (USSR) from the reign of Alexander the Third to the present.
By the beginning of the reign of Alexander III, the State Bank of Russia had gold worth 310 million rubles. Gold reserves, despite large investments in the first industrialization of the country, grew, amounting to 381 million in 1888, and in 1894 already about 800 million rubles.
In 1894, Nicholas II ascended the throne. There was no change in the Minister of Finance - S.Yu. Witte remained, who in 1897, when the gold reserves amounted to 1095 million rubles, carried out a monetary reform, filling the ruble with gold content.
By 1902, the state’s gold was already valued at 1,700 million rubles, but then its reserves began to decrease: they were preparing for the Russo-Japanese War, then defeat in it and the revolution. Nevertheless, by 1914, gold reserves had recovered and again reached 1,700 million rubles or 1,400 tons of metal. Before and during the First World War, gold was sold and pledged when receiving loans, moving to the territory of creditor countries (when foreign assets of the Russian Empire and the USSR began to be looked for in the 1990s, it was called “war gold”).
By October 1917, Russia's gold reserves were already about 1,100 tons. They were taken out of Petrograd and placed for storage in Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan. On August 7, 18, Kazan was taken by the Izhevsk Workers' Division of the People's Army. Colonel V.O. Kappel reported to the KOMUCH government that his troops had captured part of the country's gold reserves in the amount of 505 tons of metal. During the retreat, the Red Army soldiers were able to evacuate only 4.5 tons of gold.
The gold taken by the Izhevsk people was eventually transported to Omsk, where it was placed at the disposal of A.V. Kolchak. Most of it returned to Moscow after the defeat of the admiral. However, according to the June 1921 certificate of the People's Commissariat of Finance, the weight of the returned gold reserves was only 323 tons, i.e. approximately 182 tons of gold from this part of the gold reserve was either spent or simply disappeared (this amount is usually called “Kolchak gold”).
According to the additional protocol to the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty with Germany, the RSFSR had to pay reparations, incl. and gold. To their credit, in September-October 1918, 98 tons of metal were sent to Germany (this is the so-called “Lenin gold”).
The Soviet government was forced to sell off its gold reserves, and at dumping prices. For example, 200 tons of gold were paid for 60 steam locomotives in England and Sweden! The metal was also used to purchase consumer goods and food products, as well as to support revolutions in other countries (“Comintern gold”). As a result, by 1923 the country had a gold reserve of about 400 tons.
It continued to decline in subsequent years.
By 1928, only 150 tons of state gold remained in the USSR.
Gold mining produced only 20 tons of metal per year. I see two reasons for this:
- the royal heritage was enough to live on;
The main gold mining areas were located where the influence of Soviet power was still very weak and the actual output of the metal was not controlled.
But industrialization began. About 4.5 billion rubles were sought for it. With the volume of Soviet exports barely exceeding 400 million per year, it would have taken 10-11 years to collect such an amount. In addition, at the end of the 20s, market conditions worsened (crisis).
Various methods were used to finance the first five-year plans, but now we are only interested in the “golden” method.
First of all, they decided to increase gold mining. In 1927, the Soyuzzoloto trust was created, the head of which, Serebrovsky, personally, Joseph Vissarionovich, set the task: in five years to take first place in gold mining in the world (the leader, Transvaal - now a province of South Africa, mined 300 tons per year).
Further. Having rightly considered that, despite previous requisitions, the population still had a lot of gold in the country, they decided to collect it, using two methods for this: confiscations for gold speculation and the “TORGSIN” system of stores, where scarce goods were sold for currency and gold. It is curious that the second method turned out to be almost an order of magnitude more effective: the OGPU handed over about 30 tons, and TORGSIN - more than 220 tons.
Gold production increased to 310-320 tons per year, but, alas, they did not become world leaders in it, because Transvaal increased it to 400 tons per year (however, we were never second in the post-Stalin era). Only for TORGSINA gold imported equipment was purchased for 10 industrial giants! By the way, not that much gold was sold: only about 300 tons. The rest went into gold reserves, serving as a guarantor for receiving external loans.
By 1941, the USSR's gold reserves amounted to 2,800 tons, doubling the Tsarist reserves and reaching its historical maximum, still unsurpassed! On it we won the Great Patriotic War and restored the destroyed country.
When dying, Stalin left his successor 2,500 tons of state gold. Let's call it "Stalin's stash."
What was her fate? After N.S. Khrushchev, 1,600 tons remained, after L.I. Brezhnev - 437 tons. Yu.A. Andropov and Chernenko slightly increased the “inheritance” - up to 719 tons. The final blow to the “Stalin stash” was dealt by M.S. Gorbachev.
In October 1991, the current presidential candidate of the Russian Federation, and then Deputy Prime Minister Grigory Yavlinsky, stated that the country’s gold reserves were 290 tons. Together with the debts, they were transferred to the Russian Federation.
Yevgeny Primakov promised that the gold reserve would be increased in 2000 to 900 tons, but President Vladimir Putin accepted it at 384 tons.
As of August 30, 2011, the country's gold reserves amounted to 852 tons. In terms of its size, Russia ranks 8th, behind the USA, Germany, the IMF, Italy, France, China and Switzerland. The share of gold in Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves is only 8.6%, while the world average is 12.1%, and in “developed” countries it reaches 75%.