';Dec. 1894.] AGEICULTURAL CREDIT BANKS IN RUSSIA, 



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X.— AGRICULTURAL CREDIT BANKS IN RUSSIA. 



A report on Agriculture and Forestry, published by the 

 Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Crown Domains, 

 St. Petersburg, contains some interesting particulars respecting 

 the rural credit institutions established in Russia, 



The idea of rendering material support to the peasant popula- 

 tion by means of facilitating credit opeiations is stated to have 

 been initiated in Russia in the beginning of the present century, 

 by Count Arakcheev, who founded a loan bank for advancing 

 sums to the peasants of Grouzino, one of his patrimonial estates, 

 and put into it 10,000 roubles to form a permanent fund capital. 

 This bank not only advanced loans applied for by borrowers, 

 but, even without any such application, advanced sums, by order 

 of the elder of the community (yolostnoi starshina), for the 

 purchase of horses and cows for such peasants as had a fewer 

 number than was in conformity with the local regulations. At 

 the same time the bank received deposits from the peasants. 

 The Grouzinsk bank is still in existence. In this way was esta- 

 blished in Russia, on a more or less solid foundation, the principle 

 of opening up credit to the agricultural peasant class. The 

 example set at Grouzino was not, however, followed for a long 

 time. 



It was only towards the end of the Forties that the Appanage 

 Department, having at its disposal a considerable capital, accu- 

 mulated in the course of many years from the surpluses of 

 different peasant taxes and from the rent accounts of peasant 

 colonies settled on land belonging to the Department, determined 

 to devote a portion of this capital to the foundation of village 

 banks. These banks were empowered to advance loans to, and 

 receive deposits from, peasants residing on estates belonging to 

 the Department. The interest on loans was fixed at 5 per cent. 

 For each loan, the sanction of the peasant community {mirshoi 

 skhod) was required, and the borrower was also bound to find 

 a surety for each 5 roubles. Besides loans on personal surety, 

 advances were made on mortgage of real property to the amount 

 of two thirds of its value. For losses on loans advanced on 

 surety, the surety was responsible; for loans on mortgage of 

 real property, the v/hole peasant commune which had certified 

 the appraisement was responsible. 



From returns made in 1883 it would appear that up to that 

 ' date 85 village banks, with a floating capital of 1,030,000 

 roubles, had been opened on appanaged estates, chiefly in the 

 northern governments. 



Subsequently the Minister of Finance, whose Department had 

 'up to 1866 the control of all aflairs relating to Government serfs, 



