Ñòàòüÿ 'Èñòîðè÷åñêèå ýòàïû ýâîëþöèè ãîñóäàðñòâåííîãî ðåãóëèðîâàíèÿ áàíêîâñêîé äåÿòåëüíîñòè â ÑÑÑÐ: 1920-å – íà÷àëî 1930-õ ãîäîâ' - æóðíàë 'Genesis: èñòîðè÷åñêèå èññëåäîâàíèÿ' - NotaBene.ru
ïî
Journal Menu
> Issues > Rubrics > About journal > Authors > About the Journal > Requirements for publication > Editorial collegium > The editors and editorial board > Peer-review process > Policy of publication. Aims & Scope. > Article retraction > Ethics > Online First Pre-Publication > Copyright & Licensing Policy > Digital archiving policy > Open Access Policy > Article Processing Charge > Article Identification Policy > Plagiarism check policy
Journals in science databases
About the Journal

MAIN PAGE > Back to contents
Genesis: Historical research
Reference:

Historical stages of the evolution of state regulation of banking activity in the USSR: 1920s - early 1930s

Anshin Denis Valerevich

ORCID: 0000-0003-3368-697X

Postgraduate student, Department of History of State and Municipal Administration, Lomonosov Moscow State University

119991, Russia, Moskva, g. Moscow, ul. Leninskie Gory, 1

Dvanshin@yandex.ru

DOI:

10.25136/2409-868X.2022.5.37898

Received:

17-04-2022


Published:

31-05-2022


Abstract: The article examines the evolution of state regulation of the banking sector in the initial period of socialist construction in the USSR. The development of the monetary system and the banking sector is considered in relation to the tasks facing the national economy of the country in the 1920s and 30s. The dynamics of these tasks determined the development of regulatory influences, the emergence of appropriate forms and mechanisms. The stages of the implementation of the credit reform of 1930s and its results are analyzed. The sequence of preparatory measures of the reform is considered, which concerned both the creation of prerequisites for the transition of enterprises to work in new monetary conditions, and the strengthening of the role of the State Bank as the main conductor of the reform. The analysis of the dynamics of the sectoral structure of lending and the changes that occurred as a result of the transition of the economy to new operating conditions. From the standpoint of a systematic approach, the structure of the system of state regulation of banking activity after the completion of the credit reform is studied. This structure is considered on the basis of the proposed organizational and functional model. The layout of the organizational and functional modeling of state banking regulation proposed by the author allows to consider the forms and mechanisms of regulation and interaction of participants in this process from the standpoint of a systematic approach. The Soviet experience of creating a system of state regulation is also interesting with a certain sequence of transformations: the preparation of preliminary measures distributed over time, then the implementation of a radical basic transformation (credit reform proper), the adjustment of decisions and practices based on the analysis of the actual results of transformations. Such an approach and aspect of the reform has been little studied in historical studies, but its understanding for modern Russian realities could be useful.


Keywords:

monetary system, cans, state regulation, monetary reform, credit reform, organizational and functional model, banking systems, financial crisis, financing of the national economy, new economic policy

This article is automatically translated. You can find original text of the article here.

Introduction

            The history of banking activity in the 1920s and 30s has been studied in the works of a number of scientists and practitioners. Here we can highlight the research of Soviet scientists - L.N. Yurovsky, M.S. Atlas, Z.V. Atlas, modern Russian authors – A.A. Artemyev, S.A. Urazova, A.S. Sokolov, L.A. Muravyeva and others. [1,2,4,8,10,13,14,16,23]. These are works of a very different plan, largely devoted to the description of the emergence and functioning of banks, the analysis of their work, the activities of outstanding leaders of the banking sector and the study of other similar issues related to these organizations. To a much lesser extent, the history of the formation and development of state regulation of the banking system as such has been studied (although it should be noted that certain aspects of the problem were considered in the works of the above authors) and as an independent "branch" of public administration.

            The author aims to determine the stages of evolution of state regulation of banking activities, their content, the logic of inter-stage transitions, taking into account changes in the socio-economic and political conditions of the country; it is also supposed from the standpoint of a systematic approach to present the organizational and functional model of state regulation of the banking sector, which developed by the end of the period under review.

       The choice of the research topic and its relevance are determined by a number of points. Firstly, the ambiguity of the assessments in the publications of various authors of the results of the transformations of the banking sector and its state regulation in the early and mid-1930s and the need for further research on this issue, secondly, insufficient research of the stages and, in general, the stage approach to the study of state regulation of the banking sector in the period under review, thirdly, the need to consider this problem from the standpoint of a systematic approach, which is absent in the literature, and fourthly, the current demand for knowledge about monetary mechanisms and forms of regulation during periods of industrial transformations and complications in the international situation of the country.

       The article uses sources containing information on the topic of this work: resolutions of political, legislative and executive authorities; newspaper sources, departmental materials of archival funds of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, insufficiently covered in the scientific press, as well as articles and books by scientists and practitioners investigating the problems of state regulation of the banking system.

           The choice of the chronology of the study is not accidental. It was during this period that the system of state regulation of the banking sector was created and by the mid-30s of the last century, in general terms, a system of state regulation of the banking sector was created, which with certain modernizations lasted until the end of the Soviet period.

         A number of stages can be distinguished in the time interval under consideration:

 1920-1921, 1922-1926, 1927-1932, 1932-1935. Each separate stage is characterized by its own peculiarities of state regulation and functioning of the monetary and banking systems as elements of general economic management. At all the stages under consideration, prerequisites were created for the transition to the next stage of development in accordance with the dynamics of the goals and objectives of state and economic construction.

 

      1920-1921 – awareness of the impasse in the applied organizational and financial and economic mechanisms of economic management

       By the beginning of the 1920s, Soviet Russia came up with a ruined economy and a deep crisis of the financial, monetary and banking systems. Among the many features of that period, the author considers it important to note the following: a catastrophic decline in production in industry and agriculture, the dominance of natural exchange, the collapse of the monetary system, hyperinflation, virtually uncontrolled monetary emission, counter-revolutionary and other uprisings in many regions of the country.

   In general, it was clear that without a systemic change in the situation, further progressive development of the country is impossible. The policy of war communism has completely exhausted itself and its further implementation was impractical and harmful.

  The banking sector has practically ceased to function.  A significant event in this regard was the closure in January 1920 of the People's Bank of the RSFSR, which carried out budget financing of the national economy. [13]

     As Z.V. Atlas noted, "war communism did not create the ground for the widespread use of Soviet money as an instrument of accounting for labor and labor products, as a means of controlling the measure of labor and the measure of consumption. By the end of this period, money ceased to perform the function of a medium of circulation within the socialized economy." [2, p.68]

       But in 1921, the situation began to change. 

     At the X Congress of the RCP (b) in March 1921, the transition from prodrazverstki to prodnalogu, the use of concessions and the implementation of a new economic policy was proclaimed. Further, a number of actions were carried out in the development of the decisions of the congress, including in terms of market relations, money and banks. In this context, four important documents issued in 1921 can be noted, which created the prerequisites for future transformations in the monetary and banking spheres. These are the decrees of the Council of People's Commissars of May 14, 1921 "On Exchange" and of August 16, 1921 "On expanding the rights of state enterprises in the field of financing and disposal of material resources", as well as the Resolution of the Central Executive Committee "On the Establishment of a State Bank" of October 4, 1921 and the Decree of the Central Executive Committee "On measures to streamline the financial economy" of October 10 , 1921 They allowed free commodity exchange and trade in the market, expanded the independence of enterprises in the financial and credit sphere, and what is especially important - in 1921 the State Bank of the RSFSR was established [3, pp. 91-93]. The latter circumstance marked the beginning of a new stage in the development of the banking regulation system.

 

1922-1926 – the formation of new monetary and banking systems, the beginning of the creation of forms and mechanisms of state regulation of the banking sector

     The resolution of the XI Congress of the RCP(b) of April 2, 1922 "On financial policy" marked the beginning of the implementation of a new economic policy in the financial and monetary part, the management of the economy "increasingly ... through the medium of the market, i.e. through the medium of money" [5, pp. 13-14]. It was noted that "for this moment it is necessary ... to firmly establish that our economic and financial policy is resolutely focused on restoring the gold security of money, which is necessary, since gold remains firmly world money, and in relations on the domestic market ..." [5, pp. 13-14].

        As a necessary set of measures and pre-measures for the implementation of the decisions of the Congress, the preparation and implementation of monetary reform began.

       The monetary reform of 1922-1924 had certain similarities with the reform of 1895-1897, primarily in the use of the gold equivalent, as well as the involvement of specialists involved in the transformation of S. Y. Witte's monetary circulation in the Russian Empire. In particular, one of the creators of the Soviet monetary reform, along with other practitioners and theorists, is considered to be N. N. Kutler, since 1885 an employee of the Ministry of Finance of the Empire, who was in 1905-1906 the Minister of Agriculture (chief land management and agriculture)  [12]. This is one of the points indicating some, albeit indirect, but still continuity of monetary policy pursued in certain periods in the USSR and the Russian Empire

       A new currency, the chervonets, was introduced into circulation. A bank note of one chervonets equated to one gold 78.24 percent of pure gold and is equal to 10 rubles of a gold coin of the old coinage. Bank notes should be accepted at their nominal value in payment of taxes and customs duties [23, pp. 209-211].

      By the beginning of 1924, the new currency had become the main currency in monetary circulation. In the decisions of the XIII Party Conference in January 1924, it was noted that "out of 350 million of the total mass of monetary circulation in the country, the chervonets is already 270 million, i.e. about 4/5)" [7, p.212]. It was also pointed out that "the growth of state industry over the past year would not have been possible without the gold piece. Crediting of industry, trade and agriculture was carried out and is being carried out on the basis of the red circulation" [7, p.212]. The necessity of completing the monetary reform and its role in creating prerequisites for the formation of a planned beginning in the national economy were also noted [7, p.213].

        An important element of state regulation of banking activities at that time was granting the State Bank the right to issue a new currency and withdraw the old one from circulation. This decision integrated the government regulation in question with the implementation of financial and monetary policies.

      Another moment in the formation of state regulation of banking activity was the development of organizational structures of such regulation, which was manifested in the creation in 1924 of the Committee on Banking Affairs under the Board of the State Bank of the USSR. The need to create such a committee was dictated, among other things, by the fact that an intensive process of creating banking and monetary institutions began, the activities of which had to be regulated by the state.

        Since 1922, the work of the State Bank has been noticeably intensified in almost all areas of its activities, especially in the field of lending to the national economy. So, in just one and a half years from January 1, 1922 to June 1, 1923, the bank's balance sheet currency increased 5.5 times, loans to industry 6.3 times, loans to agriculture 4.6 times[1].

    In the same period, branch banks began to appear. In 1922 Prombank (Commercial and Industrial Bank) and in 1924 Electrobank (in 1922 Bank "Electrocredit" to finance electrification) were established.

      Already in the years immediately preceding the beginning of intensive industrialization, the issue of accumulation of financial resources required for its implementation arose.  To this end, various actions were taken, including the creation of savings banks (gostrudsbercass). At the beginning of 1923, the first savings bank was opened. To activate the population in the direction of savings growth, among other things, the so-called "two-week savings" were used.  The two-week savings, which was held in September 1927, allowed to increase the number of depositors of savings banks by 500 thousand and the amount of deposits by almost 30 million rubles. The event itself was held in most regions of the country, including those far enough from the center. So in the newspaper "Autonomous Yakutia", the need for this campaign was considered and it was noted that "the economic organism of the USSR has grown stronger over the years of relentless socialist construction, the population has known surpluses of funds that need to be transferred to the iron fund for the further construction of socialism and defense of our country" [11]

       Efforts to restore the national economy have begun to yield results. Thus, according to party documents, "in the 1924-25 economic year, agriculture was already approaching pre-war sizes, reaching 87 percent of the pre-war level. In 1925, the large-scale industry of the USSR already produced about three-quarters of pre-war industrial production. In 1924-25, the Soviet country was already able to invest 385 million rubles in capital construction." [6, p. 186]

       In December 1925, the XIV Congress of the CPSU(b) formulated the task of industrialization of the country. "The socialist industrialization of the country is the main link from which it is necessary to begin the reversal of the construction of the socialist national economy [6, p.187].

      In general, by 1926, the transition from restoration to reconstruction of the national economy began, the task of appropriate restructuring of the credit and banking systems arose [15, p.29].

 

1927-1932 – adaptation of the monetary system to the challenges of industrialization and collectivization and restructuring of the banking sector

 

           At the joint plenum of the Central Committee and the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) in July-August 1927, the problems of mobilizing financial resources for industrialization and investment in industry were noted. The problems were caused, among other things, by the active start of industrialization processes, as well as the aggravation of the international situation and the complication of obtaining loans from abroad.  There was also a decrease in the return on capital expenditures [17, p. 428] (Table 1)

Table 1

Efficiency of fixed capital expenditures

Years

Increase in industrial output per ruble of fixed capital expenditures

1924-25

3,86

1925-26

2,89

1926-27

1,43

1927-28

0.92-0.87 (assessment given at the Plenum)

 

       In December 1927, the XV Congress passed a decision on the full deployment of the collectivization of agriculture and gave a directive on the preparation of the first five-year plan of the national economy, which marked the beginning of the launch of qualitatively new processes in the socio-economic and political development of the country.  New tasks were also set for the banking system.

First of all, it was necessary to strengthen centralization and increase the role of the State Bank.  By the resolution of the CEC and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated June 15, 1927 "On the principles of building a credit system", the State Bank was entrusted with "direct management of the entire credit system and supervision of the activities of other credit institutions in accordance with government directives in the field of credit policy ... The State Bank became a single bank for short-term lending, settlement and cash center of the economy" [15, p.30]. In fact, this resolution marked the beginning of the preparatory stage of the reform.

       Further, for the concentration of credit resources and the development of long-term lending and the involvement of commercial banks in solving these tasks, it was necessary to modernize this area.  And it was quite logical based on this requirement that the joint-stock Prombank and Electrobank were merged in 1928 (the year the tasks of the first five-year plan began). On this basis, a Bank for long-term lending to Industry and Electric Utilities was established [4, p.58]. The need to create mechanisms and organizational forms of long-term lending stemmed from five-year planning as such and the adoption of appropriate medium- and long-term decisions.

       The next important step on the way to reform in 1930 is the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) of December 5, 1929 "On the reorganization of industrial management" 

The main thing in it is the recognition of the enterprise as the main link of the economy, the combination of the plan and self–financing, the strengthening of the use of cost and credit instruments. The resolution regulated relations between banks, trusts and enterprises [4, p.58].

       The reform itself, which was initiated by the Resolution of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of January 30, 1930, determined the starting stage of the introduction of new conditions for the functioning of the banking system and its state regulation. Further, in 1931 and 1932, additional regulations were issued, correcting and developing the initial provisions and taking into account the first, not always positive experience (Fig. 1). The main innovations of the reform were [2,4,18,19,20,21,22]:

· prohibition of commercial credit and its complete replacement with bank credit;

· creation of a system of long-term lending through special banks;

· lending by the state bank directly to enterprises that are part of associations and trusts on the basis of their lending plans;

· granting the right to associations and trusts within the general limit to redistribute loans between their constituent enterprises;

· crediting the turnover of consumer cooperation by the State Bank on the basis of plans agreed respectively with the Centrosoyuz of the USSR, consumer cooperation centers;

· implementation of loans to collective farms (communes, artels and partnerships for public land cultivation), agricultural production associations, individual poor and middle peasant farms not covered by production associations.

 

       1932-1935 – the final stage and some results of the reform in terms of the pace and structure of lending to sectors of the national economy

       The first results of the preparatory measures of the reform appeared already in 1929-1930 (Table 2). This affected agriculture, the food industry, trade, fishing cooperation, that is, industries with a relatively short production cycle, in which significant investments in fixed assets were not required. In these industries, there was a high demand, first of all, for short-term financing of working capital. As for heavy industry, the results were significantly more modest here. Differences in lending rates affected the change in the sectoral structure of the general lending fund (Table 3).  Thus, the share of trade increased from 13.6 to 36.3%, agriculture from 4.6 to 18.7%. The specific weights of light and heavy industry, on the contrary, have significantly decreased.   This situation was influenced to a certain extent by the fact that short-term lending should be preceded by the creation of a production apparatus and it took time to master the production of products at new facilities.  

But already in 1934-35, when industrial enterprises began to work at full capacity, the growth rate of lending increased markedly and was already 140-150% per year. In addition to the physical creation and development of enterprises in this industry, an important factor in such growth was the adoption and implementation of the Resolution of the CEC and the SNK of the USSR On the irrevocability of financing capital construction of state-owned enterprises of industry, transport and communications N 89/386 of March 9, 1934[24]

Table 2

The growth rate of lending to sectors of the national economy

 in 1928-1935 . (developed by the author according to [9])

As a percentage of the previous year

Industries

Years

1928

1929

1930

1931

1932

1933

1934

1935

1935 in % to 1928

Trading

-

144,2

345,8

115,4

88,6

113,0

166,9

141,2

1356,8

Heavy industry

-

119,5

116,6

117,1

63,9

114,8

141,7

150,8

256,0

Forestry industry

-

131,9

258,4

110,3

106,9

50,1

143,2

88,4

255,2

Light industry

-

112,5

78,4

115,5

84,4

117,6

125,5

121,4

154,0

Food industry

-

156,2

203,3

118,1

145,0

75,6

124,6

115,0

588,8

Agriculture, harvesting

-

278,7

381,9

103,1

125,8

129,0

115,1

101,6

2081,0

Transport and communications

-

42,3

157,9

168,6

370,3

99,0

116,2

111,8

536,4

Commercial cooperation

-

134,6

260,8

102,2

156,2

87,7

90,8

96,9

432,1

Other

-

54,0

110,5

161,8

103,7

33,7

133,7

379,7

171,2

Total

-

121,8

201,7

114,9

108,9

97,3

134,1

126,8

508,8

 

 

In a certain sense, this resolution basically completed the credit reform. Thus, it is possible to determine the extended "life cycle" of the reform, including its preparatory part and measures for the development of organizational and economic mechanisms of lending for the period from 1927 to 1934.

       In general, the author's summary of the preparation, launch and development of the reform is presented in Fig.1.

Table 3

The sectoral structure of lending to branches of the national economy in 1928-1935. (developed by the author according to [9])

 

As a percentage of the total

Industries

Years

1928

1929

1930

1931

1932

1933

1934

1935

Trading

13,6

16,1

27,7

27,8

22,6

26,2

32,6

36,3

Heavy industry

21,6

21,2

12,3

12,5

7,3

8,7

9,2

10,9

Forestry industry

6,7

7,5

9,5

9,2

9,0

4,6

5,0

3,5

Light industry

20,3

18,7

7,3

7,3

5,7

6,9

6,4

6,1

Food industry

12,2

15,7

15,8

16,2

21,6

16,8

15,5

14,1

Agriculture, harvesting

4,6

10,4

19,8

17,7

20,5

27,1

23,3

18,7

Transport and communications

3,2

1,1

0,9

1,3

4,4

4,4

3,9

3,4

Commercial cooperation

2,2

2,4

3,1

2,8

3,9

3,6

2,4

1,8

Other

15,4

6,9

3,8

5,3

5,0

1,7

1,7

5,2

Total

100,0

100,0

100,0

100,0

100,0

100,0

100,0

100,0

 

The credit reform and the organization of its implementation had a number of shortcomings, many of which were corrected in subsequent years. Active work on improving the credit system was carried out in the bowels of the State Bank, as evidenced by numerous proposals of the bank's employees sent directly to the party leadership and to the SNK [25]

     There are different points of view about the expediency and results of the reform.  According to the author, without denying the generally strong and even decisive influence of politics and ideology on economic processes in the period under review, it is hardly possible to consider fully correct conclusions that "as a result of banking reforms of the late 20s of the twentieth century and the credit reform of 1930-1932 ...... the use of money and credit were determined by ideological and political goals, and not by the task of increasing the economic efficiency of production"[26]. Here we can agree with V. Katasonov's opinion that "in order to make a breakthrough, large investments were required in the reconstruction of existing and the creation of new production facilities. This required a completely different monetary system than the one that was built under the NEP. The industry needed loans, firstly, long ones; secondly, without high interest rates (and preferably without them at all); thirdly, they did not require excessive collateral from the borrower.  Decisions on granting loans to industrial enterprises had to be made..... based on national development plans for all sectors of the economy" [27].

 

Fig. 1 Stages: preparation, beginning, development and completion of the reform of the credit system of the USSR (developed by the author)

Organizational and functional system model of state regulation of the banking sector after the completion of the credit reform

       The transformations caused by the credit reform affected almost all elements of the system of state regulation of banking activities. From the standpoint of a systematic approach, it is necessary to investigate the considered complex as a whole consisting of parts (subsystems) and individual elements that are in interaction [28].

 The general layout proposed by the author (organizational and functional model) Such a system is presented in Figure 2. It consists of three main interrelated parts: public authorities with their impact on the relevant institutions, banking organizations themselves with their hierarchy and a set of policies, forms, mechanisms and instruments of regulation of the banking system as part of a more general monetary meta-system.

      The transformations under consideration primarily affected the role and functions of the central element - the State Bank of the USSR. It has become a full-fledged center for lending, cash settlements, a conductor of monetary policy and a center for international settlements [4]. Its role as a bank of banks has significantly increased.

       There was a separation of the functions of short-term and long-term lending and they were assigned to specific banking organizations. By itself, awareness of the differences and peculiarities of providing (and attracting) financial resources for different periods has both practical and methodological significance. In fact, this is an increase in the maturity of the banking system, and not only.

     Banking institutions with industry specialization (lending to agriculture, cooperation, foreign trade, etc.) were created. This separation also contributed to a certain extent to a better performance of banking functions.

       In general, a system of banks and a complex of its state regulation, forms, mechanisms and tools were created that meet the requirements of strengthening the centralization of management of the Soviet socio-economic and political systems.

Fig. 2. Organizational and functional system model of state regulation of banking activity by the mid-1930s (developed by the author)

Conclusion

Conducting this study allowed us to draw the following conclusions. 

  • The formation of state regulation of the banking sector in the period of the 1920s-1930s went through a difficult path. In less than 15 years, this sphere and its regulation have overcome the distance from "complete denial" of the need for their presence in the economic system to becoming a necessary element, the effective functioning of which significantly influenced the achievement of the goals of economic transformation in the country.
  • It was this connection that determined the nature of the evolution of the system under consideration and the organizational and functional model of state banking regulation. The layout of such a model proposed by the author allows us to consider the forms and mechanisms of regulation and interaction of participants in this process from the standpoint of a systematic approach.

    

•                     A number of stages in the evolution of state regulation of the banking sector are distinguished, differing among themselves in the content of such regulation related to the peculiarities of state economic policy at each stage.

•                     This content was determined by a complex of factors and events, among which one can single out the creation of a State Bank, the expansion of its functions as the goals of the state socio-economic policy change; the creation of banking supervision bodies; the transformation of the functions of banks subordinated to the changing needs of financial support for the processes of economic restructuring, industrialization and collectivization; the establishment of rules for lending to sectors of the economy in accordance with the set goals. they face development tasks.

•                     The logical result of the development of state regulation of the banking sector was the preparation and implementation of credit reform. The credit reform itself was not a one-time event, it, together with preparatory and corrective actions based on the first results of its implementation, represented a set of interrelated measures and was carried out according to the author's assessment, when considering its "extended life cycle", from 1927 to 1934;

•                     The direct result of the reform was a noticeable increase in lending to the economy. This growth was very uneven in the sectoral context, with the predominant direction of credit resources in trade and agriculture and to a lesser extent in heavy and light industry. This situation reflected the sectoral structure of the economy and the insufficient willingness of industry to attract significant loans at the initial stages of the reform.

•                     The result of the reform was the creation by the first half of the 1930s of a system of state regulation, including state-political governing structures, a state bank, functional and branch banks, as well as a set of forms, rules, mechanisms and instruments of the regulation in question.

                

 

 

References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.

First Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The article refers to the historical stages of the evolution of state regulation of banking in the USSR: the 1920s - early 1930s. The title generally corresponds to the content of the materials of the article. The title of the article reveals the scientific problem that the author's research is aimed at solving. The reviewed article is of scientific interest. The author did not explain the choice of the research topic and did not justify its relevance. The purpose of the study is formulated in the article: "to identify the logic of the evolution of state regulation of the monetary and banking systems in connection with changes in the socio-economic and political conditions of the country" and "to form an organizational and functional model of state regulation of the banking sector, which developed by the end of the period under review." However, strictly speaking, according to the title of the article, the purpose of the study is to determine "the stages of evolution of state regulation of banking activities in the USSR." In the opinion of the reviewer, the main elements of the "program" of the study can be seen in the title and text of the article. The author outlined the results of the analysis of the historiography of the problem and outlined the novelty of the undertaken research, limiting himself to the statement that "it is of scientific and practical interest to identify new materials from the periodical regional press and analyze party and government documents." In presenting the material, the author selectively demonstrated the results of the analysis of the historiography of the problem in the form of links to relevant works on the research topic. There is no appeal to opponents in the article. The author did not explain the choice and did not characterize the range of sources involved in the disclosure of the topic. The author explained the choice of the chronological framework of the study. In the opinion of the reviewer, the author competently used the sources, maintained the scientific style of presentation, competently used the methods of scientific knowledge, followed the principles of logic, systematicity and consistency of presentation of the material. As an introduction, the author pointed out the reason for choosing the research topic, stated its purpose, and indicated the 4 stages of the evolution of banking activity in the USSR in the 1920s. In the first section of the main part of the article ("1920-1921 – awareness of the impasse in terms of the applied organizational and financial and economic mechanisms of economic management"), the author reported that "by the early 1920s, Soviet Russia came up with a destroyed economy and a deep crisis of the financial, monetary and banking systems," etc., which is "significant the event ... was the closure in January 1920 of the People's Bank of the RSFSR, which carried out budget financing of the national economy,"etc., and that "in 1921 the situation began to change": There were "four important documents", "which in fact were certain preparatory stages of future transformations in the monetary and banking spheres," etc. In the second section of the main part of the article ("1922-1926 – the formation of new monetary and banking systems, the beginning of the creation of forms and mechanisms of state regulation of the banking sector"), the author reported that "the resolution of the XI Congress of the Russian Communist Party (b) of April 2, 1922 "On Financial Policy" marked the beginning of the implementation of a new economic policy in He explained why "the monetary reform of 1922-1924 had certain similarities with the reform of 1895-1897", said that "a new currency was introduced into circulation – the chervonets", that "an important element of state regulation of banking activities at that time was granting the State Bank the right to issue a new currency and withdraw it from circulation the old one", and also revealed his idea that "another moment in the formation of state regulation of banking was the development of organizational structures of such regulation." The author concluded that "efforts to restore the national economy began to yield results," etc., that "by 1926, the transition from restoration to reconstruction of the national economy began, and the task of appropriate restructuring of the credit and banking systems arose." In the third section of the main part of the article ("1927-1932 – the adaptation of the monetary system to the tasks of industrialization and collectivization and the restructuring of the banking sector"), the author presented to the reader in the table information on the "increase in industrial production per ruble of fixed capital expenditures", reported that in December 1927 the XV Congress of the VKPb "decided on a comprehensive the deployment of collectivization of agriculture" and that "new tasks were also set for the banking system: "it was necessary to strengthen centralization and increase the role of the State Bank," etc., "in order to concentrate credit resources and develop long-term lending and connect commercial banks to solving these tasks, it was necessary to modernize this sphere," etc. Then the author reported that the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) dated December 5, 1929, "On the reorganization of industrial Management" recognized enterprises as the main link in the economy, "streamlined relations between banks, trusts and enterprises." The author pointed out that the Resolution of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of January 30, 1930 became the basis for "the introduction of new conditions for the functioning of the banking system and its state regulation. The author listed the main innovations of this reform. In the next section of the main part of the article ("1932-1935 – the final stage and some results of the reform in terms of the pace and structure of lending to sectors of the national economy"), the author revealed the idea that "the first results of the preparatory measures of the reform appeared already in 1929-1930", and provided information on the growth rates of lending to sectors of the national economy, as well as on the sectoral structure of lending to sectors of the national economy in 1928-1935 . In the final section of the main part of the article ("Organizational and functional system model of state regulation of the banking sector after the completion of credit reform"), the author concluded that "post-reform transformations affected almost all elements of the system of state regulation of banking activities", and presented in the figure "organizational and functional model", "consisting of three main interrelated parts: public authorities with their impact on the relevant institutions, banking organizations themselves with their hierarchy and a set of policies, forms, mechanisms and tools for regulating the banking system as part of a more general monetary meta-system." The author reported that "there was a separation of the functions of short-term and long-term lending and they were assigned to specific banking organizations," etc., that "banking institutions with industry specialization were created," etc. and "a banking system and a complex of its state regulation, forms, mechanisms and tools that meet the requirements of strengthening the centralization of Soviet social management were created- economic and political systems." The article contains multiple/minor errors/typos, such as: "1st January", "1920-1921", "1920-early", etc., unsuccessful or incorrect expressions, such as: "noticeably increased to 140-150%", etc. The author's conclusions are generalizing, but they are not formulated quite clearly and partly incorrectly: "The formation of state regulation of the banking sector in the 1920s and early 1930s went through a number of stages of evolution. In less than 15 years, it has overcome the path from "complete denial" of the need for its presence in the public administration system to becoming a necessary element of it, the effective functioning of which significantly influenced the achievement of the goals of economic transformation in the country of that time" (evolution of formation? Has becoming overcome the path? Or has the state regulation "overcome the path from denial"?), "by a sequence of transformations: the preparation of preliminary measures distributed over time, then the implementation of a fundamental basic transformation (credit reform proper), the adjustment of decisions," etc. The conclusions do not allow us to evaluate the scientific achievements of the author within the framework of his research. The conclusions do not reflect the results of the research conducted by the author in full.
In the final paragraphs of the article, the author reported that, apparently, banking activity had become "a necessary element" of the public administration system, "the effective functioning of which significantly influenced the achievement of the goals of economic transformation in the country at that time," etc. The author noted that "the Soviet experience of creating a system of state regulation is also interesting with a certain sequence of transformations: the preparation of distributed during the preliminary measures, then the fundamental basic transformation (the actual credit reform), the adjustment of decisions and practices based on the analysis of the actual results of the transformations." The author summarized that "such an approach and aspect of the reform have been little studied in historical studies, but its understanding for modern Russian realities could be useful." In the opinion of the reviewer, the stated purpose of the study was partially achieved by the author. The publication may arouse the interest of the magazine's audience. The article requires significant revision, first of all, in terms of formulating the key elements of the research program and their corresponding conclusions.

Second Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

This year, the financial and banking system of the Russian Federation has faced unprecedented challenges associated with a new wave of Western sanctions. According to a number of experts - political scientists, economists - in the current conditions, state regulation of the financial and banking sector will play an increasing role. In this regard, it is of interest to study the historical experience of state regulation of the banking system in the Soviet Union. These circumstances determine the relevance of the article submitted for review, the subject of which is the evolution of state regulation of the banking system in our country in the 1920s and 1930s. The author sets out to consider the stages of evolution of state regulation of banking activities, to determine their content, the logic of inter-stage transitions, taking into account changes in socio-economic and political conditions of the country, as well as to present an organizational and functional model of state regulation of the banking sector, which developed by the early 1930s. The chronological framework of the study is determined by the fact that in 1920In the early 1930s, "a system of state regulation of the banking sector was created, which, with certain modernizations, lasted until the end of the Soviet period." The work is based on the principles of analysis and synthesis, reliability, objectivity, the methodological basis of the research is a systematic approach, which is based on the consideration of the object as an integral complex of interrelated elements. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the very formulation of the topic: the author notes "the current demand for knowledge about monetary mechanisms and forms of regulation during periods of industrial transformations and complications in the international situation of the country." Considering the bibliographic list of the article, its scale and versatility should be noted as a positive point: in total, the list of references includes 28 different sources and studies. From the sources attracted by the author, we will point to normative legal acts, periodical press materials, a systematic work of the 1930s-1950s. "A short course in the history of the CPSU (b)". From the research used, we point to the works of A.A. Artemyev and L.A. Muravyeva, which focus on various aspects of the history of the banking system of the USSR in the 1920s and 1930s. Note that the bibliography is important both from a scientific and educational point of view: after reading the text of the article, readers can turn to other materials on its topic. In general, in our opinion, the integrated use of various sources and research contributed to the solution of the tasks facing the author. The style of writing the article can be attributed to scientific, but at the same time understandable not only to specialists, but also to a wide readership, to anyone interested in both the history of the banking system of our country as a whole and the specifics of its state regulation, in particular. The appeal to the opponents is presented at the level of the collected information obtained during the work on the topic of the article. The structure of the work is characterized by a certain logic and consistency, it can be distinguished by an introduction, the main part, and conclusion. At the beginning, the author determines the relevance of the topic, shows a weak understanding of the "history of the formation and development of state regulation of the banking system." The author examines five periods in the evolution of state regulation of the banking system: 1920-1921, 1922-1926, 1927-1932, 1932-1935. The paper shows that in a relatively short period, the banking sector "and its regulation have overcome the distance from the "complete denial" of the need for their presence in the economic system to becoming a necessary element, the effective functioning of which significantly influenced the achievement of the goals of economic transformation in the country." The main conclusion of the article is that by the early 1930s, a system of "state regulation had been created in our country, including state-political governing structures, a state bank, functional and branch banks, as well as a set of forms, rules, mechanisms and tools of the regulation in question." The article submitted for review is devoted to an urgent topic, is provided with 3 tables and 2 figures, will arouse readers' interest, and its materials can be used both in lecture courses on the history of Russia and in various special courses. In general, in our opinion, the article can be recommended for publication in the journal Genesis: Historical Research.
Link to this article

You can simply select and copy link from below text field.


Other our sites:
Official Website of NOTA BENE / Aurora Group s.r.o.