State Bank of the Russian Empire
The State Bank of the Russian Empire was the dominant financial institution of the Russian Empire following its founding in 1860 and until the Empire's demise in 1917. A public bank headquartered in Saint Petersburg, it initially coexisted with the Bank Polski until the latter was deprived of its residual monetary role in 1870, and with the Bank of Finland which soon defined a separate monetary zone for the Finnish markka. In 1897, with the Russian adoption of the gold standard, the State Bank fully took the attributes of a central bank, while keeping a significant additional role of commercial and development lending that made it the main source of credit to the Russian economy.
The former head office building of the State Bank, lately the Saint Petersburg State University of Economics
1865 portrait of Alexander von Stieglitz (1814-1884), the first Governor of the State Bank
Burning of retired banknotes in front of the State Bank, 1870
Nikolai von Bunge in 1887
A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the monetary base. Many central banks also have supervisory or regulatory powers to ensure the stability of commercial banks in their jurisdiction, to prevent bank runs, and in some cases also to enforce policies on financial consumer protection and against bank fraud, money laundering, or terrorism financing.
Walter Bagehot, influential 19th-century theorist of the economic role of central banks
Interior of the Llotja de Barcelona where the city's Taula de canvi was operated
The Bank of England in 1791
The Bank of Finland in Helsinki