ABSTRACT
At the end of the nineteenth century, many banks were interested in Russia; the transformation brought by the railways, the discovery of coal deposits and other industrial developments all promised a high return on investment. In this ‘Russian fever’ the foreign banks, and particularly European banks, played an important role. The relations between foreign banks and Russia differed according to the
degree of commitment which the banks were prepared to give. This commitment could be in the form of:
. financial connections with Russian banks such as the Banque Russochinoise or with Russian companies and especially railway companies;
. financial participations in Russian companies or financial operations such as loans, issues of shares and government loans (as, for example, the £3 million 412 per cent bonds of the Armavir-Touapse´ railway issued by Midland Bank in 1909), or
. direct representation through the opening of branches.
