ABSTRACT
Russian financial history has its own national peculiarity, which left a certain mark on the development of Russian monetary thought. Developing different issues of financial policy, Russian monetary reformers urged the necessity of adjusting monetary circulation, the expansion of credit and the development of private banks. Nikolai Semionovich Mordvinov, an outstanding Russian statesman, was the author of numerous proposals for improving different spheres of the economy such as manufacture, the monetary system and the state budget. Holding prominent posts in government, the Russian reformers acted primarily in the interest of the government, whilst being aware of the necessity of achieving a balance between private and public interests. They attached great importance to the promotion of industry and commerce as the chief spheres of activity for private initiative. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the Russian credit system was still represented by a number of government credit institutions.
