ABSTRACT
The State Bank of Russia was constituted under the Statute of 31 May, 1860, after the liquidation in that year of the earlier State Credit establishments, namely, the Loan Bank, founded in 1754. The distribution of the discount and advance operations of the State Bank shows how it was gradually becoming the "Bankers' Bank", and assuming a predominant position on the money market. As early as 1888, the State Bank had begun to assist the grain trade by granting credits, either directly, or through the medium of the railways, upon grain shipments. The criticisms directed against the State Bank may be divided into three main streams. There was first of all the charge of political corruption. A second group of critics were the advocates of Industrial Liberalism. The third group of critics, belonging to the agrarian section of the community, were dissatisfied with the undue assistance granted to industry by the Bank, and its neglect of the interests of agriculture.
