The decree on abolition of the state loans of tsar’s and Provisional governments signed

On January 21 (February 3), 1918 the president of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee Ya. Sverdlov signed the decree on abolition of all the state loans of tsar’s and Provisional governments.

Under the decree the liabilities of the ‘governments of the Russian landowners and bourgeoisie’ for the total of 60 billion rubles (16 billion of the external debt and 44 billion of the internal one) were abolished ex post, from December 1, 1917.

The exception was made to the low-income owners of the state papers for the sum not exceeding 10 thousand rubles. It was suggested to give them the registered certificates for a new RSFSR loan. The local authorities had to make the lists of the low-income citizens. These bodies were authorized to abolish all the ‘non-labor’ savings ‘even if they did not exceed the sum of 5 thousand rubles’.

All the foreign loans were abolished without exception.

The Supreme Soviet of the National Economy was in charge of the state loans abolition management. The State bank was made responsible for its realization. It was obliged to immediately begin the registration of all the public bonds as well as other interest-bearing loans regardless of whether they were to be abolished or not.

Immediately upon the issue of the decree the majority of the European states addressed their protests to the RSFSR government which were rejected at the time. The discussion of the issues relating to the pretensions settlement with the Soviet leaders began only after the end of intervention and the Civil war due to the need to obtain new credits for the national economy recovery.

The Soviet Russia advanced the counter pretensions for the compensation of damages caused by the intervention. That is why in 1920s the issue of debts was settled only with Germany. The bilateral negotiations with other countries were resumed only in 1980s when the relevant agreements with the Great Britain and Swiss were concluded. In the modern Russia the issues relating to the Tsar’s and Provisional governments’ debts are considered on the basis of special agreements.

Lit.: Декрет об аннулировании государственных займов // Декреты Советской власти. Т. 1. М., 1957; История внешней политики СССР. Т. 1. 1917-1945 гг. М., 1980.