Exchanges

Categories / Economy/Finances and Credit
Categories / Economy/Commerce
EXCHANGES, regular wholesale markets where goods or securities are sold are called commodity exchanges and stock exchanges, respectively. The first Russian exchange, which remained the only exchange till the late 18th century, was founded by Peter the Great in St. Petersburg in 1703 as an assembly of Russian and foreign merchants conducting wholesale transactions with goods brought to St. Petersburg from various regions of Russia and from abroad. It also allowed to charter vessels and conduct foreign currency and bill transactions. The exchange was located near Troitskaya Square, at the present-day No. 6 and No. 8 of Makarova Embankment in 1755-1816, and finally in a specially constructed building on the Spit of Vasilievsky Island (4 Birzhevaya Square) in 1816-1917. The Exchange soon became the business information centre, news coming here about arriving ships and delivered goods, as well as about the demand for goods, prices, and custom duties. Brokers were permanent participants of the exchange trade, their status determined by the Regulations or Charter of the City Council in 1721. Initially acting as intermediaries between sellers and buyers, they later became officials formalizing and validating transactions. The exchange was accommodated and financed by the government in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The new Exchange building located on the Spit of Vasilievsky Island was given to the merchants in 1816. The latter were in charge of keeping up the building and the surrounding area. The Exchange Society was established for this purpose with the Exchange Committee as its executive body, and the system was legalised in 1832. As industry developed in the 19th century, the volume of commercial transactions increased and securities became a subject of sale including public bonds and, from the 1830s, shares of rail carriers, industrial enterprises, and credit societies. Transactions with securities were conducted on the St. Petersburg Exchange along with commercial transactions through the late 19th century. A stock department was established in 1900 with a council at the head. Over 700 types of securities out of 800 quoted on all the exchanges in the country were quoted on St. Petersburg Stock Exchange by 1914. Prices for securities in the capital were accepted as benchmark rates in other centres of the country. The largest banks of St. Petersburg dominated on the stock exchange. Although the exchange was closed down after World War I of 1914-18 began, exchange activities were actually carried on at the so-called private assemblies held in St. Petersburg banks. The stock exchange opened again in 1917 but its activities were soon suspended until a decree was issued on 23 December 1917 (3 January 1918) to prohibit any exchange transactions. There was a number of specialised exchanges operating in St. Petersburg from the late 19th century: Kalashnikovskaya Bread Exchange opened at 9 Kharkovskaya Street in 1895, the Meat Exchange opened at 65 Zabalkansky Avenue in 1904, the Egg, Butter, and Poultry Exchange opened at 1-2 Zabalkansky Avenue in 1906, the Fruit, Tea, and Wine Exchange opened at 33 Sadovaya Street in 1907, and the Timber Exchange opened at 92 Nevsky Prospect in 1911. After the New Economic Policy had been introduced, the stock exchange and commodity exchanges resumed their activities in order to stabilise prices, strengthen the rouble, and facilitate economic recovery. Curtailing the New Economic Policy entailed liquidation of exchanges. As market relations were reintroduced in the 1990s, exchanges resumed their activities, and by 2003 there were six exchanges operating in St. Petersburg, including commodity, stock, currency, and mixed stock exchanges.

Reference: Тимофеев А. Г. История Петербургской биржи: История биржевого законодательства, устройства и деятельности учреждений С.-Петерб. биржи. СПб., 1903; Петербург: История банков / Б. В. Ананьич, С. Г. Беляев, З. В. Дмитриева и др. СПб., 2001. С. 149-159, 238.

V. S. Solomko. the Kalashnikovs
Birzhevaya Square/Saint Petersburg, city, house 4
Kharkovskaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 9
Makarova Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city
Moskovsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 65
Nevsky prospect/Saint Petersburg, city, house 92
Sadovaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 33
Тимофеев А. Г. История Петербургской биржи: История биржевого законодательства, устройства и деятельности учреждений С.-Петерб. биржи. СПб., 1903
Петербург: История банков / Б. В. Ананьич, С. Г. Беляев, З. В. Дмитриева и др. СПб., 2001 Exchange Committee
1816
1895