| Popis: |
During Alexander I’s reign, intensive debates about the virtues of constitutional rule over unlimited monarchy unfolded against the background of near-constant warfare, which brought the ruble to the brink of collapse. In the minds of Russian reformers, the two issues—monetary and political—represented two sides of the same coin: a constitutional reform presupposed the introduction of a financial rule of law, while financial stability was unthinkable without limiting the power of monarchy. Mikhail Speransky built this dual principle into his reform plan of 1809, which was introduced in a severely truncated form, without a free Silver Bank or a representative legislature. The conservative opposition to Speransky’s reforms, which prevailed on the eve of Napoleon’s invasion in 1812, annulled his monetary innovations, including, most importantly, the silver standard, and proclaimed the ideas of a metal-based ruble incompatible with monarchy. The Napoleonic wars sealed the fate of Russia’s constitutional and monetary reforms. |
