City Public Banks in Russia in the 19th Century

The article analyzes the experience of creating and establishing the Orenburg city public bank and the possibility of using this historical heritage today. The search for new forms and approaches to improve the activities of modern regional banks in the conditions of sanctions, strengthening its focus not only on the development of the regional economy, but also on the expansion of charitable activities became the purpose of the present study. This is due to the global trend towards the revival of interest in the forms of local banks subordinated to public needs, the discussion in the Russian banking community of the economic situation, as well as the transition of regional banks to an inertial model of survival, including due to insufficient support at the federal and local levels. The study was carried out using the methods of historical and logical analysis. On the basis of previously unstudied archival documents stored in the State Budgetary Institution “United State Archive of the Orenburg Region”, the historical background and prerequisites as well as the stages of preparatory work for the creation and the establishment of the Orenburg City Public Bank in the 19th century are shown. It has been proven that the success of this kind of financial and credit institutions depends not only on the state of the region’s economy, but also on the joint efforts of their leadership and management, the city community, and the city residents who have confidence in this form of bank and the type of control over its activities. The studied experience of the preparatory work on the creation and establishment of city banks, their joint activities with the city community, forms of profit distribution characteristic of those years, surviving projects, documents, forms of control can be of not only of historical interest, but also serve as directions for innovations of modern regional banks and complementing their current practices and interactions with the local legislative authorities.

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