Russia's central bank derived from the crypto-Jewish Stieglitz barons
05/18/2015
Ludwig Stieglitz, the son of the court Jew Prince of Waldeck, who found a second home in Russia, became the personal financier of the imperial personages and was raised to the baronial dignity. And his son Alexander became the first governor of the State Bank of the Russian Empire (the progenitor of the Central Bank), 155 years since the founding of which is celebrated this month.
Lost a hundred thousand and earned millions
Six children from the small German town of Arolsen lost their father early, who gave them a first-class education at that time. They had to earn their own living, which is probably why at a young age three of them, Nikolai, Bernard and Ludwig Stieglitz, moved to Russia. All of them achieved success in the business field, but luck smiled most generously on the youngest - Ludwig, who ended up in the Russian Empire in the first years of the 19th century, when he was in his early twenties.
One hundred thousand rubles, necessary to create his own business, he borrowed from his brother Nikolai. At first, things did not go too well, and the young Ludwig quickly went bankrupt and got into debt. However, Stieglitz Jr. was a diligent and intelligent young man, he managed to acquire profitable connections, for example, acquaintance with Counts Nesselrode and Benckendorff. This helped him not only to stay afloat, but in a year to return all debts along with interest. And also become a court banker.
In 1803, Ludwig Stieglitz joined the first merchant guild and founded the Stieglitz & Co. banking house in St. Petersburg. Ludwig received his first award - a bronze medal on the Annen ribbon - for donating generous sums for military needs during the Patriotic War of 1812. Around the same years, Stieglitz, in order to avoid legal restrictions that applied to Jews, changed his faith. Following the example of many conversions in Russia at that time, he converted not to Orthodoxy, but to Lutheranism.
Stieglitz's wife, Angelika, bore him three children: Natalya, Nikolai and Alexander, the latter continuing his father's work.
In 1819, Ludwig Stieglitz, who had already established himself as a talented entrepreneur by that time, became the personal banker of Emperor Alexander I. Here is what the historian Lev Berdnikov writes about him:“His innate sharpness, resourcefulness and accurate calculation, coupled with self-control and iron restraint, determined his reliable and quick commercial success. In addition (even his enemies noted this), Ludwig was distinguished by diligence and unshakable honesty, which became a kind of hallmark of his banking house . All these qualities allowed Stieglitz to establish mutually beneficial relations with the banking houses of the West and to engage in the successful organization of foreign loans.
Factory owner and philanthropist
Despite the fact that his bank was already prospering, among the clients were the most influential people, and "the word was valued above the bill", as the press wrote, Ludwig constantly expanded the business. In the "piggy bank" of his enterprises were paper-spinning manufactories, sugar and candle factories. He stood at the origins of the first insurance company in Russia, financed the construction of railways, helped create the first steamship company in the country.
Business enterprises did not prevent Baron Stieglitz (and Ludwig was elevated to the hereditary baronial dignity for his merits in the development of Russian trade in 1828) from devoting time to secular amusements: there were legends about the balls and receptions arranged by him, they aroused the constant delight of the metropolitan aristocracy.
The baron spared no money for charity. Being a highly educated person, he donated huge funds for the needs of education. Two St. Petersburg educational institutions, the Commercial and Merchant and Nautical Schools, existed mainly at his expense. Considerable sums were also given to the Technological Institute, the House of Charity for the Poor, the Children's Hospital and the Orphanage.
Ludwig Stieglitz died, as the press of that time wrote, "from a nervous shock." It happened on March 6, 1843, he was 65 years old. The baron was buried, despite the thirty millionth fortune he left, without any pomp. On the day of farewell to him, at the request of the merchants, the stock exchange was closed, which in itself is a unique case. As eyewitnesses recalled, “when the chariot drove onto Nevsky Prospekt, it had to stop, this whole wide street to the Liteiny intersection was filled with people, and dense crowds stood along the deserted streets leading to Volkovo Field.” So admirers saw off the great Russian banker and philanthropist.
Reluctant banker
Alexander Stieglitz turned out to be a worthy successor to his father's work, although in his youth he was not going to become a financier, since this role was predicted for his older brother Nikolai. But he died early, and it was Alexander who turned out to be the main heir to the entire fortune, the banking house and the baronial title. The last command that Ludwig Stieglitz gave to his son was: "Love Russia, and she will love you." These words turned out to be prophetic. At first, however, an unexpected turn of fate came as a shock to the young man, who was going to study science and art, studied at Dorpat University, and was fond of literature and painting. And yet, at the age of 30, he takes over the family business.
And it must be said that he quickly manages to maintain the prosperity of the Stieglitz & Co. banking house. He successfully obtains profitable foreign loans for the construction of the Nikolaev railway, defiantly refuses to keep his own savings abroad - despite the fact that the Crimean War actually bled the Russian financial system. His example was of great importance: many wealthy Russians left their capital in Russia, placing it in the Stieglitz bank. He himself spoke of those times as follows: “My father and I made our fortune in Russia. And I am ready to lose all my fortune with her if she proves insolvent.
Russian Rothschild and the king of the stock exchange
The press called Alexander Stieglitz "Russian Rothschild". He was elected chairman of the Stock Exchange Committee of St. Petersburg, received the rank of State Councilor. There were rumors about his incredible influence on the business life of the capital, it was said that he himself sets quotes for bills.
The banking house of Stieglitz, along with finance, was also engaged in trade: he imported cotton, and exported lard, timber, and hemp. The baron was one of the founders of the Moscow merchant bank, the owner of metallurgical plants and gold mines. Alexander's entrepreneurial talent helped him quadruple his father's capital.
Baron Stieglitz became interested in the construction of railways, and a section from St. Petersburg to Peterhof was built at his own expense. In 1857 he became the founder of the "Main Society of Russian Railways". The organization had ambitious goals: to connect the agricultural regions of the empire with the two capitals, Warsaw and the coasts of the Baltic and Black Seas, by railroads.
However, two years after its creation, the railway company began to suffer losses. It lost 4.5 million rubles, the value of the shares fell below par. At the same time, Stieglitz had a powerful opposition in the stock exchange committee, who opposed the monopoly, which was entrenched in him. The baron had to move away from commercial activities, he even thought about emigration. But Russia did not want him to leave her. Stieglitz was offered the post of director in the state banking structure being created in the country. And he agreed.
At that time, the empire faced the task of reforming its financial and credit system in order to support the industrial production that was developing in Russia. This is what the state bank and its head did, which played a significant role in the creation of many Russian commercial joint-stock banks. The State Bank also assumed the functions of conducting international settlements and obtaining external loans.
Nevertheless, Stieglitz left his post quite early and retired at the age of 52. Moreover, Alexander Ludwigovich completely retired from business and, having more than three million rubles in annual income, moved to the position of a rentier. The only thing that Stieglitz did not refuse, and then at the request of the emperor, was membership in the finance committee, where he was responsible for the foreign branch of the office of the Ministry of Finance. For services to Russia, he was promoted to full privy councilor, awarded the Order of St. Vladimir II degree, and for his services in organizing the World Exhibition in Paris, he received the Order of the Legion of Honor from the President of France.
Benefactor and father of another's daughter
What did the still full of strength entrepreneur do? He was finally able to devote himself to what he loved so much from his youth: art. The theater, especially the opera, attracted the baron, he did not miss the premiere.
At his expense, the Central School of Technical Drawing with a unique museum was created, residential settlements, a school and a hospital were built for the workers of his enterprises in Narva.
Stieglitz had no heirs. The only son Ludwig died in early childhood. Together with his wife Carolina, they raised a girl thrown into the house as a baby. According to rumors, the adopted daughter of the Stieglitz was an illegitimate child of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, brother of Nicholas I. According to legend, the baron found the girl in the garden of his dacha on Kamenny Island. He gave her the name Nadezhda Mikhailovna Yuneva (the surname was invented because the child was found in June). She became the heir to the baron after his death.
The baron did not bypass his main "brainchildren" in his will: hospitals, schools, shelters ... And to his favorite - Baron Stieglitz's School of Technical Drawing - he left 5 million rubles for the creation of an art museum and library. Now it is the State Academy of Art and Industry, which since 2006 bears the name of its founder.
The baron survived his wife by 10 years and died in 1884 from pneumonia. Like his father, he was buried with special honors. The baron was buried in the Lutheran Church of Peter and Paul and taken to Narva. The workers of his factories carried the coffin in their arms to the family tomb, where he bequeathed to bury himself.
In life, Alexander Stieglitz was guided by the orders of his father, who once wrote in his will: “My dear son, Alexander! (…) The name you wear is your second capital. (...) Save this name so that it passes to those who one day you will leave behind you.
And he left this name to what he left behind: the school and the museum. And to all those who still enjoy the fruits of the "enlightened charity" of Baron Stieglitz.
Anna Kudryavskaya