In any country in the world, its national currency is one of the main guarantors of independence. At the same time, its emission is carried out by a central bank owned by the state. Only the United States is different. A private financial company, the Fed, is responsible for issuing the dollar, one of the main reserve currencies. In fact, its shareholders run the global economy. But the most unpleasant thing is that Nicholas II gave money for the authorized capital of the FRS.
Russian Empire - world arbiter
Despite the popular opinion that pre-revolutionary Russia was the gendarme of Europe, in reality it was a world power that sought not only to end wars, but also to create an international body regulating relations between countries. While on the throne, Alexander II in 1868 initiated the signing in St. Petersburg of the convention on the "rules of war". This document, in particular, provided for a ban on the use of a number of inhumane types of weapons. His example was followed by Nicholas II, organizing in 1899 the First World Peace Conference. With the active participation of the last Russian emperor, a proposal was made to create the League of Nations, the prototype of the UN. It sounds incredible, but even then, at the end of the 19th century, Nicholas II spoke from a high rostrum about the need to end the arms race. Nowadays, anyone visiting the UN Secretariat,will be able to personally see the letter calling for the participation of all countries of the world in the Hague Peace Conference, which discussed the creation of the League of Nations signed by Nicholas II
Money is the engine of politics
Simultaneously with the discussion of the question of creating the League of Nations at the beginning of the 20th century, proposals were raised for the establishment of an international financial body. Its functions were to include the regulation of financial disputes between different countries. It was then that the proposal to create the US Federal Reserve appeared. From the first days of its existence, this financial institution was essentially an international private bank, which was required to have its own authorized capital, denominated in gold. Today this dollar is not backed by either gold or the mass of the US. But in 1913 everything was different. At the time when the FRS was created, the dollar, like the ruble, was obliged, if necessary, to be exchanged for an equivalent in gold. Not surprisingly, the Fed had large reserves of gold as its charter capital. Where did it come from?
The American banks that participated in the creation of the FRS could not provide their gold as an authorized capital under US law. It was assumed that it will be provided by those countries of the world, for the settlement of financial disputes between which the FRS was created. However, practically none of the major world powers responded to the proposal to finance the authorized capital of the FRS with their own gold and foreign exchange reserves. This was done only by Russia, represented by Emperor Nicholas II. The contribution of the Russian Empire to the US Federal Reserve amounted to 88.8% of its authorized capital in gold! At the same time, Russia was supposed to receive 4% of the invested funds annually as dividends. However, soon after the establishment of the FRS, a revolution broke out, and then the imperial family was shot. The USSR, however, did not recognize the debts of tsarist Russia, and accordingly did not have any rights to its income from foreign assets. There was no one to pay interest to the FRS. It's a pity. Had the history of Russia followed a different course, perhaps today not the United States, but our country would be the owner of the printing press of the world reserve currency.
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