For Peace and Money: International Finance and the Triple Entente
Principal Investigator: Jennifer Siegel
Imperial Russia had more international debt than any other
nation in Europe before World War I. To finance the modernization
of industry, construction of public works, and development
of the military-industrial complex, Russia turned time
and time again to foreign capital.
By 1914, 48 percent of Russian imperial government debt
was held by foreigners – 80 percent in French hands
and 14 percent held by the British. The French also owned
one-third of Russian private debt, the British one-fourth.
In For Peace and Money: International Finance and the
Making and Unmaking of the Entente Cordiale, Jennifer
Siegel examines French and British bank loans to Russia
in the late imperial period, up to the Genoa Conference
of 1922. The study will help explain the ways non-governmental
players were able to influence policy both domestically
and across national borders.
The study has three main themes:
• The role of individual financiers and policy-makers.
• The importance of foreign capital in Russian policy
formation.
• The particular role of British investment in the
Anglo-Russo-French entente.
While much work has previously been done on Franco-Russian
financial ties, the significant role played by British
capital has been overlooked. The Franco-Russian alliance
obliged French bankers to loan money to Russia, but the
motivations for British finance were more complex and
demand greater examination.
In this study, Siegel is drawing from archival material
from all three sides – British, French and Russian
– as well as from players in both government and
international finance, including N.M. Rothschild, ING
Barings, BNP Paribas and Crédit Lyonnais.
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