Story in Russian
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Russian Level B1 - B2
Text + Audio + Subs in Eng/Deu/Esp/Por/Pl/Fr/Fi
The story is about a little-known episode from history during the 1912 war, where France engaged in a covert operation to flood Russia with counterfeit banknotes. This intriguing narrative sheds light on the practice of issuing counterfeit enemy banknotes during wars, which was more prevalent during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
In preparation for Napoleon's invasion of Russian territory, he ordered the creation of counterfeit Russian banknotes, denominating 100, 50, and 25 rubles, dated 1805-1811. These counterfeits came to be known as "Napoleonic" banknotes among Russian collectors. The operation was conducted with utmost secrecy and involved only three individuals, including Charles Desmarais, head of the Ministry of Police, engraver Lal, and typographer Fen.
Remarkably, the French counterfeit banknotes turned out to be of higher quality than the genuine Russian ones. They exhibited distinctive features like a bluish tint to the paper, a clearer watermark, deep relief embossing, precise placement of letters in the main text, and engraved signatures. In contrast, authentic Russian banknotes were still manually signed. However, the French forgers' unfamiliarity with the Russian language led to comical errors in the counterfeit notes, such as replacing the letter "d" with "l" and "n" with "t."
Napoleon had ambitious plans for these false banknotes, intending to use them in the Russian Empire he occupied to pay his army's salaries and purchase essential supplies like food and fodder. However, his plans encountered several obstacles. First, the real value of the Russian assignation ruble in 1812 was significantly lower than the counterfeit notes' denominations. Second, French officers grew increasingly discontented with their salaries paid in counterfeit banknotes, leading to a challenging situation.
Ultimately, despite the exceptional quality of the counterfeit banknotes, Napoleon's hopes for their widespread use were dashed. Peasants, who made up the majority of the population, were hesitant to accept these notes for goods, preferring gold or silver. Additionally, there was a lack of places to exchange these banknotes in a war-torn country. Faced with these challenges and concerned about his reputation, Napoleon ordered the destruction of all unused counterfeit notes during his retreat.
Today, surviving examples of Napoleonic counterfeit hundred-ruble banknotes are extremely rare and highly valuable. They serve as intriguing artifacts of this historical episode, with estimated costs ranging from $6,000 to $8,000. Banknotes in denominations of 50 and 25 rubles are more common but still hold historical significance, with values ranging from $800 to $2,500.
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