Unsigned Printed Bond for 189 Roubles (Twenty pounds Sterling)

issued by the City of Moscow in 1908, with coupons, text in both English and Russian, folio with attractive vignette at the head of a knight slaying a Dragon, Moscow At the end of the 19th century, Europe lived under the law of alliances. As Germany and Russia move away, Saint Petersburg and Paris get closer. Russia needed money and France needed friends to face the Triplice (Germany, Austria and Italy). "Slovophily" turns into hysteria. In 1888, Moscow issued four loans of 500 million gold francs, under the blessing of the French public authorities. The Franco-Russian Alliance of 1891 ensured the success of the loans which multipled. Savers then rushed to the bank counters to show their patriotism and lend to Alexander III (we will even build a bridge in Paris over the Seine that bears his name) and then to Nicolas II and the City of Moscow. In 1904, the Russo-Japanese war caused panic, but the banks were reassuring though after the October Revolution Lenin decided to stop recognising the debts of the old regime.