At the beginning of the First World War, the Russian army was forced to retreat and leave some western provinces. The Germans approached Petrograd. The question arose about the safety of the state gold reserves, located in Petrograd in the storerooms of a number of provincial offices of the State Bank. It was decided to evacuate the gold to rear cities far from the front.

In 1915, the evacuation of state valuables from Petrograd to Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod began. After the revolution, gold was transported to Kazan from Voronezh, Tambov and Samara, Kursk, Mogilev, Penza, etc.

For a more comprehensive understanding of subsequent changes in the fate of Russia's gold reserves, it is necessary to briefly recall some of the main military-political events of the country in 1918-1920. Let's look at just three of them:

1. After the revolution of 1917, a constituent assembly was elected, designed to resolve the main issues of state life. The Social Revolutionaries (democratic party of social revolutionaries) received the majority of votes. The communists were in the minority. The Constituent Assembly refused to approve the decrees of Soviet power.

After the first meeting in January 1918, the communists closed the meeting. Deputies of the constituent assembly went to Samara and formed a bourgeois-democratic government - the Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly (KOMUCH), which led the fight against Soviet power.

2. In March 1918, the Soviet government concluded an enslaving peace treaty in Brest with Germany and its allies, according to which a significant part of the European part of the country departed from Russia, and Russia undertook to pay Germany an indemnity of 246 tons of gold. The Social Revolutionaries were categorically against such a peace treaty.
3. In the First World War, units of the Czechoslovak corps, numbering 45 thousand soldiers, fought on the side of Russia. They fought for the liberation of Czechoslovakia from the Austro-Hungarian occupation and did not agree with the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. The corps command agreed with the Soviet government that the corps would be relocated to France through Vladivostok and, together with other Entente troops, would continue to participate in the war with Germany and its ally Austria-Hungary for the freedom of their homeland. By the summer of 1918, Czechoslovakian military echelons stretched along the entire line railway between Syzran, Penza, Novosibirsk, Omsk and Irkutsk.

At the head of the corps was a democratically minded body - the Russian branch of the Czechoslovak National Council.

He was destined to play an important role in subsequent events related to Russian gold.

The Czechoslovak leaders, together with the future president T. Masaryk, at the insistence of the Entente countries, agreed to oppose Soviet Russia. On May 25, 1918, the commander of the Czechoslovak corps rebelled, as the Entente countries promised to support the creation of an independent Czechoslovak Republic.

The corps joined the troops of KOMUCH and captured a number of cities along the Trans-Siberian Railway.

On July 6, the Socialist Revolutionaries killed the German ambassador and started riots in many cities of the country. Commander of the Eastern Front, Socialist Revolutionary M.A. Muravyov refused to recognize the Brest-Litovsk Treaty with Germany. M.A. Muravyov tried to create an independent Volga Republic and continue the war with Germany to the bitter end, but was soon shot. There was a threat of Kazan being captured by KOMUCH troops.

The Bolshevik government decided to evacuate the gold reserves from Kazan. Representatives of the Soviet government sent here managed to remove 4.6 tons of gold (100 boxes).

In a surprise attack on August 6, 1918, the troops of KOMUCH and the Czechoslovak corps under the command of Colonel V.A. Kappel captured the city and the gold reserves located here. Already on August 16, gold in the amount of 500 tons was sent to Samara on two ships under special security, which included officers from the General Staff Academy, for transfer to KOMUCH.

Soon the Red Army launched a successful offensive against the forces of KOMUCH and the Czechoslovaks, liberated a number of cities and approached Samara.

In connection with the threat of death that arose for them, all counter-revolutionary forces united and created a new government. It is known in history as the Ufa Directory. Admiral A.V. Kolchak was appointed Minister of War.

A White Guard government also functioned in Siberia, which sought to take power from the Ufa Directory.

At the end of September, KOMUCH began a hasty evacuation of gold from Samara to Ufa and then to Omsk. The headquarters and government of Admiral A.V. were already located here. Kolchak, whom all anti-communist groups and movements recognized as the supreme ruler of Russia and the leader of the white movement in Russia.

KOMUCH did not agree with this. He feared that the transfer of valuables to the leader of the white movement could lead to the squandering of Russian gold. Members of KOMUCH at their last on November 28, 1918. The meeting asked the Czechoslovak National Council to accept the gold reserves for safekeeping on behalf of the Czech people, and then transfer them to the newly convened Constituent Assembly or a popularly recognized government.

However, under the influence of the English mission, the command of the Czechoslovak corps decided to go over to the side of A.V. Kolchak and not. prevent the transfer of gold reserves to his disposal. It should be noted that, as a statesman, the admiral was careful about the safety of the gold reserves, although he was unable to prevent some losses and even major thefts.

The gold reserve was accompanied by State Bank officials who sought to keep accurate records of the movement of gold. Researchers of this problem note that there was no looting of gold, because there was strict reporting. The archives of the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Russia contain relevant documents about this.

In November 1918, the trains arrived in Omsk, and the gold reserves were placed in the Omsk branch of the State Bank of Russia. The protection of the gold reserves was carried out by a special detachment subordinate to the Ministry of Finance of the white government. After the arrival of trains with Kazan gold, gold arrived in Omsk from branches of state and private banks in Siberia and the Urals.

In May 1919, a group of bank workers began counting the gold that was at the disposal of the government of A.V. Kolchak. The seals on all undamaged boxes were checked. About 400 damaged boxes and bags with gold coins were counted in special goals. According to registration data, each box contained two bags, each of which contained gold coins worth 30 thousand rubles.

After a recount, it was established that in total there were 505 tons of gold in Omsk in the form of Russian and foreign coins, circles, polos and bars. In addition, gold that was not included in the state reserve was stored here. For example, gold parts of instruments belonging to the Main Chamber of Weights and Measures, as well as gold nuggets and storage facilities of the Mining Institute.

As noted earlier, the tsarist government had 440 tons of gold in London, against which loans were opened to the tsarist government for the purchase of weapons and uniforms for the active army. It subsequently allowed the white army to be well armed and provided with everything necessary, which deployed successful fighting, relying on the help of legionnaires of the Czechoslovak corps. With the help of this corps, the Whites captured the main cities of the Middle Volga, Urals and Siberia.

In the winter of 1919, the Red Army defeated the white armies. They lost a lot of military equipment and weapons. The Entente countries trained the troops of A.V. Kolchak to counterattack.

They began to intensively equip them with weapons and everything necessary for conducting active combat operations. The White Army also received:) Great Britain uniforms and equipment for 240 thousand soldiers, hundreds of thousands of rifles, machine guns and millions of cartridges for them. France delivered 400 artillery pieces, 1,700 machine guns with ammunition and 30 airplanes for the White Army. The USA alone supplied the armies of A.V. Kolchak about 400 thousand rifles, 1 thousand machine guns, 2 million pairs of shoes and other items. A lot of weapons came from Japan.

All this had to be paid for. The admiral's representatives tried to renew loans using the unused balance of royal gold previously deposited in London. Secured by this gold, the above-mentioned loans to the tsarist government were opened. After the October Revolution of 1917 they were closed.

It was not possible to renew the previous loans, as insoluble international legal problems arose, because the government of A.V. Kolchak was never recognized by the Entente, Japan and the USA. Everything was Russian, i.e. successor to the tsarist and provisional government A.F. Kerensky.

In this situation, Kolchak decided to sell part of the gold reserves to finance military supplies. From numerous sources published on the basis of archival data, it is clear that gold was seized from the storerooms of the Omsk branch of the State Bank in large quantities six times and sent to Vladivostok for subsequent shipment to Japan, France, the UK and the USA. The gold reserves also paid for the supply of weapons to the volunteer White Army, which, under the command of General A.I. Denikina fought against Soviet power in the European part of Russia.

In October 1919, a shipment of gold worth 43.6 million rubles, i.e. 33.7 tons, was sent from Omsk to Vladivostok.

At that time, General G.M. Semenov, with the assistance of Japan, created the Transbaikal Republic and took gold for the needs of his army, which was transported for loading on Japanese and American ships.

During August, using weapons received from overseas, the government of the white movement carried out several mobilizations and formed 15 new regiments, preparing them for combat operations against the Red Army. In total, the white army numbered up to 400 thousand people. The command of this army also relied on the help of intervention troops. In the summer of 1919, there were 120 thousand soldiers and officers from Japan, France, Great Britain and the USA in Siberia and the Far East. They provided the rear for the white armies preparing to attack.

In early September, Kolchak's armies and Czechoslovak units, having a significant superiority in numbers and equipment, went on the offensive and achieved success. Eastern front The Red Army was broken through and began to retreat. Her stubborn resistance was supported by an expanding partisan movement behind the lines of the White armies.

On October 14, 1919, the Red Army launched a counteroffensive. The White Guards were forced to retreat. On a number of sectors of the front, the retreat turned into a stampede. The commanders of the Czech units hastily withdrew their troops to the railway stations, captured the trains, and train after train left for the east. On November 4, the Red Army captured the city of Ishim in what is now the Tyumen region. At that time it was the most important railway junction on the way to Omsk.

In October 1919, due to the ongoing advance of the Red Army, the wide scope of the partisan movement and the beginning of the collapse of the army, the government of A.V. Kolchak decided to move the capital to Irkutsk. The relocation of the Ministry of Finance began on October 28, 1919.

On October 31, by order of the admiral, the gold reserves were taken out of the Omsk branch of the bank and loaded into wagons, which were prepared for departure under heavy guard of officers. The train with gold and the government moved towards Irkutsk on November 12, i.e. two days before Soviet power was established in Omsk.

Gold and security were placed in 40 carriages. At the same time, there were security and accompanying personnel in 12 carriages. The train with gold under the number “Liter D” was supposed to travel from Omsk to Vladivostok. The government was firmly convinced that gold could be exported abroad. Back on November 4, the Ministry of Railways of the White government gave an order to the Omsk, Tomsk, Transbaikal and Chinese-Eastern Railways about the unimpeded passage of the “Liter D” train to Vladivostok. State Bank employees accompanying the gold reserve were issued travel documents to Vladivostok.

Staff train A.V. Kolchak and the train with the gold reserves moved extremely slowly. Railway stations and stops were filled with trains with Czechoslovak troops and wagons with wounded. An armored train sent forward cleared the way for the Czechoslovaks, who kept the railway under control, allowing their own trains to pass first.

On December 27, the headquarters train and the train with gold arrived at Nizhneudansk station. It took a month and a half for the trains to move a distance that under normal conditions a train travels in less than one day. At this time, a workers' uprising broke out in Irkutsk, as a result of which power passed to the local government - the Political Center, uniting representatives of different political parties.

The headquarters train and the train with gold remained in Nizhneudansk until the situation was clarified. The commander of the Czechoslovak battalion received instructions from the Allies, from which it followed that:

* the admiral's train and the train with gold are taken under the protection of the allied powers, i.e. Entente;
* at the first opportunity, these trains under the flags of Great Britain, the USA, France, Japan and Czechoslovakia will be withdrawn from Nizhneudansk to the east;
* Nizhneudansk station is declared a neutral zone. The Czechs must guard the trains and prevent local authorities and their armed forces from entering the station;
* in the event of an armed clash between the admiral's convoy and armed local detachments, disarm both sides and give the admiral complete freedom of action. This could be understood to mean that the allies no longer considered the admiral as the supreme ruler of Russia.

The Czechs occupied and strengthened the station's defenses against a possible partisan attack. The security of the trains was carried out by soldiers of the admiral's convoy, which consisted of 500 privates and 60 officers.

At the same time, under the pressure of the advancing Red Army and Siberian partisans, Kolchak’s representatives lost power in settlements and cities located along the Trans-Siberian Railway from Irkutsk to Chita.

January 5, 1920 A.V. Kolchak signed an order to transfer the train with gold reserves to the protection of the Czechoslovak armed forces. On the same day, he signed an act of renunciation of the supreme rule in Russia in favor of General A.I. Denikin, who back in April 1919 united under his command the White Volunteer Army, Don and Kuban Cossack units. Relying on the help of the Entente, having an army of 150 thousand, he intended to overthrow Soviet power.

General A.I. Denikin demanded that the gold reserves be transferred to his disposal. He considered it necessary to take gold abroad and deposit it in approximately equal parts to secure loans in the UK, USA and Japan.

Government A.V. Kolchak, having already become convinced that it would not be possible to export the gold reserves on his own, decided to turn to the US government with a proposal to accept the gold for storage. The American government responded that it was ready to accept the gold, but the Czechs must ensure its delivery to Vladivostok. But this was unrealistic, since the workers of Irkutsk and the surrounding areas, relying on partisan detachments, presented the Czechoslovaks with an ultimatum: either they remove their guards from the train with gold, or the workers block the further advance of trains with Czechs towards Vladivostok. As a compromise, it was decided to allow small groups of partisans to guard the train with gold.

The allies offered the admiral, under the protection of the Czechs, to take him out in one carriage. They considered it impossible to remove all his guards and gold. The admiral's associates suggested that he change into a soldier's dress and, together with his adjutant, hide in one of the passing Czech trains. The Czechs freely accepted and transported white officers fleeing the Bolsheviks in their trains.

At first A.V. Kolchak refused these proposals, but then was forced to agree with the first. Essentially, the admiral and the gold reserve became hostages of the Czechs and, as shown further events, were used by the Czechoslovaks to their advantage.

Considering that the admiral was not a real force in the fight against Soviet power, the Czechoslovaks, in accordance with the instructions of the command of the Entente troops, took upon themselves the protection of the trains with a guarantee on their own behalf and on behalf of the allied powers of the inviolability of both the admiral himself and Russian gold. In this regard, the flags of the Allied powers were mounted on A.V. Kolchak’s carriage: American, English, Japanese, Czech, etc. The admiral, confident in complete safety, disbanded his guard detachment and relied entirely on foreign patrons.

A paradoxical situation has arisen. The Czechoslovakians became the main force determining the position of the white government. Kolchak's units fought with units of the Red Army and retreated in panic along the highway to the east. The Czechs and Slovaks, without participating in the battles, moved on trains under the protection of the retreating Kolchakites and dictated the conditions for the passage of trains.

On January 15, 1920, a train carrying the admiral and his entourage arrived in Irkutsk, followed by a trainload of gold.

With the consent of the other allies, the Czechoslovaks used A.V. Kolchak and a train with gold in a political game with the Irkutsk Political Center.

They stated that they would extradite the admiral and his associates on the condition that they and other allied troops would be provided with locomotives and carriages to Vladivostok, where ships were already waiting for them for further movement to Europe. They guaranteed to hand over the train with gold immediately as soon as the last Czech train left Irkutsk.

On the day of his arrival in Irkutsk, the admiral was extradited local authorities and put in jail. On January 21, 1920, the Political Center of Irkutsk transferred power to the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) of the Irkutsk province. The committee was headed by the Bolsheviks. At this time, a large group of White Guard troops under the command of General V.A. was fighting towards Irkutsk. Kappel, the one who at one time commanded a united detachment of Russian-Czechoslovak and Serbian troops that suddenly captured Kazan and Russia’s gold reserves. The task of this group was to capture Irkutsk and free A.V. Kolchak.

On February 6, an order from the Irkutsk Military Revolutionary Committee was transmitted along the railway line. It noted: “To all revolutionary committees, executive committees, all revolutionary organizations, troops, partisans, the entire population along the Trans-Baikal Railway. Under no circumstances should traffic be allowed along the Trans-Baikal railway line. trains with Russia's gold reserves east of Irkutsk, no matter who accompanied it. Damage the route, blow up bridges, tunnels, destroy vehicles, wrest these valuables from the hands of a gang of robbers, no matter who they are, in open battle.”*

The Red Army units and partisans managed to repel the Kappel attack, but in the current situation, the Military Revolutionary Committee sentenced Admiral A.V. without trial. Kolchak to be shot. On February 7, the sentence was carried out, and the remains of the admiral were lowered under the ice of the Angara River.

History repeated itself. Two years earlier, in connection with the approach of Kolchak and Czechoslovak troops to Yekaterinburg, Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his family were shot without trial by the verdict of the Military Revolutionary Committee.

On February 7, a truce agreement was signed between the commanders of the fifth Soviet army and the Czechoslovak corps. The Soviet command took upon itself the obligation to facilitate the evacuation of Czechoslovak troops, and the Czechoslovak command - to hand over a train with gold to the Irkutsk Revolutionary Committee when the last Czechoslovak echelon departed from Irkutsk.
On March 22, 1920, the train with gold was sent west, back to Kazan. On May 7, 1920, its cargo was again stowed in the storerooms of the Kazan office of the People's Bank of the RSFSR.

From a certificate compiled in June 1921 by the People's Commissariat of Finance of the RSFSR, it is clear that during the reign of Admiral A.V. Kolchak, Russia’s gold reserves decreased by 235.6 million rubles, or 182 tons, including 191 million rubles worth of gold delivered to Vladivostok, as follows from other publications.

Let us now consider the fate of gold, which, as noted earlier, Ataman G.M. Semenov was seized in Chita from a train en route from Omsk to Vladivostok. Of the seized amount of gold, at least 5.8 tons ended up in the hands of the Japanese.

In January 1920, having made a difficult march to Chita, he arrived from near Irkutsk, after a failed attempt to take the city and liberate A.V. Kolchak, detachment of General V.A. Kappel. The general himself died during the campaign. This detachment, numbering 15 thousand war-hardened fighters, mostly officers, united with the Cossack units of Ataman G.M. Semenov, as a result the Far Eastern Army (FEA) was formed. For the maintenance of this army G.M. Semenov identified 39 boxes with gold coins and bars.

In September 1920, the Red Army approached Chita. On the eve of leaving Chita G.M. Semenov sent a shipment of gold to the Russian military attaché in Tokyo, General Podtyagin, supposedly for the purchase of weapons, although it was already clear that the DVA would not need weapons, because it had left Russian territory. This gold was deposited in the Japanese bank Yokohama Hurry Bank.

TWO, under the pressure of the Red Army, moved to China. The command, after crossing the Russian-Chinese border, decided to divide what it received from G.M. Semenov 39 boxes of gold.

This decision was made on November 19, 1920 at the Manchuria station of the Chinese Eastern Railway. The military council was attended by the chief of logistics of the DVA, General P.P. Petrov. His son is in our time in the 80s. handed over to the professor of the Diplomatic Academy of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs V.G. Sirotkin documents from the family archive. As can be seen from these documents, the military council of the DVA decided to divide 39 boxes into two parts: 17 of them contained gold coins worth 1050 thousand rubles. transfer to the commanders of the four corps for unforeseen expenses associated with the maintenance of the evacuated troops; 22 boxes containing gold coins and bars totaling 1,270 thousand rubles, in view of the real threat of their capture by the Red Army or Chinese robbers, it was decided to transfer against receipt to the head of the Japanese military mission at the Manchuria station. General P.P. was assigned to carry out this operation. Petrov. On November 22, the head of the mission, Colonel of the Japanese Army R. Izome, issued a receipt:

“RECEIPT.

This receipt was given by the Japanese military mission at the station. Manchuria to the chief of supply of the Far Eastern Army of the General Staff, Major General Pavel Petrovich Petrov, that the Japanese Military Mission at the station. Manchuria accepted twenty (20) boxes of gold coins and two boxes of gold bullion for cutting. (Box numbers are listed below.) All boxes are sealed with a wax seal and have a seal. The above-mentioned boxes with gold coins and gold bars are the property of the Far Eastern Army and are not subject to any alienation based on anyone’s statements. I undertake, at the first request of the General Staff, Major General P.P. Petrov or by his power of attorney, release everything accepted for safekeeping. We attest to this with our signatures and seal.

November “22” day, 1920.

Manzhouli station. Signature of Colonel Izome."

The first attempts to return this gold were made immediately in December due to the need to pay for military supplies. Not only were the valuables not returned, but R. Izome left Manchuria without informing his Russian partners about the fate of the gold transferred to him for safekeeping.

In February 1920, when the Ussuri Cossack army was leaving Khabarovsk, Colonel Savitsky and military foreman Klok seized 38 poods from the local branch of the bank, i.e. more than 600 kg of gold and handed it over against receipt to the commander of the Japanese infantry regiment, Colonel Sugi. The latter issued a receipt for the gold.

Before the evacuation of the Japanese from Khabarovsk, the gold was under the control of General Yamadi, who then transferred it for safekeeping to the Japanese Chosen Bank. In October 1922, when the Japanese evacuated from Russia, the gold was transported to the Japanese city of Shimonoseki.

Generals Semenov, Petrov and Podtyagin in the 20-30s. tried to return through the court the gold transferred to the Japanese. The decision to sue for the return of gold came not without the help of liberal elements in Japan's leadership circles. There were certain influential groups here that supported the white generals behind the scenes. Liberal MPs accused former war minister and then prime minister Ugaki of using Russian gold to finance his conservative party. In these circles, a complex political game was being played against the generals of the Kwantung Army.

A possible trial could become a platform for accusing the generals of this army of violating the laws and customs of Japan during the intervention in Russia in 1920-1922. Subsequently, one of the Japanese researchers discovered in the parliamentary library in Tokyo a court case on the issues of Semenov’s gold, as it was clear from this case, 1200 pages. The Japanese court recognized the presence of Russian gold assets in the country's banks, but refused to satisfy the generals' claim, citing the fact that they no longer have official authority to manage state gold. Thus, even in those years, Japan recognized the presence of Russian gold in the country and even demonstrated its readiness to return it to the “official” authorities. There is evidence that Russian gold was used in interbank transactions involving the Japanese government. This is evidenced by the fact that Yokohama Hurry Bank transferred a large amount of interest in connection with transactions with Russian gold to the Japanese state budget.

In 1945, the American military administration liquidated the Yokohama Hasty Bank and Chosen Bank as accomplices of Japanese militarism, but their successor was the Bank of Tokyo, created by the American occupation administration, which, merging with Mitsuba Bank, entered the top ten largest banks in the world.

Documents collected joint stock company closed type “Russian Gold”, indicate that it was the predecessors of this bank who used Russian gold, and the bank should be responsible for the return precious metal Russian Federation.

Back in 1922, at the world Genoa conference, when the Bolsheviks sought diplomatic recognition from the West, they used the available data on gold appropriated by the Entente states from reserves that were previously stored in Kazan. At the conference the question was raised about the recognition by Soviet Russia of pre-war tsarist debts. This issue, at the insistence of Russia, should be considered together with the return and offset against the debt of the tsarist gold found abroad. According to the Russian delegation, this gold was estimated at 215 million gold coins, not counting the 60 million that the government of Admiral A.V. Kolchak was transferred to the Syndicate company and other private banks as gold to obtain a loan for the purchase of weapons. As a result of the counterclaims presented, it was decided to postpone the discussion of the issue of mutual obligations that arose during the First World War and the Civil War.

The fate of Russian gold and other valuables that ended up abroad after the defeat of the White movement and the departure of the interventionists was of interest to many former statesmen and historians. One of the attempts to determine their value was made by the former Finance Manager of the Far Eastern Republic A.I. Pogrebetsky. This democratic republic was formed in April 1920 in Eastern Siberia in the Far East after the defeat of the white movement. In November 1922, the republic became part of the RSFSR.

Based on data from A.I. Pogrebetsky and his own research, former Minister of Finance of the White government V.I. Moravsky prepared a certificate about the presence of Russian gold abroad. This certificate was discovered in the archives of the Hoover Institution for War, Revolution and Peace in California. Using these documents and the results of his own research, Russian scientist N.K. Ablazhei and American scientist N.V. Moravian (son former minister) compiled and published information in 1996, from which it is clear that the government of A.V. Kolchak deposited 81.5 million rubles in October 1919. gold, the bulk of which was used to pay for weapons. The balance of the unused amount fluctuated, according to the emigrant press, within the range of 12-14 million rubles. gold.

In the Chinese city of Qingqihar, the governor general detained 350 thousand rubles in 1920. gold, and the customs of the Chinese city of Harbin detained 316 thousand gold rubles on March 6, 1920.

Until now, we have been talking about that part of Russia’s gold reserves that was stored in Kazan. The other part of the reserve was stored in Nizhny Novgorod, and its fate is connected with the peace treaty that Russia concluded with Germany in March 1918. This agreement went down in history under the name “Brest-Litovsk Peace”. A secret agreement was drawn up to it, according to which Russia, which lost Belarus, Ukraine, the Baltic states and part of Poland under the agreement, had to pay an indemnity in the amount of 245 tons 564 kg of gold.

In September 1918, 93 tons 536 kg were delivered to the Imperial Bank of Germany. The shipment of the rest of the gold from Nizhny Novgorod to Berlin was suspended due to the revolution in Germany. Soon the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and the agreement to it were denounced by Russia.

After Germany's defeat in the First World War, Russian gold was at the disposal of the French army. The command of the occupation forces decided that this was a trophy for France, but the other victorious countries of Germany did not agree with this. As a result of negotiations, it was decided to deposit 93.5 tons of gold in a French bank under the control of Great Britain, France and the United States. Subsequently, Great Britain and the United States ceased to show interest in this gold. When the treaty between the victorious countries in the First World War and Germany was concluded in June 1919, Article 259 was included in its text, which stated that gold in the amount of 93.5 tons belonged to the Russian state and was placed in safekeeping in France. The value of this gold at modern prices would be more than $1 billion.

In 1963, the status of this gold was legally and actually confirmed by an agreement at the level of the governments of the USSR and France. Of this gold, the Russian side agreed to give 45 tons, and the French side agreed to accept it to pay off old Russian debts in favor of France. This agreement once again confirmed that the remaining 48.5 tons belong to Russia.

An expert council has recently been created, which, together with the Russian Gold joint-stock company, is conducting a study of documents related to royal gold located abroad and the possibility of returning its value to Russia.

A message has already appeared in the press that the provisional bourgeois Russian government, which led the country in February-October 1917, sent 3.7 tons of gold to Sweden for the purchase of military equipment, which at modern prices costs about 45 million dollars. Back in 1928 Confirmation was received that the gold was in the vault of a Swedish bank. Russia did not receive a single rifle or cartridge from Sweden in exchange for this gold.

Considering that at the moment Russia has begun to recognize the tsar’s debts, it has the right to claim the return of the tsar’s gold that ended up abroad. Part of the gold reserve Tsarist Russia was spent on financing foreign communist and workers' parties to intensify their activities to force the world revolution. This money was transferred through the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR. In total, this Commissariat spent abroad during 1920-1921. 12 million gold rubles, i.e. 9.2 tons of gold.

Of course, there was also money for the maintenance of diplomatic missions, but this amount could have been many times less. An additional argument for this conclusion is the official statement of the issuance of gold coins, discovered in the archives of the State Bank of the USSR. It notes that in the period from October 1, 1920 to May 15, 1921, 2,984 thousand rubles were allocated for the needs of the Communist International. gold.

Sending gold abroad continued in subsequent years. Therefore, the waste of gold returned from Siberia to Kazan, and gold stored in Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow, has direct relation to the desire of the Bolshevik leadership to establish Soviet uniform government in other countries of the world.

The book contains information about 17815.147 kg of gold. These tons disappeared from the vault of the Kazan branch of the People's Bank of Russia in August 1918. The valuables have not yet been discovered. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has an operational investigative case called “Golden Fleece”; Some information on this topic is kept top secret. Currently, treasure hunters have also joined the search for royal gold. The author presents data from two declassified funds of the National Archives of Tatarstan for the first time. The historical context of the events that unfolded simultaneously with the evacuation of the gold reserves is reproduced on the basis of memoirs and works of historians.

17,815.147 KG GOLD (From the author)

This book contains information about 17,815.147 kg of gold that disappeared from the vault of the Kazan branch of the People's (state) Bank of Russia in August 1918. These tons amount to 572,770 troy ounces and are constantly increasing in value. As of January 1, 2011, they were valued on the London Stock Exchange at $813,619,785. At the time of reading these lines, you can find the quote for a troy ounce of gold on the Internet and simply multiply by the number of ounces. You will see how the price of this loss today is inexorably approaching one billion US dollars.

You may know treasures of similar magnitude, but the author has not found any mention of treasures of such value in the entire history of the world. For comparison, the world-famous burial of Tutankhamun contained the golden tomb of the pharaoh weighing 110.4 kg. Naturally, the artifacts of the pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of rulers Ancient Egypt much more valuable in a cultural and historical sense. But in practical terms, the value of gold treasures near Kazan has nothing to compare with...

How real these mysterious tons of yellow metal are, the author leaves it to the reader to judge from declassified documents of the State Bank of the USSR. In fact, clarifying the issue is not so simple. In the depths of the Ministry of Internal Affairs there is an operational-search file “Golden Fleece”, which stores most of the information on this topic under the heading “top secret”.

In the summer of 1918, in the “golden pantry” of the Kazan branch of the People’s Bank, 444 tons, 509 kilograms, 799 grams and 65 milligrams of gold worth 574,127,751.46 royal gold rubles gleamed with yellow sides. At that time the State Bank of Russia was called the People's Bank. Four steel safes and chests of the “gold pantry” of the Kazan branch, as well as seven storage racks were designed to accommodate gold, two racks for silver. The entrance to the pantry was securely locked with steel lattice doors from Arthur Koppel JSC, welded according to the system of the Berlin company Pontzer.

A spiral staircase led upward from the second underground floor, where the “golden storage room” was located. There were seven more safes and chests in the upper storage room - the “money storeroom”, as well as in the change office premises, and another one in the loan office office. The “upper” vault contained precious jewelry, stacks of paper bills, valuable papers, and bags of copper coins. And also that part of the gold that was brought in the summer of 1918 and which simply no longer fit in the specialized storeroom.

In total, by August 1918, over 73 percent of Russia's gold reserves were concentrated in Kazan under the control of the Bolsheviks. The strategic reserve restlessly burned through the pockets of representatives new government and attracted their opponents. At this time, the Bolsheviks were negotiating in Berlin on the terms of exporting part of Russia’s gold to Germany as an indemnity under the terms of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty on March 3, 1918.

Germany's enemies - the Russian officers who fought against it - could not forgive the Leninists for capitulating to the Kaiser's troops. But besides emotions, the opponents of the Bolsheviks had other reasons for discontent.

On January 22, 1918, Lenin, by his decree, announced the financial insolvency of Russia - default. At that time, it turned out that by the beginning of World War I, Russia's gold reserves were the largest in the world and amounted to 1.695 billion royal gold rubles. IN metric system this figure corresponds to 1312328325 grams of precious metal, in troy ounces - 42192335.39190706. Multiply this figure by the modern rate of the troy ounce, which is available on the Internet. On January 1, 2011, the Tsar's gold reserves of 1914 would be valued at $59,934,212,424.2.

But by the time the Bolsheviks captured the banks, the gold reserves had decreased by more than 1.5 times. While Russia's total public debt exceeded the country's entire remaining gold reserves. Citing bankruptcy and revolution, the Bolsheviks, for the first time in world history, completely refused to pay debts - to foreigners (although there was enough gold to pay external obligations) and to Russian citizens.

It turned out that, in fact, the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty gave loans from England, France and the USA for the war with Germany, Russia transferred to the same Germany to continue the war with Russia’s creditors, and the Bolsheviks showed a revolutionary fig to the Entente itself. Many people could not come to terms with this. Russian and foreign hands reached out to the Kazan gold reserve depository. Both camps of the Civil and World War spoke about patriotism, saving the Motherland, and the honor of the borrower. But they understood them in the opposite way: to export gold to Berlin (Vienna) or London (Paris, Washington). And at the same time leave some within Russia...

Ordinary residents found themselves hostage to circumstances and reminded the patient of two dentists who took turns pulling the same gold tooth.

For a contemporary, that wound has not yet healed. Because part of the gold simply disappeared in the turmoil of the fighting and sits as a restless thorn in the body of the country in an area known to the Russian special services for more than 80 years.

Even for the author of the book, its information remains an unsolved code. Because the documents authoritatively testify that the treasure is real. But why then have they not yet been found by highly qualified representatives of the banking community and intelligence services? Apparently, “the devil is in the details.” You should re-read again and again all the twists and turns of this golden drama, which the author, as an investigative journalist, presents with the greatest possible care and detail. And only after this you understand: what did the gold hunters not think of during all their previous searches? What detail didn't you pay attention to? Where did you turn your feet? In answering these questions and actually searching for real traces of gold, the reader can surpass his predecessors. What the author sincerely wishes for him.

Two more circumstances of the book's appearance are noteworthy. At 12:38 on November 25, 2009, her manuscript was sent by email to the editors of Novaya Gazeta. With a proposal from the author of the investigation to select those fragments that she deems necessary for publication on her pages. On January 15, 2010 at 15:37, in an email correspondence, newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov wrote to the author: “I read it. I'm interested". However, later even this publication became shy about publishing fragments of the investigation.

The digest from the book was published in a small edition on the pages of the newspaper “Evening Kazan” in September - November 2010 in twelve articles. The articles lost sharply in circulation, but won in terms of criticism. They were silently “enlightened” and not challenged in court by the press service of the National Bank of the Republic of Tatarstan (successor to the Kazan branch of the State Bank), Tatarstan employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB, as well as treasure hunters. They are all interested in not making a fuss about these valuables until the treasure is discovered.

The only remark on the general historical context of the events, which the author took into account, was made by local historians. And also during the publication of newspaper articles, the grateful son of one of the main figures in the history of 1918, the bank secretary Viktor Kalinin, responded. The son's name is German Viktorovich, he enriched the contents of the book with new details and photographs of his father. He was also grateful that I told readers about the parent.

The author was in no hurry to publish the entire contents of the book until blatant distortions of information about the lost gold appeared in the federal media in the fall of 2010. This was done by treasure hunters. In order to take the reader away from the place of searching for tons of gold.

For your information, Article 51 of the Law on Mass Media, in particular, states: “It is not permitted to use the rights of a journalist established by this law for the purpose of concealing or falsifying socially significant information, spreading rumors under the guise of reliable reports...”

Did people who did not even read this article have a desire to comply with other legal norms and legally share unaccounted millions in gold with the state and society? Doubts about this issue forced the author to speed up the publication of the book.

You may know treasures of similar magnitude, but the author has not found any mention of treasures of such value in the entire history of the world. For comparison, the world-famous burial of Tutankhamun contained the golden tomb of the pharaoh weighing 110.4 kg. Naturally, the artifacts of the pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of the rulers of Ancient Egypt are much more valuable in a cultural and historical sense. But in practical terms, the value of gold treasures near Kazan has nothing to compare with...

In total, by August 1918, over 73 percent of Russia's gold reserves were concentrated in Kazan under the control of the Bolsheviks. The strategic reserve restlessly burned through the pockets of the representatives of the new government and attracted their opponents. At this time, the Bolsheviks were negotiating in Berlin on the terms of exporting part of Russia’s gold to Germany as an indemnity under the terms of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty on March 3, 1918.

On January 22, 1918, Lenin, by his decree, announced the financial insolvency of Russia - default. At that time, it turned out that by the beginning of World War I, Russia's gold reserves were the largest in the world and amounted to 1.695 billion royal gold rubles. In the metric system, this figure corresponds to 1312328325 grams of the precious metal, in troy ounces - 42192335.39190706. Multiply this figure by the modern rate of the troy ounce, which is available on the Internet. On January 1, 2011, the Tsar's gold reserves of 1914 would be valued at $59,934,212,424.2.

Ordinary residents found themselves hostage to circumstances and reminded the patient of two dentists who took turns pulling the same gold tooth.

Tsar's Gold Kurnosov Valery Viktorovich

"We are on the right track"

"We are on the right track"

The next day, representatives of an international treasure-hunting expedition discovered several signs of the presence of treasure in the surrounding forest. This is evidenced by information from the next joint document of the expedition.

"Protocol No. 4

This protocol was drawn up on October 5, 1929. Alaty, which is 52 kilos. from Kazan by representatives of the house of R. de Luberzak: Messrs. V. Bersay, R. Gariel, Sh.(as in the text. - V.K.) Tomitsky and V. Bronitsky and representatives of the State Bank of the USSR B. Bolshemennikov and G. Erman.

The listed representatives of both sides left in the same cars at 8 o'clock. morning from the village of Srednie Alaty (Kurmanaevo), which is 63 km from Kazan, where they spent the night, they continued the route that had been suspended the day before passing through Alaty. They telephoned to Kazan and then continued their journey forward to the north. And having passed 2 kilo from Middle Alata (crossed out in brackets “(Kurmanaevo)”. - V.K), they left with right side (crossed out: “Potanikha village.” - V.K.) in (the word is illegible. - V.K.) kilometers from a country road, (crossed out: “where we turned.” - VC.). Then we crossed the bridge and turned northwest (crossed out: “we passed the bridge to the side.” - VC.). Then crossed (crossed out: “the village of Gar and entered.” - V.K.) into a small forest, then a clearing and again entered the forest and (further crossed out: “we drove through one section of the forest, followed by a clearing for about one kilometer and entered the second forest and.” - V.K.) and stopped in the forest near a stream, at a distance of 11 kilometers from (crossed out: “Average”. - V.K.) Alati (crossed out: “Kurmanaevo.” - V.K.), which is 63 kilometers from the city of Kazan.

At this place, to the right, going up the hill, representatives of the house of R. de Luberzak discovered conventional signs on one tree, on the field side of the path . Counting along the path leading to the right from the designated tree, (hereinafter crossed out: “and having counted.” - V.K.) 500 (crossed out: “we are fathoms.” - V.K.) steps they found themselves in a clearing. After looking around this clearing (crossed out: “representatives.” - V.K.) at home R. de (crossed out: “Lyuberzak, listed.” - V.K.) above, they found many signs corresponding to what they are looking for in that place (hereinafter crossed out: “where is the treasure of discovery.” - V.K.) of the deposited treasure. But representatives of the house of R. de Luberzac did not come to a final conclusion (hereinafter crossed out: “conclusions that convince them of the correctness of the assumption” . - V.K.), since in this clearing there is (crossed out: “old.” - V.K.) house (the time of construction of which we could not determine). In addition, there are several dozen hives in this clearing, which does not completely convince them that they are there. In this connection, they decided to seek additional data from Warsaw, sending their representative Sh.(as in the text. - V.K.) Tomitsky and, as a result, before. home of R. de Lub. (The following words are crossed out in blue ink: “For our part, we decided not to demand this.” - VC.) (The following words are in black ink: “and they demanded.” - V.K.) from representatives of the State Bank (hereinafter crossed out: “police protection, for.” - VC.) V.K.) protection of the place, (hereinafter inserted in black ink - “nor”. - V.K.) workers for excavations.

At the suggestion of the representative of the house of R. de Luberzac, Mr. V. Bersey, all present representatives of both sides returned to Alati, where they arrived at 14:00. day. At 15 o'clock. days Tomitsky, R. Gariel and Comrade Yerman drove to Kazan in two cars...”

Returning to the capital of Tatar Autonomous Republic, an employee of the Moscow office of the State Bank G. Yerman compiled a secret memo to his management about the progress of the search. Below is its text.

“Dear Andrey Vasilievich.

I also consider it necessary, on my part, to report something on the matter. We spent the last two days in the Kazan region, 50 kilometers from here, and from where I returned to Kazan today at 9 o’clock in the evening to inform Comrade. Prasolov about the state of affairs. Today at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, all of us who left Moscow seemed to have come across the site of our goal. I say as if, because a number of data according to the plan of the gr. Bersey says that we are at the goal, but at the same time there are a lot of significant details that are completely not provided for by Bersey’s plan. One of the significant facts should be considered that there is one dilapidated hut in the clearing. We have not yet been able to establish how long the mentioned hut has been in place.

In this hut lives a woman of 32–33 years old and, apparently, she is a former nun, which assumption was caused by the presence in one cell fenced off in the hut, a knocked together pulpit, on it a psalter in a silver binding and a silver cross, in front of the pulpit on a shelf icon. The hymnal is carefully covered with a clean towel. All our careful attempts to find out some details about the time the hut was built and who the owner is, we have not yet been able to find out, since this woman tells us that she has been living here for a year. When we asked her if she was a nun, the latter was extremely embarrassed. Her behavior was strange and I personally had a suspicion that someone here knew about the existence of the place... Since this letter will go out as usual, I am refraining from some details and indicating the area. 7–8 kilometers from the place of interest to us, we stopped in a village. In these places, a car (car) passes very rarely. When we stopped, we were surrounded by many peasants and their children, who examined our two cars with great curiosity. We asked how long ago they had seen the car and they told us that about ten years ago, trucks with heavy loads passed along this road, they were accompanied by a battery from the advancing whites. I want to say that obviously we are on the right track.

In general, it must be said that the behavior of our guests does not raise any doubt that their arrival is connected precisely with what is set out in the agreement (contract).

After what was clarified this afternoon, we tried to contact Comrade Prasolov in Kazan by telephone in order to call a small guard and place one on the spot, but we were unsuccessful, although our guests said that there was no need for this yet, since they had not stopped completely on it, which will be noted in our protocol tomorrow, but now Comrade Prasolov has already taken the necessary measures, and tomorrow at dawn there will be security at the place where Bersey, Bronitsky, Gariel and Bolshemennikov are located. They are in a village not far from this place. The other side has not yet invited us to begin work, precisely for the reasons that a number of points that are contradictory to the plan do not coincide, and tomorrow they are also planning to study other nearby areas.

At the same time, one of them, namely Mr. Tomitsky, is leaving for Moscow tomorrow (he came to the city with me) to travel to Warsaw in order to obtain some additional data. Nikolai Mikhailovich writes to you about this. It must be said that the agreement was drawn up in many places rather unclearly and, in any case, not everything was in our favor. In particular, regarding paragraph 5 of the agreement, I expressed my thoughts to Nikolai Mikhailovich that we should interpret paragraph 5 of the agreement in the sense that as soon as the other party proposes to begin work, we, according to the agreement, carry out this work in accordance with the contract, but precisely from the moment when Mr. Bersey showed us the place and offered to start work. It must be assumed that if these works did not lead to results, we should not carry out any further searches or new work in a new place. I mean - in another place, precisely in a completely new area, even if even these works were carried out within 10 days, with which Bersey completely agrees, but all other members of the other side believe that within 10 days they can carry out reconnaissance work and in other areas.

I think this is completely wrong, because you have to understand that the place... they know, and at Bersey’s direction of the place, we immediately began work, etc. Be that as it may, t.t. Prasolov and Bolshemennikov agree that this issue is competent to resolve by our Board or the Directorate of the INO. It should be said in passing that the search for the place has been going on for four days, and the agreement does not at all stipulate how many days these searches should continue. (See § 5.)

I think that within a few days the issue will obviously be resolved. One way or another, some additional instructions on the issue raised are needed from you.

The fact is that the other side, besides Mr. Bersey, is of the opinion that within the first days they can carry out work in other areas. This question arose in connection with the discovery of the place described above, but in the absence of complete confidence that this is exactly the target location, the question arises about work in other areas during the first five days. This question has been postponed for now, but if it had been raised urgently, we would have immediately communicated with you by telegraph.

As for our relationships with the other side, they are absolutely normal and our work with them is completely coordinated, although our guests, in the first days, showed some suspicion towards us, but now they have completely freed themselves from this and tell us out loud everything that they had previously hidden in fact, and in general, a completely different, trusting attitude towards us is noticeable on their part.

So far we have drawn up three protocols and tomorrow morning I will start printing them, since they are still written by hand, but so far the drafts have already been signed.

Tomorrow the fourth protocol will be drawn up, and by evening I will go back to their village. I'll end here.

With greetings, Yerman."

As you can see, the information collected puzzled the expedition members. Apparently, in their documents the desired clearing was designated as deserted. Therefore, treasure hunters were perplexed: how could the secrecy of the burial be ensured if it turned out that the gold was buried in front of the occupant of the house?

The behavior of the frightened praying mantis, which was strange to a contemporary, was quite understandable for the Soviet people of 1929. On February 2 (January 19, old style), 1918, Patriarch Tikhon anathematized the Bolsheviks and Soviet power for the armed coup and terror in the country, and on July 21, 1918, he condemned the execution of the royal family.

On June 16-19, 1918, security officer Leonid Zakovsky with 60 bayonets launched a raid on the Sviyazhsky and Raifa monasteries, as a result of which the Reds were accused of robbery and on June 17-18, the peasants killed six. August 9

In 1918, 51-year-old Bishop Ambrose (Gudko), rector of the Sviyazhsk Assumption Monastery, was shot. On September 10, 11 monks of the Zilantov Monastery, led by Archimandrite Sergius, were shot in Kazan. On November 12, 1918, the rector of the Pyatnitskaya Church of Kazan, Father Fyodor Gidaspov, was shot in Kazan.

On August 14, 1919, in Moscow, the People's Commissariat of Justice made a decision on the organizational opening of relics in churches, and on August 25, 1920, on the liquidation of relics on an all-Russian scale.

On February 23, 1922, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee published a decree on the confiscation of church property in Russia by the Bolsheviks. In January 1920 and April 1922, trials of the “church members” took place in Moscow. In 1928, mass demolition of churches began. NKVD Instruction of October 1, 1929 "ABOUT Rights and Responsibilities of Religious Associations" classified clergymen into the category of disenfranchised - residents of the USSR, deprived of the right to choose and be elected...

Judging by the information in Yerman’s secret letter, the peasants of the village of Gar confirmed that heavily loaded white cars accompanied by artillery drove through their village. And although the document does not mention the year of travel, the circumstances of the Civil War, well known to the Soviet participants in the search, spoke specifically about the events of 1918.

In 1919, a new offensive by the Whites, now led by Admiral Alexander Kolchak, foundered on the distant approaches to Kazan: on March 23, Kolchak’s men captured Menzelinsk, 292 kilometers east of the provincial center. That's all. But by June 1, the Reds had already recaptured Agryz and completely expelled the Whites from the territory of the province to the east.

Knowledge of the circumstances of the war only increased the excitement of the treasure hunters. They understood that even in 1918, there were no Red troops or any strategic communications in the area of the search for valuables. And the whites with artillery and heavy loads passed...

The second illogical circumstance of the appearance of enemy vehicles was the place itself. In September 2010, the author talked with one very famous Kazan resident, who, as a hobby, was checking the information of the 1929 expedition on site. In good weather, this area of the forest, which excited the search participants, can today be reached by car in 1 hour and 40 minutes. Or 100 minutes exactly.

But my wealthy interlocutor’s heart bled when he remembered the road along which his expensive car had to be driven. And today, driving to this bearish corner along a forest road is not a test for the faint of heart.

Car enthusiasts who visited the site are surprised by the question: why was it necessary to destroy low-power pre-revolutionary trucks, sending them to such a distance, if the forest could be found closer? Apparently, the wilderness seemed to the organizers of the cache to be a guarantee of reliable protection of the treasures.

By the way, judging by space photography data, today the forest area that became the focus of treasure hunters in 1929 is approximately 193 square kilometers. It is divided by a conditional administrative border between the republics of Tatarstan and Mari El. Most of it is located on the territory of the Vysokogorsky district of Tatarstan and is under the management of the Isleitarsky forestry. And the clearing, which was explored by treasure hunters on October 5, is today located on the territory of the Morkinsky district of the Republic of Mari El...

On October 5, 1929, the seekers of value acted surprisingly confidently and effectively. Having never visited these places, the foreigners, according to the records, quickly found witnesses in the nearest village, and then in the forest - even marks on the trees near the supposed burial site.

But then the question arose: “Who is deceiving?” The Polish owner of the records, who brought them to a clearing where there should be no witnesses, turned out to be a house? Then why did he start all the searches and definitely lead them to this place? Was the former nun, whose behavior aroused Yerman’s suspicion, lying that she knew why the foreigners came to the forest? How was it possible to hide countless treasures next to an old hut that appeared unknown when and it is unclear who its owner was? Or were the treasure hunters deceived by their own eyes?

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At first, the security officers and the NKVD unsuccessfully searched for him. Then the KGB, Federal
Security Service and other, more or less secret, services of Russia. Behind
For ninety years no one was able to snatch the secrets from the Siberian soil. During
the last scientific expedition of Russian researchers to Lake Baikal,
Bathyscaphes discovered a Civil War-era carriage at the bottom of the lake. Straightaway
rumors spread that this could be a trace of the missing gold

The treasure was part of the gold and silver reserves
Tsarist Russia, estimated at 1200 to 1600 tons. During the First
world war, on the eve of the Bolshevik revolution, this is a huge wealth
Tsar Nicholas II ordered it to be taken to Kazan on the Volga. Collected in the city
more than 600 tons of gold bars and gold rubles and almost 500 tons
silver, including jewelry. Soon it began in Russia
civil war, and the royal treasure fell into the hands of the Bolsheviks.

in autumn
1918 Kazan was captured by pro-White Czechoslovakian soldiers
corps - formed during the First World War in the territory
Russia from prisoners and deserters from the Austro-Hungarian army. Under supervision
Chekhov, royal gold was transported to Omsk, where it was located
headquarters of Admiral Kolchak.

Alexander Kolchak

Leaning on
with money from the tsars' gold reserves, Admiral Alexander Kolchak captured
dictatorial power throughout Siberia, right up to the Urals. Piece of gold
immediately sent to banks in France, Great Britain and Japan as
payments for weapons, supplies and provisions and in the form of deposits,
probably transferred to private accounts. When in May 1919,
finally, Kolchak ordered an inventory of the treasure, it turned out
that there were about 500 tons.

How many of these funds does he
spent, still no one knows. It is assumed that he could
use about 180 tons, but there are no documents that would confirm
such quantity.

In the autumn of 1919, when the Red Army
began to dislodge white troops from successive provinces, and Kolchak himself
pushed everything further beyond the Urals, the admiral decided to send the treasure to
Vladivostok. Gold was to be transported east along the Trans-Siberian
railway. The valuable deposit was loaded into 29 wagons, and the golden train
went from Omsk to the east. The train also included carriages with platinum and
silver But the boxes with Kolchak's treasure never reached
Vladivostok.

Mystery Train

Route
The golden composition was controlled by soldiers of the Czechoslovak Corps. Exactly
they were obliged to guard Kolchak’s dispatch. It's hard to say why, but
The train with the treasure was moving mercilessly slowly. Only a journey to
Irkutsk, which in those circumstances could be overcome within
ten days, lasted more than two months. At that time in Siberia
the anti-Kolchak uprising spread, the admiral's army was
pushed further to the east, the Bolsheviks were strengthening, and the admiral himself was losing
support of the Entente. Finally, representatives of the coalition forced Kolchak
give power to General Denikin and transfer the train with gold under control
Chekhov. This happened on December 27 at Nizhneudinsk station.

When
the train reached Irkutsk, the Czech soldiers still handed it over to the Bolsheviks
both the admiral and the transported gold. In return they received
guarantee safe way to Vladivostok and 30 wagons with coal for
steam locomotive

The Bolsheviks shot Kolchak, and the gold was again
transported to Kazan. However, what part of the treasure did they receive from the Czechs?
in fact, it is difficult to establish. Various sources give conflicting
or only approximate information. We are talking about approximately 409
millions of rubles in gold, or about 18 carriages that Czech soldiers
allegedly handed over to representatives of the Revolutionary Committee. When is gold
returned to Kazan, Soviet bankers estimated its quantity as
approximately 318 tons, and 190 tons were considered missing. Recognized
and also that 5 tons “evaporated” from the Bolsheviks themselves.

Accurate
the value of the treasure that fell into the hands of Kolchak has never been
installed. Gold from the royal fund was counted into all sorts of units
measurements: from rubles, through boxes and pounds, to tons, or even wagons.
Such calculations were far from accurate, so it is not surprising that before
today it is difficult to determine how much gold was actually sent
Kolchak to Vladivostok, and how much was missing from the golden train. It could
be about a ton, or three. Or significantly more. According to one version, this
It was the Czechs who themselves removed 18 wagons from Irkutsk.

Preserved
also the testimony of eyewitnesses who claimed that on the way to Omsk,
boxes of gold disappeared from the train and were buried in the taiga.

hidden gold

It is known
that that part of the treasure that Kolchak managed to deposit in
Western banks, was sent in batches from Siberia by train to
Vladivostok. In total, the admiral carried out 7 such transportations. One of
parties, the last one, was captured in Transbaikalia by Ataman Semyonov.

There were about 30 tons of gold there.

Eat
also a third trace, simply called Siberian. According to this version,
part of Kolchak’s gold was hidden in the area of Tomsk, Tobolsk and Tyumen.

Among
Some seekers of Kolchak's treasure believe that the prudent
The admiral kept hiding gold in parts in various places.

Treasure
usually buried in the ground. Skeptics point out that in 1919
winter began early and was very frosty, which practically made
it is impossible to bury gold. But the admiral was not a simple military man. He
He was also a polar explorer, explorer and sapper. He knew how to cope
difficult polar conditions. Possibly during the construction of hiding places
used explosives.

One theory says that some
the admiral's people tried to smuggle Kolchak's gold on a train through
Baikal, laying rails on the frozen ice of the lake. However, the ice is not
survived, and the treasure sank to the bottom. When last year one of
underwater vehicles The world found an old carriage from the times at the bottom of Lake Baikal
civil war, Kolchak’s gold was remembered again. Support for the action
Even deputies of the State Duma expressed their search.

However,
in the wreckage of the carriage, instead of treasure, only a box with
cartridges. It is more likely that the weakened remnants of Kolchak’s army,
fleeing the Red Army, they crossed Baikal on a sleigh, on
who were carrying part of the treasure saved from the new “owners”. frosts,
reaching 60 degrees, and the wind did its job. A nightmare ride
Few survived. Some of the gold, along with the sleigh, sank to the bottom during
spring melting of ice, part of it was hidden in the basements of surrounding churches.

Hidden
Kolchak's gold Russian services searched for several
decades. Only in the area of Tobolsk, Tomsk and Tyumen did security officers dig
land for a whole decade, from 1922 to 1933. They managed to find part
royal jewels.

In 1941, the NKVD based
testimony of an eyewitness began the search for 26 chests of gold buried
near settlement Taiga. However, the witness, a former regimental
clerk in Kolchak’s army, could not accurately determine the location
hiding place with a treasure, claiming that after so many years he is not able
recognize the place. He was shot on charges of infiltration
delusion and deception of power. In the 50s they tried to find this gold
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1970, the KGB was looking for gold in the Khanty-Mansiysk region.
There is also information about a treasure hidden in the caves of Altai, and
a few years ago a Kazakh trace appeared.

Maybe,
to find Kolchak's gold, you have to... think in Polish. One of
the admiral's advisers at the time when this golden epic took place,
was a Pole. Writer, traveler, scientist, geographer, chemist and geologist,
Professor Ferdinand Anthony Ossendowski. Anti-communist, talented
intelligence officer and expert on Siberia, who returned to freedom in 1922
Poland. He reached the country through Manchuria and Mongolia, and how
some legends about Kolchak’s gold claim that part of it is hidden there
hidden treasures.

Tsar's gold captured by Admiral Kolchak,
has become so overgrown with myths that today it is difficult to separate
fiction from facts. The only thing that is certain is that the lost
people will talk about the treasure for a long time and look for it for just as long. U
Russians also have their own version of the legend of the Amber Room.