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A.F. Betankur

The need for the establishment of the Expedition Forwarding Agency was associated fueled with the enormous number of counterfeited banknotes whichassignations that were in circulation in Russia since the war with Napoleon. In 1815, when one rouble banknote assignations began to cost as little as only 20 kopecks in gold it was decided to replace the old banknotesassignations b y the new ones which would be printed on a fundamentally different polygraphic printing level. A special agency institution for printing state papers was to be established for that purpose.

This task was assigned to Lieutenant- General August A. Betancour. He studied the problem and resolved that the optimum solution will would be constructionng of a new manufacturing center which that would join together both paper making and printing of banknotes assignations and other state papers. A respective report was forwarded to Emperor Alexander I and it he fully approved it. The construction was completed by 1818.

Printing assignations of a the new type design of money at the Expedition for Forwarding Agency of the State Papers Procurement Stock began in the same year. It is the establishment of the Expedition Forwarding Agency, an production complex enterprise which that combined the whole process cycle of paper money and other financial credit documents making securities production that can be regarded as the date of Goznak establishment foundation. The paper produced by the Expedition Forwarding Agency soon became known as high quality paper gained recognition and was exported to other countries.