The 1947 monetary reform was another chance for Goznak to prove itself.Goznak had to urgently (the task was given to Goznak in 1946) and secretly design and manufacture absolutely new banknotes at the new high quality level in terms of banknote paper and printing. Thus, one of the requirements for Goznak was to have tensile strength of the paper for new banknotes comparable to that of the US dollars. The 50 and 100 rouble banknotes were to carry Lenin portraits as watermarks. Goznak had no experience in manufacturing portrait watermarks on highly strong paper in those days. Moreover, the challenge appeared to be unsolvable in terms of technology. Nevertheless, the challenge was solved mainly thanks to the solution proposed by Goznak specialist V.I. Mudrik. Moreover, as a result of the application of the technology proposed by him it became possible to manufacture banknote paper with the portrait watermark in paper webs (prior to this invention the paper of such quality was manufactured worldwide only in sheets ). This method helped to substantially accelerate production capacity and meet the deadlines. Other numerous challenges had to be solved, often using very unconventional solutions. Thus, for example, the production of new banknotes in the pre-determinedvolume required new intaglio machines. Goznak had only one such a machine of the required level made in the US . It was impossible to agree on purchasing new machines during the Cold War. Goznak had no technical documents concerning the machine available. However the way out of this situation was found . The machine was taken to a plant in Rybinsk and local experts dismantled it and made duplicates of all its parts. The new machine created in such a way displayed good performance characteristics and soon Goznak was equipped with the new machines made at Rybinsk Plant.
To increase Goznak printing capacity, it also partially incorporated production facilities of the Geodesy and Cartography Printing Factory. This relieved to a certain extent the enormous load on the Moscow and the Krasnokamsk Printing Factories. Nevertheless, Goznak always had to overcome numerous technical difficulties and remedy almost inevitable fails since the new technology of the production of new banknotes was tried or tested in view of very tight deadlines all the time. On the other hand, banknotes of the new level of printing sometimes required raw materials of better quality, in particular better gelatin. Its production in necessary quantities and in-time delivery also had to be urgentlyarranged even in emergency mode.
Nevertheless, Goznak managed to accomplish its important task and manufacture the required quantity of banknotes in accordance with the schedule. New banknotes were of very high level of printing with the use of sophisticated multicolor printing and various security features. . Special attention was paid to the artistic design of banknotes – they were attractive and somehow resembled the samples of the tsarist currency that could be still remembered by the older generation.
The aim of the 1947 monetary reform was to take away redundant cash from the population. The banknotes stored were changed by the new banknotes at the rate of 1:10 (savings deposits were changed on a par to a certain limit). As a result, the state eliminated difficulties in its financial system which appeared due to the war and the country’s devastation actually at the cost of its population (i. e. the state took away the cash, striking a blow mainly to peasants who managed to save some cash during the first post-war years by selling their products and who traditionally kept their cash in the money-boxes) . At the same time prices for the goods being sold increased that shifted the burden of finance stabilizing on the population.
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