In February 1918, during the Civil War in Russia, a vast part of the southern part of Siberia proclaimed itself an independent state with Tomsk as its center. The state was established to strengthen statehood in the east of Russia. The state of the Siberian Republic was headed by a Provisional Siberian Government which consisted of various anti-Bolshevik forces. One of the main problems faced by the government was the increasing monetary deficit. The old funds were quickly depleted. The lack of financial resources threatened the collapse of the government. The Provisional Siberian Government decided to issue its own banknotes to deal with this situation. These were short-term liabilities in obligations of 500, 1,000 and 5,000 rubles and notes of 1, 5 and 10 rubles.
In November 1918, great changes took place in the anti-Bolshevik government. With the assistance of English and French military groups, Admiral Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak was appointed Naval Minister of the Provisional Siberian Government on November 4. Thirteen days later, he staged a coup and became the Supreme Ruler and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of all Land and Naval Forces of Russia. The government he headed became known as the Provisional All-Russian Government.
These transformations did little to improve the financial situation in the region occupied by Kolchak’s armies, and even led to a decrease in monetary circulation. The banknotes issued by the Provisional Siberian Government continued to circulate even under Kolchak’s rule, but with minor changes. For short-term obligations (obviously, to make them seem more significant), the word Siberia was excluded. In addition, it was decided to put into circulation an obligation of 100 rubles. During Kolchak’s reign, in addition to obligations, treasury signs in denominations of 3 and 300 rubles were also introduced into monetary circulation, complementing a series of previously issued banknotes. Although Kolchak’s government was called “All-Russian”, these bills, as before, were called treasury signs of the Provisional Siberian Government.
With the collapse of Kolchak in January 1920, the issue of these banknotes was discontinued. Under Soviet rule, treasury notes and short-term obligations were canceled, however, they were still in use for some time. In 1921, Siberian money lost all its value completely.
