the Name of Brutus is usually associated with a Roman Senator, who stood at the head of the conspirators who killed Julius Caesar. However, in the beginning of XX century in Russia had his Brutus, whose name was widely known among fans of gambling, employees of the State Bank and readers of the crime report.
Brodowski ruble banknotes are some sample 1898 in denominations of one ruble. They were in Vogue during the last currency reform in the Russian Empire, which received the name of Sergei Witte, who served in the years 1892-1903 post of Finance Minister. Providing a gold ruble, reform Witte made the ruble a convertible currency and initially helped to stabilize the economy, but subsequent social upheaval led the Empire to collapse.
Design — in the form of rich decorations in the neo-Russian style that was very fond of the king, began under Alexander III. After the accession to the throne of Nicholas II on the obverse of rouble of the ticket had to change one the Royal monogram on the other, but otherwise the design has not changed. In this mode, the banknotes were issued until 1918 — a total of Imperial, Provisional and Soviet governments printed 801 million of such banknotes. However, only a small part of them received the name of Sergius of Brutus.
Since when Catherine II of Russia had the first banknotes, the authenticity of paper money certified not only watermarks, but also signatures of responsible persons. From the second half of the XIX century a duty to autograph each introduced into the banknote was charged with managing the State Bank of the Russian Empire and cashiers. One of these tellers was Sergei Brutus, who has worked in this place for about 26 years.
Legend has it that Brutus was a player. Fatal passion led him to embezzlement of public money, which he was forced to commit suicide. It’s hard to say for sure when it happened, but in the address and reference book “All Petersburg” for 1912 Brutus is still listed as an employee of the Bank, and in the next Yearbook is not mentioned.
the Story had continued through several years. With the outbreak of the First world war in Russia flourished gambling. Told that one lucky person has managed not just to win, but picked a fantastic jackpot, betting the last ruble. When he glanced at lucky bill, on it was the signature of the late cashier. Bruchovsky the ruble has become a legend.
it is Unlikely that this story ever going to get documentary evidence, but in No. 23 of the newspaper “the Petrograd leaflet” on January 24, 1915 was published the following note:
Instantly arose the tradition prescribes, going to the game, be sure to roll bruchovsky the ruble eight times, ThuOba the resulting small square could discreetly hold in the hand for good luck. For this reason, the majority of Bank notes extant, have traces of the characteristic bend.
the Fatal talisman has left a trace in the literature. In 1916 Nikolai Aseev wrote a poem, “Jump”, it ends with lines like:
Hear it as a shout,
back bending cool
the ruble pinching in the arm
the suicide of Brutus.
Mentions it and writer Sergei Kolbasiev. In the story “the River” trilogy, “Turn all of a sudden” in 1930, one of the heroes of which — an avid gambler, this story is given in the following wording:
Brutus had worked in the state Bank under the guidance of two managers — the aforementioned Eduard Pleske (until 1903) and Sergey Timashev (after 1903). Therefore, in addition to the autograph of the unfortunate cashier, at its nominal ruble also present the signature of one or the other. Speaking of “the sad fate of the Splash”, the writer meant his untimely demise: being appointed Minister of Finance in 1903, the Splash almost immediately, the terminally ill and died within a few months.
the Instance putovskogo of the ruble from the collection of the Museum of the Russian Diaspora contains a facsimile of the Splash. This bill came to us along with a purse holder and a note with the words “Purse grandmother of Natasha. BB nem “Brumowski” RUB for luck”.
the Fate threw the light members of the family, which has kept the paper. “Granny Natasha”, which once belonged to talisman, was Natalia von Bock, nee Kossovich. She was married to diplomat Ivan von Bock, their eldest son Nicholas followed in the footsteps of his father and before the revolution he was Secretary of the Russian diplomatic mission in Vatican city. After 1917, he remained in Italy, in the 1930s taught foreign languages in Japan, and ended his life a famous figure of the Church in the United States.
the Second son, Boris, became a naval officer. He was married to the daughter of major reformer of the Russian Empire Peter Stolypin. After the revolution he and his wife were first in Lithuania before the Second world war reunited with a brother’s family in Japan, then their life path was Poland, Austria and the United States.
a Similar fate awaited and Ludmilla von Bock — sister of Nikolai and Boris. Her lover was Sergei Rubtsov — the son of a famous Russian chemist Peter p. Rubtsov, who worked on explosives and collaborated with Mendeleev.
after Graduating in 1914, the physico-mathematical faculty of St. Petersburg University Sergey Rubtsov entered the Navy with the outbreak of the First world war he was seconded to the USA where he was responsible for checking the quality of gunpowder, which bought Russia. To return home a young specialist was only after the February revolution��and 1917. Once in Petrograd, Scarring volunteered for the Kabardian regiment of the Wild division, which participated in the disastrous campaign in Petrograd during the speech of General Kornilov against the Provisional government (the so-called Kornilov).
In 1918, the Scarring was granted leave to return to Petrograd, and to marry Ludmilla von Bock. Two years later, the family had a baby. From Soviet Russia the Scar family emigrated in 1925. Until 1939 the head of the family lived and worked in Latvia, and his wife and son were in Lithuania, in the estate of the family of Kossovich.
Double-threat of change in the political system forced Scar to withdraw from the scene: on the eve of the Second world war, when the Baltic States became Soviet, Rubtsova moved to Poland, and closer to the end of the war, in early 1945, the family moved to Austria. In 1949 they settled in the USA, where their descendants continue to live until now. Thanks to them, this bill appeared in the Moscow Museum.
Bruchovsky the ruble from the collection of the descendants of Natalia von Bock is part of the exhibition “In exile” Museum of the Russian Diaspora. You can read it using the virtual tour on the Museum’s website.
