STATUTES OF THE ODESSA AND KIEV EXCHANGE AS A SOURCE ON THE HISTORY OF THE EXCHANGE DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE XIX CENTURY

Abstract

The article deals with some aspects of development of stock exchange business in Ukraine in the second half of the ХІХ century. The emphasis is made on the analysis of the activities of the two key stock exchange organizations of this period: the Odessa and Kiev exchanges, where trading operations were carried out related to the key branches of the Ukrainian economy of this era: sugar and grain. The main sources were the Statutes of the Odessa and Kiev Stock Exchanges, approved in the 60's. ХІХ centuries. These materials allow to highlight issues related to the organization of the activities of exchange institutions, to consider their structural organization and rules for conducting commercial activities, to show the functions and authorities of the governing bodies, in particular, the stock Exchange Committees and Exchange organizations.

A significant part of the articles of the Statutes highlights the functions, rights and duties of the Stock Exchange Committees - the governing bodies of financial organizations. According to these documents, this body should act as an intermediary in the occurrence of disputes in commercial matters, supervise the exchange house, and ensure proper and legitimate trade on the stock exchange.

In addition, the stock exchange committees entered into relations with representatives of the authorities, including Novorossiysk and Bessarabsky, as well as the Kiev Governor General. The Statute regulated the procedure for the provision of various documents to state institutions, in particular, reports to the foreign trade department, the military governor, the State Commercial Court, which were signed by two committee members.

The stock exchange committees of the largest stock exchanges of Ukraine in the period under review consisted of three or four members elected exclusively by local merchants of the first and second guilds, who were engaged in stock exchange business. One of the members of the committee was elected by its chairman. The composition of the governing body was elected for a period of three years. If the chairman focused on the maintenance of stock exchange documentation and the office, his assistants took on the function of treasurers, carried out economic tasks, and also acted as vice-chairmen in the absence of the chairman. If necessary, the committee authorized the election of two or three deputies to carry out various assignments from the number of permanently active stock traders.

Also, the Statutes of the Kiev and Odessa stock exchanges established sources of institutions’ revenue, which consisted of contributions for visits and dividends from capital and property owned by the stock exchange company. Extraordinary expenses arising in the process of the activities of institutions were paid only with the consent of the stock exchange company exercising general control over the financial activities of the Exchange Committees. Every year the committee made a financial report, which was published in local provincial news