Joseph Noulens (29 March 1864 – 9 September 1944) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

politician and diplomat. Noulens became a member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

in 1903 and served as

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

from 1913 to 1914 and then as

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 1914 to 1915. In 1920 he became a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Involvement in Russia

In June 1917 he was appointed French ambassador to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Following the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, he worked with White Guards to undermine the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

regime. In 1918 he proposed a two-tier operation to stabilise the economy of regime set up by General

Yevgeny Miller Yevgeny-Ludvig Karlovich Miller (; – 11 May 1939) was a Russian general of Baltic German descent and one of the leaders of the anti-communist White Army during the Russian Civil War. After the civil war, he lived in exile in France. Kidnapped b ...

in North Russia. The scheme involved a loan of 15 million rubles, set against a lien of 20 million rubles worth of sawn wood. The second phase involved issuing 200 million rubles in back notes backed by the allies at a rate of 10 - 1 to the dollar. (i.e. 20 million dollars). However, as the security against this was to be $25million worth of concessions from the Russian forestry industry, concern about the instability of the regime led to an alternative plan involving the creation of a

currency board In public finance, a currency board is a mechanism by which a monetary authority is required to maintain a fixed exchange rate with a foreign currency by fully backing the commitment with foreign holdings, or reserves. This policy objective requ ...

being adopted. this had been devised by

John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist and philosopher whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originall ...

. He was depicted with two other French members of a delegation in a poster issued by the

Russian Telegraph Agency Russian Telegraph Agency (, ROSTA) was the state news agency in Soviet Russia between 1918 and 1935. It was the central information organ of the Soviet Union. After the creation of Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union in 1925, it remained the ne ...

(Glavpolitprosvet). They were shown laughing and planning to bring the return of the monarchy. After the failure of Bruce Lockhart—

Sidney Reilly Sidney George Reilly (; – 5 November 1925), known as the "Ace of Spies", was a Russian-born adventurer and secret agent employed by Scotland Yard's Special Branch and later by the Foreign Section of the British Secret Service Bureau, the p ...

conspiracy to assassinate

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

, Noulens left Russia.The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979)
/ref> In 1919 he became President of an international association of creditors of Russia, which agitated against diplomatic recognition of the Bolshevik regime but they did not accept responsibility for the old debts made by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

He later became leader of the Society of French Interests in Russia. At a meeting in Paris in February 1922 they demanded a veto on negotiations with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

unless the latter acknowledged the old debts. This view was promoted at the

Genoa Conference The Economic and Financial Conference was a formal conclave of representatives from 34 European countries held in the ancient Palazzo San Giorgio of Genoa, Italy, from 10 April to 19 May 1922. Unlike the previous International Monetary and Econo ...

held from 10 April to 19 May 1922.

Books

*''My Mission in Soviet Russia'' (1933)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noulens, Joseph 1864 births 1939 deaths Politicians from Bordeaux Independent Radical politicians Democratic Republican Alliance politicians Radical Party (France) politicians Ministers of war of France Finance ministers of France Ministers of agriculture of France Members of the 8th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 9th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 11th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of Parliament for Gers French senators of the Third Republic Senators of Gers French general councillors Mayors of places in Occitania (administrative region) Ambassadors of France to the Russian Empire French people of World War I Knights of the Legion of Honour People of the Russian Revolution