Nikolai Karl Paul von Bunge (23 November .S. 11 November�1823 – 15 June .S. 3 June�1895) was a German-Russian economist, academic and statesman who served as the minister of finance of the Russian Empire from 1881 to 1886. He is known as the preeminent architect of Russian capitalism under the reign of Alexander III

Early life (1823–1847)

Bunge was born on 23 November O.S. 11 November">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 11 November1823 in Kyiv, Russian Empire, Russia Empire. He was the second son of imperial physician Christian Gottlieb von Bunge, a specialist in pediatric diseases, and his second wife Katharina von Gebner. On his father’s side of the family he was a descendent of the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Bunge family of

East Prussian East Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's Free State of Prussia, ...

origin, and was a second generation of the Kievan branch. His grandfather, Georg Friedrich Bunge moved from the

Stallupönen Nesterov (), until 1938 known by its German language, German name (; ) and in 1938-1946 as Ebenrode, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Nesterovsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, locate ...

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

sometime in the 18th century. He graduated with a gold medal from the First Kyiv Gymnasium and later completed the Faculty of Law at St. Vladimir University in 1845, earning a Candidate of Law degree. In 1847, he obtained a Master’s degree in State Law with his dissertation ''“A Study of the Principles of Peter the Great’s Commercial Legislation.”'' He earned a Doctorate in Political Science in 1850 with his dissertation ''“The Theory of Credit.”''

Academia

Early years in academia (1845–1859)

On 31 October 1845, Bunge began teaching laws of state administration at the Nizhyn Lyceum of Prince Bezborodko. He became a professor on 19 December 1847 and served until 31 October 1850, lecturing on finance and financial law. In 1850, he was also appointed acting adjunct professor at St. Vladimir University in the Department of Political Economy and Statistics. In 1852, he defended his dissertation ''“On the Theory of Credit,”'' earning a Doctorate in Political Science and was confirmed as an extraordinary professor. On March 26, 1854, he became an ordinary professor. In 1858, he also began lecturing on financial legislation at the university.

Later years in academia (1859–1895)

On 4 December 1859, Bunge was elected a corresponding member of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

. Bunge served his first tenure as rector of Kiev University from 1859 to 1862. From 1863 to 1864, Bunge was the deputy grand tutor and thought financial theory and political economy to

Tsarevich Tsarevich (, ) was a title given to the sons of tsars. The female equivalent was ''tsarevna''. Under the 1797 Pauline Laws, Pauline house laws, the title was discontinued and replaced with ''tsesarevich'' for the heir apparent alone. His younger ...

Nicholas Alexandrovich, the son of Alexander II. In 1869, he became an ordinary professor in the Department of Police Law at St. Vladimir University effectively teaching economic policy. Bunge served his second term as rector of Kiev University from 1870 to 1875, and a third term from 1878 to 1880 after which he took a break from academia. He returned to academia in 1887 and lectured on political economy, statistics, and finance to Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovich, the future Emperor

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

, until 1889. On 13 March 1890, Bunge was appointed full academician in the section of historical and political sciences (political economy and statistics) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Ministry of Finance (1861–1881)

In addition to his academic career, he headed the Kyiv branch of the

State Bank of the Russian Empire The State Bank of the Russian Empire () was the dominant financial institution of the Russian Empire from its founding in 1860 until the Empire's end in 1917. A public bank headquartered in Saint Petersburg, it initially coexisted within the Emp ...

and led the Kyiv Mutual Credit Society. On 23 April 1861, he was granted the rank of

Actual State Councillor The Table of Ranks () was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a struggle with the existing hereditary nobility, or boyar ...

. Bunge was a professor of the

Kiev University The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (; also known as Kyiv University, Shevchenko University, or KNU) is a public university in Kyiv, Ukraine. The university is the third-oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and ...

, of which he served as a dean between 1859 and 1880, when he was summoned to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

to become a deputy minister and then (since 1881) Minister of Finance. Five years later, he became Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, the highest position in the civil administration of 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 ...

. Bunge undertook a number of reforms with the aim of modernizing the Russian economy. He consolidated the banking system of the Empire and founded the

Peasants' Land Bank The Peasants' Land Bank () was a financial institution in the Russian Empire founded by nobles during the reign of Alexander III. History The Peasants' Land Bank was created to help peasants purchase their own farms. The Peasants' Land Bank ...

(1882) which helped peasants to purchase land. He introduced important

tax law Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a ...

changes which seriously reduced the tax burden of the peasantry. The head tax was abolished and the

inheritance tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pro ...

was introduced. Bunge's policies towards the Russian industries were extremely

protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

. He promoted the construction of railways and spearheaded the first Russian labour laws, some of them aimed at reducing

child labour Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation w ...

. However, in 1887 under pressure of conservative deputies, accusing him of incompetence and incapability to overcome the budgeted deficit, N.K. Bunge resigned.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunge, Nikolay 1823 births 1895 deaths People from Kievsky Uyezd People from the Russian Empire of German descent Heads of government of the Russian Empire Finance ministers of Russia Government ministers of Russia Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Economists from the Russian Empire Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv alumni Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Rectors of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class