Of his many fascinations, research collecting of obsolete foreign paper currency for 50 years has led Alan Cole to specialise in the dynamics which are the substance of this book. A reader of histories, he is aware that the fortunes of nations fluctuate and that their progress can be interpreted in a variety of ways. His method in this work is to focus on locations across the grand Russian landmass, moving slowly from west to east in three different phases: Europe to the Urals, Siberia and Central Asia, then Baikalia and the Far East.

For each of the cities or towns he identifies, he relates and illustrates paper currency emitted as the Bolshevik Revolution threatened or as a direct consequence of regional civil wars which followed. Russian numismatists and cataloguers may have covered much of this ground. However, the purpose of the present work is to introduce a geographical and historical approach to the infant Soviet Union for the benefit of an English-reading public, and especially those of a note-collecting mind.

The five hundred colour images, most not hitherto seen or imagined in Britain, are from the author’s own collection. Their introduction and explanations (some challengeable perhaps) all arise from his own reading and enquiry. The author hopes this book will encourage collecting interests as well as a greater enthusiasm to discover Russia’s history and culture.