Mortgage in the russian empire (mid-19th century - first quarter of the 20th century): historical and legal aspects

Introduction: today mortgage is one of the most urgent problems of both society and legislation. A practical solution to this problem is hardly possible without studying the evolution of mortgages in the historical and legal aspect. The desire to improve the mortgage relations, to develop the conditions that take into account the interests of both the creditors and debtors, prompted the legislators to create the new forms of collateral; in this regard, the study of mortgage as an institution of collateral, showing its evolution in the Russian Empire is relevant. The purpose of this article is to analyze the process of mortgage development as a collateral form in the Imperial Russia in the historical and legal aspect. Methods: the study is based on the methods: the dialectical, historical and legal, complex, comparative law, system and structural ones, allowing studying the phenomena in the development and identifying the cause-and-effect relationships. Results: the author’s point of view shown in the work is based on the legislation of the Russian Empire, as well as the works of legal scholars of the Imperial period concerning the pledge of real estate. The analysis of the rules governing the mortgage relations relating to real estate revealed the advantages of the lender over other persons in the studied period, as well as established that the right to pledge real estate had focused on the subject of collateral, and the pledgee had obtained satisfaction, as a rule, from its value. Conclusions: as a result of the study it was found that with the adoption of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire in 1835, the legislation had become systematized. The Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was the general imperial and state code, and the provisions contained therein relating to the collateral relations were fundamental and valid throughout the territory of the Russian Empire. In addition, in the Russian Empire, after the abolition of serfdom, the system of mortgage lending became differentiated depending on the class, namely, the mortgagor’s belonging to the estate. The issuance of mortgage loans to the nobles, as a rule, was made on more favorable terms than to the peasants. Also in the Russian Empire the mortgage relations became widespread in the 70-ies of the XIX century, after the abolition of serfdom, when the Russian Empire was formed by the State peasant land bank (founded in 1882), the State noble land bank (founded in 1885), and the mortgage became the activity of the special credit institutions.