3 based on 231 votes this month Reviews Deposits News Rating

Deposit and lending rates Raiffeisenbank

Min. credit rate - 11.99%

Max. deposit rate - 6.42%

Main state registration number: 1027739326449 Assets, billion rubles: 1007 Issuing and acquiring bank cards: MasterCard Int., VISA International, Customs card, Customs card ROUND Raiffeisenbank official website: http://www.raiffeisen.ru/ Single free phone: 8 495 721-99-00

Joint Stock Company Raiffeisenbank is a subsidiary of the large Austrian banking holding Raiffeisen, which manages an extensive network of leasing companies and subsidiary banks. In the territory Russian Federation The bank has been operating since 1996. From its opening until 2007, the bank bore the name Raiffeisenbank Austria. After merging with Impexbank in 2007, the bank became known as Raiffeisenbank. The Russian division of Raiffeisenbank is a universal credit organization that provides a comprehensive range of services to corporate clients and individuals. At the same time, Raiffeisenbank is highly active in the international foreign exchange and interbank markets, being a member of many foreign exchange and stock exchange associations and organizations.

At the beginning of 2015, Raiffeisenbank was one of the fifteen largest banks in Russia in terms of assets, equity capital and the volume of private deposits and loans to individuals. Raiffeisenbank provides services to corporate clients and individuals, non-residents and residents. The bank's main focus is retail and corporate lending, especially to small and medium-sized businesses. The bank has a large and active customer base, which includes a large number of large Russian and foreign companies. The bank's branch network in Russia includes seven branches, more than eighty operational offices and more than two hundred additional offices in eighty Russian regions.

During its activities in Russia, the bank was awarded a number of prestigious financial awards, such as “Best foreign bank in Russia", " Best bank in Russia”, “Best foreign exchange dealing of the year”, and also received awards in the following categories: “Big Money 2012”, BBB “Best foreign bank in the field of Private Banking in Russia”, “Best deposit bank", "Best branch network Western Bank in Russia", "Largest Banking Branch", "Best Retail Bank in Russia" and Cbonds Awards for the Best Deal initial placement bonds.

Third Party Ratings and Rating Agencies

Expert RA
Moody's
Fitch	BBB-
S&P
Min. car loan rate
Min. mortgage rate	6

Latest Reviews of Raiffeisenbank

I use the services of this bank, the Sennaya branch, a very long time ago I first visited debit card, now credit. I can’t say anything negative about working with bank cards, but how do employees inform about credit products and the accompanying conditions are simply terrible! I was careless to take consumer loan from this bank, required condition life insurance, etc. I told the girl Olga that I would most likely pay off my obligations ahead of schedule, and that as a result, life insurance, etc. - the conditions are such that you receive 50% of the amount of insurance paid for the loan period, i.e. The insurance amount is 50 tr., repaid the loan earlier, pay interest for use and 25 tr. insurance. The bank will return you only 50% if you repaid it within the first month or less if you repay the loan later. The most disgusting thing is that I repeatedly asked the employee Olga about the amount of the insurance refund - but did not receive an intelligible answer. Conclusion: Bank employees provide deliberately false information about loan products. life insurance is a hidden commission of this bank. Pay attention to this. Now I am closing all cards and relationships with this bank. For companies that also had current accounts open, we stop operations and say goodbye to this deceitful bank.

69zum11, 30.05.2017 Link

I have a personal consumer loan from Raiffeisenbank without collateral at 17.9%, the application was reviewed within two days, but I submitted it through the banking.ru service, where I found such an offer in a loan search engine. Also on the site there is an examination from them about this loan with all the pitfalls - this is the presence of a minimum amount limit early repayment. But for me the advantages turned out to be more significant: large sum loan without collateral, no commissions and insurance.

sofima, 29.09.2016 Link

I used the services of Raiffeisenbank for several years. Mostly credit cards. Recently, I urgently needed a large sum, and decided to take out a consumer loan from them. I submitted an application through the website, after a while they called me from the bank and informed me that the loan had been pre-approved, they told me to bring Required documents(certificate of income and copy of employment). As a result of a misunderstanding with a repeated call with the employee with whom I communicated, the status of the application rolled back to its original stage and the call center did not offer me anything better than to resubmit the application through the website. I decided to give up and go to another bank for a loan.

Maksim, 13.09.2016 Link

I would like to give feedback about the Samara branch. It seems to me that this is almost an exemplary bank in terms of customer service. The staff are always polite and friendly. No matter how many questions arose, everything was always resolved quickly. Keep it up!

Egor, 26.08.2016 Link

Raiffeisenbank deposits

5.12.2018 Raiffeisenbank launches a new deposit “Profitable Season”
Raiffeisenbank announces the launch of a new deposit “Profitable Season”, the maximum rate of which will be 6.5%. A deposit can be opened for a period from 6 months to 2 years with a minimum deposit amount of 50 thousand rubles...
2.11.2018 Raiffeisenbank increases rates on deposits in rubles
Raiffeisenbank increases interest rates for deposits “Stable growth”, “Personal choice” and “Freedom of action”. The maximum rates on deposits in rubles are 5.25%, 4.39% and 4% per annum, respectively... 11/24/2016 We have increased the rates on deposits in rubles
We have increased the rates on deposits in rubles “Profitable” and “Welcome! (Premium)". Now the maximum rate on the “Profitable” deposit is 8% per annum... 11/17/2016 Time to save! 6% per annum as part of the “Save with us!” service
Rate by savings account“Target”, opened as part of the “Save with us!” service. increased to 6% per annum for salary and individual salary clients of the bank... 05/27/2016 Changes in the general conditions for servicing accounts and deposits
We inform you that from June 9, 2016 new General terms servicing accounts, deposits and consumer loans citizens...

Raiffeisenbank news

06/19/2018 Raiffeisenbank offers online cash desk for business
Raiffeisenbank, fiscal data operator "First OFD" and the company "Avanpost" offer representatives of small and medium-sized businesses an online cash register that meets new requirements... 02/26/2018 New service for investments in Raiffeisen-Online
Are you making an investment? Manage your assets more conveniently and quickly! We launched new service for premium clients - “Broker” in Raiffeisen-Online... 06/20/2017 Changing the rules of the #ALLRAZU loyalty program
From July 1, 2017, changes in the procedure for accruing points for the #ALLINSTANT program will come into force. The changes will apply only to new program participants... 03/20/2017 Refund taxes in Internet banking
Now you can return part of the tax paid in the Raiffeisen-Online Internet bank with the help of a tax consultant... 03/13/2017 Ruble transfers are becoming even more convenient
Now you can transfer rubles to another bank through Raiffeisen-Online, Elbrus-Internet and Raiffeisen Business Online until 18.00 on weekdays. The money will be sent on the same day...

Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen was not a hero or a revolutionary, but there is practically no city or village in Austria where there is not a Raiffeisen Square or a street named after him. The bridge over the Rhine is named after him, the Raiffeisen Museum is located in the city of Weyerbusch, and, of course, his name is associated with the organization that he created to help people.

But that's today. And then, in the second half of the 19th century in Europe, during the period of reforms, the destruction of the old order, when competition became tougher, farmers were in dire need of funds for development. However, there was nowhere to expect support - there was no way to count on government help, and private lenders, due to high risks and administrative costs for small loans, asked too much high interest rates, ruinous for farms.

Friedrich Raiffeisen was very familiar with poverty. He was born on March 30, 1818 in the German province of Westphalia, in the small town of Hamm, into a poor family of a small farmer and was the seventh of nine children. The godfather, a priest, helped the boy receive his primary education, after which Friedrich was able to begin a military career. But early in 1842 he became seriously ill, causing his eyesight to deteriorate greatly. Raiffeisen left the military field and began working in the administration of the city of Koblenz. For his successful service, he was appointed mayor of the city of Weyerbusch and was finally able in 1845 to marry Emilie Storck, the daughter of a pharmacist from Remagen.

The population of Weyerbusch, like many other towns and villages in Central Europe, lived in poverty. Farmers and artisans lacked funds. All these problems were clear to Friedrich Raiffeisen. Of course, he was familiar with the utopian theories of improving the world, of which there were many, but these were only beautiful words. Suffering, grief and poverty affected people close to Raiffeisen, and he looked for a practical way to actually help them.

In 1847, Raiffeisen began using his small fortune and donations from wealthy people to create charitable lending societies to help his poor compatriots. But it was obvious that the success of an organization whose purpose was to help its members could not depend on charitable donations. Such an organization should be based on the principle of mutual assistance of those for whom it is created, Raiffeisen believed. With this idea, the creation of the first agricultural cooperative began. Those who needed funds should not rely on private donations and social assistance from the state, but strive to help themselves and their loved ones themselves, creating unions and cooperatives that would give them the opportunity to sell their products for more favorable conditions and thus withstand competition. The first Raiffeisen cooperative credit union was founded in 1846. Credit unions that provided their members with a range of banking services, helped people pool their savings in order to issue loans to union members on reasonable terms.

In 1872, to reduce financial risks and exchange information, Raiffeisen united unions at the regional level into a regional cooperative credit union, and in 1877 opened Main office. The symbol of the Raiffeisen organization was two crossed horse heads. This sign, according to ancient custom, was attached to the gables of the roofs and protected the inhabitants from all harm.

By the time of Raiffeisen's death in 1888, there were 425 societies he created in Germany and about 120 in Austria.

The system also developed during the 20th century. The Raiffeisen Group was created with the parent institution Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich. In the 80s of the 20th century, the Raiffeisen group began to open subsidiary banks in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and is currently one of the leading financial groups in the region. Raiffeisenbank has been operating in Russia since 1996.

Friedrich Raiffeisen himself could hardly have imagined that his modest beginnings would acquire such a scale. He simply could not remain indifferent to the suffering of the people around him. And not everyone knows that the man who during his lifetime was called “Father Raiffeisen” experienced many personal tragedies: first the death of two children, and then his beloved wife in 1863. At the age of 47, he was practically blind, but with the help of his daughter Amalia, who became his personal secretary, he continued to monitor the work of the organizations he created.

On March 11, 1888, Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen died and was buried in the cemetery in the city of Geddesdorf.

Raiffeisenbank was registered in mid-1996 as a credit institution with 100% Austrian capital under the name Raiffeisenbank Austria. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation received a general license in 2001, in the same year it was transformed into a closed Joint-Stock Company. In February 2005, became a member of the deposit insurance system individuals.

At the beginning of 2006, ImpexBank OJSC (see “Book of Memory”), which once acted as a bridger for the bank “ Russian Credit» Boris Ivanishvili, became one of the banks of the Raiffeisen group. The merger of the Russian Raiffeisenbank and ImpexBank was completed in November 2007. Since December 2007, the merged bank has been operating under the name ZAO Raiffeisenbank. In February 2015, the organizational and legal form was changed to a joint stock company.

In November 2015, reports appeared in a number of media outlets that the Russian division of Raiffeisenbank could be put up for sale and that Alfa-Bank was showing interest in this transaction. However, this information was categorically denied by the press service of the Russian “daughter” of Raiffeisen Bank International(RBI), noting that the group has no plans to sell its business in the Russian Federation. Nevertheless, in November 2015, a deal was concluded to sell NPF Raiffeisen, which belonged to Raiffeisenbank, to the BIN group.

Currently, the sole shareholder of the bank is Raiffeisen Bank International AG with a 100% stake.

The bank has a developed network separate divisions, including five branches (in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod and Krasnodar) and 177 branches as of June 30, 2018. The number of bank personnel as of this date was 8,636 people (at the end of 2017 - 8,171 people). Plastic card holders have access to about 2 thousand of Raiffeisenbank’s own ATMs, as well as about 16 thousand ATMs of partner networks, where they can withdraw cash at “home” rates. The total number of places and points for replenishing cards and bank accounts is 8.7 thousand.

The bank provides a wide range of services to individuals and legal entities. The main activities of the bank are lending real sector economy and, above all, large Russian manufacturers and exporting enterprises, lending to individuals (cash loans, car loans, mortgages, refinancing) and SMEs, conversion transactions, cash settlements, attracting deposits from legal entities and individuals, documentary transactions, transactions with securities, issuance and servicing of bank cards (MasterCard and Visa), depository and brokerage service, investment banking operations.

The volume of net assets based on the results of the first eight months of 2018 showed a significant increase (by 19.8%) and exceeded the mark of 1 trillion rubles as of September 1. During this period, all major sources of funding showed a noticeable increase in liabilities (from 11% to 53%) (with the exception of its own bonds, which the bank almost completely repaid), including client funds, interbank loans and equity. In the structure of assets, more than half of the total growth was accounted for by investments in securities (+140.1%), although the loan portfolio also showed a very noticeable increase (+13.9%). The bank received part of its liquidity from the repayment of issued interbank loans (the portfolio decreased by 18%). There is also a 17% reduction in the volume of highly liquid balances.

In the structure of the bank's liabilities as of September 1, 2018, 41.7% accounted for deposits of individuals. The volume of deposits of individuals since the beginning of 2018 has increased by 13.7% and by reporting date was 76.2% formed by funds on current and card accounts. About 31% of liabilities are funds in accounts and deposits of companies, non-profit and financial organizations(including funds budgetary organizations). At the same time, a significant part of client funds of legal entities is formed by balances on current accounts (about 73% as of September 1, 2018). A share of 7% of liabilities comes from borrowings from banks (both Russian and foreign, including parent company), the volume of issued securities decreased by the reporting date to almost zero due to the redemption of its own bonds. A share of 0.5% - balances on correspondent accounts of loro Russian credit institutions and non-resident banks.

Raiffeisenbank has a strong and very active client base, which includes a large number of large Russian and foreign companies, as well as individuals. Intramonth turnover on customer accounts since the beginning of 2018 amounted to 2.5-4.1 trillion rubles monthly. An extremely important part of the passive base is the funds of individuals (including balances on card accounts), which implies a significant level of dependence on this source of funding. Another important source of funds for development was long-term deposits attracted from the banks of the parent group. Strength Bank now has the opportunity to attract significant volumes of long-term funding both in Russian and international markets. Client base credit institution demonstrates a slight concentration on large clients: as of June 30, 2018, funds from the twenty largest clients accounted for 9.6% of the total amount of client liabilities under IFRS (at the end of 2017 - 7.2%). The basis of the client base consists of companies and organizations from the real estate, manufacturing, trade and financial sectors.

Own funds as of the reporting date formed about 12% of liabilities. Since the beginning of 2018, the amount of capital calculated according to the Central Bank’s methodology has increased by 11%, amounting to 143.4 billion rubles as of September 1, 2018. However, the sufficiency standard own funds bank (N1.0) decreased over the corresponding period from 13.3% to 12.9% (with a minimum of 8%) due to an increase in the value of risk-weighted assets. As of July 1, 2018, the bank attracted subordinated loans from the parent group in the amount of 32.8 billion rubles.

As part of the assets, 62.1% is accounted for by the loan portfolio, 17.2% is formed by investments in securities, 8.9% is a portfolio of placed interbank loans, 4.1% is highly liquid assets (mainly cash balances and correspondent accounts with the Central Bank). Other assets occupy 6.3%, fixed assets and investments in the capital of other organizations in the aggregate account for no more than 1.5%.

The loan portfolio as of the reporting date was dominated by loans to enterprises and organizations with a share of 58.7%. However, since the beginning of 2018, loans to individuals have shown the greatest growth, both in absolute and relative terms (+47.5 billion rubles and +21.6%, respectively). However, loans to legal entities also contributed to the overall portfolio growth since the beginning of 2018 (+13.9%), adding 9.1%, or 31.6 billion rubles. The level of overdue debt in the total portfolio amounted to 3.4% by the reporting date, having decreased slightly since the beginning of 2018. The provisioning level as of the reporting date more than doubled the share of overdue loans, amounting to almost 7%. Security level loan portfolio pledge of property is traditionally low and amounts to 36.7% at the reporting date (at the beginning of 2018 - 48.7%). According to IFRS reporting, the industry structure of the corporate loan portfolio as of June 30, 2018 was dominated by manufacturing (38.4%), trade (22.9%), real estate (11.7%) and mining (10.8%). In the retail sector, the bank has a strong position in consumer lending(56.0% in the retail portfolio at the end of the first half of 2018), mortgages (30.8%) and loans for the purchase of housing (except mortgages, 12.2%).

The securities portfolio grew almost 2.5 times during the study period: if at the beginning of 2018 its share in assets was 8.6%, then by the reporting date the share increased to 17.2%. Securities are almost entirely represented by bonds, the structure of which, in turn, is dominated by Russian government securities with a share of 72%. The remainder of the portfolio is represented by Eurobonds (14.5% in the portfolio), bonds Russian companies(10.5%) and banks (3.6%). The portfolio turnover is low, including on repo transactions carried out on an irregular basis.

The bank is extremely active in the interbank loan market. Continuously deploys excess liquidity both overnight foreign banks, and in Russian banks. It also actively attracts liquidity - both from the parent company and from Russian banks and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The credit institution is one of the market makers of the market conversion operations(Forex), the turnover of which during the period under study ranged from 10 trillion to 20 trillion rubles per month.

For January - August 2018, the credit institution received a profit of 13.2 billion rubles according to RAS (for similar period 2017 profit amounted to 16.2 billion rubles). For the whole of 2017 net profit bank amounted to 23.2 billion rubles.

Supervisory Board: Johann Strobl (chairman), Andrey Stepanenko, Martin Grüll, Andreas Gschwenter, Peter Lennkh, Hannes Mösenbacher.

Governing body: Sergey Monin (chairman), Nikita Patrakhin, Andrey Popov, Gert Hebenstreit, Roland Wass, Roman Zilber.

*Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) occupies a leading position in the field of corporate and investment business on banking market Austria, as well as in Central and Eastern Europe, where it has a developed network of subsidiary banks. After the mergerRBIwith its main shareholder Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG (RZB) in March 2017, the new combined structure operates under the name Raiffeisen Bank International AG. The total number of employees of the group is about 50 thousand people. The group serves 16.7 million clients and has 2.4 thousand branches. Since 2005, the group's shares have been listed on the Vienna stock exchange(about 41.2% of the bank’s shares are in free float).

RBIis the second largest bank in Austria. As of June 30, 2018, the group’s total assetsRBIamounted to 143.6 billion euros (+6.3% for the first half of 2018), loans to customers - 77.9 billion euros (+0.3%), customer deposits - 79.9 billion euros (-6%). Net profit for the first half of 2018 was 820 million euros (for the same period in 2017 - 656 million euros).

on 2013-07-19

Cash loan

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Raiffeisenbank was registered in mid-1996 as a credit institution with 100% Austrian capital under the name Raiffeisenbank Austria. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation took the main license in 2001, and in the same year it was transformed into a closed joint stock company. In February 2005, it became a participant in the deposit insurance system.

At the beginning of 2006, OJSC IMPEXBank (see “Book of Memory”), which was once a bridger for Boris Ivanishvili’s Russian Credit Bank, became one of the banks of the Raiffeisen group. The merger of the Russian Raiffeisenbank and IMPEXBank was completed in November 2007. Since December 2007, the merged bank has been operating under the name ZAO Raiffeisenbank.

It must be emphasized that in November 2015, there were reports in a number of media outlets that the Russian division of Raiffeisenbank was possibly put up for sale and that Alfa-Bank was showing interest in this transaction. But this information was categorically denied by the press service of the Russian subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), noting that the group has no plans to sell its business in the Russian Federation. But besides this, in November 2015, a transaction took place to sell NPF Raiffeisen, owned by Raiffeisenbank, to the BIN group.

On this moment is entirely controlled by the structures of the Austrian Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG, the main owner of the stake in the entire group. The financial institution is one of the largest universal Russian banks and provides all types of banking services.

The bank has a developed network of separate branches, including six branches (in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnodar and Nizhny Novgorod), 177 additional offices and 2 operating cash desks outside the cash register.

The organization serves more than 12 thousand. corporate clients. More than 1.3 thousand ATMs and partner ATM networks (Rosbank, MDM, Uralsib, Tatfondbank, Unicredit) are available to plastic card holders. The number of personnel is about nine thousand. Human.

RZB provides all types of banking services for individuals and legal entities.

At the beginning of 2015, the bank showed a slight decrease in assets by 0.9%. The main points of decline in the passive part of the balance sheet were borrowings from Russian banks and the Bank of Russia, and balances on receipts of corporate clients, which was partially offset by the influx of funds from individuals. Total investments and loan portfolio decreased in assets credit organization into highly liquid assets; at the same time, the number of placements on the interbank lending market increased.

The structure of the bank's liabilities is moderately diversified. The bank's liabilities are 36.21% represented by deposits of individuals, 22.88% - balances on receipts and deposits of companies, non-profit and monetary organizations(including budget deposits), 12.31% - attracted from banks (both Russian and foreign), 14.2% comes from personal funds (reserves and capital). Another approximately 2.6% is represented by its own issued securities.

Raiffeisenbank has an excellent and very active client base, which includes many high-quality Russian and foreign companies and individuals. Monthly turnover from customer receipts amounts to 1.5-2 trillion rubles every month. A very integral part of the passive base are funds from individuals (as well as balances on card receipts), which characterizes a high level of dependence on this source of funding.

The second responsible source of funds for development was long-term deposits attracted from the banks of the parent group. The strength of RZB was the ability to attract large amounts of long-term funding, both in the Russian and international markets.

Of the assets, 62.6% is accounted for by the loan portfolio, investments in shares - 3.5% of net assets, another 18.5% - placements in banks (mainly foreign, as well as in the parent bank).

Loan portfolio - 553.2 billion rubles, 62.6% of net assets. Two to three amounts are represented by loans to corporate borrowers, and one third by retail. The portfolio overdue is quite low, at 4.68% of the portfolio (as of January 1, 2015 - 3.1%). The reserve level is 7.08%.

About 80% of the loan portfolio is secured by property collateral. More than 78% of loans are long-term (for a period of more than one year).

According to RAS reporting data for 2014, the following sectors of the economy predominate in the corporate portfolio: operations with real estate, provision and rental of favors (29.47%), manufacturing (27.71%), wholesale and retail trade (11.92%) and extraction of necessary minerals (10.61%). Among retail lending, the bank has strong positions in consumer lending (57.46%), mortgages (19.82%), and car loans (19.59%).

RZB is very active in the interbank loan market. Consistently deploys excess liquidity both overnight foreign banks, and to Russian banks. During the year, I worked quite actively with the Bank of Russia on repo operations, but as of the reporting date, the number of these operations was reduced to a minimum. About 83% of all interbank loans are placed mainly for short periods in foreign banks.

K:Banks founded in 1996

Story

The history of the Raiffeisen Group banks dates back to the mid-19th century, when the first cooperatives or mutual aid funds appeared to support peasants in times of famine and economic hardship.

The founder of the Raiffeisen group was Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen (1818-1888).

The bank began operating in Russia in 1996. Before merging with the Russian Impexbank, it was called Raiffeisenbank Austria.

In May 2013, the bank merged its own ATM network with the UniCredit Bank ATM network. In June 2016, the bank merged its own ATM network with the B&N Bank ATM network.

Activity

The bank provides a wide range of services to businesses and individuals. The bank has 52 branches and 1 representative office in Russia. You can also use the bank's services through remote channels banking services: Internet bank R-Connect, mobile bank R-Mobile, R-Control SMS bank, telephone bank and ATM network. Internet bank R-Connect was developed in 2002. Mobile app R-Mobile for iOS and Android operating systems was released in 2013.

The number of personnel as of December 31, 2015 is 7,931 people. The assets of Raiffeisenbank Austria as of December 31, 2015 amounted to 159.6 billion rubles, capital - 43.3 billion rubles, net profit - 24.8 billion rubles.

see also

Excerpt characterizing Raiffeisenbank

When, after a single dinner, he, with a kind and sweet smile, surrendering to the requests of the cheerful company, got up to go with them, joyful, solemn cries were heard among the youth. At balls he danced if there was no gentleman available. Young ladies and young ladies loved him because, without courting anyone, he was equally kind to everyone, especially after dinner. “Il est charmant, il n"a pas de sehe,” [He is very cute, but has no gender], they said about him.
Pierre was that retired good-natured chamberlain living out his days in Moscow, of which there were hundreds.
How horrified he would have been if seven years ago, when he had just arrived from abroad, someone had told him that he didn’t need to look for anything or invent anything, that his path had been broken long ago, determined from eternity, and that, no matter how he turn around, he will be what everyone else in his position was. He couldn't believe it! Didn’t he want with all his soul to establish a republic in Russia, to be Napoleon himself, to be a philosopher, to be a tactician, to defeat Napoleon? Didn’t he see the opportunity and passionately desire to regenerate the vicious human race and bring himself to the highest degree of perfection? Didn't he establish schools and hospitals and set his peasants free?
And instead of all this, here he is, the rich husband of an unfaithful wife, a retired chamberlain who loves to eat, drink and easily scold the government when unbuttoned, a member of the Moscow English Club and everyone’s favorite member of Moscow society. For a long time he could not come to terms with the idea that he was the same retired Moscow chamberlain whose type he so deeply despised seven years ago.
Sometimes he consoled himself with thoughts that this was the only way he was leading this life; but then he was horrified by another thought, that so far, how many people had already entered, like him, with all their teeth and hair, into this life and into this club, and left without one tooth and hair.
In moments of pride, when he thought about his position, it seemed to him that he was completely different, special from those retired chamberlains whom he had despised before, that they were vulgar and stupid, happy and reassured by their position, “and even now I am still dissatisfied “I still want to do something for humanity,” he said to himself in moments of pride. “Or maybe all those comrades of mine, just like me, struggled, were looking for some new, their own path in life, and just like me, by the force of the situation, society, breed, that elemental force against which there is no a powerful man, they were brought to the same place as I,” he said to himself in moments of modesty, and after living in Moscow for some time, he no longer despised, but began to love, respect and pity, as well as himself, his comrades by fate .
Pierre was not, as before, in moments of despair, melancholy and disgust for life; but the same illness, which had previously expressed itself in sharp attacks, was driven inside and did not leave him for a moment. "For what? For what? What is going on in the world?” he asked himself in bewilderment several times a day, involuntarily beginning to ponder the meaning of the phenomena of life; but knowing from experience that there were no answers to these questions, he hastily tried to turn away from them, took up a book, or hurried to the club, or to Apollo Nikolaevich to chat about city gossip.
“Elena Vasilievna, who has never loved anything except her body and is one of the stupidest women in the world,” thought Pierre, “seems to people to be the height of intelligence and sophistication, and they bow before her. Napoleon Bonaparte was despised by everyone as long as he was great, and since he became a pathetic comedian, Emperor Franz has been trying to offer him his daughter as an illegitimate wife. The Spaniards send up prayers to God through the Catholic clergy in gratitude for the fact that they defeated the French on June 14th, and the French send up prayers through the same Catholic clergy that they defeated the Spaniards on June 14th. My brother Masons swear on blood that they are ready to sacrifice everything for their neighbor, and do not pay one ruble each for the collection of the poor and intrigue Astraeus against the Seekers of Manna, and are busy about the real Scottish carpet and about an act, the meaning of which is not known even to those who wrote it, and which no one needs. We all profess the Christian law of forgiveness of insults and love for one’s neighbor - the law, as a result of which we erected forty forty churches in Moscow, and yesterday we whipped a fleeing man, and the servant of the same law of love and forgiveness, the priest, allowed the cross to be kissed by a soldier before execution.” . So thought Pierre, and this whole, common, universally recognized lie, no matter how accustomed he was to it, as if it were something new, amazed him every time. “I understand these lies and confusion,” he thought, “but how can I tell them everything that I understand? I tried and always found that deep down in their souls they understand the same thing as me, but they just try not to see it. So it must be so! But for me, where should I go?” thought Pierre. He experienced the unfortunate ability of many, especially Russian people - the ability to see and believe in the possibility of good and truth, and to see too clearly the evil and lies of life in order to be able to take a serious part in it. Every area of ​​labor in his eyes was associated with evil and deception. Whatever he tried to be, whatever he undertook, evil and lies repulsed him and blocked all paths of activity for him. Meanwhile, I had to live, I had to be busy. It was too scary to be under the yoke of these insoluble questions of life, and he gave himself up to his first hobbies just to forget them. He traveled to all sorts of societies, drank a lot, bought paintings and built, and most importantly read.