Quick Take
Rothschild & Co. has an office in Moscow and has been operating in Russia since the mid-1990s. Yet posts on social media falsely claim that Russia has barred the Rothschild banking family from doing business in the country. The claim is an adaptation of an old conspiracy theory about the family.
Full Story
A longstanding antisemitic conspiracy theory about the Rothschilds, a European banking family prominent since the 19th century, has been adapted to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In a video that’s been viewed on Facebook more than 200,000 times and shared on other platforms, a man seated in his car claims to explain why the U.S. is “trying to push a war with Ukraine against Russia.”
“It’s very, very simple,” he says. “Russia stands against the progression of the New World Order. Russia is the only country that does not have a centralized bank that is run by the Rothschild Luciferian family.”
The man making the claim is Richard Railey, an Atlanta-based graphic designer who contributes to a right-wing website called Citizen First News. Social media pages for CFN have also shared Rothschild conspiracy theories in the past.
Railey’s claim is also undercut by facts.
Rothschild & Co., one of the banks that retains the Rothschild family name, has an office in Moscow and has been operating in Russia since the mid-1990s, according to a search of financial news reports on LexisNexis.
The office is part of the company’s “global advisory” division, which provides advice on mergers and acquisitions and financing, according to the company.
The description of its services specifically in Russia, which was on the Rothschild & Co. website as recently as Feb. 25, said: “Global Advisory has had an on-the-ground presence in Russia for over a decade. We provide impartial, expert advisory and execution services to large and mid-sized corporations, private equity, families and entrepreneurs. Our Moscow team offers local clients the full range of our advisory services and holds an in-depth understanding of local and regional dynamics, and unparalleled high-level and government access supported by our senior advisers.”
We reached out to Rothschild & Co. for more details about its business in Russia, but we didn’t get a response.
For comparison, though, Rothschild & Co.’s presence in Russia appears to be similar to its footprint in both Canada and India, where it has one “global advisory” office in each country, according to its website.
As for Railey’s claim that Russia doesn’t have a “centralized bank” run by the Rothschild family, that’s true. Like other countries’ central banks, Russia’s central bank is an independent institution charged with setting monetary policy for the country.
While Railey’s video has gotten a lot of attention on social media, he isn’t the only one who has made this kind of claim. Caroline Klug, who runs an organization that books religious public speakers, posted a similar claim on one of her Facebook pages.
On Feb. 28, Klug posted a flurry of comments about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including one that referred to Russian troops advancing toward Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, saying, “I feel inclined to pray for them for success in taking the capital.”
“Another interesting piece of the puzzle,” she wrote on Facebook the same day. “‘Russian president Vladimir Putin took yet another decision for his country. ‘Under any circumstances’, the Rothschild family is banned from entering Russian territory.'”
Klug’s post linked to a 2016 story on a website called CS Globe — the CS stands for “conspiracy syndrome,” according to the site’s Facebook page and merchandise it sells.
The headline on that story claimed, “Putin Has Banned Rothschild And His New World Order Banking Cartel Family From Entering Russian Territory.”
But, as we said, a Rothschild business has been operating in Russia since the mid-1990s. It’s also worth noting that about six months before the CS Globe story was posted, Reuters reported that the company’s office in Moscow was expanding, in contrast to the trend at the time of Western banks scaling back in the area.
We asked CS Globe to provide support for its claim, but we didn’t hear back. We also reached out to Railey on Facebook for comment, but we didn’t hear back from him, either.
So, the claims that are circulating about Rothschild operations in Russia appear to be based on the same old conspiracy theories that have beset the family for years.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
Salmons, Paul. “Debunking the Rothschild conspiracy.” Paulsalmons.associates. 12 Feb 2022.
Hudson, Myles. “Where Do Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschild Family Come From?” Britannica. Accessed 7 Mar 2022.
Bouvier, Jean. “Rothschild family.” Britannica. Updated 17 Sep 2020.
Rothschild and Co. Moscow office. Accessed 8 Mar 2022.
Rothschild and Co. “Introducing Rothschild & Co’s Global Advisory business.” YouTube.com. 29 Jan 2019.
Rothschild and Co. “Our services in Russia and the CIS.” 4 Mar 2021.
Rothschild and Co. “Our services in India.” Accessed 7 Mar 2022.
Council on Foreign Relations. “What Is a Central Bank and What Does It Do for You?” World101.cfr.org. Accessed 7 Mar 2022.
Bank of Russia. “Legal Status and Functions.” cbr.ru. Updated 23 Nov 2021.
Sonshine International LLC. Corporate records. Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. Organized 11 Mar 2020.
“Putin Has Banned Rothschild And His New World Order Banking Cartel Family From Entering Russian Territory.” csglobe.com. 21 Sep 2016.
Golubkova, Katya and Oksana Kobzeva. “Rothschild, bucking trend, contemplates new hires in Russia.” Reuters. 16 Mar 2016.