The road to Kyiv took almost two days.
The carriage moved slowly along the autumn road. The fields had already been harvested, and rare stacks of hay stood on the horizon. Sometimes they passed small villages where grain was drying beside the houses and people gathered near the wells.
Autumn could already be felt in the air.
A light wind carried dry leaves across the road. Orchards near the villages stood almost empty after the harvest.
By the evening of the second day hills began to appear ahead.
The road gradually climbed higher.
When the carriage reached one of the rises, the city opened before them.
Kyiv stretched along the Dnipro in wide terraces. High above the river stood old monasteries and churches. Their golden domes reflected the cold autumn light.
Below, closer to the water, warehouses, piers, and the long streets of Podil spread along the bank.
Thin columns of smoke rose above the roofs.
Barges moved slowly along the river.
Skoropadskyi watched the city silently for a while.
Kyiv had always made a strong impression.
It was older than most cities of the empire.
And at the same time it remained one of the most active trading centers of the southwest.
The carriage began to descend.
Soon the road brought them down toward Podil.
Here the city looked completely different.
The streets were louder.
Carts loaded with goods moved toward the river docks. Merchants argued near their shops. Workers rolled barrels across the cobblestones.
Barges stood along the pier.
Dockworkers carried sacks of grain from wagons directly onto the vessels. Several small boats slowly pushed away from the shore.
Signs hung along the streets.
Trading houses.
Warehouses.
Banking offices.
This was the heart of the city's commerce.
The carriage stopped near a hotel.
After the long road Skoropadskyi briefly went up to his room, but soon afterward he left again for his meeting.
Two men were waiting for him in a small office.
One of them was a lawyer.
The other represented one of Kyiv's banking houses.
Papers lay across the table.
The lawyer began the conversation.
—"You want to establish a bank?"
—"Yes."
The lawyer nodded.
—"Then we must begin with a charter."
He spread several documents across the table.
—"Any financial institution must have a management structure, capital, and clearly defined areas of activity."
Skoropadskyi sat down.
—"The bank's main task will be loans."
The banker looked at him carefully.
—"Loans to whom?"
—"Landowners. Enterprises. New factories."
The banker folded his hands.
—"You intend to finance industry?"
—"Yes."
—"And agriculture?"
—"Both."
The lawyer made several notes.
—"That will require serious capital."
—"We will gather it."
The banker smiled slightly.
—"Nobles rarely deal with banking."
Skoropadskyi answered calmly.
—"All the more reason to begin."
The room fell silent for a few seconds.
The lawyer looked again at the documents.
—"What do you want to call the bank?"
—"The Industrial–Land Bank of Ukraine."
The banker thought for a moment.
—"An ambitious name."
—"But a clear one."
The discussion continued.
They spoke about the charter.
The management structure.
The board of directors.
The necessary amount of capital.
The lawyer said:
—"The starting capital must be large enough to inspire confidence."
—"How much?"
—"Several million rubles at least."
Skoropadskyi considered this for a moment.
—"That is possible."
The banker studied him carefully.
—"If several large families invest, the capital can indeed be gathered."
—"That is exactly what I expect."
The banker leaned slightly forward.
—"Do you intend to rely only on local capital?"
Skoropadskyi shook his head.
—"No."
—"Then on whom?"
—"Foreign investors."
The lawyer raised his eyebrows.
—"French?"
—"And Belgian."
The banker nodded slowly.
—"They are already investing heavily in southern metallurgy."
—"Yes."
Skoropadskyi continued:
—"The region of Kryvyi Rih holds enormous deposits of iron ore."
The banker said quietly:
—"French companies have already shown interest."
—"Which is why we need our own financial instrument."
He gestured toward the documents.
—"If the bank participates in such projects, it will control part of the industry."
The lawyer added:
—"That could change the entire economy of the region."
—"In time, yes."
The discussion continued for several hours.
They spoke about potential investments.
Railways.
Factories.
Grain trade.
Later that day Skoropadskyi visited one of Kyiv's larger banking houses.
The building stood not far from Khreshchatyk.
Large windows faced a busy street where carriages constantly moved through the traffic.
Inside the bank everything looked orderly.
High ceilings.
Long wooden counters.
Clerks in dark coats wrote figures into large ledgers.
Several clients waited quietly.
The manager received Skoropadskyi in a private office.
—"Pavlo Petrovych, I hear you intend to establish a new bank."
—"Yes."
—"That is a serious undertaking."
He motioned toward a chair.
—"Kyiv already has several established banking houses."
Skoropadskyi sat down.
—"But none of them systematically finances industrial development."
The manager looked at him carefully.
—"You intend to change that?"
—"Exactly."
He paused.
—"The southwest of the empire is rich in resources. Land. Grain. Iron ore. But too little capital remains here."
The manager nodded.
—"Most financial flows go to Saint Petersburg or Moscow."
—"Which is why the bank must be created here."
They spoke for some time about financial operations.
Loans for enterprises.
Industrial construction.
Railway investments.
The manager finally said:
—"If your bank truly operates in this direction, it could become one of the most influential financial institutions in the region."
Later that evening Skoropadskyi met several nobles who were already in Kyiv.
The meeting took place in a small drawing room.
—"Lizogub has already written to me," one of them said.
—"He supports the idea."
Another noble nodded.
—"I am ready to invest as well."
The discussion remained calm.
They spoke about investment sums.
Ownership shares.
Possible projects.
Some still had doubts.
One of them asked:
—"And if the enterprises fail?"
Skoropadskyi answered calmly.
—"The bank will issue loans secured by land and industrial assets."
He paused briefly.
—"That is more reliable than most trading ventures."
The conversation lasted a long time.
By evening the first agreements had been reached.
Late that night Skoropadskyi returned to the hotel.
The room was quiet.
Outside the city still moved.
Carriages rolled along the streets. Somewhere nearby music could be heard from a tavern.
He removed his coat and walked to the window.
Podil was lit by scattered street lamps.
Several barges still stood near the pier. Workers continued unloading cargo even at this hour.
Kyiv rarely slept.
Skoropadskyi watched the river for a while.
A larger plan was slowly forming in his mind.
The bank would only be the first step.
If everything worked as expected, new factories would soon appear.
Workshops.
Railway lines.
Industry could change the entire region.
He looked once more at the dark water of the Dnipro.
There was much work ahead.
But the beginning had already been made.