Britannica Money (2024)

ruble, the monetary unit of Russia (and the former Soviet Union) and Belarus (spelled rubel).

The origins of the Russian ruble as a designation of silver weight can be traced to the 13th century. In 1704 Tsar Peter I (the Great) introduced the first regular minting of the ruble in silver. During the 18th century it was debased, and, after the middle of the 19th century, the rapidly depreciating paper money predominated in Russia’s circulation. In 1897 a gold ruble was substituted for the silver one, marking the change to a gold standard. Early in World War I, gold coins disappeared from circulation, and notes became inconvertible. During the period of the Russian Revolution and civil war, an inflation of astronomical dimensions made the ruble virtually worthless. A reform carried out during 1922–23 reestablished an orderly monetary system. The chervonets was introduced as the standard unit and the basis of the state bank’s note issue; the chervonets ruble, corresponding to one-tenth of a chervonets, was made a unit of reckoning. The ruble remained a term of denomination for treasury notes and silver coins. In the post-World War II reform of 1947, the chervonets was abandoned as the monetary standard and the ruble restored.

The Russian ruble is divided into 100 kopecks. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has the exclusive authority to issue banknotes and coins in Russia. Notes are issued in denominations ranging from 5 to 5,000 rubles. The obverse of the banknotes is adorned with images of structures and monuments, including a bridge over the Yenisey River in Krasnoyarsk, the Bolshoi Theatre building in Moscow, a monument to Peter the Great in Arkhangelsk pictured in front of a sailing vessel, and a monument to Yaroslav I in Yaroslavl. Coins are denominated in values from 1 to 50 kopecks, and there are also coins ranging in value from 1 to 25 rubles. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian ruble replaced the Soviet ruble at parity. Inflation battered the ruble during the 1990s, and in the late 1990s the old ruble was replaced at a rate of 1,000 to 1.

The rubel is also the currency unit of Belarus. The National Bank of the Republic of Belarus has the exclusive authority for issuing banknotes and coins in the country. The Belarusian rubel replaced the Russian ruble as the country’s official currency in 1992. However, the Russian ruble was reintroduced as the Belarusian currency when Russia and Belarus signed an agreement to establish a “ruble zone”; nevertheless, in 1994 the Belarusian rubel once more became the country’s sole currency.