Russian ruble

This article is about the currency of Russia. For other currencies named ruble in the past or present, see Ruble (disambiguation).

Ruble

Рубль (Russian) руб, р, Rub
Obverse of 100 ₽ banknote (2022) ruble coins
ISO 4217
Code	RUB (numeric: 643) RUR (1992-1997)
Subunit	0.01
Unit
Unit	ruble
Plural	The language(s) of this currency belong(s) to the Slavic languages. There is more than one way to construct plural forms.
Symbol	₽‎
Denominations
Subunit
1⁄100	kopeyka (копейка), коп. or к
Banknotes	5 ₽, 10 ₽, 50 ₽, 100 ₽, 200 ₽, 500 ₽, 1,000 ₽, 2,000 ₽, 5,000 ₽
Coins
Freq. used	1 ₽, 2 ₽, 5 ₽, 10 ₽
Rarely used	1 коп., 5 коп., 10 коп., 50 коп., 25 ₽
Demographics
Date of introduction	1704 (1704) (Tsardom of Russia, Russian Empire) 1992 (1992) (Russian Federation)
Replaced	Soviet ruble (SUR) (1922-1992)
Official user(s)	Russian Federation Including in the following internationally recognized occupied territories of Ukraine: Republic of Crimea Sevastopol Donetsk People's Republic Luhansk People's Republic Zaporozhye Kherson
Unofficial user(s)	Abkhazia South Ossetia
Issuance
Central bank	Central Bank of Russia
Website	www.cbr.ru
Printer	Goznak
Website	www.goznak.ru
Mint	Moscow Mint and Saint Petersburg Mint
Website	mmd.goznak.ru, spmd.goznak.ru
Valuation
Inflation	8.9% (November 2024)
Source	Central Bank of Russia
Method	CPI

The ruble or rouble (Russian: рубль, romanized: rublʹ; symbol: ₽; ISO code: RUB) is the currency of the Russian Federation. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's monetary authority independent of all other government bodies.

As of April 2019, the ruble was the 17th-most traded currency in the world, however, following the 2022 sanctions, as of April 2022, the ruble dropped to being the 34th most traded currency in the world. The ruble is subdivided into 100 kopecks which have fallen out of use due to inflation.

The ruble was the currency of the Russian Empire, which was replaced by the Soviet ruble during the Soviet Union era. Following the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, by September 1993, the Soviet ruble (code: SUR) was replaced in the Russian Federation by the Russian ruble (code: RUR) at par. However, preceding the 1998 Russian financial crisis, the ruble was this time redenominated with the new code "RUB" and was exchanged at the rate of 1,000 RUR = 1 RUB.

History

Overview

The ruble has been used in the Russian territories since the 14th century, and is the second-oldest currency still in circulation, behind sterling. Historically, the grivna, ruble and denga were used across Russian territories as measurements of weight. As a result of monetary reforms by Peter the Great, the ruble became a circulating coin in 1704 just before the establishment of the Russian Empire. It was also the first currency in Europe to be decimalised in 1704, when it was divided into 100 kopecks. The silver ruble was used until 1897 and the gold ruble was used until 1917.

The Soviet ruble officially replaced the imperial ruble in 1922 and continued to be used until 1993, when it was formally replaced with the Russian ruble in the Russian Federation and by other currencies in other post-Soviet states. The ruble has seen several incarnations and redenominations during its history, the latest of which is the introduction in 1998 of the current Russian ruble (code: RUB) at the rate of 1 RUB = 1,000 RUR.

Etymology

According to one version, the word "ruble" is derived from the Russian verb рубить (rubit), "to cut, to chop, to hack", as a ruble was considered a cutout piece of a silver grivna.

Rubles were parts of the grivna or pieces of silver with notches indicating their weight. Each grivna was divided into four parts; the name "ruble" came from the word "cut" because the silver rod weighing 1 grivna was split into four parts, which were called rubles.

Others say the ruble was never part of a grivna but a synonym for it. This is attested in a 13th-century birch bark manuscript from Novgorod, where both ruble and grivna referred to 204 grams (6.6 troy ounces) of silver. The casting of these pieces included some sort of cutting (the exact technology is unknown), hence the name from рубить (rubit). Another version of the word's origin is that it comes from the Russian noun рубец (rubets), the seam that is left around a silver bullions after casting: silver was added to the cast in two steps. Therefore, the word "ruble" means "a cast with a seam". A popular theory deriving the word ruble from rupee is probably not correct.

The ruble was the Russian equivalent of the mark, a measurement of weight for silver and gold used in medieval Western Europe. The weight of one ruble was equal to the weight of one grivna. Since the monetary reform of 1534, one Russian accounting ruble became equivalent to 100 silver Novgorod denga coins or smaller 200 Muscovite denga coins or even smaller 400 polushka coins. Exactly the former coin with a rider on it soon became colloquially known as kopek and was the higher coin until the beginning of the 18th century. Ruble coins as such did not exist till Peter the Great, when in 1704 he reformed the old monetary system and ordered mintage of a 28 g (0.90 ozt) silver ruble coin equivalent to 100 new copper kopek coins. Apart from one ruble and one kopek coins other smaller and greater coins existed as well.

Both the spellings ruble and rouble are used in English, depending on the author's native dialect. The earliest use recorded in English is the now completely obsolete robble. The form rouble is preferred by the Oxford English Dictionary and probably derives from the transliteration into French used among the Tsarist aristocracy. It may have been retained in English to avoid confusion with "rubble". In general, American, and some Canadian, authors tend to use "ruble" while other English-speaking authors use "rouble". In American English there is a tendency for older sources to use rouble and more recent ones to use ruble. However, usage is not consistent and major publications are known to use both (though usually preferring one or the other).

The Russian plurals that may be seen on the actual currency are modified according to Russian grammar. Numbers ending in 1 (except for 11) are followed by nominative singular рубль rubl, копейка kopeyka. Numbers ending in 2, 3 or 4 (except for 12–14) are followed by genitive singular рубля rublya, копейки kopeyki. Numbers ending in 5–9, 0, or 11–14 are followed by genitive plural рублей rubley, копеек kopeyek.

In several languages spoken in Russia and the former Soviet Union, the currency name has no etymological relation with ruble. Especially in Turkic languages or languages influenced by them, the ruble is often known (also officially) as som or sum (meaning pure), or manat (from Russian moneta, meaning coin). Soviet ruble banknotes had their value printed in the languages of all 15 republics of the Soviet Union.

Imperial ruble (1704-1922)

Five hundred ruble note featuring Peter the Great and a personification of Mother Russia, 1912

1898 Russian Empire one ruble note, obverse, stating its gold equivalence 17.424 dolya or 0.77424 gram.

From the 14th to the 17th centuries the ruble was neither a coin nor a currency but rather a unit of weight. The most used currency was a small silver coin called denga (pl. dengi). There were two variants of the denga, minted in Novgorod and Moscow. The weight of a denga silver coin was unstable and inflating, but by 1535, one Novgorod denga weighed 0.68 g (0.022 ozt), the Moscow denga being a half that of the Novgorod denga. Thus one account ruble consisted of 100 Novgorod or 200 Moscow dengi (68 g (2.2 ozt) of silver). As the Novgorod denga bore the image of a rider with a spear (Russian: копьё, kop’yo), it later has become known as kopek. In the 17th century, the weight of a kopek coin reduced to 0.48 g (0.015 ozt), thus one ruble was equal to 48 g (1.5 ozt) of silver.

In 1654–1655 tsar Alexis I tried to carry out a monetary reform and ordered the mintage of silver one ruble coins from imported joachimsthalers and new kopek coins from copper (old silver kopeks were left in circulation). Although around 1 million of such rubles was made, its lower weight (28–32 grams) against the nominal ruble (48 g) led to counterfeiting, speculation and inflation, and after the Copper Riot of 1662 the new monetary system was abandoned in favour of the old one.

In 1704 Peter the Great finally reformed the old Russian monetary system, minting a silver ruble coin of weight 28.1 g (0.90 ozt) and 72% fineness; hence 20.22 g fine silver. The decision to subdivide it primarily into 100 copper kopeks, rather than 200 Muscovite denga, made the Russian ruble the world's first decimal currency.

The amount of silver in a ruble varied in the 18th century. Additionally, coins worth over a ruble were minted in gold and platinum. By the end of the 18th century, the ruble was set to 4 zolotnik 21 dolya (or 421⁄96 zolotnik, almost exactly equal to 18 grams) of pure silver or 27 dolya (almost exactly equal to 1.2 g (0.039 ozt)) of pure gold, with a ratio of 15:1 for the values of the two metals. In 1828, platinum coins were introduced with 1 ruble equal to 772⁄3 dolya (3.451 grams).

On 17 December 1885, a new standard was adopted which did not change the silver ruble but reduced the gold content to 1.161 grams, pegging the gold ruble to the French franc at a rate of 1 ruble = 4 francs. This rate was revised in 1897 to 1 ruble = 22⁄3 francs (17.424 dolya or 0.77424 g fine gold). This ruble was worth about US$0.5145 in 1914.

With the outbreak of World War I, the gold standard peg was dropped and the ruble fell in value, suffering from hyperinflation in the early 1920s. With the founding of the Soviet Union in 1922, the Russian ruble was replaced by the Soviet ruble. The pre-revolutionary Chervonetz was temporarily brought back into circulation from 1922 to 1925.

Imperial ruble coins

Catherine II Sestroretsk ruble (1771) is made of solid copper with a diameter of 77 millimetres (3+3⁄100 in) and a thickness of 26 millimetres (1+1⁄50 in) with a weight of 1.022 kg (2.25 lb). It is the largest copper coin ever issued (except for the Swedish plate money). It is 1mm larger and thicker than a standard hockey puck.

By the beginning of the 19th century, copper coins were issued for 1⁄4, 1⁄2, 1, 2 and 5 kopeks, with silver 5, 10, 25 and 50 kopeks and 1 ruble and gold 5, although production of the 10 ruble coin ceased in 1806. Silver 20 kopeks were introduced in 1820, followed by copper 10 kopeks minted between 1830 and 1839, and copper 3 kopeks introduced in 1840. Between 1828 and 1845, platinum 3, 6 and 12 rubles were issued. In 1860, silver 15 kopeks were introduced, due to the use of this denomination (equal to 1 złoty) in Poland, whilst, in 1869, gold 3 rubles were introduced.

In 1886, a new gold coinage was introduced consisting of 5 and 10 ruble coins. This was followed by another, in 1897. In addition to smaller 5 and 10 ruble coins, 7+1⁄2 and 15 ruble coins were issued for a single year, as these were equal in size to the previous 5 and 10 ruble coins. The gold coinage was suspended in 1911, with the other denominations produced until the First World War.

The Constantine ruble (Russian: константиновский рубль, konstantinovsky rubl') is a rare silver coin of the Russian Empire bearing the profile of Constantine, the brother of emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. Its manufacture was being prepared at the Saint Petersburg Mint during the brief Interregnum of 1825, but it was never minted in numbers, and never circulated in public. Its existence became known in 1857 in foreign publications.

Imperial ruble banknotes

25 Assignation rubles of 1769

1898 Russian Empire one ruble banknote, reverse

In 1768, during the reign of Catherine the Great, the Russian Assignation Bank was instituted to issue the government paper money. It opened in Saint Petersburg and in Moscow in 1769.

In 1769, Assignation rubles were introduced for 25, 50, 75 and 100 rubles, with 5 and 10 rubles added in 1787 and 200 rubles in 1819. The value of the Assignation rubles fell relative to the coins until, in 1839, the relationship was fixed at 1 silver ruble = 3+1⁄2 assignat rubles. In 1840, the State Commercial Bank issued 3, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 ruble notes, followed by 50 ruble credit notes of the Custody Treasury and State Loan Bank.

In 1843, the Assignation Bank ceased operations, and state credit notes (Russian: государственные кредитные билеты, gosudarstvenniye kreditniye bilety) were introduced in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 rubles. In 1859 a paper credit ruble was worth about nine-tenths of a silver ruble These circulated, in various types, until the revolution, with 500 ruble notes added in 1898 and 250 and 1,000 ruble notes added in 1917. In 1915, two kinds of small change notes were issued. One, issued by the Treasury, consisted of regular style (if small) notes for 1, 2, 3, 5 and 50 kopeks. The other consisted of the designs of stamps printed onto card with text and the imperial eagle printed on the reverse. These were in denominations of 1, 2, 3, 10, 15 and 20 kopeks.

In 1917, the Provisional Government issued treasury notes for 20 and 40 rubles. These notes are known as "Kerenki" or "Kerensky rubles". The provisional government also had 25 and 1,000 ruble state credit notes printed in the United States but most were not issued.

Soviet ruble - SUR (1922-1992)

Main article: Soviet ruble

Between 1917 and 1922, the Russian ruble was replaced by the Soviet ruble (ISO 4217 code: SUR) which, issued by the State Bank of the USSR, remained the sole currency of the Soviet Union, until its breakup in 1991. Afterwards, it continued to be used in the 15 Post-Soviet states until it was replaced by new national currencies, and in the Russian Federation, the Russian ruble was reintroduced by 1993.

Ruble - RUR (1992–1998)

Further information: Soviet ruble and Monetary reform in Russia, 1993

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet ruble remained the currency of the Russian Federation until 1992. A new set of coins was issued in 1992 and a new set of banknotes was issued in the name of Bank of Russia in 1993. The currency replaced the Soviet ruble at par and was assigned the ISO 4217 code RUR and number 810.

The ruble's exchange rate versus the U.S. dollar depreciated significantly from US$1 = 125 RUR in July 1992 to approximately US$1 = 6,000 RUR when the currency was redenominated in 1998.

RUR coins

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation introduced new coins in 1992 in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 rubles. The coins depict the double-headed eagle without a crown, sceptre and globus cruciger above the legend "Банк России" ("Bank of Russia"). It is exactly the same eagle that the artist Ivan Bilibin painted after the February Revolution as the coat of arms for the Russian Republic. The 1 and 5-ruble coins were minted in brass-clad steel, the 10 and 20-ruble coins in cupro-nickel, and the 50 and 100-ruble coins were bimetallic (aluminium-bronze and cupro-nickel-zinc). In 1993, aluminium-bronze 50-ruble coins and cupro-nickel-zinc 100-ruble coins were issued, and the material of 10 and 20-ruble coins was changed to nickel-plated steel. In 1995 the material of 50-ruble coins was changed to brass-plated steel, but the coins were minted with the old date 1993. As high inflation persisted, the lowest denominations disappeared from circulation and the other denominations became rarely used.

During this period, the commemorative one-ruble coins were regularly issued continuing the specifications of prior commemorative Soviet rubles (31 mm diameter, 12.8 grams cupronickel). It is nearly identical to those of the 5-Swiss franc coin (31.45 mm, 13.2 g cupronickel), worth approx. €4.39 or US$5.09 as of August 2018. For this reason, there have been several instances of (now worthless) Soviet and Russian ruble coins being used on a large scale to defraud automated vending machines in Switzerland.

RUR banknotes

In 1961, new State Treasury notes were introduced for 1, 3 and 5 rubles, along with new State Bank notes worth 10, 25, 50, and 100 rubles. In 1991, the State Bank took over production of 1, 3 and 5-ruble notes and also introduced 200, 500 and 1,000-ruble notes, although the 25-ruble note was no longer issued. In 1992, a final issue of notes was made bearing the name of the USSR before the Russian Federation introduced 5,000 and 10,000-ruble notes. These were followed by 50,000-ruble notes in 1993, 100,000 rubles in 1995 and, finally, 500,000 rubles in 1997 (dated 1995).

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russian ruble banknotes and coins have been notable for their lack of portraits, which traditionally were included under both the Tsarist and Communist regimes. With the issue of the 500-ruble note depicting a statue of Peter I and then the 1,000-ruble note depicting a statue of Yaroslav, the lack of recognizable faces on the currency has been partially alleviated.

SUR and RUR series banknotes

Series	Value	Obverse	Reverse	Issuer	Languages
1961	1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 rubles	Vladimir Lenin or views of the Moscow Kremlin	Value, and views of the Moscow Kremlin for 50 rubles or higher	USSR	multiple
1991	1, 3, 5, 10, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000 rubles				Russian
1992	50, 200, 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 rubles			USSR for 1,000 rubles and lower Bank of Russia for 5,000- and 10,000 rubles	Russian
1993	100, 200, 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 50,000 rubles	Moscow Kremlin with the tri-color Russian flag		Bank of Russia
1995	1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000, 500,000 rubles	Same design as today's banknotes, where 1 RUB = 1,000 RUR. The 1,000 ruble note did not continue as a 1 new ruble note.

Ruble - RUB (1998–present)

See also: Monetary reform in Russia, 1998

In 1998, the Russian ruble was redenominated with the new ISO 4217 code "RUB" and number 643 and was exchanged at the rate of 1 RUB = 1,000 RUR. All Soviet coins issued between 1961 and 1991, as well as 1-, 2- and 3-kopeck coins issued before 1961, also qualified for exchange into new rubles. The redenomination was an administrative step that reduced the unwieldiness of the old ruble but occurred on the brink of the 1998 Russian financial crisis. The ruble lost 70% of its value against the US dollar in the six months following this financial crisis, from US$1 = 6 ₽ to approximately 20 ₽.

After stabilizing at around US$1 = 30 ₽ from 2001 to 2013, it depreciated to the range of US$1 = 60–80 ₽ from 2014 to 2021 as a result of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014 and the 2010s oil glut. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, it declined further to US$1 = 110 ₽ due to sanctions. The ruble was subject to fluctuation when, in April 2022, the ruble went above its pre-full scale invasion level after falling as low as 150 ₽ per dollar in early March, with the longer-term trend showing a steady decline from mid-2022 to mid-2023, falling from 60 ₽ to 90 ₽ per dollar.

On 15 July 2024 the Central Bank of the Russian Federation closed the statistics of the over-the-counter currency market, and three days later the sale of ruble-note artwork on toilet paper was banned by a judge from Moscow. On 18 November 2024, the Ruble fell below the US$1 = 100 RUB, a benchmark the Russian government was attempting to maintain. By 27 November, the Ruble had fallen to US$1 = 114.5 RUB, with the currency depreciating against USD and EUR at a rate of nearly 2% per day.

On 27 November 2024 in response to the currency collapse, the Bank of Russia halted formal foreign currency purchases from 28 November until year-end 2024, in "an effort to reduce the volatility on financial markets".

Symbol

Main article: Ruble sign

Not to be confused with the Armenian letter ք.

The ruble sign since 2013

The "ruble" symbol used throughout the 17th century, composed of the Russian letters "Р" and "У".

A currency symbol was used for the ruble between the 16th century and the 18th century. The symbol consisted of the Russian letters "Р" (rotated 90° anti-clockwise) and "У" (written on top of it). The symbol was placed over the amount number it belonged to. This symbol, however, fell into disuse by the mid-19th century.

No official symbol was used during the final years of the Empire, nor was one introduced in the Soviet Union. The abbreviations Rbl (plural: Rbls) in Latin script and руб. (Cyrillic) and the simple characters R (Latin) and р (Cyrillic) were used. These are still used today, though are unofficial.

In July 2007, the Central Bank of Russia announced that it would decide on a symbol for the ruble and would test 13 symbols. This included the symbol РР (the initials of Российский Рубль "Russian ruble"), which received preliminary approval from the Central Bank. However, one more symbol, a Р with a horizontal stroke below the top similar to the Philippine peso sign, was proposed unofficially. Proponents of the new sign claimed that it is simple, recognizable and similar to other currency signs. This symbol is also similar to the Armenian letter ք or the Latin letter Ꝑ.

On 11 December 2013, the official symbol for the ruble became , a Cyrillic letter Er with a single added horizontal stroke, though the abbreviation "руб." is in wide use. The Unicode CJK Compatibility block contains U+3354 ㍔ SQUARE RUUBURU, a square version of ルーブル (rūburu), the Japanese word for "ruble".

On 4 February 2014, the Unicode Technical Committee during its 138th meeting in San Jose accepted U+20BD ₽ RUBLE SIGN symbol for Unicode version 7.0; the symbol was then included into Unicode 7.0 released on 16 June 2014. In August 2014, Microsoft issued updates for all of its mainstream versions of Microsoft Windows that enabled support for the new ruble sign.

The ruble sign can be entered on a Russian computer keyboard as AltGr+8 on Windows and Linux, or AltGr+Р (Qwerty H position) on macOS.

Coins

In 1998, the following coins were introduced in connection with the ruble revaluation and are currently in circulation:

Currently circulating coins

Image		Value	Technical parameters			Description			Years of minting
Reverse	Obverse		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
		1 kop	15.5 mm	1.5 g	Cupronickel-steel	Plain	Saint George	Value	1997–2009 2014, 2017
		5 kop	18.5 mm	2.6 g
		10 kop	17.5 mm	1.95 g	Brass	Reeded	Saint George	Value	1997–2006
				1.85 g	Brass-plated steel	Plain			2006–2015
		50 kop	19.5 mm	2.90 g	Brass	Reeded			1997–1999 2002–2006
				2.75 g	Brass-plated steel	Plain			2006–2015
		1 ₽	20.5 mm	3.25 g	Cupronickel	Reeded	Emblem of the Bank of Russia	Value	1997–1999 2005–2009
				3.00 g	Nickel-plated steel				2009–2015
							Coat of arms of Russia		2016–present
		2 ₽	23 mm	5.10 g	Cupronickel	Segmented (Plain and Reeded edges)	Emblem of the Bank of Russia		1997–1999 2006–2009
				5.00 g	Nickel-plated steel				2009–2015
							Coat of arms of Russia		2016–present
		5 ₽	25 mm	6.45 g	Cupronickel-clad copper		Emblem of the Bank of Russia		1997–1998 2008–2009
				6.00 g	Nickel-plated steel				2009–2015
							Coat of arms of Russia		2016–present
		10 ₽	22 mm	5.63 g	Brass-plated steel	Segmented (plain and reeded edges)	Emblem of the Bank of Russia	Value	2009–2013, 2015
							Coat of arms of Russia		2016–present

Kopeck coins are rarely used due to their low value and in some cases may not be accepted by stores or individuals.

These coins were issued starting in 1998, although some of them bear the year 1997. Kopeck denominations all depict St George and the Dragon, and all ruble denominations (with the exception of commemorative pieces) depict the double headed eagle. Mint marks are denoted by "СП" or "M" on kopecks and the logo of either the Saint Petersburg or Moscow mint on rubles. Since 2000, many bimetallic 10 ₽ circulating commemorative coins have been issued. These coins have a unique holographic security feature inside the "0" of the denomination 10.

In 2008, the Bank of Russia proposed withdrawing 1 and 5 kopeck coins from circulation and subsequently rounding all prices to multiples of 10 kopeks, although the proposal has not been realized yet (though characteristic "x.99" prices are treated as rounded in exchange). The Bank of Russia stopped minting one-kopeck and five-kopeck coins in 2012, and kopecks completely in 2018. The material of 1 ₽, 2 ₽ and 5 ₽ coins was switched from copper-nickel-zinc and copper-nickel clad to nickel-plated steel in the second quarter of 2009. 10 and 50 kopecks were also changed from brass to brass-plated steel.

In October 2009, a new 10 ₽ coin made of brass-plated steel was issued, featuring optical security features. The 10 ₽ banknote would have been withdrawn in 2012, but a shortage of 10 ₽ coins prompted the Central Bank to delay this and put new ones in circulation. A series of circulating Olympic commemorative 25 ₽ coins started in 2011. The new coins are struck in cupronickel. A number of commemorative smaller denominations of these coins exist in circulation as well, depicting national historic events and anniversaries. The Bank of Russia issues other commemorative non-circulating coins ranging from 1 ₽ to 50,000 ₽.

Banknotes

See also: Modification of banknotes of the Russian ruble (2022—2025)

On 1 January 1998, a new series of banknotes dated 1997 was released in denominations of 5 ₽, 10 ₽, 50 ₽, 100 ₽ and 500 ₽. The 1,000 ₽ banknote was first issued on 1 January 2001 and the 5,000 ₽ banknote was first issued on 31 July 2006. Modifications to the series were made in 2001, 2004, and 2010.

In April 2016, the Central Bank of Russia announced that it will introduce two new banknotes – 200 ₽ and 2,000 ₽ – in 2017. In September 2016, a vote was held to decide which symbols and cities will be displayed on the new notes. In February 2017, the Central Bank of Russia announced the new symbols. The 200 ₽ banknote will feature symbols of Crimea, that the country illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014: the Monument to the Sunken Ships, a view of Sevastopol, and a view of Chersonesus. The 2,000 ₽ banknote will bear images of the Russian Far East: the bridge to Russky Island and the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur Oblast.

In 2018, the Central Bank issued a 100 ₽ "commemorative" banknote designed to recognize Russia's role as the host of the 2018 World Cup soccer tournament. The banknote is printed on a polymer substrate, and has several transparent portions as well as a hologram. Despite the note being intended for legal tender transactions, the Central Bank has simultaneously refused to allow the country's automated teller machines (ATMs) to recognize or accept it.

In March 2021, the Central Bank announced plans to gradually update the designs of the 10 ₽, 50 ₽, 100 ₽, 1,000 ₽ and 5,000 ₽ banknotes and make them more secure; this is expected to be completed in 2025. The first new design, for the 100 ₽ note, was unveiled on 30 June 2022. The design of the new note includes symbols of Moscow on the obverse – Red Square, Zaryadye Park, Moscow State University on Sparrow Hills, and Ostankino Tower – and the Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier on the reverse. In late 2022, the Central Bank resumed the printing of 5 ₽ and 10 ₽ notes for circulation; freshly printed notes began appearing in 2023.

1997 series

Image		Value	Dimensions	Description				Dates
Obverse	Reverse			Town	Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	Printing*	Issue	Withdrawal	Lapse
		5 ₽	137 × 61 mm	Veliky Novgorod	The Millennium of Russia monument on background of Saint Sophia Cathedral	Fortress wall of the Novgorod Kremlin	"5", Saint Sophia Cathedral	1997 2022	1 January 1998	Current, but not issued from 2001 until 2021. Re-issued in 2022. Rarely seen in circulation. Returned to circulation in 2023.
		10 ₽	150 × 65 mm	Krasnoyarsk	Kommunalny Bridge across the Yenisei River, Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel	Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric plant	"10", Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel	1997 2001 2004 2022		Current, but not issued from 2010 to 2021. Re-issued in 2022. Still in use, but rarely seen in circulation. Returned to circulation in 2023.
		50 ₽		Saint Petersburg	A Rostral Column sculpture on background of Peter and Paul Fortress	Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and Rostral Columns	"50", Peter and Paul Cathedral			Current
		100 ₽		Moscow	Quadriga statue on the portico of the Bolshoi Theatre	The Bolshoi Theatre	"100", The Bolshoi Theatre
		500 ₽		Arkhangelsk	Monument to Czar Peter the Great, sailing ship and sea terminal	Solovetsky Monastery	"500", portrait of Peter the Great	1997 2001 2004 2010
		1,000 ₽	157 × 69 mm	Yaroslavl	Monument to Yaroslav I the Wise and the Lady of Kazan Chapel	John the Baptist Church	"1,000", portrait of Yaroslav the Wise	2001 2004 2010	1 January 2001
		5,000 ₽		Khabarovsk	Monument to Nikolay Muravyov-Amursky	Khabarovsk Bridge over the Amur	"5,000", portrait of Muravyov-Amursky	2006 2010	31 July 2006
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table. Each new banknote series has enhanced security features, but no major design changes. Banknotes printed after 1997 bear the fine print "модификация 2001г." (or later date) meaning "modification of year 2001" on the left watermark area.

2017–2025 series

Image		Value	Dimensions	Description				Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Federal District	Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	Printing	Issue	Withdrawal
		10 ₽	150 × 65 mm	Siberian Federal District	Novosibirsk		"10"	2025		Current
		50 ₽	150 × 65 mm	Northwestern Federal District	Saint Petersburg		"50"	2025
		100 ₽	150 × 65 mm	Central Federal District	Moscow: Spasskaya Tower, Zaryadye Park, Moscow State University, Ostankino Tower	Memorial to the Soviet Soldier, Rzhev, Tver Oblast; Kulikovo Field, Tula Oblast	"100", Spasskaya Tower	2022	30 June 2022
		200 ₽	150 × 65 mm	Southern Federal District	Monument to the Sunken Ships (by sculptor Amandus Adamson), Sevastopol	View of Chersonesus	"200", Monument to the Sunken Ships	2017	12 October 2017
		500 ₽	150 × 65 mm	North Caucasian Federal District	Pyatigorsk		"500"	2025
		1,000 ₽	157 × 69 mm	Volga Federal District	Nizhny Novgorod: Nikolskaya Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, Nizhny Novgorod Fair, Spit of Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod Stadium	Museum of the History of Statehood of the Tatar People and the Republic of Tatarstan in Kazan, Söyembikä Tower on the Kazan Kremlin, Museum of Archeology and Ethnography in Ufa	"1000", Nikolskaya Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin	2023	16 October 2023
		2,000 ₽	157 × 69 mm	Far Eastern Federal District	Vladivostok: Russky Bridge, Far Eastern Federal University	Vostochny Cosmodrome, Tsiolkovsky, Amur Oblast	"2000", Russky Bridge	2017	12 October 2017
		5,000 ₽	157 × 69 mm	Ural Federal District	Yekaterinburg: Stele "Europe – Asia", Iset Tower in Yekaterinburg-City, Vysotsky, Yekaterinburg Circus, House of Communications (main post office building), Palace of Sporting Games, Sevastyanov's House	Monument "Tale of the Urals" in Chelyabinsk, metallurgical plant, stele "66 parallel" (Arctic Circle) in Salekhard, oil and gas industry facilities	"5000", House of Communications (main post office building), Sevastyanov's House	2023	16 October 2023

For the rest of the 2017–2025 series, the following designs are planned:

• 10 ₽ (2025): Novosibirsk on the obverse, Siberian Federal District on the reverse
• 50 ₽ (2025): Saint Petersburg on the obverse, Northwestern Federal District on the reverse
• 500 ₽ (2025): Pyatigorsk on the obverse, North Caucasian Federal District on the reverse.

Printing

QR codes from the current (2017–present) series of banknotes

All Russian ruble banknotes are currently printed at the state-owned factory Goznak in Moscow, which was founded on 6 June 1919 and operated ever since. Coins are minted in the Moscow Mint and at the Saint Petersburg Mint, which has been operating since 1724.

100 ₽ note controversy

An image of the 100-ruble banknote, zoomed up to show a statue of the Greek god Apollo as depicted on top of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow; this version of Apollo is shown with his penis and testicles exposed (which was the case on the Bolshoi Theatre at the time of printing, though the original statue was amended with a fig leaf covering them) which led to one Russian politician, Roman Khudyakov, to condemn the banknote as "pornography".

On 8 July 2014, State Duma deputy and vice-chairman of the Duma Regional Political Committee Roman Khudyakov alleged that the image of the Greek god Apollo driving a quadriga on the portico of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on the 100 ₽ banknote constitutes pornography that should only be available to persons over the age of 18. Since it is impractical to limit the access of minors to banknotes, he requested in his letter to the Governor of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina to immediately change the design of the banknote.

Khudyakov, a member of parliament for the LDPR party stated, "You can clearly see that Apollo is naked, you can see his genitalia. I submitted a parliamentary request and forwarded it directly to the head of the central bank asking for the banknote to be brought into line with the law protecting children and to remove this Apollo." Khudyakov's efforts did not lead to any changes being made to the design.

Crimea controversy

On 13 October 2017, the National Bank of Ukraine issued a decree forbidding the country's banks, other financial institutions and Ukraine's state postal service to circulate Russian banknotes which use images of Crimea, a territory that is regarded as Russian-occupied by Ukraine and whose annexation by Russia is not recognised by most UN member states. The NBU stated that the ban applies to all financial operations, including cash transactions, currency exchange activities and interbank trade. Crimea is featured on three banknotes that are currently in circulation – the 100 ₽ commemorative notes issued in 2015 and 2018, as well as the 200 ₽ note issued in 2017.

1,000 ₽ note controversy

On 16 October 2023, the day of unveilling of the new design of the 1,000-ruble note, the design of the note was criticised by the Russian Orthodox Church for displaying the Islamic crescent on one of the buildings on the reverse of the note at the same time as excluding the Orthodox cross from a different building (a former church that is now a museum). The Bank of Russia announced on the following day that the design would be revised and the notes would not be printed.

Effect of international sanctions

Kommersant reported that the new 100 ₽ note introduced in 2022 will not work with an estimated 60% of cash registers and bank machines because they are imported and therefore must be updated by foreign companies, and this work may not be completed due to sanctions. However, Russian banks have been transferring their ATM networks to domestic software which does not require foreign specialists since at least 2018, with the biggest Russian bank, Sberbank, completing 80% of the transfer by June 2022. Russian banks will start purchasing domestic ATMs with Elbrus processors in 2023; the mandatory share of Russian products in the purchase of ATMs was to be at least 18% for banks with state partnership; since 2022 it has grown to 20%.

Commemorative banknotes

Commemorative banknote series

Image		Value	Dimensions	Description			Dates
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	Printing*	Issue	Withdrawal	Lapse
		100 ₽	150 × 65 mm	A snowboarder and some of the Olympic venues of the Sochi coastal cluster.	Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, firebird	2014 Winter Olympics logo	2014	30 October 2013	Current
		100 ₽	150 × 65 mm	Monument to the Sunken Ships in Sevastopol Bay, outlines of Monument to the heroes of the Second Siege of Sevastopol and St. Vladimir Cathedral, fragment of a painting by Ivan Aivazovsky	Swallow's Nest castle, Yevpatoria RT-70 radio telescope, outline of Big Khan Mosque in Bakhchisaray and a green stripe containing a QR code linking to the Bank of Russia webpage containing historical information relating to the commemorative banknote	Portrait of Empress Catherine the Great	2015	23 December 2015
		100 ₽	150 × 65 mm	A boy with a ball under his arm looking up as Lev Yashin saves a ball.	A stylized image of the globe in the form of a football with a green image of Russia's territory (including Crimea) outlined on it, as well as the name of the 2018 FIFA World Cup host cities	The number 2018	2018	22 May 2018

On 30 October 2013, a special banknote in honour of the 2014 Winter Olympics held in Sochi was issued. The banknote is printed on high-quality white cotton paper. A transparent polymer security stripe is embedded into the paper to make a transparent window incorporating an optically variable element in the form of a snowflake. The highlight watermark is visible in the upper part of the banknote. Ornamental designs run vertically along the banknote. The front of the note features a snowboarder and some of the Olympic venues of the Sochi coastal cluster. The back of the note features the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi. The predominant colour of the note is blue.

On 23 December 2015, another commemorative 100 ₽ banknote was issued to celebrate the "reunification of Crimea and Russia". The banknote is printed on light yellow cotton paper. One side of the note is devoted to Sevastopol, the other one – to Crimea. А wide security thread is embedded into the paper. It comes out on the surface on the Sevastopol side of the banknote in the figure-shaped window. A multitone combined watermark is located on the unprinted area in the upper part of the banknote. Ornamental designs run vertically along the banknote. The Sevastopol side of the note features the Monument to Sunken Ships in Sevastopol Bay and a fragment of the painting Russian Squadron on the Roads of Sevastopol by Ivan Aivazovsky. The Crimea side of the note features the Swallow's Nest, a decorative castle and local landmark. In the lower part of the Sevastopol side of the banknote in the green stripe there is a QR-code containing a link to the Bank of Russia's webpage, which lists historical information related to the banknote. The predominant colour of the note is olive green.

On 22 May 2018, a special banknote to celebrate the 2018 FIFA World Cup was issued. The banknote is printed on polymer. The top part of the note bears a transparent window that contains a holographic element. The design of the note is vertically oriented. The main images of the obverse are a boy with a ball under his arm and a goalkeeper diving for a ball. The main image of the reverse is a stylized image of the globe in the form of a football with green image of the Russian territory outlined on it. On the reverse there is the number 2018 that marks both the issue of the banknote and the World Cup, as well as the name of the host cities in the Russian language. The bottom right corner of the obverse bears a QR-code, which contains a link to the page of the Bank of Russia website with the description of the note's security features. Predominant colours of the note are blue and green.

Economics

Worldwide official use of foreign currency or pegs. The ruble is used in Russia and Russian occupied territories of Georgia and Ukraine.

  Russian ruble users, including the Russian Federation

  US dollar users, including the United States

  Currencies pegged to the US dollar

  Euro users, including the Eurozone

  Currencies pegged to the euro

  Australian dollar users, including Australia

  New Zealand dollar users, including New Zealand

  South African rand users (CMA, including South Africa)

  Indian rupee users and pegs, including India

  Pound sterling users and pegs, including the United Kingdom

  Special drawing rights or other currency basket pegs

  Three cases of a country using or pegging the currency of a neighbour

The use of other currencies for transactions between Russian residents is punishable, with a few exceptions, with a fine of 75% to 100% of the value of the transaction.

International trade

On 23 November 2010, at a meeting of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, it was announced that Russia and China had decided to use their own national currencies for bilateral trade, instead of the US dollar. The move is aimed to further improve relations between Beijing and Moscow and to protect their domestic economies during the Great Recession. The trading of the Chinese yuan against the ruble has started in the Chinese interbank market, while the yuan's trading against the ruble was set to start on the Russian foreign exchange market in December 2010.

In January 2014, President Putin said there should be a sound balance on the ruble exchange rate; that the Central Bank only regulated the national currency exchange rate when it went beyond the upper or lower limits of the floating exchange rate; and that the freer the Russian national currency is, the better it is, adding that this would make the economy react more effectively and timely to processes taking place in it. The Russian ruble is one of the very few free floating curriencies in the world.

The sanctions contributed to the value's reduction of the Russian ruble and worsened the economic impact of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. They also caused economic damage to the EU economy, with total losses estimated at €100 billion (as of 2015). As of 2014, Russia's finance minister announced that the sanctions had cost Russia $40 billion, with another $100 billion loss in 2014 due to decrease in the price of oil the same year. Following sanctions imposed in August 2018, economic losses incurred by Russia amounted to around 0.5–1.5% in foregone GDP growth.

A second round of sanctions involved various Russian banks being removed from SWIFT, and direct sanctions on the Russian Central Bank. The value of the ruble fell 30% against the U.S. dollar, to as low as ₽119/$1 as of 28 February. The Russian central bank raised interest rates to 20% as a result. In an attempt to balance the sinking ruble, it temporarily shut down the Moscow Stock Exchange, mandated that all Russian companies sell 80% of foreign exchange reserves, and prohibited foreigners from liquidating assets in Russia. On 7 March, the ruble was reported to be as low as ₽142.46/$1. During the month of March 2022, the ruble gradually recovered back to its pre-war value of ~80 Rubles per dollar, partially due to increased gas and oil demand from Western companies, as they feared a potential ban on Russian resources, as well as various economic measures designed to prop up the currency.

Exchange rates

USD/RUB 1998–2024

Year		Lowest ↓			Highest ↑			Average
		Date	Rate		Date	Rate		Rate
1998		1 January	5.9600		29 December	20.9900		9.7945
1999		1 January	20.6500		29 December	27.0000		24.6489
2000		6 January	26.9000		23 February	28.8700		28.1287
2001		4 January	28.1600		18 December	30.3000		29.1753
2002		1 January	30.1372		7 December	31.8600		31.3608
2003		20 December	29.2450		9 January	31.8846		30.6719
2004		30 December	27.7487		1 January	29.4545		28.8080
2005		18 March	27.4611		6 December	28.9978		28.1910
2006		6 December	26.1840		12 January	28.4834		27.1355
2007		24 November	24.2649		13 January	26.5770		25.5808
2008		16 July	23.1255		31 December	29.3804		24.8529
2009		13 November	28.6701		19 February	36.4267		31.7403
2010		16 April	28.9310		8 June	31.7798		30.3679
2011		6 May	27.2625		5 October	32.6799		29.3823
2012		28 March	28.9468		5 June	34.0395		31.0661
2013		5 February	29.9251		5 September	33.4656		31.9063
2014		1 January	32.6587		18 December	67.7851		38.6025
2015		17 April	49.6749		31 December	72.8827		61.3400
2016		30 December	60.2730		22 January	83.5913		66.8336
2017		26 April	55.8453		4 August	60.7503		58.2982
2018		28 February	55.6717		12 September	69.9744		62.9502
2019		26 December	61.7164		15 January	67.1920		64.6184
2020		10 January	61.0548		18 March	80.8692		72.4388
2021		27 October	69.5526		8 April	77.7730		73.6628
2022		30 June	51.1580		11 March	120.3785		68.4869
2023		15 January	66.0026		8 October	101.0001		85.5086
2024		20 June	82.6282		29 November	109.5782		92.6567
Source: USD exchange rates in RUB, Bank of Russia

Current RUB exchange rates
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USD / RUB exchange rate 1994–2023

EUR / RUB exchange rate

The first Russian ruble (RUR) introduced in January 1992 depreciated significantly versus the US dollar from US$1 = 125 RUR to around US$1 = 6,000 RUR (or 6 RUB) when it was redenominated in January 1998. The new ruble then depreciated rapidly in its first year to US$1 = 20 RUB before stabilizing at around US$1 = 30 RUB from 2001 to 2013.

The financial crisis in Russia in 2014–2016 was the result of the collapse of the Russian ruble beginning in the second half of 2014. A decline in confidence in the Russian economy caused investors to sell off their Russian assets, which led to a decline in the value of the Russian ruble and sparked fears of a Russian financial crisis. The lack of confidence in the Russian economy stemmed from at least two major sources. The first is the fall in the price of oil in 2014. Crude oil, a major export of Russia, declined in price by nearly 50% between its yearly high in June 2014 and 16 December 2014. The second was the result of international economic sanctions imposed on Russia following Russia's annexation of Crimea and the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.

The crisis affected the Russian economy, both consumers and companies, and regional financial markets, as well as Putin's ambitions regarding the Eurasian Economic Union. The Russian stock market in particular experienced large declines, with a 30% drop in the RTS Index from the beginning of December through 16 December 2014. From July 2014 to February 2015 the ruble fell dramatically against the U.S. dollar. A 6.5 percentage point interest rate rise to 17 percent failed to prevent the currency hitting record lows in a "perfect storm" of low oil prices, looming recession and international sanctions over the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Russia faced steep economic sanctions due to the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. In response to the military campaign, several countries imposed strict economic sanctions on the Russian economy. This led to a 32 percent drop in the value of the ruble, which traded at an exchange rate of 120 rubles per dollar in March 2022. On 23 March 2022, President Putin announced that Russia would only accept payments for Russian gas exports from "unfriendly countries" in rubles. This, along with several other actions to control capital flow, coinciding with soaring commodity prices led to the ruble rallying to a record high in May 2022 that economists feel is unlikely to last. However, the ruble continued to rally in June 2022, hitting its highest point (51 rubles to the dollar) for the past seven years at the end of the month.

In early November 2023, the value of the Russian ruble increased slightly reaching a three-month high of 90 against the USD. The Russian key interest rate rose to 15% in October. Capital control measures, including the mandatory FX sales for Russian exporters imposed by Moscow were also effective to support the value of the currency. On November 2, the U.S. announced new sweeping sanctions against Russian energy exports and limits on foreign currency payments by Russia's Central Bank, which was thought to be another reason for the higher value of the ruble, forcing Russian banks to pay in ruble. Stock indices for Russian companies were also up. The ruble's overall decline is a major problem for the Russian economy as it increases inflation particularly for imported goods.

Most traded currencies by value
Currency distribution of global foreign exchange market turnover

Currency	ISO 4217 code	Symbol or Abbrev.	Proportion of daily volume		Change (2019–2022)
			April 2019	April 2022
U.S. dollar	USD	$, US$	88.3%	88.5%	0.2pp
Euro	EUR	€	32.3%	30.5%	1.8pp
Japanese yen	JPY	¥, 円	16.8%	16.7%	0.1pp
Sterling	GBP	£	12.8%	12.9%	0.1pp
Renminbi	CNY	¥, 元	4.3%	7.0%	2.7pp
Australian dollar	AUD	$, A$	6.8%	6.4%	0.4pp
Canadian dollar	CAD	$, Can$	5.0%	6.2%	1.2pp
Swiss franc	CHF	Fr., fr.	4.9%	5.2%	0.3pp
Hong Kong dollar	HKD	$, HK$, 元	3.5%	2.6%	0.9pp
Singapore dollar	SGD	$, S$	1.8%	2.4%	0.6pp
Swedish krona	SEK	kr, Skr	2.0%	2.2%	0.2pp
South Korean won	KRW	₩, 원	2.0%	1.9%	0.1pp
Norwegian krone	NOK	kr, Nkr	1.8%	1.7%	0.1pp
New Zealand dollar	NZD	$, $NZ	2.1%	1.7%	0.4pp
Indian rupee	INR	₹	1.7%	1.6%	0.1pp
Mexican peso	MXN	$, Mex$	1.7%	1.5%	0.2pp
New Taiwan dollar	TWD	$‎, NT$, 圓	0.9%	1.1%	0.2pp
South African rand	ZAR	R	1.1%	1.0%	0.1pp
Brazilian real	BRL	R$	1.1%	0.9%	0.2pp
Danish krone	DKK	kr., DKr	0.6%	0.7%	0.1pp
Polish złoty	PLN	zł‎, Zl	0.6%	0.7%	0.1pp
Thai baht	THB	฿, B	0.5%	0.4%	0.1pp
Israeli new shekel	ILS	₪, NIS	0.3%	0.4%	0.1pp
Indonesian rupiah	IDR	Rp	0.4%	0.4%
Czech koruna	CZK	Kč, CZK	0.4%	0.4%
UAE dirham	AED	د.إ, Dh(s)	0.2%	0.4%	0.2pp
Turkish lira	TRY	₺, TL	1.1%	0.4%	0.7pp
Hungarian forint	HUF	Ft	0.4%	0.3%	0.1pp
Chilean peso	CLP	$, Ch$	0.3%	0.3%
Saudi riyal	SAR	﷼, SRl(s)	0.2%	0.2%
Philippine peso	PHP	₱	0.3%	0.2%	0.1pp
Malaysian ringgit	MYR	RM	0.2%	0.2%
Colombian peso	COP	$, Col$	0.2%	0.2%
Russian ruble	RUB	₽, руб	1.1%	0.2%	0.9pp
Romanian leu	RON	—, leu	0.1%	0.1%
Peruvian sol	PEN	S/	0.1%	0.1%
Other currencies			2.0%	2.4%	0.4pp
Total			200.0%	200.0%

See also

• Belarusian ruble
• Russian economy
• Transnistrian ruble
• Ruble (disambiguation), various historic and modern rubles.

References

Sources

• Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
• Pick, Albert (1994). Bruce, Colin R. II; Shafer, Neil (eds.). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9.

External links

• Official website of Goznak (in English and Russian)
• Russian Ruble (Catalog of banknotes) (in English and Russian)
• Foreign Currency Market | Bank of Russia (in English and Russian)
• Russian Currency Exchange Rate History
• Historical Russian Ruble eXchange Rates: RUB (archived 15 May 2010)
• History of the Russian paper money (Archived 5 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine)
• Images of historic and modern Russian bank notes
• Coins of Russia at CISCoins.net (in English, Spanish, and Russian)
• Historical and current banknotes of Russia (in English, German, and French)
• including banknotes of the Soviet Union (in English, German, and French)