How Much is Russian Rouble Worth and Its History

The Russian Rouble has a fascinating history that spans over 300 years. It was first introduced in 1704 as a silver-based currency.

The Rouble gained international recognition in the late 19th century, becoming a widely accepted currency in trade with other European countries.

The Russian government has issued several versions of the Rouble over the years, with each iteration featuring unique designs and security features.

Today, the Rouble is the official currency of Russia and is widely accepted in the country.

The Russian Rouble has a rich history dating back to the 13th century, making it one of the world's oldest currencies.

The name "ruble" comes from the verb "rubit", meaning "to chop", referencing the way people would chop up a larger currency to make smaller coins. The ruble was first used as a unit of weight, but by the 14th to 17th centuries, it was a unit of account, with a small silver coin called a denga being the most used currency.

The ruble has undergone many changes, including multiple revaluations and devaluations, with the most recent changes occurring before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1992 and during the redenomination in 1998.

The Imperial ruble was the currency used in Russia from 1704 to 1922. It was a time of great change and innovation in the Russian monetary system.

In the 14th to 17th centuries, the ruble was a unit of weight, not a currency, and was made up of silver coins called dengi. One Novgorod denga weighed 0.68 g (0.022 ozt), while the Moscow denga weighed half that amount.

The weight of a denga silver coin was unstable and inflating, but by 1535, one Novgorod denga weighed 0.68 g (0.022 ozt), and the Moscow denga weighed half that amount. This led to the creation of the kopek coin, which was equal to 48 g (1.5 ozt) of silver.

In 1654-1655, tsar Alexis I attempted to reform the monetary system by minting silver ruble coins from imported joachimsthalers and new kopek coins from copper. However, this led to counterfeiting, speculation, and inflation, and the new system was eventually abandoned.

The first decimal currency in the world was introduced in 1704, when Peter the Great reformed the Russian monetary system and minted a silver ruble coin of weight 28.1 g (0.90 ozt) and 72% fineness. This decision made the Russian ruble the world's first decimal currency.

The amount of silver in a ruble varied in the 18th century, and 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 421⁄96zolotnik, 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.

In 1828, platinum coins were introduced, with 1 ruble equal to 772⁄3dolya (3.451 grams) of platinum. This was followed by a new standard in 1885, which reduced the gold content to 1.161 grams and pegged the gold ruble to the French franc at a rate of 1 ruble = 4 francs.

The gold standard peg was dropped during World War I, and the ruble fell in value, suffering from hyperinflation in the early 1920s. The Russian ruble was eventually replaced by the Soviet ruble in 1922.

The Soviet Union was a significant chapter in the Russian ruble's history, spanning from 1922 to 1992. It was a time when the Soviet ruble, issued by the State Bank of the USSR, became the sole currency of the Soviet Union.

Between 1917 and 1922, the Russian ruble was replaced by the Soviet ruble, which had the ISO 4217 code SUR. This marked a new era for the Soviet Union's currency.

The Soviet ruble remained in circulation until the Soviet Union's breakup in 1991. After that, it continued to be used in the 15 Post-Soviet states until it was eventually replaced by new national currencies.

In the Russian Federation, the Russian ruble was reintroduced by 1993, marking the end of the Soviet ruble's reign.

In 1992, the Soviet ruble was replaced by a new ruble, which was issued in the name of Bank of Russia. This new currency was assigned the ISO 4217 code RUR and number 810.

A new set of coins was issued in 1992 to replace the old Soviet ruble coins. The currency replaced the Soviet ruble at par.

The ruble's exchange rate versus the U.S. dollar depreciated significantly over the next few years. In July 1992, US$1 was equivalent to 125 RUR, but by 1998, the exchange rate had dropped to approximately 6,000 RUR per US$1.

In 1998, the Russian ruble was redenominated with the new ISO 4217 code "RUB" and number 643.

The exchange rate at that time was 1 RUB = 1,000 RUR, making the new ruble much more manageable.

The redenomination was an administrative step that reduced the unwieldiness of the old ruble, but it 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 ₽.

The ruble stabilized at around US$1 = 30 ₽ from 2001 to 2013, but then depreciated to the range of US$1 = 60–80 ₽ from 2014 to 2021.

This depreciation was largely due to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014 and the 2010s oil glut.

The ruble declined further to US$1 = 110 ₽ after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, due to sanctions.

In April 2022, the ruble briefly went above its pre-full scale invasion level, but the longer-term trend showed a steady decline from mid-2022 to mid-2023.

The ruble fell from 60 ₽ to 90 ₽ per dollar over this period, showing a significant decrease in value.

By 27 November 2024, 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.

In response to the currency collapse, the Bank of Russia halted formal foreign currency purchases from 28 November until year-end 2024.