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Soviet ruble

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Ruble
Pубль (Russian)
14 other official names
Obverse of Rbl 1 banknote (1961)Rbl 1 coin (1988)
ISO 4217
CodeSUR
Units of account
Pluralrubli (nom. pl.), rubley (gen. pl.)
Symbolруб or р‎ (in Cyrillic)
Rbl/Rbls[1][2] or R[3] (in Latin)
Subunit
 1⁄100kopeck (копейка)
Plural
 kopeck (копейка)kopeyki (nom. pl.), kopeyek (gen. pl.)
Symbol
 kopeck (копейка)коп. or к. in Cyrillic
kop., cop. or k (in Latin)
Denominations
BanknotesRbl 1, Rbls 3, Rbls 5, Rbls 10, Rbls 25, Rbls 50, Rbls 100, Rbls 200, Rbls 500, Rbls 1,000
Coins1 kop, 2 kop, 3 kop, 5 kop, 10 kop, 15 kop, 20 kop, 50 kop, Rbl 1, Rbls 3, Rbls 5, Rbls 10
Demographics
Date of introduction1922
ReplacedImperial Russian ruble
Date of withdrawal31 December 1993
Replaced byRussian ruble and 4 other: see below
User(s)
Issuance
Central bankState Bank of the Soviet Union Central Bank of Russia (1992–1993)
PrinterGoznak
MintLeningrad (1921–1941; 1946–1991)
Krasnokamsk (1941–46)
Moscow (1982–1991)
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.

The Soviet ruble or rouble (/ˈruːbəl/; Russian: рубль, romanized: rubl', IPA: [rublʲ]) was the currency of the Soviet Union. It was introduced in 1922 and replaced the Imperial Russian ruble. One ruble was divided into 100 kopecks (копейка, pl. копейки – kopeyka, kopeyki). Soviet banknotes and coins were produced by Goznak in Moscow and Leningrad.

In addition to regular cash rubles, other types of rubles were also issued, such as several forms of convertible ruble, transferable ruble, clearing ruble, Vneshtorgbank cheque, etc.; also, several forms of virtual rubles (called "cashless ruble", безналичный рубль) were used for inter-enterprise accounting and international settlement in the Comecon zone.[7]

In 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Soviet ruble was replaced by the first Russian ruble by 1993, and continued to be used in eleven post-Soviet states, forming a "ruble zone" until 1993.[4][5][6]

Etymology

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The word ruble is derived from the Russian verb рубить, rubit', i.e., 'to chop'. Historically, a "ruble" was a piece of a certain weight chopped off a silver ingot (grivna), hence the name.

The word kopeck or copeck (in Russian: копейка kopeyka) is a diminutive form of the Russian kop'yo (копьё)—a spear. The reason for this is that a horseman armed with a spear was stamped on one of the faces of the coin. The first kopeck coins, minted at Novgorod and Pskov from about 1534 onwards, show a horseman with a spear. From the 1540s onwards the horseman bears a crown, and doubtless the intention was to represent Ivan the Terrible, who was Grand Prince of all Russia until 1547, and Tsar thereafter. Subsequent mintings of the coin, starting in the eighteenth century, bear instead Saint George striking down a serpent.

Ruble in the Soviet Union

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Reverse of the 1-ruble note of the 1961 series, with the value in all the official languages of the Union Republics

The Soviet currency had its own name in all the languages of the Soviet Union, often different from its Russian designation. All banknotes had the currency name and their nominal printed in the languages of every Soviet Republic. This naming is preserved in modern Russia; for example: Tatar for 'ruble' and 'kopeck' are сум (sum) and тиен (tiyen). The current names of several currencies of Central Asia are simply the local names of the ruble.

The name of the currency in the languages of the fifteen republics (plus the Karelo-Finnish SSR), in the order they appeared in the banknotes:

LanguageIn local languageIPA transcription
rublekopeckrublekopeck
Russian рубль копейка [ˈrublʲ] ⓘ [kɐˈpʲejkə] ⓘ
Ukrainian карбованець копійка [kɐrˈbɔwɐnetsʲ] ⓘ [koˈpijkɐ] ⓘ
Belarusian рубель капейка [ˈrubʲɛlʲ] [kaˈpʲɛjka] ⓘ
Uzbek сўм тийин [som] [tijin]
Kazakh сом тиын [swʊm] [tɪjən]
Kyrgyz сом тыйын [som] [ˈtɯjɯn]
Tajik сӯм тин [sɵm] [tin]
Georgian მანეთი კაპიკი [manetʰi] [kʼapʼikʼi]
Azerbaijani манат гәпик [mɑnɑt] [ɡæpik]
Turkmen манат көпүк [mɑnɑt] [kœpʏk]
Lithuanian rublis kapeika [ˈrʊbɫɪs] [kɐˈpɛɪkɐ]
Latvian rublis kapeika [ˈrublis] [ˈkapɛika]
Estonian rubla kopikas [ˈrublɑ] [ˈkopikɑs]
Finnish rupla kopeekka [ˈruplɑ] [ˈkopeːkːɑ]
Romanian рублэ/rublă копейкэ/copeică [ˈrublə] [koˈpejkə]
Armenian ռուբլի կոպեկ [ˈrubli] [ˈkɔpɛk]

Note that the scripts for Uzbek, Azerbaijani, Turkmen and gradually Kazakh have switched from Cyrillic to Latin since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Moldovan has switched to Latin and is once again referred to as Romanian. Finnish last appeared on 1947 banknotes since the Karelo-Finnish SSR was dissolved in 1956.

These sixteen names derive from four roots:

Historical Soviet rubles

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First Soviet ruble (paper), 1917–1922

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The first ruble issued for the Soviet government was a preliminary issue still based on the previous issue of the ruble prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. They are all in banknote form and started their issue in 1919. At this time other issues were made by the white Russian government and other governing bodies. During that time, the Russian economy suffered from hyperinflation.

Denominations were as follows: 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 25, 50, 60, 100, 250, 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000, 50,000, and 100,000 rubles. Short-term treasury certificates were also issued to supplement banknote issue in 1,000,000, 5,000,000, and 10,000,000 rubles. These issue was printed in various fashions, as inflation crept up the security features were few and some were printed on one side, as was the case for the German inflationary notes.

Banknotes: In 1918, state credit notes were introduced by the RSFSR for 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 rubles. These were followed in 1919 by currency notes for 1, 2, 3, 15, 20, 60, 100, 250, 500, 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 rubles, and in 1921 with notes for 5, 50, 25,000, 50,000, 100,000, 1,000,000, 5,000,000, and 10,000,000 rubles were added.

Gold ruble (chervonets), 1921–1924

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Silver ruble of 1922

Upon launch of the New Economic Policy in 1921 came efforts to revive as currency and accounting unit the pre-war gold standard ruble, equal to 1⁄10 of a chervonets (with Rbls 10. equal to 8.602 g of 90% fine gold, then equal to US$5.14).[8] The gold ruble existed in parallel with the paper ruble of 1917–1922, which continued to depreciate versus the former, climbing to 50 billion paper rubles per gold ruble in March 1924.

Coins: The first coinage after the Russian Civil War was minted in 1921–1923 according to pre-war Tsarist standards, with silver coins of 10, 15 and 20 kopecks minted in 50% silver, 50 kopecks ("poltinnik" or 1⁄2 ruble) and 1 ruble in 90% silver, and 10 rubles (one chervonets) in 90% gold. These coins bore the emblem and legends of the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) and depicted the famous slogan, "Workers of the world, Unite!". These coins would continue to circulate after the RSFSR was consolidated into the USSR with other Soviet Republics until the discontinuation of silver coinage in 1931.

Third Soviet ruble, 1 January 1923 – 6 March 1924

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The third Soviet ruble was issued equal to 1,000,000 paper rubles of 1917–1922, simply to handle the unwieldiness over the number of digits in the first currency. Again it continued to depreciate versus the gold ruble until the latter climbed to Rbls 50,000 in 1924. Only paper money was issued, in the form of state currency notes in denominations of 50 kopecks and 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 rubles.

In early 1924, just before the next redenomination, the first paper money was issued in the name of the USSR, featuring the state emblem with six bands around the wheat, representing the languages of the then four constituent republics of the Union: Russian SFSR, Transcaucasian SFSR (Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Georgian), Ukrainian SSR and Byelorussian SSR. They were dated 1923 and were in denominations of 10,000, 15,000, and 25,000 rubles.

Fourth Soviet ruble, 7 March 1924 – 1947

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After Joseph Stalin's consolidation of power following the death of Lenin, a final redenomination occurred which replaced all previously issued currencies. The fourth Soviet ruble was equal to 50,000 rubles of the third issue, or 50 billion paper rubles of the first issue, and began at par with the gold ruble (1⁄10 chervonets). It built on the stability in the exchange value of the third ruble which happened towards the end of 1923.[8]

Coins began to be issued again in 1924, while paper money was issued in rubles for values below 10 rubles and in chervontsy for higher denominations. No chervontsy were issued in gold, just decrees on the parity of circulating rubles with the gold ruble, which already failed to take hold as early as 1925.

Coins, 1924–1961

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1924 poltinnik (Rbl 1⁄2)

In 1924, copper and silver coins were again minted to pre-war Tsarist standards, in denominations of 1⁄2, 1, 2, 3 and 5 kopecks in copper, 10, 15 and 20 kopecks in 50% silver, and 50 kopecks and 1 ruble in 90% silver. From this issue onward, the coins were minted in the name of the USSR (Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics). The "Workers of the World" slogan was carried forward. Coins issued 1921–1923 representing the gold ruble continued to circulate at par with this post-1924 ruble.

Copper coins were minted in two types; plain edge and reeded edge, with the plain-edged types being the fewest in number. The 1 Rbl coin was only issued in 1924, the poltinnik (or Rbl 1⁄2) was issued 1924–27, and the denga (or 1⁄2 kop) was issued from 1925 to 1928. In 1926, smaller aluminium-bronze coins were minted to replace the large copper ones (1 to 5 kopecks), but were not released until 1928. The larger coins were then melted down.

Stalin failed to maintain the ruble's value versus the gold ruble as early as 1925, and by 1930 its value even struggled to stay above the melt value of the silver 10-, 15- and 20-kopeck coins. Soviet authorities scapegoated "hoarders" and "exchange speculators" as responsible for the shortages, and confiscatory measures were taken. In 1931, the remaining silver coins were replaced with redesigned cupro-nickel coins depicting a male worker holding up a shield which contained the denominations of each. All silver coins were to be returned and melted down.

1926 and 1931 issues
Image Value Diameter Mass Minted
1 kop 15 1 1926–1935
2 kop 18 2
3 kop 22 3
5 kop 25 5
10 kop 17,27 1,8 1931–1934
15 kop 19,56 2,7
20 kop 21,84 3,6

In 1935, the reverse of the 10-, 15- and 20-kopeck coins were redesigned again with a simpler Art Deco-inspired design, with the obverse of all denominations also redesigned, having the "Workers of the world, unite!" slogan dropped. The change of the obverse designs did not affect the smaller coins immediately, as some 1935 issues bore the "Workers of the World" design while some bore the new "СССР" design. The state emblem also went through a series of changes between 1935 and 1957 as new Soviet republics were added or created, this can be noted by the number of "ribbons" wrapped around the wheat sheaves. This coin series remained in circulation during and after the monetary reform of 1947 and was finally discontinued in 1961.

1935 issue
Image Value Diameter Mass Minting
1 kop 15 1 1935–1941

1945–1946 1948–1957

2 kop 18 2
3 kop 22 3 1935–1941

1943 1945–1946 1948–1957

5 kop 25 5
10 kop 17,27 1,8 1935–1946

1948–1957

15 kop 19,56 2,7
20 kop 21,84 3,6

In August 1941, the wartime emergency prompted the minting facilities to be evacuated from the Neva district in Moscow and relocated to Permskaya Oblast as German forces continued to advance eastward. It only became possible to resume coin production in the autumn of 1942, for one year the country was using coins made before the war. Furthermore, the coins were made of what had suddenly become precious metals – copper and nickel, which were needed for the defense industry. This meant many coins were being produced in only limited quantities, with some denominations being skipped altogether until the crisis finally abated in late 1944. These disruptions led to severe coin shortages in many regions. Limits were put in place on how much change could be carried in coins with limits of 3 Rbls for individuals and 10 Rbls for vendors to prevent hoarding as coins became increasingly high in demand. Only high inflation and wartime rationing helped ease pressure significantly. In some instances, postage stamps and coupons were being used in place of small denomination coins. It was not until 1947 that there were finally enough coins in circulation to meet economic demand and restrictions could be eased.

Banknotes, 1924–1947

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In 1924, state currency notes were introduced for 1, 3, and 5 gold rubles (рубль золотом). These circulated alongside the chervonets notes introduced in 1922 by the State Bank in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10 and 25 chervontsy. State Treasury notes replaced the state currency notes after 1928. In 1938, new notes were issued for 1, 3 and 5 rubles, dropping the word "gold".

1938 Series
ImageDenominationObverseReverse
Rbl 1Miner
Rbls 3Soldiers
Rbls 5Pilot
1 чрвLenin
3 чрв
5 чрв
10 чрв

Fifth Soviet ruble, 1947–1961

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Following World War II, the Soviet government implemented a confiscatory redenomination of its currency (decreed on December 14, 1947) to reduce the amount of money in circulation. The main purpose of this change was to prevent peasants who had accumulated cash by selling food at wartime prices from using this to buy consumer goods as the postwar recovery took hold.[9] Old rubles were revalued at one tenth of their face value. This mainly affected paper money in the hands of private individuals. Amounts of Rbls 3,000 or less in individual private bank accounts were not revalued, while salaries remained the same. This revaluation coincided with the end of wartime rationing and efforts to lower prices and curtail inflation, though the effects in some cases actually resulted in higher inflation. Unlike other reforms, this one did not affect coins.

Banknotes

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In 1947, State Treasury notes were introduced in denominations of 1, 3 and 5 rubles, along with State Bank notes for denominations of 10, 25, 50 and 100 rubles. The State Bank notes depicted Lenin while the Treasury notes depicted floral artistic designs. All denominations were colored and patterned in a similar fashion to late Tsarist notes.

In 1957, all these notes were reissued with the old date but modified design: following the abolition of the Karelo-Finnish SSR, the number of ribbons on the state emblem was reduced from 16 to 15, and the nominal in Finnish was removed from the obverse.

1947 Series
ImageDenominationObverseReverse

 Rbl 1State Emblem of the Soviet Union
Rbls 3
Rbls 5
Rbls 10Vladimir Lenin
Rbls 25
Rbls 50
Rbls 100Moscow Kremlin

Sixth Soviet ruble, 1961–1991, (Identified as ISO code SUR)

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The 1961 redenomination introduced 1 new ruble equal to 10 old rubles and restated all wages, prices and financial records into new rubles. It differed from the confiscatory nature of the 1947 reform when banknotes were reduced to 1⁄10 of their value but wages and prices remained the same.[10] Its parity to the US dollar underwent a devaluation, however, from US$1 = 4 old rubles (0.4 new ruble) to US$1 = 0.9 new ruble (or 90 kopecks). It implies a gold parity of Rbls 31.50 per troy ounce or Rbl 1 = 0.987412 gram of gold, but this exchange for gold was never available to the general public. Banknotes and coins of this series were designed by Ivan Dubasov.

Coins

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Two Rbls 10 coins introduced in 1978 to commemorate the 1980 Summer Olympics

The 1958 pattern series: by 1958, plans for a monetary reform were underway and a number of coin pattern designs were being experimented with before implementation. The most notable of these was the 1958 series, in denominations of 1, 2, 3 and 5 kopecks in copper-zinc, and 10, 15, 20 and 50 kopecks and 1, 3 and 5 rubles in copper nickel. These coins all had the same basic design and became the most likely for release. Indeed, they were mass-produced before the plan was scrapped and a majority of them were melted down. During this time, 1957 coins would continue to be restruck off old dies until the new coin series was officially released in 1961. This series is considered the most valuable of Soviet issues due to their scarcity.

On 1 January 1961, the currency was revalued again at a rate of 10:1, but this time a new coinage was introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 3 and 5 kopecks in aluminium-bronze, and 10, 15, 20 and 50 kopecks and 1 ruble in cupro-nickel-zinc. Like previous issues, the front featured the state arms and title while the back depicted date and denomination. The 50-kopeck and 1-ruble coins dated 1961 had plain edges, but starting in 1964, the edges were lettered with the denomination and date. All 1926–1957 coins were then withdrawn from circulation and demonetized, with the majority melted down.

Commemorative coins of the Soviet Union: in 1965, the first circulation commemorative ruble coin was released celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany, during this year the first uncirculated mint-coin sets were also released and restrictions on coin collecting were eased. In 1967, a commemorative series of 10-, 15-, 20- and 50-kopeck and 1-ruble coins was released, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution and depicted Lenin and various socialist achievements. The smaller bronze denominations for that year remained unchanged. Many different circulation commemorative 1-ruble coins were also released, as well as a handful of 3- and 5-ruble coins over the years. Commemorative coins from this period were always slightly larger than general issues; 50-kopeck and 1-ruble coins in particular were larger, while the 1967 series of the small denominations were the same circumference but thicker than general issues.

Initially, commemorative rubles were struck in the same alloy as other circulating coins until 1975, when its composition was changed to higher-quality copper-nickel with zinc excluded. Its specifications (31 mm diameter, 12.8 grams) were 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, resulting in the large scale use of (now worthless) Soviet commemorative coins to defraud automated vending machines in Switzerland years after they have been demonetized.[11]

Starting in 1991 with the final year of the 1961 coin series, both kopeck and ruble coins began depicting the mint marks (М) for Moscow, and (Л) for Leningrad.

1961 issue
Image Value Diameter Mass Issued
1 kop 15 1 1961–1991
2 kop 18 2
3 kop 22 3 1961–1962

1965–1991

5 kop 25 5
10 kop 17,27 1,8
15 kop 19,56 2,5
20 kop 21,8 3,4
50 kop 24 4,4 1961

1964–1991

Rbl 1 27 7,5

These coins formally remained legal tender until the 1998 Monetary reform(withdrawn only on 31 December 2002) and are considered the longest-circulating coins in Russia.

Banknotes

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Banknotes were issued by the USSR State Treasury (Государственный казначейский билет, Gosudarstvenny kaznacheyskiy bilet) in denominations of 1, 3 and 5 rubles, and by the USSR State Bank (билет Государственного банка, bilet Gosudarstvennogo banka) in denominations of 10, 25, 50 and 100 rubles. Colors are similar to the previous series but notes were much smaller in size.

1961 Series
ImageValue Watermark Withdrawn
ObverseReverse
Rbl 1 dark and light

5-pointed stars

 December 31, 1993
Rbls 3
Rbls 5
Rbls 10
Rbls 25 July 26, 1993
Rbls 50 Face of Lenin January 23, 1991