Ruble. Russian ruble
The ruble currency is the national currency in Russia. In addition, a similar name is used for the national currency of Belarus. Russian currency is also used in a number of unrecognized republics.
But where did this name come from, why is the ruble called the ruble? There are several hypotheses and stories about the origin of such a familiar name for monetary currency today. Let's talk about them.
Indian origin of the name "ruble"
One of the versions of the origin of the name ruble is the information that this word became a derivative of the ancient Indian name “rupee”. This is, by the way, what the national currency of India and Sri Lanka is called today. Translated into Russian, “rupiah” can be formulated as “processed silver,” which is not far from the truth, and indeed may resemble the true origin of the name ruble.
Connection with the hryvnia
Another version of the origin of the name of the ruble is that it is a quarter of a hryvnia. In ancient times, silver rods (grivna) were cut into four parts. Here it is also easy to draw a parallel between the words “cut” and “ruble”, which led to the emergence of the name of the currency.
Connection with production technology
There is also a hypothesis that the ruble is called the ruble because of the ancient production technology. At the time the production of silver coins began, the technology looked like this:
- Silver was poured into a special mold in the first layer (reception).
- The second step was poured on top of the first layer of silver.
- The finished coin froze.
As a result of using this technology, the finished coin received a very noticeable seam on its edge, which was also called a scar. And converting a “rumen” into a “ruble” is already a very simple task.
Similarity of hypotheses about the origin of the ruble
We have already noted the main hypotheses for the answers to the question why the ruble is called the ruble. In addition to the options already mentioned, there are some other unimportant assumptions. Many of them have different facts, but most of the possible origins of the name agree on one aspect - the ruble is a derivative of the word “to chop.” Therefore, you should trust those origin stories in which the ruble is obtained as a result of cutting silver ingots, hryvnia, wooden coins, etc.
Russian ruble (r.) is the national currency Russian Federation. For the first time its name is found in a birch bark document of Novgorod from 1281-1299. At the end of the X - beginning of the XI century appears the first Russian gold coin.
The word "coin" comes from the name of the ancient Roman goddess Juno Coin. At the temple of this goddess, the Romans minted money. Over time, all the places where money was minted were called coins. This is where the French "monet" comes from; And English word"many".
Zlatnik Vladimir Svyatoslavovich 988
Was depicted Kyiv prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich. In one hand he holds the symbol of Christianity - a cross, and at his left shoulder - a trident, the coat of arms of the great Principality of Kyiv. On the reverse side of the coin is an image of Jesus Christ with the Gospel.
These the coins began to be called zlatniks. In the old days, these gold coins were given to children as miniature icons, as a blessing.
History of the ruble of the XII-XX centuries.
Beginning of the 12th century, 13th century. and partly the 14th century is called the coinless period, because. The minting of coins ceases. The means of payment are “irredeemable” silver bars.
Self the word comes from the verb “to chop”. The first rubles are parts of the silver hryvnia. The word “hryvnia” comes from the Sanskrit griiv`aa - “back of the head”. Initially, the golden hryvnia served as a neck decoration in the form of a plate or ring, which was sometimes used as a means of payment.
The silver rod was divided along the edge into four parts by small notches. If necessary The hryvnia was cut into notches and each part was called a ruble.
With the beginning of the minting of silver money in the 15th century, it turned into a monetary unit of account and was equal to one hundred money.
The first silver of Alexei Mikhailovich.
First silver river appears during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich.
But technically it turned out to be easier to import thalers from Europe and stamp them. These rubles were called “efimki with a sign.” But a real Russian r. appears in the reign of Peter I. The reform with the minting of coins with edge notches begins in 1698.
Regular minting begins in 1704 silver coins weighing 28 g, their called tselkas, or tselkovs, i.e. whole full rubles. Both copper and gold Russian rubles were also produced.
For almost the entire 18th century, Russia waged numerous military campaigns, which required significant expenses. But there was a shortage of silver in the Russian treasury. Therefore, during the reign of Empress Catherine II, a decision was made to establish a State Bank, which would have the right issue bank notes.
On January 1, 1769, the exchange began copper money for state paper notes in denominations of 25, 50, 75 and 100 rubles.
They were printed on white paper with black watermarks. So The first paper money appears in Russia.
Bank notes, Catherine II.
The paper ruble was disparagingly called a ticket. In Dostoevsky, the old woman pawnbroker says to Raskolnikov: “Last time I gave you two tickets for the ring...”
Issuing paper notes became a profitable business. Their cost was minimal compared to copper or silver coins. Count Sievers, the author of the project, did not miss out on personal benefits: the paper for banknotes was produced at his factory.
Throughout the entire existence of the Assignation, its activities should be considered effective. The goal was achieved. The state had the opportunity to pay for goods and services with money surrogates, the rate of which was much lower than the silver ruble.
History of the ruble since the 20th century.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the monetary unit was the r. , containing 0.7742 g. pure gold. And the main coin was a gold coin, the issue of which was not limited. The owner of the gold bar provided it for minting coins. The law called for calculations to be made on gold coin and counting p. , the acceptance of gold coins for an unlimited amount was established. Coinage Russian Empire was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, and coins were minted in St. Petersburg at the Mint.
But the gold coin standard collapsed, which led to a reduction in the production of silver coins. In 1915, the last silver ruble was minted, and it became a numismatic value. But until the fall of the Romanov dynasty, the minting of low-grade silver coins continued. Money circulation becomes almost entirely paper.
With the outbreak of the First World War, the exchange of paper notes into small coins ceased. They no longer have material value and simply settle in the population's capsules. In 1916, prices began to rise sharply, and paper banknotes became the main means of payment.
The provisional government issues the first money Russian Republic, these were bills in denominations of 250 and 1000 rubles. 1000-ruble banknotes are popularly nicknamed Duma money, because they showed a building State Duma. The 250 ruble banknote depicted a double-headed eagle with outstretched wings, without a crown, scepter or orb.
40 rubles, 1917, Kerenka.
The popular name for this money is “ Kerenki", named after A.F. Kerensky, the last chairman of the Provisional Government. They received the contemptuous name “Kerenki” due to their complete depreciation.
Preference was given to royal money or banknotes of the government that held power over the given territory.
» in denominations of 20 and 40 rubles were delivered in uncut sheets, from which the required amount was cut off on payday. With the growth of hyperinflation, they were not even cut, but given away in sheets. After the victory of the October Revolution, the left communists wanted the complete abolition of money. But the Soviet government was unable to find a replacement for them. Money surrogates circulated throughout the country: “walruses” with images of walruses, “rubles of Pyotr Nikolaevich Shimada”, “Kerenki”, cut into quarters and sealed with a bank seal. It is interesting that all these measures did not violate Russia’s emission rights: 20- and 40-ruble bills became 5-10 rubles, saturating the market with small change coins, which no longer existed.
Transbaikal credit notes 1920
In 1920, a credit card worth 25 rubles appeared in Transbaikalia. The same money, measuring 146x87 mm, dark gray in color, was also in circulation in Siberia under A.V. Kolchak. The color, paints, and grid design were reminiscent of those years, because American specialists took part in the development of the cliches.
Denikin’s people printed “bells” - money with the image of the Tsar Bell.
In Transbaikalia they issued banknotes in denominations of 25, 50, and 100 rubles; these rubles were not backed by anything. The Soviet government issues "account marks R.S.F.S.R." 1, 2 and 3 rubles of the currency of the Russian Federation, followed by denominations of 15, 30, and 60 rubles. Inflation entailed an increase in denominations. Banknotes are issued in 100, 250, 500 and 1000 rubles. Compared to 1913, prices increased 6,000 times by January 1920, and 30 thousand times by December. In 1921 Lenin said:
In 1915, on September 15, “lemons” appeared - millions. They were issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10 million rubles and were formally backed by “the entire property of the republic.”
With the start of the NEP, an opportunity appears to stabilize the currency. And in November 1921, the first denomination took place. New target was equal to 10,000 rubles of the previous banknotes. New silver rubles are appearing, very similar to the pre-revolutionary ones. But they have new symbols - R.S.F.S.R.
The new banknotes were made more carefully. By October 1922, “Kerenki”, “bells”, “lemons” were replaced with new sovznak.
At first they wanted to call the new silver coin “federal”, then hryvnia, then ruble. But the Soviet government stops its choice on the word “ chervonets" It was associated among the people with the concept of “red gold” and therefore should inspire confidence.
The golden chervonets contained 8.6 g of yellow metal and was analogous to the ten-ruble Nikolaev coin. By the end of 1923, it had replaced all tsarist money and foreign currency.
But it turned out that one denomination is not enough, because... The chervonets was expensive and inaccessible to the peasant. Therefore, in December 1922 the second denomination began. The inscription “ONE ruble of 1923 is equal to ONE MILLION Russian rubles in banknotes withdrawn from circulation, or one HUNDRED Russian rubles in banknotes of 1922” appears on the new banknotes.
This denomination was carried out with the aim of introducing a single currency throughout the USSR a full two months before the official formation of the Union. But the new banknotes already had new symbols of the USSR.
But there was nothing to exchange the hard chervonets with. The workers refused to receive wages in such inconvenient money. Suitcase factories produced metal tokens for internal consumption of enterprises: to pay for lunch, etc. This led to the depreciation of money and clogged the market.
In 1921, the minting of silver coins in denominations of 10, 15, 20, 50 kopecks and 1 Russian ruble began. The weight, fineness, diameter and material of the royal coins were preserved for them. In February 1924, new money arrived at Mostorg, Mosselprom, and GUM. They began to give them for change to customers.
In March 1923, the withdrawal of banknotes began at the rate of 1:50,000. Hard ruble equaled 50 billion rubles during the period of class struggle.
The Krasnaya Zarya telephone factory was involved in the production of 2 and 3 kopeck coins. Silver fifty dollars were minted in Birmingham. The exchange crisis was overcome only by the beginning of 1925.
There was no point in maintaining the royal standards of the metallic composition of money. The coins were only designated by their denomination, and not by the amount of metal they contained. The Mint produces a new alloy: 95% copper and 5% aluminum. If the old nickel weighed 16.38 g, then the new one began to weigh only 5 g.
The minting of silver rubles was completed in 1924, and the production of coins of 10, 15, 20 kopecks was stopped in 1931. In the same year, trading activities with citizens of the USSR began in Torgsin stores - trading with foreigners. Thus began the state’s policy of using money for unequal exchange with its own people.
According to OGPU estimates, the population has accumulated precious metal in the amount of 200 million rubles. Torgsins were intended to withdraw this money. Jewelry could be used to buy food, and 80% of the yellow metal handed over was spent on it.
Bank notes from 1937 with a portrait of Lenin
Bank notes from 1937 had a portrait of Lenin. They contained the inscription “The bank note can be exchanged for gold.” There was never such an inscription on money again.
In 1937, it was strictly tied to the ratio of 5 rubles 30 kopecks per dollar.
After World War II, the country experienced a confiscatory revaluation of money. Old rubles were revalued to one-tenth of their original value.
In 1961, another revaluation of money took place, and the reform of 1947 was repeated. Formally, the Soviet ruble was equal to 0.987412 gr. gold, but was not available for exchange. In the 1960s, Soviet specialists were allowed to travel abroad, and then a parallel currency was created in the country. They were called checks from Vnesheconombank and Vneshposyltorg. They were issued instead of currency earned abroad. Checks were exchanged for currency at a fixed rate before the collapse of the USSR and were very highly valued.
After the breakup Soviet Union in 1991 it remained the currency of Russia.
New banknotes have been issued on behalf of the Bank of Russia since 1993. In the early nineties, due to high inflation, it lost its value.
The most famous monetary unit of Russia, without a doubt, is the ruble. It dates back more than 700 years. The ruble is known to everyone, because in our country there is no person who has not held it in his hands. At first glance, this is an absolutely ordinary thing, but not every one of our fellow citizens is familiar with the history of the ruble, the date of its appearance and development in different periods life of the country. The first mention of the ruble as a means of payment is found in the Novgorod birch bark charter of the 13th century. At that time, the ruble was the hryvnia, which was a silver bar up to 20 centimeters long and weighing about 200 grams. For many years, the prevailing opinion was that the word “ruble” itself came from the verb to chop. However, thanks to scientists, for a long time who dealt with this issue, it was found that the very concept of “ruble” comes from the name of the technological process for manufacturing this means of payment.
The fact is that during production, silver had to be poured into the mold twice, which is why the seam or scar is clearly visible on the payment bars of Veliky Novgorod, and the word “rub” itself, according to most authoritative researchers, means edge. Based on this statement, the word “ruble” can be literally understood as “an ingot with a seam.” Starting from the 15th century, the ruble became the only means of payment, completely displacing the hryvnia from circulation. During the reform of Elena Glinskaya in 1534, the ruble was left as a unit of account, but at the same time it was equated to 100 Moscow kopecks or 200 Novgorod money.
The first Russian ruble in the form of a coin was issued in 1654 during the reign of the Tsar. The first silver ruble coins were called efimkas and were minted from Western European thalers. On these coins there was the inscription “ruble” and there was an image of a double-headed eagle and a king on a horse. The minting of efimki continued for a short time, and already from 1655 thalers with the minted mark of a penny, the so-called “efimki with a sign”, were issued into circulation. The monetary crisis that began at the end of the 17th century forced Peter I to reform the country's monetary system, which resulted in the emergence of a decimal monetary system. The ruble, consisting of 100 kopecks, was adopted as the basis for this system.
Since 1704, silver rubles have been minted in Russia, while copper and gold coins have been issued in extremely small quantities. Paper rubles - banknotes - were first introduced in 1769, based primarily on the need to cover the enormous expenses incurred by the country during the war with Turkey. In addition to gold, silver and copper coins, in the history of Russia there was a period from 1828 to 1845, when platinum coins were minted in denominations of 3, 6 and 12 rubles. During the monetary reform of 1895, initiated by the then Minister of Finance, a free exchange of gold coins for banknotes was established throughout the empire, while the paper ruble was equalized with the gold ruble. The main monetary unit was the gold ruble. First World War 1914 led to the disappearance of gold, silver, and even copper coins from free circulation, which is why the introduction of paper money circulation in Russia was forced. The silver ruble was released into circulation in 1922 and 1924. After 1924, ruble coins were not issued until 1961. Since 1961, after monetary reform, the Soviet ruble, made of a copper-nickel alloy, was issued. These coins were minted in the USSR until 1991.
Since 1965, the tradition of issuing anniversary and commemorative coins with a nominal value of 1 ruble began. In the period from 1977 to 1980, in connection with the 1980 Olympics in the USSR, the first Soviet commemorative coins were made from precious metals, and in 1988, palladium 999 was used for commemorative coins for the first time in history. The last ruble coins of the USSR were issued in 1991 and immediately received the name “GKChP coins.”
Since 1992, the Bank of Russia has stopped minting small change coins. Nowadays, mints mint coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5 and 10 rubles, which are legal tender and, accordingly, serve as small change. And this is only a small part of the history of the ruble in Russia.
In the 13th century in Novgorod, along with the name “hryvnia”, the name “ruble” began to be used. This is how they began to call the Novgorod hryvnia, which was a stick-shaped silver ingot, 14-20 cm long, with one or more dents on the “back” and weighing about 200 g. The first known mention of the ruble dates back to the end of the 13th century. It is mentioned in the birch bark charter of Veliky Novgorod, dating from 1281-1299.
For a long time it was believed that the word “ruble” comes from the verb to chop, they say, hryvnias of silver were cut by our ancestors into two parts - rubles, and they, in turn, were cut into two more parts - half a ruble. However, it has now been proven that silver hryvnias and rubles had the same weight. Most likely, the ruble owes its name to an ancient technology in which silver was poured into a mold in two steps - on Novgorod payment bars, a seam on the edge is clearly visible. The root "rub", according to experts, means edge, border. By the way, “rub” in Ukrainian, Belarusian and Polish means a tripe, and in Serbo-Croatian it means a seam, a border. Thus, the term ruble should most likely be understood as “an ingot with a seam.”
The ruble became widespread in Rus'. The Moscow ruble appears, the shape and weight of which copies the Novgorod one. Also widely used were Western Russian or Lithuanian rubles, which had the same shape as the Novgorod rubles, but were 10-17 cm long and weighed 100-105 g.
To make rubles, a lot of silver was needed, and our ancestors did not have their own mines in Rus' in those distant times. Therefore, rubles flowed from previously accumulated reserves of silver coins - dirhams of the Arab states of the Sassanids, Abbasids, Samanids, denarii of the Byzantine Empire and coins of the city of Chersonese. And also from cake-shaped German silver ingots that arrived through Novgorod. Which became the main supplier of silver for Ancient Rus', as it maintained the most stable ties with Western Europe.
In the 15th century, the ruble finally ousted the hryvnia from circulation, becoming, in fact, the only (except for the half-ruble) real payment unit without a coinage period in Rus'.
From the end of the 14th century, the minting of Russian silver coins - money - began. Its weight was 0.93 g and corresponded to 1/200 hryvnia of silver. The minting of money is associated with the struggle of Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy (1362-1389) against the Tatars. In addition to Dmitry Donskoy, many appanage princes were engaged in minting money with various designs.
Being exchangeable for coins, the ruble was able to satisfy small payments. The increase in the scale of minting coins and their continuous deterioration shook the stability of the ruble. As a result, from the middle of the 15th century, the ruble ceased to be an ingot and in the sphere of monetary circulation remained a counting concept.
In 1534, in Rus', Elena Glinskaya, the mother of the young Ivan IV Vasilyevich “The Terrible” (1530-1584), carried out a monetary reform (unification of the monetary system). The goal was to ban all old Russian and foreign coins (circumcised and uncircumcised), and replace them with a new coin - a penny.
After the monetary reform, the ruble continued to be a unit of account, but contained 68 g of pure silver and was equal to 100 Moscow kopecks or 200 Novgorod money or 400 half-rubles (half money or a quarter of a penny). But, despite this, the Russian monetary system until the beginning of the 18th century was, perhaps, the most backward in Europe.
In 1654, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676), real ruble silver coins were issued for the first time - “efimki”, minted from West German thalers - full-fledged current coins of Europe. For the first time, the inscription “ruble” was placed on the coin, on the front side there was a double-headed eagle, on the reverse side there was a king on horseback. However, at this time the ruble was an inferior coin; it contained less silver than 100 silver kopecks. Its actual cost was 64 kopecks. In 1655, the production of "efimki" was discontinued, they were replaced by full-weight thalers with a stamp (a rider on a horse and the year - 1655), which were called "efimkas with signs."
Efimok with the sign (Bornstedt thaler). Minting of 1611 - Germany, counterminting of 1655 - Moscow Mint. At the end of the 17th century, a monetary crisis developed in Russia. And then the great reformer of the Russian state - Peter I Alekseevich Romanov “The Great” (1672-1725), decided to introduce a new monetary system that would meet the ever-increasing commerce. The reform was carried out gradually over 15 years.
During the reform, in 1701, gold coins were introduced into circulation - the chervonets (3 rubles), equal in weight to the Western European ducat (3.4 grams), the double chervonets (6 rubles) and the double ruble (about 4 grams). And in 1704, a copper penny equal to 1/100 of a silver ruble, which was issued on the model of the Western European thaler and weighed 28 grams, appeared in circulation. Thus, Russia became the first state in the world to introduce a decimal monetary system based on the ruble and its hundredth part - the kopeck. This system was so convenient and progressive that it subsequently became widespread in the lands and states adjacent to Russia. The coins introduced by Peter I did not remain unchanged in subsequent times. Some denominations disappeared and other denominations appeared, coin types changed, their quality and weight data fluctuated. Until 1764, the amount of pure silver in the ruble decreased, after which, having dropped to 18 grams, it remained unchanged until 1915.
There were also changes in the value of gold coins. For example, by 1764, the gold ruble contained 27 shares (Share = 44.43 mg.) of pure gold, and at the end of the 19th century - only 17.424 shares. In 1775, gold poltina, ruble, semi-imperial (5 rubles) and imperial (10 rubles) were issued. The latter contained 2 spools of 69.36 shares of pure gold (11.61 grams). At the end of the 19th century, the imperial gold content was reduced. Its weight in 1775 began to correspond to 15 rubles in 1897, and the semi-imperial, correspondingly, to 7.5 rubles.
During the reign of Catherine II (1729-1796), in 1769, to finance the war with Turkey, paper money - banknotes - were first issued in Russia. In 1771, a stamp was made for a huge copper coin - the so-called Sestoretsky ruble. It was named so because these giant coins were supposed to be minted at the Sestoretsky factory. Such a coin was unsuitable for circulation. These rubles were supposed to provide paper notes introduced by Catherine II. But mass production of these rubles did not take place. However, the increased issue of banknotes, which exceeded the security, led to a drop in its rate. It especially intensified during the Patriotic War of 1812. The banknotes were withdrawn from circulation in connection with the next monetary reform of 1839-1843, which established silver monometallism in Russia (a monetary system in which one of the precious metals (silver or gold) serves as the basis of monetary circulation). Which existed in Russia until 1852.
In 1828, in connection with the discovery of platinum in the Urals, the minting of platinum coins with a denomination of 3 rubles, weighing 2 spools (Zolotnik = 4.266 grams) began, 41 shares of pure platinum. In 1829 and 1830, platinum 6- and 12-ruble coins were successively introduced into circulation, corresponding in diameter to the silver fifty-kopeck piece and ruble, and weighing twice and four times as much as the 3-ruble note. Release of these unusual coins explained by the fact that in the 19th century platinum had not yet been found technical application, and therefore was valued relatively low.
Minister of Finance of the government of Nicholas I (1796-1855), Count E.F. Kankrin introduced credit notes in 1843, replacing banknotes. But by 1849, tickets and old banknotes were exchanged for banknotes of a new type, which soon became worthless. Therefore, with the beginning Crimean War Between 1853 and 1857, banks stopped exchanging banknotes for gold and silver. A period of widespread paper money circulation began in Russia.
In 1895-1897, Minister of Finance S.Yu. Witte (1849-1915) implemented a new monetary reform, the purpose of which was to establish gold monometallism in Russia. It is based on the gold backing of the state's monetary system. According to the reformers, in order to ensure stable convertibility of the national currency (the Ruble), free exchange of credit notes was established, the issue of which was limited to gold coins at the rate of one paper ruble for one ruble in gold, and the gold content of the imperial was reduced. New technologies for the production of banknotes, unknown in the West, were also developed and introduced. The Orlov method of multicolor printing, named after its author Ivan Ivanovich Orlov (1861-1928), became the most popular. His method received worldwide recognition and, with some improvements, is still used today. Coming out from under printing press Goznak royal credit cards with the image of Peter I and Catherine II were real works of art.
The war with Japan of 1904-1905, the revolution of 1905-1907 and the First World War that broke out in 1914 led to the collapse of gold monometallism. Paper money was no longer exchanged for gold. At the beginning of the First World War, gold, silver and copper coins disappeared from circulation. In 1915, the last issue of the silver ruble was minted in a meager circulation. The country introduced paper-based money turnover.
Massive issues of monetary (paper) surrogates, which began to entirely serve the markets of the empire, led to an increase in inflation. In February 1917, the Provisional Government led by the Socialist-Revolutionary Kerensky A.F. came to power. As a result of the wrong policy of the state, Russia's national debt increased, the war was waged "to the bitter end", a huge amount of paper money. As a result, inflation increased significantly.
In October 1917, the “Socialist Revolution” occurred, which led to the Civil War of 1918-1920. The Bolshevik government that came to power was also forced in March 1919 to intensify the production of new paper money.
Against the backdrop of the collapse of the tsarist empire, Civil War and inflation, in the conditions of complete economic ruin that engulfed the entire country, the most unusual money was born. In circulation at the same time there were tsarist-style credit notes, "Duma" money and "Kerenki" of the Provisional Government, banknotes of the RSFSR and supporters of the " white movement", as well as countless surrogates for money: bonds, checks, temporary obligations, etc. It even got to the point of being funny. So the Russian Soviet writer Vsevolod Vyacheslavovich Ivanov, in his essay “Portraits of My Friends,” recalled that in 1919 in Omsk, from where only that Kolchak's army was expelled, the writer called his friends to his place for dinner, which was bought with money drawn and printed by him. Or just remember the footage from the movie "Wedding in Malinovka", where one of the bandits tried to buy a silver cross for money drawn with his own hands. As we see, money was drawn and printed by anyone and everyone, so they did not have much value.This is evidenced by the fact that money was often used as wallpaper for pasting walls, and in the bazaars they preferred exchange in kind to money.
In March 1921 Soviet Russia the production of silver coins of equal quality to the corresponding denominations began Tsarist Russia. But all these coins were not put into circulation until 1924 - a cash reserve was created.
In 1923, the first Soviet gold chervonets were issued, corresponding in pure gold content to the pre-revolutionary 10 rubles. The official exchange rate for the chervonets on January 1, 1923 was 175 rubles in banknotes of the 1923 model or 17 thousand 500 rubles in banknotes of 1922. Soviet chervonets received the nickname “sower” because for front side The coin was chosen to depict a sower based on a sculpture by Ivan Dmitrievich Shadr (1887-1941). The author of the sketch was the chief medalist of the Mint A.F. Vasyutinsky, who later took part in the creation of the Order of Lenin.
Today, gold chervonets of 1923 and 1925 are the rarest Soviet coins. Most of them were used for settlements with other states. Only a small number of these coins remain in the collections of museums and private individuals. Therefore, their collectible value is now very high. From 1975 to 1982, the USSR continued minting gold chervonets.
Silver coins of the RSFSR of 1921-1923 came into circulation on February 26, 1924. In the same year, the production of silver coins of the USSR began. The silver ruble was minted only in 1924. Then only parts of it were minted - fifty dollars until 1927 and kopecks, but in 1931 silver was replaced with nickel. Further, the ruble circulated only in in paper form and was expressed in Treasury notes and chervonets of the State Bank of the USSR. During the post-war monetary reform of 1947, chervonets and Treasury notes were exchanged for new money and a single calculation in rubles was introduced.
The 1961 reform introduced new copper-nickel alloy coins white(coin cupronickel) - 50 kopecks and 1 ruble. In May 1965, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the victory over fascism, a commemorative coin with a face value of 1 ruble was issued for the first time in the USSR. The coin depicts the sculpture “To the Liberator Warrior” by Evgeny Viktorovich Vuchetich. In 1977-1980, in honor of the 1980 Olympics, held in Moscow, the first coins were minted from precious metals - gold, silver, platinum. In 1988, for the minting of anniversary and commemorative coins in the USSR, the metal was used for the first time - palladium of purity 999. The interest in which is explained by its belonging to platinum group, the relative stability of prices on the international market and the attention paid to it by numismatists and investors. The practice of using palladium for minting coins became widespread in the world only in the late 80s.
In 1991, the Bank of the USSR issued ruble coins into circulation for the last time, as well as Bank notes of a new design. People called them “coins of the State Emergency Committee” and “wooden rubles.” But the collapse of the USSR and inflation soon brought them to naught. In 1992, the Bank of Russia issued new rubles in coins and Bank notes, completely abandoning the minting of small change coins. As a result, the smallest coin became 1 ruble. But due to increased inflation in 1993, the Russian government carried out a new monetary reform, as a result of which 10 rubles became the smallest coin. In 1995, the State Bank of Russia abandoned the minting of the ruble in coins, expressing it only in bank notes. Moreover, the smallest denomination becomes 1000 rubles. But already in 1998, during the redenomination of the ruble (changing the denomination of banknotes in order to prepare for the stabilization of monetary circulation), coins appeared in use again. The denomination of the ruble revived not only the coin ruble, but also the long-dormant penny.
With the collapse of the USSR in many former fraternal republics, and now independent states national currencies were introduced - Lari, Manat, Hryvnia, Lita, etc. Among them is Belarus, which chose the ruble as its national currency, which it became familiar with back in the 13th century. Since then, he has become firmly entrenched in her life and history. In 1992, the National Bank of Belarus introduced the first national rubles into circulation, which were popularly nicknamed “bunnies” because a hare was depicted on a 1-ruble ticket. In 1993, Transnistria introduced coupons denominated in rubles into circulation on its territory. In 1994, the Bank of Tajikistan also introduced the national currency, the ruble. Interestingly, the size, watermarks and colors are painfully reminiscent of the “socialist ribbed” pattern of 1961.
The good old ruble has not been forgotten. On different languages and in different countries CIS, it continues to live as the monetary unit of these states.
IN modern Russia The ruble is legal tender, obligatory for acceptance at face value throughout the Russian Federation. The exchange rate of the ruble in relation to the dollar, euro and other world currencies is set by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
Today, everything that is done in modern commodity production - objects, services, etc., is equated to money. They are the universal equivalent. The history of the origin of money dates back to ancient times. It has been proven that the prerequisites for their origin were laid during the collapse of the primitive communal system.
general information
Trade, the driving factor of which is money, played a huge role in the emergence of banknotes. It itself originated from the idea of exchange. The oldest money in the world is Chinese. Their history goes back more than four thousand years. In ancient times, money in China was the shell of a rare mollusk - cowrie. Later, metal coins came into use. In the twelfth century, in the same China, paper money first appeared. In Europe they came into use much later. In the Early Middle Ages, landowners, jewelers and large merchants no longer paid in specie, but with promissory notes. They can be considered the first European paper money. This article presents the history of money, the ruble, in particular how it appeared and what changes have occurred with this banknote since its inception. Experts believe that this topic is quite difficult, since it is complicated by scanty and contradictory information about this currency. Nevertheless, the history of the ruble in Russia has many interesting stages, which will be discussed in this article.
Money in Rus'
Initially, the currency of any country was considered to be the most important subject, primarily a consumer item. In Rus' they were cattle. This is confirmed by many documentary facts. It has been proven that there was a fine of cattle, and this word itself is repeatedly used in the sense of a monetary equivalent. Metal monetary circulation - the hryvnia - became widespread in Rus' during the period of feudal relations. It was used not only for trade, but also for collecting tribute. Another ancient Russian coin, the zlatnik or zolotnik, was, as the name suggests, made of gold. In weight it was equal to a Byzantine solidus or 4.2 hryvnia. On it there was a Slavic inscription, a portrait of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich and the family coat of arms of the Rurikovichs. True, it did not play a special role in trade, but rather served as a symbol of the strength of the state.
origin of name
The ruble, the history of which dates back to the thirteenth century, is considered the Russian monetary unit. It was in 1281-1299. for the first time, the first mention of this currency appeared in a written source. This date is officially indicated in many documents and textbooks. However, many experts are inclined to believe that the history of the origin of the ruble officially begins not with the era of the Novgorod birch bark charters, but with the tenth century.
However, the established opinion is more widespread that the emergence of the concept itself is a continuation of the hryvnia Kievan Rus. Most numismatists believe that the name of the word “ruble” comes from a verb such as “to chop.” The fact is that even in the coinless period, the hryvnia was a silver ingot with an oblong shape. And it was often cut into several parts to make fractional calculations possible.
At the beginning of the thirteenth century, two-hundred-gram silver bars shaped like sticks were also in use in Novgorod. Not only with their oblong shape, but also with their weight, they strongly resembled the monetary unit of Kievan Rus. However, unlike the hryvnia, these bars were called “ruble” in Novgorod. It is this time that is considered to be the beginning of the emergence of our money. This period can be called the starting point from which the history of the ruble begins. Briefly, it can be divided into two periods: before the circulation of bullion and after. It was then that Rus' entered a new stage in the development of trade relations.
The history of the ruble coin connects the name of this monetary unit with the common people, so some experts believe that this term began to circulate long before its first mention in Novgorod charters. The root of this word - “rub” - can also be interpreted as “edge” or “border”. Taking into account the ingots discovered on the territory of Novgorod, in which a scar is clearly visible along the edge, we can draw a conclusion about how this word appeared. All this, according to some numismatists, proves the assertion that the history of the ruble has many “dark sides” and is therefore full of mysteries. Its study is further complicated by the fact that, along with Russian money, our ancestors also used Byzantine coins.
First rubles
At the end of the thirteenth century, this monetary unit appeared in use in the Moscow lands. It exactly repeated the Novgorod hryvnia. In addition, there are several mentions and confirmations of the presence of Lithuanian silver bars in everyday use. True, according to experts, they had less weight, equal to about one hundred grams of silver. For the manufacture of monetary units it was used at that time very a large number of precious metal. After all, a fairly impressive amount of ingots was required to satisfy the needs of sales agents. Apparently, this was the reason that at the end of the coinless period, from which the history of the ruble coin in Russia began, the value of such a metal as silver increased significantly. In the territory Novgorod Principality and there were no mines close to it. To create coins, it was necessary to use imported metal, which was melted down from dirhams that were in use in Arab countries, Byzantine denarii and Chersonese money.
Usage
The history of the ruble (briefly - rub.), which is an ingot, ended at the end of the fourteenth century. During the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, new coins appeared in use and circulated on the territory of modern Russia. During the reign of this prince - from 1362 to 1389. - one of the measures to counter the Mongol-Tatar enslavement was taken. Minting began in Rus' own money. The new coins weighed 0.93 grams and were equal to one two hundredth of a ruble - an ingot. At that time, they fully met the needs of ordinary people when paying for goods and services.
The new coin was called not a ruble, but “money”, which, in fact, experts consider to be the remnants of Tatar influence. Format and its appearance were very unsightly. The history of the ruble knows many Russian coins that looked much better and richer. During production, they did not always adhere to round shape, only the coinage itself, located in the center of the flattened disk, retained its rounded shape and was striking with the peculiar pattern applied to it.
Transition period
Gradually, the ruble, in the form of an ingot, began to go out of use. Each individual Russian principality began to issue its own coins. The rapid transition from bullion to own banknotes was indicated by several factors at once. Firstly, due to the fragmentation of lands, each individual Russian principality began to independently establish designs for coinage. True, the purchasing power of these coins was preserved. The amount of silver in their composition also remained unchanged. The history of the Russian ruble as bullion did not end there, despite the exit of this monetary equivalent from use. As before, this concept was used when calculating the total funds of ordinary people.
Currency reform
It was launched by the mother of Tsar Ivan IV, Elena Glinskaya. The history of the development of the ruble in 1534 was marked by the first mass monetary reform. There were many prerequisites for this. The goal of the monetary reform was to clear the trade sector not only of foreign coins, but also of numerous “mismatched” coins that were issued in almost every Russian principality. The decision to carry out it was also aimed at creating a single type of money for all territories. The history of the Russian ruble took a new turn with it. The start for the development of the ongoing reform was the appearance of the so-called “kopecks”, as well as “marks”. Their names were tied to the images that were minted on them. On the kopecks there was a mounted spearman, and on the tag there was a swordsman holding a naked weapon in his hands.
The ruble continued to be used as a unit of measurement. Conventionally, it was equated to sixty-eight grams of silver. The kopecks that came into use accounted for one hundredth of a ruble. In addition to them, Novgorod monetary units and half coins were also used.
In fact, modern numismatics considers such a system not very convenient and practical. Moreover, it was recognized as the most backward in its development not only for the entire history of the creation of the ruble, but also the most unsuccessful among similar European reforms. However, this did not stop her from “working” until the end of the seventeenth century.
New history of the ruble in brief
The next significant milestone for the entire period of existence of Russian money began in 1654. It was at this time that the first real ruble appeared, which became the “great-grandfather” of the modern domestic currency. By decision of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, production began ruble coin, which was initially minted from German analogues. Apparently, this is why many experts believe that in fact it cannot be considered an independent currency. Opinions on this matter in numismatics are divided. In general, the history of the Russian ruble is full of mysteries and unclear stages.
However, the new coin depicted a king sitting on a horse and a double-headed eagle. She was popularly called "Efimka". The coin from the time of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich contained only 64 percent silver. Today's 1 ruble, the history of which dates back to the efimka, like its ancestor, has a value equal to one hundred kopecks, but differs in its composition. Since 2016, in our country, coins with this denomination are made of steel and have a nickel coating.
In 1655, along with the efimkas that were already in use, analogues with the so-called “signs” appeared. Full-weight thalers from Germany were used to mint new coins. They were distinguished from the original ordinary efimok only by the presence of the year of manufacture. With their appearance, the history of the ruble in Russia entered a new stage. At that time, the date on one of the sides was an innovation in the development of the monetary unit. In addition, on both versions of the efimka the word “ruble” was stamped.
Changes in the monetary system under Peter the Great
The next, no less important stage in the history of the development of Russian money is the period of the reign of Emperor Peter I. He had to face the need to carry out reform. The prerequisite for this was the state of deep crisis in which the country was plunged. This process lasted for fifteen years. During this time, new money gradually began to be introduced into use and old ones were adjusted. There was only one goal: to bring their exchange rates under one single standard. From this moment it begins completely new story ruble in Russia. Briefly, this period can be called the beginning stage dramatic changes. It was from this time that gold chervonets with a denomination of three rubles began to be issued in our country. They were made like ducats in Western Europe, made of gold. The coins weighed 3.4 grams. The double ruble and double chervonets later appeared in the nominal line. They weighed 4 and 7.8 grams of gold, respectively.
Innovations
For the most accurate calculations at that time, copper pennies were used. At that time, this metal was valued quite expensively, so only twenty-eight grams were enough to equate them to a hundredth of a silver ruble. It must be said that the division of money into hundreds quickly took root in Russia. Moreover, it came into use in the lands adjacent to it, which, willy-nilly, had to submit to the influence of Moscow rulers. Subsequently, Russian banknotes were modified more than once. Moreover, each time the weight of the silver included in the coin decreased. As a result, by 1764 the ruble was completely different. Before 1915, it contained only eighteen grams of silver.
The weight loss also affected the gold ruble. Initially it contained 27 shares of precious metal. However, by the end of the nineteenth century, only 17.4 remained. Further innovations in the development of the ruble continued. In 1775 new money appeared. These were half-ruins, half- and imperials. The latter were equal to ten rubles and contained 69.36 shares of gold. By the beginning of the twentieth century, their gold content also sharply decreased. Therefore, the imperial became equal to 7.5 rubles.
The use of precious metals such as silver and gold naturally imposed certain restrictions on the issue of banknotes. It was especially strongly affected by the lack of explored mines at the disposal of Moscow rulers. But the biggest shortage Money Russia felt it during the military campaign against Turkey. After all, the country at that time required incredibly large financial injections, which should have been used to support the development and combat effectiveness of the Russian army.
The history of the ruble exchange rate has also been enriched by the use of other precious metals. In 1828, a platinum royal coin appeared in use. More precisely, a certain number of such rubles were minted. This became possible only after the discovery of a platinum mine in the Urals. Such coins were equal to two spools or at face value - to three rubles. Over the next two years, additional platinum money was issued at six and twelve rubles. Their weight was higher than that of silver, since at that time white gold was still practically not used in the field of technology, and therefore was not considered a particularly expensive or valuable metal.
How did the first paper rubles appear?
According to research, in 1769, under Catherine II, the first banknotes in the history of our country appeared. To repay them, rubles were chosen, made not from gold and silver, but from copper. In fact, experts call this period one of the most unique in the history of the ruble. Since copper was much cheaper than silver, and the amount of metal had to correspond to the cost of the coin, the manufacturers had to work hard to start minting new rubles.
As a result, in 1771 it was decided to develop a special stamp, which was used to mint copper coins weighing as much as 1.6 kilograms. These, in fact, were quite large square slabs. Each side of such a monetary unit was twenty centimeters. You can imagine how uncomfortable she was. This kind of money was called “Sestroretsk ruble”.
IN financial policy country at the end of the eighteenth century, a very serious, one might say, critical mistake was made. Banknotes were issued uncontrollably, so soon there were a lot of them. Their number exceeded the actual security in metal that existed at that time in banks in Moscow or St. Petersburg. As a result, this situation led to a collapse in their value. The War of 1812 also had a significant impact on the default.
But, despite this situation, the final withdrawal of these banknotes from circulation occurred only from 1839 to 1843. Only by this time did the government manage to prepare the measures necessary to implement new reform. It was based on the idea of introducing monometallism into monetary system based on silver. The innovations made this time did not last long. In 1895, the transition from silver to gold monometallism was made. The new monetary reform was prepared by the then Minister of Finance Witte. The purpose of this decision was to reinforce Russian state such an expensive metal as gold. Banknotes began to be issued, which were easily exchanged for coins at a one-to-one rate. The circulation of such tickets was limited to the number of gold coins.
This standard lasted until 1914. With the outbreak of World War I, gold monometallism in Russia collapsed, and the exchange of paper money was stopped.
Since 1921, the USSR began issuing silver coins with the same denomination as under imperialist Russia. However, such money could not be immediately put into circulation, since the Soviet government had been creating a reserve of this banknote for more than three years. In 1923, the Bolsheviks introduced the golden chervonets into circulation. It contained the same amount of this precious metal as ten royal rubles. It must be said that today Soviet coins issued in 1923 and 1925 by the Bolsheviks are considered incredibly rare. The fact is that very few of them remained in the country, since at that time they were used to pay for operations with foreign countries. Only a small part of these coins remained in the USSR. Today they are found only in museums and some private collections. Their value is very high.
It must be said that in the Soviet Union, the ruble was made from silver material only in 1924. Later it was divided into kopecks and fifty dollars. Since 1961, coins in the USSR began to be issued from white alloy- cupronickel mixtures. In the same year, monetary reform was implemented in the Soviet Union. Stalin's old money was exchanged for new - Khrushchev's. Moreover, paper bills have decreased in size: they have become smaller and more neat. After all, before this, Soviet banknotes were not much inferior in size to pre-revolutionary money. And now it was convenient to put them in a wallet and not fold them in half. This, accordingly, saved a large amount of expensive paper.
In 1991, the USSR issued a ruble coin. However, due to the collapse of the Union, it soon turned into an inferior currency.
In 1992 already Russian bank A limited number of ruble coins were issued with the smallest denomination of 1 ruble. However, due to the ensuing next year The ten-ruble note became the smallest coin inflation. Two years later, in 1995, the Russian Ministry of Finance decided to completely switch to paper banknotes. But already in 1998, the denomination of the Russian ruble was carried out. After this procedure, coins began to be minted in the country again. Again, both metal rubles and kopecks appeared in use.
It must be said that at that time Soviet money was valued extremely highly abroad. Foreigners very willingly took them from Russian sailors; this currency was accepted in almost all stores in the world. After all, at that time the ruble was considered very reliable and one of the “hard” banknotes. Its value always remained unchanged, even despite all the crises that were constantly shaking the Western world.
