Note that the script for Uzbek Azerbaijani Moldavian and Turkmen have switched from Cyrillic to Latin some time around the breakup of the Soviet Union. Historical Soviet rubles First Soviet ruble

The first ruble issued for the Socialist 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. Denominations are as follows: 1 2 3 5 10 15 25 50 60 100 250 500 1000 5000 10000 25000 50000 100000. Short term treasury certificate were also issued to supplement banknote issue in 1 million 5 million 10 million 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. Second Soviet ruble January 1 1922 - December 31 1922 Silver ruble of 1922

In 1922 the first of several redenominations took place at a rate of 1 "new" ruble for 10000 "old" rubles. The chervonets () was also introduced in 1922. Third Soviet ruble January 1 1923 - March 6 1924

A second redenomination took place in 1923 at a rate of 100 to 1. Again only paper money was issued. During the lifetime of this currency the first money of the Soviet Union was issued. Fourth (Gold) Soviet ruble March 7 1924 - 1947 A third redenomination in 1924 introduced the "gold" ruble at a value of 50000 rubles of the previous issue. This reform also saw the ruble linked to the chervonets at a value of 10 rubles. Coins began to be issued again in 1924 whilst paper money was issued in rubles for values below 10 rubles and in chervonets for higher denominations. Fifth Soviet ruble 1947 - 1961 Following World War II the Soviet government implemented a confiscatory redenominationclarification needed of the currency to reduce the amount of money in circulation. This only affected the paper money. Old rubles were revalued at one tenth of their face value. Sixth Soviet ruble 1961 - 1991 50 kopek type issued 1961-1991. The 1961 redenomination was a repeat of the 1947 reform with the same terms applying.clarification needed Newly designed notes were issued with artwork by the artist Victor Tsigal depicting scenes from Soviet life and Soviet industrial achievements. The Soviet ruble of 1961 was formally equal to 0.987412 gram of gold but the exchange for gold was never available to the general public. This ruble maintained parity with the Pound Sterling until the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 when the ruble became the new currency of the Russian Federation. 1961 Series Image Value Obverse Reverse 1 Ruble 3 Ruble 5 Ruble 10 Ruble 25 Ruble 50 Ruble 100 Ruble 1991 Series Image Value Obverse Reverse 1 Ruble 3 Ruble 5 Ruble 10 Ruble 50 Ruble 100 Ruble 200 Ruble 500 Ruble 1000 Ruble Economic role The economy of the Soviet Union was a government-controlled planned economy where the government controlled prices and the exchange of currency. Thus its role was unlike that of a currency in a market economy because distribution of goods was controlled by other mechanisms than currency such as centrally planned quotas queuing or blat. Only a limited set of products could be freely bought thus the ruble had a role similar to trading stamps or food stamps. The currency was not internationally exchangeable and its export was illegal. The sudden transformation from a Soviet "non-currency" into a market currency contributed to the economic hardship following the collapse of the Soviet planned economy.2 Replacement currencies in the former Soviet republics Shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 local currencies were introduced in the newly independent states. Most of the new economies were weak and hence most of the currencies have undergone significant reforms since launch that included change of names and denominations.citation needed In the very beginning of the post-Soviet economic transition quite a lot of peoplewho and institutions (including the International Monetary Fund) believed in the possibility to maintain the common currency working for all or at least for some of the former Soviet Unions countries.citation needed Political considerations were one reason for this advocacy. Certain politicians were hoping to rebuild the former Russian empire in some way or at the very least maintain "special relations" among former Soviet republics or the "near abroad" as they came to be known in Russia. Another reason were the economical considerations for maintaining the ruble zone. The wish to preserve the strong trade relations between former Soviet republics was considered the most important goal.who The break-up of the Soviet Union was not accompanied by any formal changes in monetary arrangements. The Central Bank of Russia was authorized to take over the State Bank of the USSR (Gosbank) on 1 January 1992. It continued to ship USSR ruble notes and coins to the central banks of the fourteen newly independent countries which had formerly been the main branches of Gosbank in the republics. The political situation however was not favorable for maintaining a common currency.citation needed A strong political consensus in respect to monetary and fiscal targets the common institution in charge of implementing these targets and some minimum of common legislation (concerning the banking and foreign exchange regulations) are absolutely necessary conditions to have a common currency. Amidst the economical chaos mistrust and adjustment to democracy and market economy these conditions were far from reality. During the first half of 1992 a monetary union with 15 independent states all using the ruble existed. Since it was clear that the situation would not last each of them was using its position as free-riders to issue huge amounts of money in the form of credit (since Russia held the monopoly on printing banknotes and coins). Ukraine was very active in this.citation needed As a result some countries were issuing coupons in order to protect their markets from buyers from other states. The Russian central bank responded in July 1992 by setting up restrictions to the flow of credit between Russia and other states. The final collapse of the ruble zone began with the exchange of banknotes by the Central bank of Russia on Russian territory at the end of July 1993. As a result other countries still in the ruble zone (Kazakhstan Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Moldova Armenia and Georgia) were pushed out.citation needed By November 1993 all newly independent states had introduced their own currencies with the exception of war-torn Tajikistan (May 1995) and unrecognized Transnistria (1994). Details on the introduction of new currencies in the newly independent states are discussed below. Country New currency Conversion rate from ruble Date introduction new currency Date leaving ruble zone Remarks  Armenia Dram 200 22 November 1993   -  Azerbaijan Manat 10 15 August 1992   The Manat was revalued 5000 to 1 on 1 January 2006.  Belarus Ruble 10 May 1992   The Belarusian ruble was redenominated 1000 to 1 on 1 January 2000.  Estonia Kroon 10 20 June 1992 22 June 1992 Pegged to German Mark (1 DEM 8EEK). The first hardened currency in former SU. Estonia introduced Euro in 2011.  Georgia Kupon lari 1 5 April 1993   The "first Lari" was a temporary currency. It was replaced 2 October 1995 at a rate of 1000000 to 1 by the Lari.  Kazakhstan Tenge 500 15 November 1993   -  Kyrgyzstan Som 200 10 May 1993 15 May 1993 Until 1 January 2008 only banknotes were issued.  Latvia Rublis 1 7 May 1992 20 July 1992 The Latvian ruble was a temporary currency replaced by Lats at a rate of 200 to 1 in March 1993. Latvia plans to introduce the Euro in 2014.3  Lithuania Talonas 1 1 May 1992 1 October 1992 The Talonas was a temporary currency replaced by the Litas at a rate of 100 (Talonas) to 1 on 25 June 1993. Lithuania plans to introduce the Euro in 2014.4  Moldova (excl. Transnistria) Cupon 1 1992   The Cupon was a temporary currency replaced by the Leu at a rate of 1000 to 1 on 29 November 1993.  Russia Russian ruble 1 1992 July 1993 The Russian ruble was redenominated 1000 to 1 on 1 January 1998  Transnistria Ruble 1 1994   The Transnistrian Ruble was redenominated 1000000 to 1 in 2000.  Tajikistan Ruble 100 10 May 1995   As a result of its civil war Tajikistan was the last country to leave the ruble zone. The Tajikistani ruble was replaced by the Somoni at a rate of 1000 to 1 on 30 October 2000.  Turkmenistan Manat 500 1 November 1993   It was redenominated in 2009 at a rate of 5000 to 1.  Ukraine Karbovanets 1 10 January 1992   The Karbovanets was replaced by the Hryvnia at a rate of 100000 to 1 on 2 September 1996.  Uzbekistan Som 1 15 November 1993 15 November 1993 The first Som was a transitional currency redenominated 1000 (old) to 1 (new) on 1 July 1994. Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan decided to leave the ruble zone because it considered the Russian monetary policy to be too inflationary; which was not good for stabilizing the economy. Kyrgyzstan introduced its own currency (the Som) on 10 May 1993. The first issue consisted of banknotes of 0.01; 0.10; 0.50; 1; 5 and 20 Som. After a period of dual circulation the Som became the only legal tender on 15 May. New series of banknotes were introduced in 1994 and 1997. Starting in January 2008 low denomination banknotes are being phased out and replaced by coins. Latvia Latvia was the first country to introduce its own currency: the Latvian ruble introduced May 7 1992 on par with the Soviet ruble and circulated parallel with it; on July 20 it became the sole legal tender.5. It was the second country to leave the ruble zone entirely. Latvia decided to leave the ruble zone because it considered the Russian monetary policy to be too inflationary; which was not good for stabilizing the economy.citation needed Latvia declared independence on 4 May 1990 this was however not formally recognized by the Soviet Union until 25 December 1991. On 3 September 1991 the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia passed a resolution to restore the status of the Bank of Latvia to that of a central bank with the exclusive right to issue the national currency. In the first four months of 1992 Latvia was adversely affected by the inflation of the ruble. In addition the outgoing cash payments (with other ex-USSR states) surpassed the incoming money amounts by 122 million rubles (5.9%) in February and in April by 686 million rubles (29.2%) thus causing a very serious shortage of cash. Since money was issued by Russia the Bank of Latvia was unable to improve the cash circulation in the country. The situation completely depended on the possibility of receiving or buying cash and credit resources from the Russian central bank. It was evident that a crisis could develop in which the Bank of Latvia would not be able to execute even the most necessary payments. Thus the Monetary Reform Committee of the Republic of Latvia was established and on 4 May 1992 it passed the resolution on introducing a new temporary currency: the Latvian ruble. Notes were issued on 7 May in the following denominations: 1 2 5 10 20 50 200 and 500 rubles. They were exchanged at par with Soviet rubles. Until 20 July both currencies circulated together at that day the Soviet ruble ceased to be legal tender and Latvia left the ruble zone entirely. The Latvian ruble was however intended as a temporary currency. It was gradually replaced by the new national currency (the Lats). This process started on 5 March 1993 with the introduction of the 5 lats-banknote and would be completed on 20 July 1998 with the 500 lats-banknote. The successful reform ending in the introduction of the lats facilitated Latvias transition to a stable market economy. Uzbekistan Uzbekistan was "pushed out" of the Ruble zone as a consequence of the July 1993 introduction of new banknotes in Russia. Uzbekistan introduced a temporary national currency (the Som) on 15 November 1993. It replaced the ruble at a rate of 1:1. Between July and November 1993 old and new ruble notes circulated together. On 1 July 1994 the temporary Som was replaced by a new permanent version of the Som. Old notes were exchanged at a rate of 1.000 to 1. At its introduction 7 Som were equal to 1 American Dollar. References (Estonian) eestimajandus.ee: "NSV Liidu valuutassteem ja esimesed hisettevtted" see Ilmari Susiluoto Lessions from Latvia Europe's Planned Budget Cuts Must Be Enacted Fast' Baltics Leaders Urge Encyclopedia Britannica Britannica book of the year: 1993 p649 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Money of the Soviet Union Leon Trotsky. The Revolution Betrayed. Chapter 4 - The Struggle for Productivity of Labor associated with the issuence of the ruble 1936 A commercial site with some relevant historical information Numismatics portal v d eCurrencies of post-Soviet states in circulation Abkhazian apsar (unrecognized)  Armenian dram  Azerbaijani manat  Belarusian ruble  Euro (Estonia)  Georgian lari  Kazakhstani tenge  Kyrgyzstani som  Latvian lats  Lithuanian litas  Moldovan leu  Nagorno-Karabakh dram (unrecognized)  Russian ruble (Russia and Abkhazia (unrecognized) and South Ossetia (unrecognized))  Tajikistani somoni  Transnistrian ruble (unrecognized)  Turkmenistan manat  Ukrainian hryvnia  Uzbekistani som obsolete Chechen naxar (unrecognized)  Estonian kroon  Georgian kupon lari  Latvian rublis  Lithuanian talonas  Moldovan cupon  Soviet ruble  Tajikistani ruble  Ukrainian karbovanets