Currency in Russia

Currency in Russia

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Last updated:
20.08.2019

The official currency of Russia is called the Ruble. It's the second oldest national valuta (after the Pound Sterlings) and the first national decimal currency in the world. But what else is there to know about the Russian currency? Find out in this post.

What to Know about Russian Currency

The ruble as we know it today was first emitted after the country gained its independence in 1991, for the first time it was mentioned as a currency on the Russian territory in the 13th-century in the "Birch Bark of Veliky Novgorod". Back then, 1 ruble was a rod-shaped bar of silver approximately 12-14 cm (4.7-5.5 in) long with several notches on one of the sides.

Over the years the ruble went through several changes before, finally, the Soviet rubles ceased to exist in 1993 and gave way to the rubles of the new type which are in use today.

Traveling Russia, you can encounter the banknotes of 10, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, and 2000 Rubles, as well as the coins of 1, 5, 10, 50 kopeek (pennies) and 1, 2, 5, and 10 Russian ruble coins.

If you want to find out more about currency in Russia, you can watch a detailed video-guide prepared by our rep Vera. In this video, you’ll get an extensive overview of how Russian money looks like as well as where and how to withdraw it from an ATM.