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The ruble, rouble or rubel (; ;
abbreviation An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening (linguistics), shortening, contraction (grammar), contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened for ...
: Br, ISO code: BYN) is the
currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...
of
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
. It is subdivided into 100
kopeck The kopeck or kopek is or was a coin or a currency unit of a number of countries in Eastern Europe closely associated with the economy of Russia. It is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system; 100 kopeks are worth 1 ruble o ...
s (, ). The exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble is determined based on a basket of currencies consisting of the
Russian ruble The ruble or rouble (; Currency symbol, symbol: ₽; ISO 4217, ISO code: RUB) is the currency of the Russia, Russian Federation. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's central bank, monetary authority ind ...
(with a weight of 60%), the
US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
(with a weight of 30%) and the
renminbi The renminbi ( ; currency symbol, symbol: Yen and yuan sign, ¥; ISO 4217, ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the China, People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the Peop ...
(with a weight of 10%). The
Euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
was part of said currency basket but was excluded in December 2022 due to a decrease in the volume of trade between
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
.


History


First ruble (BYB), 1992–2000

As a result of the breakup of the
supply chain A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distri ...
in the former
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
enterprises, goods started to be bought and sold in the
market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...
, often requiring cash settlement. The Belarusian unit of the USSR State Bank had neither the capacity nor the licence to print Soviet
banknote A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commerc ...
s, so the government decided to introduce its own
national currency Fiat money is a type of government-issued currency that is not backed by a precious metal, such as gold or silver, nor by any other tangible asset or commodity. Fiat currency is typically designated by the issuing government to be legal tender, ...
to ease the cash situation. The German word ''
Thaler A thaler or taler ( ; , previously spelled ) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...
'' (), divided into 100 ''
Groschen Groschen (; from "thick", via Old Czech ') is the (sometimes colloquial) name for various coins, especially a silver coin used in parts of Europe including Kingdom of France, France, some of the Italian states, and various states of the Holy R ...
'' () was suggested as the name for a Belarusian currency, but the
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
majority in the
Supreme Soviet of Belarus The Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus () was the unicameral legislature of Belarus between 1991 and 1996. It was essentially a continuation of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR of 1938–1991 immediately after the Soviet Uni ...
rejected the proposal and stuck to the word ''ruble'' that had been used in Belarus from the times of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. The word ''ruble'' has also been used as a name for a currency in circulation in the medieval
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
, of which Belarus was a major part (see
Lithuanian long currency The so-called Lithuanian long currency was a type of money used by the Baltic tribes and in the early Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 12th–15th centuries. It was commodity money in the form of silver ingots. Most often they were semicircular r ...
). From the collapse of the Soviet Union until May 1992, the
Soviet ruble The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, r=rubl', p=rublʲ) was the currency of the Soviet Union. It was introduced in 1922 and replaced the Russian ruble#Imperial ruble (1704-1922), Imperial Russian ruble. One ruble was divided into 100 kopecks ...
circulated in Belarus alongside the Belarusian ruble. New
Russian ruble The ruble or rouble (; Currency symbol, symbol: ₽; ISO 4217, ISO code: RUB) is the currency of the Russia, Russian Federation. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's central bank, monetary authority ind ...
banknotes also circulated in Belarus, but were replaced by notes issued by the
National Bank of the Republic of Belarus The National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB; ; ) is the central bank of Belarus, located in Minsk. The bank was created in 1922 under the name of "Belarusian Republican Bank" by the Soviet of People's Commissars of Byelorussia, but soon wor ...
in May 1992. The first post-Soviet Belarusian ruble was assigned the ISO code ''BYB'' and replaced the Soviet currency at the rate of 1 Belarusian ruble = 10 Soviet/Russian rubles. It took about two years before the ruble became the official currency of the country in 1994 replacing Russian rubles.


Second ruble (BYR), 2000–2016

In 2000, a new ruble was introduced (ISO 4217 code ''BYR''), replacing the first at a rate of 1 BYR = 1,000 BYB. This was
redenomination In monetary economics, redenomination is the process of changing the face value of banknotes and coins in circulation. It may be done because inflation has made the currency unit so small that only large denominations of the currency are in cir ...
with three zeros removed. Only banknotes were issued;
coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...
s were minted solely as commemorative
collectibles A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...
.


Monetary integration with Russia

From the beginning of his presidency in 1994,
Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...
began to suggest the idea of integration with the
Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, and undertook steps in this direction. The idea of introducing a united currency for the Union of Russia and Belarus was floated; Article 13 of the 1999 "''Treaty of Creation of the Union State of Russia and Belarus''" foresaw a unified currency. Belarus' economy was largely a Soviet-style centrally controlled one heavily reliant on cheap energy supplies from Russia. Discussions on the common currency continued well past the 2005 implementation goal set by both nations. Starting in 2008, the Central Bank of Belarus announced that the ruble would be tied to the
United States dollar The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
instead of the
Russian ruble The ruble or rouble (; Currency symbol, symbol: ₽; ISO 4217, ISO code: RUB) is the currency of the Russia, Russian Federation. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's central bank, monetary authority ind ...
. Former bank chairman Stanislav Bogdankevich called it a political decision, tied to Belarus' open displeasure with Russia's hike of oil and gas export prices to Belarus earlier that year.


Third ruble (BYN), 2016–present

In July 2016, a new ruble was introduced (ISO 4217 code ''BYN''), at a rate of 1 BYN = 10,000 BYR. Old and new rubles circulated in parallel from 1 July to 31 December 2016. Belarus also issued coins for general circulation for the first time. Seven banknote denominations (5-, 10-, 20-, 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500 rubles) and eight coin denominations (1-, 2-, 5-, 10-, 20-, and 50 copecks, and 1- and 2 rubles) are in circulation as of 1 July 2016. The banknotes have security threads and show 2009 as an issue date (the date of an unsuccessful attempt at currency reform).


Coins


First series, 2016

On December 27, 2016, for the first time in the Belarusian ruble's history, coins were introduced, due to the
redenomination In monetary economics, redenomination is the process of changing the face value of banknotes and coins in circulation. It may be done because inflation has made the currency unit so small that only large denominations of the currency are in cir ...
. Previously, Belarus was one of the few countries in the world never to have issued coins; this was largely due to rampant
inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...
, a problem since
independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
.
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
offered to mint the coins, and provided prototypes. Coins of up to 5 copecks are struck in
copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
-
plated Plating is a finishing process in which a metal is deposited on a surface. Plating has been done for hundreds of years; it is also critical for modern technology. Plating is used to decorate objects, for corrosion inhibition, to improve solderab ...
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
; 10, 20, and 50 copeck coins are struck in
brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
-plated steel; 1 ruble coins are
nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...
-plated steel and 2 ruble coins a bi-metallic composition with a brass-plated steel ring and a nickel-plated steel center plug). О проведении с 1 июля 2016 г. деноминации белорусского рубля All coins show the
national emblem of Belarus The national emblem of Belarus features a ribbon in the colors of the Flag of Belarus, national flag, a silhouette of Belarus, wheat ears and a red star. It is sometimes referred to as the coat of arms of Belarus, although in heraldry, heraldic ...
, the inscription 'БЕЛАРУСЬ' (Belarus) and the year of minting on their
obverse The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' ...
. The reverse shows the value of the coin and different symbolic ornaments.


Commemorative issues

Belarus is a large producer of commemorative coinage for the
numismatic Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...
market, most particularly
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
and
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
bullion coin A bullion coin (also known as a specie) is a coin struck from highly refined precious metal (bullion) and kept as a store of value or an investment rather than used in day-to-day commerce, or collectable, with numismatic value beyond that of its ...
s and non-circulating legal tender. Their designs range from fairly commonplace to unique and innovative ONE; themes range from "native culture and events" to
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
s and
pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...
topics unrelated to Belarus. A majority of these coins have a face value of 1 ruble; a few are 3-, 5 rubles and higher. Considered novelties, these coins are unlikely to be seen in general circulation.


Banknotes


First ruble (BYB)

In 1992, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 50 copecks, and 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000, and 5,000 rubles. These were followed by banknotes of 20,000 rubles in 1994, 50,000 rubles in 1995, 100,000 rubles in 1996, 500,000 rubles in 1998 and 1,000,000 and 5,000,000 rubles in 1999.


Second ruble (BYR)

In 2000, notes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, and 5,000 rubles (BYR), with 1 BYR = 1,000 BYB (first ruble). In 2001, higher denominations of 10,000, 20,000, and 50,000 rubles were introduced, followed by 100,000 rubles in 2005 and 200,000 rubles in 2012. There were no coins or banknotes issued in copecks. "On 1 September 2010, new rules of Belarusian orthography came into force. According to the old rules, the correct spelling of the word “fifty” in Belarusian was “пяцьдзесят,” (pyats'dzesyat) but under the new rules, it should be spelled “пяцьдзясят,” (pyats'dzyasyat) the difference being that the seventh character was the Cyrillic letter YE but is now the Cyrillic letter YA. As a result of these new rules, the existing 50 and 50,000 ruble notes dated 2000 now technically contain errors where the denominations are spelled out on the notes. On 29 December 2010, the National Bank of Belarus introduced new 50- and 50,000-ruble banknotes to bring the inscriptions on the notes into compliance with the new rules of Belarusian spelling and punctuation. The images, colors, and sizes of the notes remain consistent with the preceding issues of the same denominations dated 2000. The modified 50 ruble notes also no longer has a security thread, and the modified 50,000 ruble notes have replaced the solid security thread for a 2mm-wide windowed security thread."


Third ruble (BYN)

In 2016, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 rubles (BYN), with 1 BYN = 10,000 BYR (second ruble). On 4 November 2015, the
National Bank of the Republic of Belarus The National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB; ; ) is the central bank of Belarus, located in Minsk. The bank was created in 1922 under the name of "Belarusian Republican Bank" by the Soviet of People's Commissars of Byelorussia, but soon wor ...
announced that the banknotes that had been in use at that time would be replaced by the new ones due to the upcoming
redenomination In monetary economics, redenomination is the process of changing the face value of banknotes and coins in circulation. It may be done because inflation has made the currency unit so small that only large denominations of the currency are in cir ...
. The redenomination would be made in a ratio of 1:10,000 (10,000 rubles of the 2000 series = 1 ruble of the 2009 series). This currency reform also brought the introduction of coins, for the first time in The Republic of Belarus. The banknotes are printed by the United Kingdom-based banknote manufacturer,
security printing Security printing is the field of the printing industry that deals with the printing of items such as banknotes, cheques, passports, tamper-evident labels, security tapes, product authentication, stock certificates, postage stamps, and identity c ...
, paper-making and cash handling systems company
De La Rue De La Rue plc (, ) is a British company headquartered in Basingstoke, England, that produces secure digital and physical protections for goods, trade, and identities in 140 countries. It sells to governments, central banks, and businesses. Its ...
. As for coins, they have been minted by both the
Lithuanian Mint Lithuanian Mint () is the state-owned Company, enterprise, responsible for the mintage of Coins of the Lithuanian litas, coins and Orders, decorations, and medals of Lithuania, decorations of Lithuania. The shareholding is managed by the Bank of ...
and the Kremnica Mint. Both banknotes and coins were ready in 2009, but the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
prevented them from being put into circulation immediately, resulting in a 7-year delay conditional on the necessity to lower inflation. Their designs are very similar to the
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
banknotes.


Exchange rates

On 2 January 2009, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus lowered the exchange rate of the ruble by 50%. On 24 May 2011, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus lowered the exchange rate of the ruble by 56%. Alexei Moiseev, chief economist at Russia's VTB Capital, said at the time that "a '91-style meltdown is almost inevitable", referring to the crisis which accompanied the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
. On 20 October 2011, the exchange rate of the ruble dropped 42% (from Rbl 5,712 to Rbl 8,680 per US$) when it was fully floated following demands to do so by Russia and the IMF. In January 2015, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus devalued its currency by 23% against the
US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
despite efforts to keep Russia's currency crisis from spreading across the border. As of 1 February, one U.S. dollar was worth Rbls 15,400; by Tuesday, it fell to Rbls 15,450 to the dollar, as per data from the Belarusian Central Bank's website. As of mid-March 2022, the Belarusian ruble had reached an all-time low of Rbls 3.33 per US$1, during fallout from the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
. On 1 April 2022, it traded at Rbls 3.26 per US$, and had lost 21.5% of its value year-to-date. From 15 July 2022 to 1 October 2023 the currency was fixed at the rate of 2.5 in order to pay debts; since then its value remains fixed at 3.27


See also

*
Economy of Belarus The economy of Belarus is an upper-middle income mixed economy. As a post-Soviet transition economy, Belarus rejected most privatisation efforts in favour of retaining centralised political and economic controls by the state. The highly centr ...
*
Ruble The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are s ...


References


Notes


Sources

Belarus - a Strong Nation for the 21st Century, Jessop and Bridgot, 2017 Oxford Press, pp. 15, 17, 28, 29, 33, 42, 163, 285, 386.


External links


National bank of the Republic of Belarus - Official Exchange Rates (English)

Information about Belarusian commemorative coins (English)

Catalog of Belarus Banknotes

LIVE Belarus Ruble eXchange Rates : BYR (English)
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belarusian Ruble Currencies of Europe Economy of Belarus Fixed exchange rate Currencies introduced in 1992 Circulating currencies