Belarusian ruble
Encyclopedia
The ruble is the currency
of Belarus
. The symbol for the ruble is Br and the ISO 4217
code is BYR.
From the collapse of the Soviet Union until May 1992, the Soviet ruble
circulated in Belarus alongside with the Belarusian ruble. New Russia
n banknotes also circulated in Belarus but they were replaced by notes issued by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus
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 rubles. It took about two years before the ruble became the official currency of the country.
with 3 zeros chopped off. Only banknotes have been issued, with the only coins issued being commemoratives for collectors.
began to suggest the idea of integration with Russian Federation and to undertake steps in this direction. From the beginning, there was also an idea of introducing a united currency for the Union of Russia and Belarus
. Art. 13 of the 1999 "Treaty of Creation of the Union State of Russia and Belarus" foresaw a unified currency. Discussions about the Union currency has continued past the 2005 implementation goal set by both nations. Starting in 2008, the Central Bank of the Republic of Belarus announced that the ruble will be tied to the United States dollar
instead of the Russian ruble
. "Stanislav Bogdankevich, a former bank chairman, called the decision political, saying it was tied to Belarus' open displeasure at Russia's decision to hike oil and gas export prices to Belarus earlier this year. Belarus' economy is largely Soviet-style, centrally controlled and has been heavily reliant on cheap energy supplies from Russia".
On January 2, 2009, the Central Bank of the Republic of Belarus lowered the exchange rate of the ruble by 20%.
On May 24, 2011, the Central 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
.
"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,” but under the new rules, it should be spelled “пяцьдзЯсят,” the difference being that the seventh character was the Cyrillic letter IE 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 2-mm wide windowed security thread."
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. The symbol for the ruble is Br and the ISO 4217
ISO 4217
ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...
code is BYR.
First ruble, 1992–2000
The breakup of supply chain in the former Soviet enterprises demanded that goods be bought and sold on the market, often requiring cash settlement. The Belarusian unit of the USSR State Bank did not have capacity nor the license to print Soviet banknotes, hence the government decided to introduce their own national currency to ease up the situation with cash.From the collapse of the Soviet Union until May 1992, the Soviet ruble
Soviet ruble
The Soviet ruble or rouble was the currency of the Soviet Union. One ruble is divided into 100 kopeks, ....
circulated in Belarus alongside with the Belarusian ruble. New Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n banknotes also circulated in Belarus but they were replaced by notes issued by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus
National Bank of the Republic of Belarus
The National Bank of the Republic of Belarus is the central bank of Belarus, located in the capital city, Minsk. The bank was created in 1922 under the name of "Belarusian Republican Bank" by the Soviet of People's Commissars of Beylorussia, but soon worked under the direction of the State Bank of...
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 rubles. It took about two years before the ruble became the official currency of the country.
Second ruble, 2000-
In 2000, a second ruble was introduced (ISO code BYR), replacing the first at a rate of 1 new ruble = 1000 old rublei. This was redenominationRedenomination
Redenomination is the process of changing the face value of banknotes or coins used in circulating currency.When redenomination occurs, financial data that spans the change must be correctly accounted for. For example, the GDP is properly documented....
with 3 zeros chopped off. Only banknotes have been issued, with the only coins issued being commemoratives for collectors.
Monetary integration with Russia
From the beginning of his presidency in 1994, Alexander LukashenkoAlexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...
began to suggest the idea of integration with Russian Federation and to undertake steps in this direction. From the beginning, there was also an idea of introducing a united currency for the Union of Russia and Belarus
Union of Russia and Belarus
The Union State , semi-officially known as Union State of Russia and Belarus , is a supranational entity consisting of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.- Creation :...
. Art. 13 of the 1999 "Treaty of Creation of the Union State of Russia and Belarus" foresaw a unified currency. Discussions about the Union currency has continued past the 2005 implementation goal set by both nations. Starting in 2008, the Central Bank of the Republic of Belarus announced that the ruble will be tied to the United States dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
instead of the Russian ruble
Russian ruble
The ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation and the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Formerly, the ruble was also the currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union prior to their breakups. Belarus and Transnistria also use currencies with...
. "Stanislav Bogdankevich, a former bank chairman, called the decision political, saying it was tied to Belarus' open displeasure at Russia's decision to hike oil and gas export prices to Belarus earlier this year. Belarus' economy is largely Soviet-style, centrally controlled and has been heavily reliant on cheap energy supplies from Russia".
On January 2, 2009, the Central Bank of the Republic of Belarus lowered the exchange rate of the ruble by 20%.
On May 24, 2011, the Central Bank of the Republic of Belarus lowered the exchange rate of the ruble by 56%.
Alexei Moiseev, chief economist at Russia’s VTB Capital
VTB Capital
VTB Capital is one of the three strategic business arms of VTB Group, along with the corporate and retail businesses.Created in 2008, the business is headquartered in Moscow with offices in London, Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong, New York, Vienna and Kiev....
, said at the time that “a ‘91-style meltdown is almost inevitable,” referring to the crisis which accompanied the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
.
First ruble
In 1992, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 50 kapeykas, 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 rublei. These were followed by 20,000 rublei in 1994, 50,000 rublei in 1995, 100,000 rublei in 1996, 500,000 rublei in 1998 and 1,000,000 and 5,000,000 rublei in 1999.| 1992 — 1999 series http://www.nbrb.by/CoinsBanknotes/BankNotes.asp | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Value | Dimensions (mm) | Main Color | Obverse | Reverse | Date of printing | Date of annul | |
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105×53 | Orange-pink | Image of sciurus Sciurus The genus Sciurus contains most of the common, bushy-tailed squirrels in North America, Europe, temperate Asia, Central America and South America.-Species:There are 30 species.Genus Sciurus - Tree squirrels*Subgenus Sciurus... |
Image of the national Coat of arms | May, 25 1992 | January, 1 2001 | |
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Grey blue | Image of the running European Hare European Hare The European hare , also known as the brown hare, Eastern Jackrabbit and Eastern prairie hare, is a species of hare native to northern, central, and western Europe and western Asia. It is a mammal adapted to temperate open country. It is related to the similarly appearing rabbit, which is in the... or "zaichik" which earned the currency its nickname |
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Green | Image of beaver Beaver The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world... s |
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Blue and pink | Image of gray wolf Gray Wolf The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family... s |
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Dark green | Image of the Eurasian Lynx Eurasian Lynx The Eurasian lynx is a medium-sized cat native to European and Siberian forests, South Asia and East Asia. It is also known as the European lynx, common lynx, the northern lynx, and the Siberian or Russian lynx... with kitten |
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Orange | Image of moose Moose The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration... |
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Violet | Image of brown bear Brown Bear The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized... |
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Green-brown | Image of wisent Wisent The wisent , Bison bonasus, also known as the European bison or European wood bison, is a species of Eurasian bison. It is the heaviest surviving land animal in Europe; a typical wisent is about long, not counting a tail of long, and tall. Weight typically can range from , with an occasional big... |
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Yellow-green | Image of the train station square | December, 8 1992 | |||||
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Violet-red | Victory Square, Minsk Victory Square, Minsk Victory Square — square in the centre of the City of Minsk located at the crossing of Independence avenue and Zakharau street. The square is located in the historic centre of Minsk nearby with the museum of the 1st Congress of RSDRP, Main offices of National State TV and Radio and City House of... |
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Green | National Academy of Sciences of Belarus National Academy of Sciences of Belarus The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is the national academy of Belarus.-History:... in Minsk |
November, 3 1993 | |||||
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110×60 | Large image of the number 1,000 | September, 16 1998 | |||||
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105×60 | Red | Trinity Hill Trinity Hill The Trinity Hill is the oldest surviving district of Minsk, although it's not part of the downtown, rather a suburb, hence another name, Trinity Banlieu . The historic neighbourhood sprawls along the left bank of the Svislach River in the southeastern part of the modern city... in Minsk Minsk - Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened... |
Image of the national Coat of arms | April, 7 1994 | |||
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110×60 | Large image of the number 5,000 | September, 16 1998 | |||||
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150×69 | Olive-yellow | National Bank of the Republic of Belarus National Bank of the Republic of Belarus The National Bank of the Republic of Belarus is the central bank of Belarus, located in the capital city, Minsk. The bank was created in 1922 under the name of "Belarusian Republican Bank" by the Soviet of People's Commissars of Beylorussia, but soon worked under the direction of the State Bank of... |
Image of the national Coat of arms | December, 28 1994 | |||
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Light brown | Kholm Gate Kholm Gate The Kholm Gate was one of the 4 gates leading into the Citadel of the Russian Brest Fortress. It was designed in a classic style in the early 19th century. It faces the southern branch of the Mukhavets River... |
Brest Fortress Brest Fortress Brest Fortress , formerly known as Brest-Litovsk Fortress , is a 19th century Russian fortress in Brest, Belarus. It is one of the most important Soviet World War II war monuments commemorating the Soviet resistance against the German invasion on June 22, 1941... Memorial |
September, 15 1995 | ||||
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Grey-brown | Opera and Ballet Theatre (Minsk) | Scene from the ballet "Favourite" («Избранница») by E.A. Hlebau | October, 17 1996 | ||||
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Orange-red | The Republican Trade Unions' Palace of Culture Palace of Culture Palace of Culture or House of Culture was the name for major club-houses in the former Soviet Union and the rest of the Eastern bloc. It was an establishment for all kinds of recreational activities and hobbies: sports, collecting, arts, etc., and the Palace of Culture was designed to have room... in Minsk Minsk - Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened... |
Architectural decorations on the Republican Palace of Culture of Belarus | December, 1 1998 | ||||
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Sky-blue | The National Museum of Arts of Belarus in Minsk | Fragment of the picture "Portrait of wife with flowers and fruits" by I. Khrutski | April, 30 1999 | ||||
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Light violet | Minsk Sports Palace Minsk Sports Palace Minsk Sports Palace is an indoor sports arena, located in Minsk, Belarus. The arena seats 4,842 spectators and opened in 1966.It hosts various indoor events and used to serve as the home of HC Dynamo Minsk, of the KHL, before Minsk-Arena was completed.... |
Image of the "Raubichy" sports complex | September, 6 1999 | ||||
Second ruble
In 2000, notes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 rublei. In 2001, higher denominations of 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 rublei were introduced, followed by 100,000 rublei in 2005. There are no coins or banknotes issued in kapeykas."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,” but under the new rules, it should be spelled “пяцьдзЯсят,” the difference being that the seventh character was the Cyrillic letter IE 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 2-mm wide windowed security thread."
| 2000 Series | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Color | Description | Date of | ||||
| Obverse | Reverse | Obverse | Reverse | printing | issue | annul | |||
| 1 ruble | 110 x 60 mm | Green | The building of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus National Academy of Sciences of Belarus The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is the national academy of Belarus.-History:... |
Denomination in figures | 2000 | January 1, 2000 | January 1, 2004 | ||
| 5 rubles | Rose-red | View of the Trayetskaye Pradmyestsye in Minsk | July 1, 2005 | ||||||
| 10 rubles | Light blue | The building of the National Library of Belarus | |||||||
| 20 rubles | 150 x 69 mm | Olive-yellow | The building of the National Bank of Belarus | The interior of the building of the National Bank of Belarus | |||||
| 50 rubles | Orange-red | The Kholm Chelm Chełm is a city in eastern Poland with 67,702 inhabitants . It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some 25 kilometres from the border with Ukraine... Gate - fragment of the Memorial Brest Brest Fortress Brest Fortress , formerly known as Brest-Litovsk Fortress , is a 19th century Russian fortress in Brest, Belarus. It is one of the most important Soviet World War II war monuments commemorating the Soviet resistance against the German invasion on June 22, 1941... Hero-Fortress Hero-Fortress Hero-Fortress is the honorary title awarded to the Soviet Brest Fortress, now in Brest, Belarus in 1965 for the defence of the frontier stronghold during the very first weeks of the German-Soviet War of 1941 to 1945... |
The main entrance to the Memorial Brest Hero-Fortress Hero-Fortress Hero-Fortress is the honorary title awarded to the Soviet Brest Fortress, now in Brest, Belarus in 1965 for the defence of the frontier stronghold during the very first weeks of the German-Soviet War of 1941 to 1945... |
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| 100 rubles | Light green | The National Academic Great Opera and Ballet House of Belarus in Minsk | Scene from ballet "Favourite" by E.A. Hlebau | ||||||
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500 rubles | 150 x 74 mm | Light brown | The Republican Trade Unions' Palace of Culture Palace of Culture Palace of Culture or House of Culture was the name for major club-houses in the former Soviet Union and the rest of the Eastern bloc. It was an establishment for all kinds of recreational activities and hobbies: sports, collecting, arts, etc., and the Palace of Culture was designed to have room... in Minsk Minsk - Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened... |
Architectural decorations on the Republican Palace of Culture of Belarus | ||||
| 1,000 rubles | Light blue | The National Museum of Arts of Belarus in Minsk | Fragment of the picture "Portrait of the wife with flowers and fruits" by I. Khrutski | ||||||
| 5,000 rubles | Light violet | The Palace of Sports Palace of Sports The Kiev Palace of Sports is situated in the center of Kiev, Ukraine, on the right bank of the Dnieper River.It was built in 1960, under the leadership of Mykhailo Hrechyna and Aleksei Zavarov, as a major indoor sports arena.... in Minsk |
Image of the "Raubichy" sporting complex | ||||||
| 10,000 rubles | Pink | Panorama of Viciebsk city | Summer amphitheatre in Viciebsk | April 16, 2001 | |||||
| 20,000 rubles | Grey | Gomel Palace Gomel Palace The Rumyantsev-Paskevich Residence is the main place of historical importance in the city of Gomel, Belarus. The grounds of the residence stretch for 800 meters along the steep right bank of the Sozh River... |
A view of the palace from A. Idzkouski's picture in Homyel | 2002 | |||||
| 50,000 rubles | Sky blue | A castle in the settlement of Mir, Karelichy district, Hrodna Voblast Hrodna Voblast Hrodna Voblast or Grodno Oblast is a voblast in northwestern Belarus.The capital - Grodno is the biggest city of the province. It lies on the Neman River. Grodno's existence is attested to from 1127. Two castles dating from the 14th - 18th centuries are located here on the steep right bank of... |
Decorative collage of architectural elements of Mir Castle | December 20, 2002 | |||||
| 100,000 rubles | Orange | The Nesvizh Castle | View of the Radziwills' Castle in Niasvizh from a painting by the Belarusian artist Napoleon Orda Napoleon Orda Napoleon Orda was a Belarusian and Polish-Lithuanian musician, pianist, composer and artist.Napoleon Orda was born in the village of Varacevičy in the Pinsk district of Minsk guberniya in his father's manor. His father Michał Orda was an impoverished noble and the marshal of the powiat of Kobryn... |
July 15, 2005 | |||||
Historical exchange rates
| Belarusian rubles per currency unit | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | |
| Euro Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,... |
2683.75 | 2681.49 | 2691.88 | 2937.06 | 3134.80 | 3885.38 | 3949.89 |
| Russian ruble Russian ruble The ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation and the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Formerly, the ruble was also the currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union prior to their breakups. Belarus and Transnistria also use currencies with... |
75.00 | 76.14 | 78.90 | 83.91 | 86.17 | 88.06 | 98.11 |
| United States dollar United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... |
2160.24 | 2153.81 | 2144.56 | 2146.07 | 2136.29 | 2792.54 | 2978.10 |
| Source: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, and 2004 | |||||||
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- The Google Finance link for USDBYR was dead a/o 8/15/2011; no listing for "belarusian ruble" at all, there.