Ruble
Encyclopedia
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 ,...
, 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...
, Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
, South Ossetia
South Ossetia
South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
and Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
, and, in the past, the currency units of several other countries, notably countries influenced by 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...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, are named rubles, though they all are different currencies. One ruble is divided into 100 kopecks , a name also used for the one-hundredth part of a Ukrainian hryvnia
Ukrainian hryvnia
The hryvnia, sometimes hryvnya or grivna ; sign: ₴, code: , has been the national currency of Ukraine since September 2, 1996. The hryvnia is subdivided into 100 kopiyok. In medieval times, it was a currency of Kievan Rus'....
.
Etymology
According to the spelling there are two ways of pronunciation: ruble[rʌbl] and rouble[ru:bl].Origin
According to one version, the word "ruble" is derived from the RussianRussian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
verb рубить, rubit, i.e., to cut, to chop, to hack.
In Russian:
Рубли были частями гривны или кусками серебра с зарубками, означавшими их вес. Каждая гривна разделялась на четыре части; название же рубль произошло от слова «рубить», потому что прут серебра в гривну весом разрубался на четыре части, которые и назывались рублями.
Rubles were parts of the hryvnia or pieces of silver with notches indicating their weight.
Each hryvnia was divided into four parts; the name "ruble" came from the word "cut"
because the silver rod weighing 1 grivnaGrzywna (unit)The grzywna was a measure of weight, mainly for gold and silver, commonly used throughout medieval central Europe, in particular Poland, Bohemia and the Rus lands. Grzywna was also a unit of measure of a unit of exchange, and as such used as money. There were several different grzywnas such as the...
was split into four parts, which were called rubles.
Historically, "ruble" was a piece of a certain weight chopped off a silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
ingot
Ingot
An ingot is a material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. Non-metallic and semiconductor materials prepared in bulk form may also be referred to as ingots, particularly when cast by mold based methods.-Uses:...
(grivna), hence the name.
Another version of the word's origin is it comes from the Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
noun рубец, rubets, i.e., the seam that is left around the coin after casting: silver was added to the cast in two steps. Therefore, the word ruble means "a cast with a seam".
The ruble was the Russian equivalent of the mark
Mark (money)
Mark was a measure of weight mainly for gold and silver, commonly used throughout western Europe and often equivalent to 8 ounces. Considerable variations, however, occurred throughout the Middle Ages Mark (from a merging of three Teutonic/Germanic languages words, Latinized in 9th century...
, a measurement of weight for silver and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
used in medieval western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. The weight of one ruble was equal to the weight of one grivna.
In Russian, a folk name for "ruble", tselkovyj (целковый, wholesome), is known, which is a shortening of the целковый рубль ("tselkovyj ruble"), i.e., a wholesome, uncut ruble.
The word kopek, kopeck, copeck, or kopeyka (in , kopeyka) derives from the Russian kop'yo (копьё) — a spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
. The first kopek coins, minted at Novgorod and Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
from about 1535 onwards, show a horseman with a spear. From the 1540s onwards the horseman bears a crown, and doubtless the intention was to represent Ivan the Terrible, who was Grand Prince of all Russia until 1547, and Tsar thereafter. Subsequent mintings of the coin, starting in the 18th century, bear instead Saint George striking down a serpent.
In 1704, Russia was the first country in the world to introduce a decimal monetary system, where one ruble was equal to 100 kopeks.
English spelling
Both the spellings "ruble" and "rouble" are used in English. The form "rouble" is preferred by the Oxford English DictionaryOxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
, but the earliest use recorded in English is the now completely obsolete "robble". The form "rouble" probably derives from the transliteration into French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
used among the Tsarist aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
. There is some tendency for North American authors to use "ruble" and other English speakers to use "rouble", and also some tendency for older sources to use "rouble" and more recent ones to use "ruble", but neither tendency is absolute.
Plurals in Russian
The Russian pluralPlural
In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...
s that may be seen on the actual currency are modified according to Russian grammar
Russian grammar
Russian grammar encompasses:* a highly synthetic morphology* a syntax that, for the literary language, is the conscious fusion of three elements:** a Church Slavonic inheritance;...
. Numbers 1, 21, 31 etc. are followed by nominative singular рубль, копейка. Numbers 2-4, 22-24, 32-34 etc. will be followed by genitive singular рубля, копейки. Numbers 5-20, 25-30, 35-40 etc. will be followed by genitive plural рублей, копеек.
Other languages
In several languages spoken in Russia and the former Soviet Union, the currency name has no etymological relation with ruble. Especially in Turkic languagesTurkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
or languages influenced by them, the ruble is often known (also officially) as som or sum (meaning pure), or manat (from Russian moneta, meaning coin).
Soviet banknotes had their value printed in the languages of 15 republics of the Soviet Union.
Obsolete
(This list may not contain all historical rubles, especially rubles issued by sub-national entities)- Armenian rubleArmenian rubleThe ruble was the independent currency of the Democratic Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic between 1919 and 1923. It replaced the first Transcaucasian ruble at par and was replaced by the second Transcaucasian ruble after Armenia became part of the Transcaucasian...
- Azerbaijani ruble (ruble is the Russian name of the first Azerbaijani manatAzerbaijani manatThe Manat is the currency of Azerbaijan. It is subdivided into 100 qəpik. The word manat is borrowed from "moneta" which is pronounced as "maneta"...
) - Georgian ruble (ruble is the Russian name of the Georgian maneti)
- Latvian rublisLatvian rublisThe rublis was the name of the currency of Latvia from 1919 to 1922 and from 1992 to 1993.-First rublis:After the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia in 1918, a large variety of different currencies were in circulation - ostrubles, ostmarks, German Papiermark, the so-called Tsar rubles, kopecks,...
- Soviet rubleSoviet rubleThe Soviet ruble or rouble was the currency of the Soviet Union. One ruble is divided into 100 kopeks, ....
- Tajikistani rubleTajikistani rubleThe ruble was the currency of Tajikistan between May 10, 1995 and October 29, 2000. It was subdivided into 100 tanga, although no coins or banknotes were issued denominated in tanga.-History:...
- Transcaucasian rubleTranscaucasian rubleThe ruble , manat or maneti was the currency of both Transcaucasian states, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic and the Transcaucasian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic.-First Transcaucasian ruble:...
- Ukrainian ruble (in the Soviet Union ruble was the Russian name of the Ukrainian karbovanetsUkrainian karbovanetsThe karbovanets has been a distinct unit of currency in Ukraine during three separate periods. The name is also used in the Ukrainian language for the Imperial ruble and the Soviet ruble, but not for the modern Russian ruble....
) - TuvaTuvaThe Tyva Republic , or Tuva , is a federal subject of Russia . It lies in the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders with the Altai Republic, the Republic of Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia and with Mongolia to the...
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