Belarusian ruble

Belarusian ruble беларускі рубель (Belarusian)
National Bank of Belarus, 1992 50 kapeek reverse 500 rublei (2000)
ISO 4217 Code	BYR
User(s)	Belarus
Inflation	8.4%
Source	The World Factbook, 2007 est.
Pegged with	U.S. dollar = Br 2111
Subunit
1/100	kapeyka
Symbol
Plural	The language(s) of this currency belong(s) to the Slavic languages. There is more than one way to construct plural forms. See article.
Coins	None
Banknotes
Freq. used	10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10 000, 20 000, 50 000, 100 000 rublei
Central bank	National Bank of the Republic of Belarus
Website	www.nbrb.by

The ruble (Belarusian: рубель, plural forms: рублі and рублёў) is the currency of Belarus. The symbol for the ruble is Br and the ISO 4217 code is BYR. It is divided into 100 kapeek (капеек, singular: kapeyka).

[edit] History

[edit] First ruble, 1992–2000

From the collapse of the Soviet Union until May 1992, the Soviet ruble circulated Belarus. New Russian banknotes also circulated in Belarus but they were replaced by notes issued by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus in May 1992.^[1] 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 rublei. It took about two years before the ruble became the official currency of the country.^[1]

[edit] 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 redenomination with 3 zeros chopped off. Only banknotes have been issued, with the only coins issued being commemoratives for collectors.^[1]

[edit] Monetary integration with Russia

From the beginning of his presidency, Alexander Lukashenko 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.^[2] 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.^[3] "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". ^[4]

[edit] Banknotes

[edit] First ruble

In 1992, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 50 kapeek, 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 5000 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 and 5 million rublei in 1999.

[edit] Second ruble

In 2000, notes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 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 kapeek.

2000 Series[1]
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	Denomination in figures	2000	January 1, 2000	January 1, 2004
		5 rublei		Rose-red	View of the Trayetskaye Pradmyestsye in Minsk				July 1, 2005
		10 rublei		Light blue	The building of the National Library of Belarus
		20 rublei	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 rublei		Orange-red	The Holmsk Gate - fragment of the Memorial Brest Hero-Fortress	The main entrance to the Memorial Brest Hero-Fortress
		100 rublei		Light green	The National Academic Great Opera and Ballet House of Belarus in Minsk	Scene from ballet "Favourite" by E.A. Hlebau
		500 rublei	150 x 74 mm	Light brown	The Republican Trade Unions' Palace of Culture in Minsk	Architectural decorations on the Republican Palace of Culture of Belarus
		1000 rublei		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
		5000 rublei		Light violet	The Palace of Sports in Minsk	Image of the "Raubichy" sporting complex
		10 000 rublei		Pink	Panorama of Viciebsk city	Summer amphitheatre in Viciebsk		April 16, 2001
		20 000 rublei		Grey	Rumiancev's and Paskevich's palace in Homyel	A view of the palace from A. Idzkouski's picture in Homyel		2002
		50 000 rublei		Sky blue	A castle in the settlement of Mir, Karelichy district, Hrodna Voblast	Decorative collage of architectural elements of Mir Castle		December 20, 2002
		100 000 rublei		Orange	The Radziwills' Castle in the town of Niasvizh	View of the Radziwills' Castle in Niasvizh from a painting by the Belarusian artist Napaleon Orda		July 15, 2005
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimeter, a Wikipedia standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

[edit] Historical exchange rates

[edit] See also

• Economy of Belarus

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Money of Belarus

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