The Russian ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation, the two partially recognised republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the two unrecognised republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The ruble is subdivided into 100 kopeks.
The ruble was the money of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union (as the Soviet ruble). Nonetheless, today just Russia, Belarus and Transnistria use monetary forms with a similar name. The ruble was the principal money in Europe to be decimalised, in 1704, when the ruble became equal to 100 kopeks.
In September 1993 the Soviet ruble (code: SUR) was replaced with the Russian ruble (code: RUR) at the rate 1 SUR = 1 RUR. In 1998 preceding the financial crisis, the Russian ruble was redenominated with the new code "RUB" and was exchanged at the rate of 1,000 RUR = 1 RUB.
The ruble has been used in the Russian territories since the 14th century. The modern Russian ruble was created in December 1991 and used in parallel with the Soviet ruble, which remained in circulation until September 1993. All Soviet coins issued between 1961 and 1991, as well as 1-, 2- and 3-kopek coins, issued before 1961, formally remained legal tender until 31 December 1998, and in 1999–2001 they were exchanged for Russian rubles at the ratio of 1000:1.
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet ruble remained the currency of the Russian Federation until 1992. A new set of coins was issued in 1992 and a new set of banknotes was issued in the name of the Bank of Russia in 1993. The Russian ruble with the ISO 4217 code RUR and number 810 replaced the Soviet ruble at the rate 1 SUR = 1 RUR.
