RUBLE

also spelled Rouble, the basic monetary unit of Russia (and of the former Soviet Union), divided into 100 kopecks. The origins of the ruble as a designation of silver weight can be traced to the 13th century. Peter the Great in 1704 introduced the first regular minting of the ruble in silver. During the 18th century it was debased, and, after the middle of the 19th century, the rapidly depreciating paper money predominated in Russia's circulation. In 1897 a gold ruble was substituted for the silver one, marking the change to a gold standard. Early in World War I, gold coin disappeared from circulation, and notes became inconvertible. During the period of the Revolution and civil war, an inflation of astronomical dimensions made the ruble virtually worthless. A reform carried out during 192223 reestablished an orderly monetary system. The chervonets was introduced as the standard unit and the basis of the state bank's note issue; the chervonets ruble, corresponding to one-tenth of a chervonets, was made a unit of reckoning. The ruble remained a term of denomination for treasury notes and silver coin. In the post-War War II reform of 1947 the chervonets was abandoned as the monetary standard and the ruble restored.