The ruble is the history of Russian money. The ruble is round: be careful not to roll away

When paying for this or that product, few people thought about the history of the ruble...

According to the chronicle, in the 13th century, when paying for a product whose value was less than an ingot, it was cut into pieces and these pieces were called “rubles.” This is the Novgorod "hryvnia".

During the reign of Peter the Great, for more convenient calculation, the ruble was divided into 100 parts, each part was called a “kopek”, which served as an example for other states.

To cover expenses in the Turkish war, coins had to be replaced with paper. In 1915, the final withdrawal of coins took place, which led to the depreciation of the ruble.

1917 Collapse of the Empire and the monetary system. National banknotes were printed outside the country. Other countries have similar experiences in different time frames. So, at one time, the Ukrainian hryvnia was issued in the capital of Germany, Berlin.

1923 issue of gold chervonets, which were used for settlements with other states.

In the 80s, in honor of the Olympics, which took place in Moscow, coins were made from precious metals: gold, silver, platinum.

During the Soviet era, monetary reforms were carried out repeatedly. 1991 The Moscow Mint issued the Russian ruble, which is still used today.

After the collapse of the USSR, many independent states began to introduce national currencies: hryvnias, litas, manats, etc. But Belarus chose rubles as its national currency, but with a different design and was popularly called “bunnies”, since on the 1 ruble banknote there was a hare is drawn.

In 1993, a national currency was introduced in Transnistria - coupons, which was denominated in rubles, and in 1994 Tajikistan introduced the ruble into circulation as its national currency.

1998 A decision was made to improve the ruble externally, but this did not lead to any fundamental external changes.

This is the history of the emergence, development and fall in the value of the ruble. Despite the course of history, the ruble continues to be the monetary unit of many states...

The most famous monetary unit of Russia, without a doubt, is the ruble. It dates back more than 700 years. The ruble is known to everyone, because in our country there is no person who has not held it in his hands. At first glance, this is an absolutely ordinary thing, but not every one of our fellow citizens is familiar with the history of the ruble, the date of its appearance and development in different periods of the country’s life. The first mention of the ruble as a means of payment is found in the Novgorod birch bark charter of the 13th century. At that time, the ruble was the hryvnia, which was a silver bar up to 20 centimeters long and weighing about 200 grams. For many years, the prevailing opinion was that the word “ruble” itself came from the verb to chop. However, thanks to scientists who have been studying this issue for a long time, it was found that the very concept of “ruble” comes from the name of the technological process of manufacturing this means of payment.

The fact is that during production, silver had to be poured into the mold twice, which is why the seam or scar is clearly visible on the payment bars of Veliky Novgorod, and the word “rub” itself, according to most authoritative researchers, means edge. Based on this statement, the word “ruble” can be literally understood as “ingot with a seam.” Starting from the 15th century, the ruble became the only means of payment, completely displacing the hryvnia from circulation. During the reform of Elena Glinskaya in 1534, the ruble was left as a unit of account, but at the same time it was equated to 100 Moscow kopecks or 200 Novgorod money.

The first Russian ruble in the form of a coin was issued in 1654 during the reign of the Tsar. The first silver ruble coins were called efimkas and were minted from Western European thalers. On these coins there was the inscription “ruble” and there was an image of a double-headed eagle and a king on a horse. The minting of efimki continued for a short time, and already from 1655 thalers with the minted mark of a penny, the so-called “efimki with a sign”, were issued into circulation. The monetary crisis that began at the end of the 17th century forced Peter I to reform the country's monetary system, which resulted in the emergence of a decimal monetary system. The ruble, consisting of 100 kopecks, was adopted as the basis for this system.

Since 1704, silver rubles have been minted in Russia, while copper and gold coins have been issued in extremely small quantities. Paper rubles - banknotes - were first introduced in 1769, based primarily on the need to cover the enormous expenses incurred by the country during the war with Turkey. In addition to gold, silver and copper coins, in the history of Russia there was a period from 1828 to 1845, when platinum coins were minted in denominations of 3, 6 and 12 rubles. During the monetary reform of 1895, initiated by the then Minister of Finance, a free exchange of gold coins for banknotes was established throughout the empire, while the paper ruble was equalized with the gold ruble. The main monetary unit was the gold ruble. The First World War of 1914 led to the disappearance of gold, silver, and even copper coins from free circulation, which is why the introduction of paper money circulation in Russia was forced. The silver ruble was released into circulation in 1922 and 1924. After 1924, ruble coins were not issued until 1961. Since 1961, after monetary reform, the Soviet ruble, made of a copper-nickel alloy, was issued. These coins were minted in the USSR until 1991.

Since 1965, the tradition of issuing anniversary and commemorative coins with a nominal value of 1 ruble began. In the period from 1977 to 1980, in connection with the 1980 Olympics in the USSR, the first Soviet commemorative coins were made from precious metals, and in 1988, palladium 999 was used for commemorative coins for the first time in history. The last ruble coins of the USSR were issued in 1991 and immediately received the name “GKChP coins.”

Since 1992, the Bank of Russia has stopped minting small change coins. Nowadays, mints mint coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5 and 10 rubles, which are legal tender and, accordingly, serve as small change. And this is only a small part of the history of the ruble in Russia.

We can find the first chronicle mention of the word “ruble” on the pages of the Tver vaults under the year 1316, when, when describing the peace between the Novgorodians and the Tver prince Mikhail, the chronicler mentions a very substantial sum for those times of five thousand rubles. We will celebrate the 700th anniversary of the Russian national currency in 2016 precisely thanks to the accurately dated and official chronicle text.

Thanks to archaeological finds in Novgorod, the history of the ruble can be extended for several decades, and its origin can be linked specifically to our city: several birch bark letters with the word “ruble” were discovered in the Novgorod cultural layer of the late 13th century. The picture is quite logical: first, the new name enters the speech of ordinary people, which is reflected in the texts on birch bark, and only then it ends up on the pages of official treaties and chronicles.

Before the appearance of the ruble, the monetary circulation of the Old Russian lands at different times included: oriental coins - dirhams; Western - denarii; Russian-made coins - srebreniks and zlatniks, and from the end of the 11th century - hryvnias, which were locally produced high-grade silver ingots. Scientists identify different forms and weights of hryvnias, associated with the place of their production. The Novgorodian hryvnia looked like a long bar of silver weighing about 200 grams. Kyiv hryvnias had a hexagonal shape and weighed 160 grams. The Chernigov ingots were similar in appearance to the hexagonal Kyiv ones, and the weight corresponded to the Novgorod ones. Silver bars were used only for large trade transactions. Small trade was carried out through barter in kind or exchange for animal skins.

The word “ruble” is gradually replacing the more ancient word “hryvnia” to designate a silver payment bar. The origin of the new name remains an unresolved issue. Discussions on this topic are still ongoing. Many researchers are sure that the word “ruble” comes from “to chop.” And indeed, ingots were often cut into two halves - “half rubles”. Another version of the origin of the word “ruble” is associated with the technology of casting ingots - some of them were poured into the mold at once, while others were cast in two steps: first, the bulk of the metal was poured, and then the mold was topped up. As a result, an additional casting seam—a scar—was formed on the side of the ingot. An ingot with a scar can be called a ruble. The third version suggests that the word “ruble” goes back to the word “rub” with the meaning - piece, ingot.

Photo from the site: dic.academic.ru

Prices of the 14th - 15th centuries in rubles, bars and half rubles

1320-1340, Novgorod. Three rubles = 50 whitefish

1340-1360, Novgorod. Ruble = horse

1409, Pskov. Poltina = 6 zobnitsa rye (zobnitsa = approx. 840 liters)

1425, Pskov. Poltina = 5 gourds of rye

1427, Pskov. Poltina = 7 gourds of rye = 3 heifers

1428-1429, Pskov. Poltina = 8-9 gourds of rye

1434, Pskov. Poltina = 13 gourds of rye

1445, Novgorod. Poltina = 2 boxes of rye (boxes = about 420 liters)

1467, Pskov. Half a pound = 7 poods of honey (pood = 16.3 kilograms)

1476, Pskov. Half a piece = 11 pounds of honey

1499, Pskov. Poltina = goiter of wheat

XV century, Novgorod. Ruble = up to 540 veks (squirrel skins)

XV century Ruble = 7 bast of salt (bast = 5 poods)

Photo from the website: rusdarpa.ru

The first mention of counterfeiting in Rus' dates back to 1447. Novgorod foundry worker and silversmith (“Livec and Vesets”) Fyodor Zherebets was caught in the production of ruble bullion - hryvnia from lower quality silver than required by the norm. During the interrogation, the Stallion was drunk and testified about the involvement of 18 people in the crime, some of them were killed by being thrown from the bridge, and their property was looted. After Fedor sobered up, he began to deny his guilt.

This is what the chronicle says about it:

“That same summer, Sokir, the mayor of the livestock and the silver weight Fedor the Stallion, brought out to the assembly; Having given him something to drink, she began to chant: “Who did you pour the rubles on?” He slandered 18 people, and according to his words, swept some off the bridge, plundered others’ houses, and carried out their bellies from churches; and before that they didn’t look for it in the churches. And the same Theodore began to teach the untruthful boyars to speak against many people, which disgusted him with death; He sobered up and said: “He poured down on everyone and on all the lands, and weighed the livtsi with his brothers.” Then the whole city would be in mourning, and the hungry people and the tellers and the swindlers would rejoice, as long as they reprimanded someone; and put him to death, and stripped and plundered his belly in the church. And there was great rebellion in the city, and from then Sokira himself fell ill and died.”

Under Vasily III, the unification of Russian lands around Moscow continued, and princely power was significantly strengthened. In 1533, a mass execution of counterfeiters took place in Moscow:

“They executed many people, Muscovites, and Smolensk, and Kostroma, and Volzhan, and Yaroslavl, and many other Moscow cities, and the execution was: tin was poured into the mouth and their hands were flogged.”

You can learn more about the history of making counterfeit money from antiquity to the present day with the history of executions and retribution at the interactive exhibition "Counterfeiter. Transgression and Punishment." The exhibition is located at Yaroslav's Courtyard, in the sub-church of the Church of St. George at Torg, 10:00-17:00, seven days a week. The tour is free. Tel.: 8 911 602 3045 (for collective applications).

The article was prepared on the basis of the exhibition-installation of the same name at the Novgorod United Museum-Reserve with the participation of the Savings Bank of the Russian Federation. The exhibition was held within the walls of the Novgorod Kremlin in 2016.

The creators of the project: photo artist - Mark Nazarov, designer - Fatmani Orlova, historical consultants - Vyacheslav Volkhonsky, Ilya Khokhlov. Artistic and design works - Anatoly Levandovsky, Konstantin Moskalenko, Yuri Tokarev, Sergey Fomin.

ATTENTION! You can win a free master class at the interactive exhibition " Counterfeiter. Transgression and Punishment" from and online magazine "Area of Culture" -

In the 13th century in Novgorod, along with the name “hryvnia”, the name “ruble” began to be used. This is how they began to call the Novgorod hryvnia, which was a stick-shaped silver ingot, 14-20 cm long, with one or more dents on the “back” and weighing about 200 g. The first known mention of the ruble dates back to the end of the 13th century. It is mentioned in the birch bark charter of Veliky Novgorod, dating from 1281-1299.

For a long time it was believed that the word “ruble” comes from the verb to chop, they say, hryvnias of silver were cut by our ancestors into two parts - rubles, and they, in turn, were cut into two more parts - half a ruble. However, it has now been proven that silver hryvnias and rubles had the same weight. Most likely, the ruble owes its name to an ancient technology in which silver was poured into a mold in two steps - on Novgorod payment bars, a seam on the edge is clearly visible. The root "rub", according to experts, means edge, border. By the way, “rub” in Ukrainian, Belarusian and Polish means a tripe, and in Serbo-Croatian it means a seam, a border. Thus, the term ruble should most likely be understood as “an ingot with a seam.”

The ruble became widespread in Rus'. The Moscow ruble appears, the shape and weight of which copies the Novgorod one. Also widely used were Western Russian or Lithuanian rubles, which had the same shape as the Novgorod rubles, but were 10-17 cm long and weighed 100-105 g.

To make rubles, a lot of silver was needed, and our ancestors did not have their own mines in Rus' in those distant times. Therefore, rubles flowed from previously accumulated reserves of silver coins - dirhams of the Arab states of the Sassanids, Abbasids, Samanids, denarii of the Byzantine Empire and coins of the city of Chersonese. And also from cake-shaped German silver ingots that arrived through Novgorod. Which became the main supplier of silver for Ancient Rus', as it maintained the most stable ties with Western Europe.

In the 15th century, the ruble finally ousted the hryvnia from circulation, becoming, in fact, the only (except for the half-ruble) real payment unit without a coinage period in Rus'.

From the end of the 14th century, the minting of Russian silver coins - money - began. Its weight was 0.93 g and corresponded to 1/200 hryvnia of silver. The minting of money is associated with the struggle of Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy (1362-1389) against the Tatars. In addition to Dmitry Donskoy, many appanage princes were engaged in minting money with various designs.

Being exchangeable for coins, the ruble was able to satisfy small payments. The increase in the scale of minting coins and their continuous deterioration shook the stability of the ruble. As a result, from the middle of the 15th century, the ruble ceased to be an ingot and in the sphere of monetary circulation remained a counting concept.

In 1534, in Rus', Elena Glinskaya, the mother of the young Ivan IV Vasilyevich “The Terrible” (1530-1584), carried out a monetary reform (unification of the monetary system). The goal was to ban all old Russian and foreign coins (circumcised and uncircumcised), and replace them with a new coin - a penny.

After the monetary reform, the ruble continued to be a unit of account, but contained 68 g of pure silver and was equal to 100 Moscow kopecks or 200 Novgorod money or 400 half-rubles (half money or a quarter of a penny). But, despite this, the Russian monetary system until the beginning of the 18th century was, perhaps, the most backward in Europe.

In 1654, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676), real ruble silver coins were issued for the first time - “efimki”, minted from West German thalers - full-fledged current coins of Europe. For the first time, the inscription “ruble” was placed on the coin, on the front side there was a double-headed eagle, on the reverse side there was a king on horseback. However, at this time the ruble was an inferior coin; it contained less silver than 100 silver kopecks. Its actual cost was 64 kopecks. In 1655, the production of "efimki" was discontinued, they were replaced by full-weight thalers with a stamp (a rider on a horse and the year - 1655), which were called "efimkas with signs."

Efimok with the sign (Bornstedt thaler). Minting of 1611 - Germany, counterminting of 1655 - Moscow Mint. At the end of the 17th century, a monetary crisis developed in Russia. And then the great reformer of the Russian state - Peter I Alekseevich Romanov “The Great” (1672-1725), decided to introduce a new monetary system that would meet the ever-increasing commerce. The reform was carried out gradually over 15 years.

During the reform, in 1701, gold coins were introduced into circulation - the chervonets (3 rubles), equal in weight to the Western European ducat (3.4 grams), the double chervonets (6 rubles) and the double ruble (about 4 grams). And in 1704, a copper penny equal to 1/100 of a silver ruble, which was issued on the model of the Western European thaler and weighed 28 grams, appeared in circulation. Thus, Russia became the first state in the world to introduce a decimal monetary system based on the ruble and its hundredth part - the kopeck. This system was so convenient and progressive that it subsequently became widespread in the lands and states adjacent to Russia. The coins introduced by Peter I did not remain unchanged in subsequent times. Some denominations disappeared and other denominations appeared, coin types changed, their quality and weight data fluctuated. Until 1764, the amount of pure silver in the ruble decreased, after which, having dropped to 18 grams, it remained unchanged until 1915.

There were also changes in the value of gold coins. For example, by 1764, the gold ruble contained 27 shares (Share = 44.43 mg.) of pure gold, and at the end of the 19th century - only 17.424 shares. In 1775, gold poltina, ruble, semi-imperial (5 rubles) and imperial (10 rubles) were issued. The latter contained 2 spools of 69.36 shares of pure gold (11.61 grams). At the end of the 19th century, the imperial gold content was reduced. Its weight in 1775 began to correspond to 15 rubles in 1897, and the semi-imperial, correspondingly, to 7.5 rubles.

During the reign of Catherine II (1729-1796), in 1769, to finance the war with Turkey, paper money - banknotes - were first issued in Russia. In 1771, a stamp was made for a huge copper coin - the so-called Sestoretsky ruble. It was named so because these giant coins were supposed to be minted at the Sestoretsky factory. Such a coin was unsuitable for circulation. These rubles were supposed to provide paper notes introduced by Catherine II. But mass production of these rubles did not take place. However, the increased issue of banknotes, which exceeded the security, led to a drop in its rate. It especially intensified during the Patriotic War of 1812. The banknotes were withdrawn from circulation in connection with the next monetary reform of 1839-1843, which established silver monometallism in Russia (a monetary system in which one of the precious metals (silver or gold) serves as the basis of monetary circulation). Which existed in Russia until 1852.

In 1828, in connection with the discovery of platinum in the Urals, the minting of platinum coins with a denomination of 3 rubles, weighing 2 spools (Zolotnik = 4.266 grams) began, 41 shares of pure platinum. In 1829 and 1830, platinum 6- and 12-ruble coins were successively introduced into circulation, corresponding in diameter to the silver fifty-kopeck piece and ruble, and weighing twice and four times as much as the 3-ruble note. The issue of these unusual coins is explained by the fact that in the 19th century platinum had not yet found technical use, and therefore was valued relatively low.

Minister of Finance of the government of Nicholas I (1796-1855), Count E.F. Kankrin introduced credit notes in 1843, replacing banknotes. But by 1849, tickets and old banknotes were exchanged for banknotes of a new type, which soon became worthless. Therefore, with the beginning of the Crimean War of 1853-1857, banks stopped exchanging banknotes for gold and silver. A period of widespread paper money circulation began in Russia.

In 1895-1897, Minister of Finance S.Yu. Witte (1849-1915) implemented a new monetary reform, the purpose of which was to establish gold monometallism in Russia. It is based on the gold backing of the state's monetary system. According to the reformers, in order to ensure stable convertibility of the national currency (the Ruble), free exchange of credit notes was established, the issue of which was limited to gold coins at the rate of one paper ruble for one ruble in gold, and the gold content of the imperial was reduced. New technologies for the production of banknotes, unknown in the West, were also developed and introduced. The Orlov method of multicolor printing, named after its author Ivan Ivanovich Orlov (1861-1928), became the most popular. His method received worldwide recognition and, with some improvements, is still used today. The royal banknotes with the image of Peter I and Catherine II coming out of the Goznak printing press were real works of art.

The war with Japan of 1904-1905, the revolution of 1905-1907 and the First World War that broke out in 1914 led to the collapse of gold monometallism. Paper money was no longer exchanged for gold. At the beginning of the First World War, gold, silver and copper coins disappeared from circulation. In 1915, the last issue of the silver ruble was minted in a meager circulation. Paper money circulation was introduced in the country.

Massive issues of money (paper) surrogates, which began to entirely serve the markets of the empire, led to an increase in inflation. In February 1917, the Provisional Government led by the Socialist-Revolutionary Kerensky A.F. came to power. As a result of the wrong state policy, Russia's national debt increased, the war was waged "to the bitter end", and a huge amount of paper money was printed. As a result, inflation increased significantly.

In October 1917, the “Socialist Revolution” occurred, which led to the Civil War of 1918-1920. The Bolshevik government that came to power was also forced in March 1919 to intensify the production of new paper money.

Against the backdrop of the collapse of the Tsarist Empire, the Civil War and inflation, in conditions of complete economic ruin that engulfed the entire country, the most unusual money was born. In circulation at the same time there were tsarist-style credit notes, “Duma” money and “Kerenki” of the Provisional Government, banknotes of the RSFSR and supporters of the “White Movement”, as well as countless surrogates for money: bonds, checks, temporary obligations, etc. It even got ridiculous . Thus, the Russian Soviet writer Vsevolod Vyacheslavovich Ivanov, in his essay “Portraits of My Friends,” recalled that in 1919 in Omsk, from where Kolchak’s army had just been expelled, the writer called his friends to his place for dinner, which was bought with money drawn and printed by him ourselves. Or just remember the footage from the movie “Wedding in Malinovka”, where one of the bandits tried to buy a silver cross for money drawn with his own hand. As we see, money was drawn and printed by everyone, so they did not have much value. This is also evidenced by the fact that money was often used as wallpaper for pasting walls, and in the bazaars they preferred exchange in kind to money.

In March 1921, Soviet Russia began issuing silver coins equal in quality to the corresponding denominations of Tsarist Russia. But all these coins were not put into circulation until 1924 - a cash reserve was created.

In 1923, the first Soviet gold chervonets were issued, corresponding in pure gold content to the pre-revolutionary 10 rubles. The official exchange rate for the chervonets on January 1, 1923 was 175 rubles in banknotes of the 1923 model or 17 thousand 500 rubles in banknotes of 1922. Soviet chervonets received the nickname “sower” because the image of a sower based on the sculpture of Ivan Dmitrievich Shadr (1887-1941) was chosen for the obverse of the coin. The author of the sketch was the chief medalist of the Mint A.F. Vasyutinsky, who later took part in the creation of the Order of Lenin.

Today, gold chervonets of 1923 and 1925 are the rarest Soviet coins. Most of them were used for settlements with other states. Only a small number of these coins remain in the collections of museums and private individuals. Therefore, their collectible value is now very high. From 1975 to 1982, the USSR continued minting gold chervonets.

Silver coins of the RSFSR of 1921-1923 came into circulation on February 26, 1924. In the same year, the production of silver coins of the USSR began. The silver ruble was minted only in 1924. Then only parts of it were minted - fifty dollars until 1927 and kopecks, but in 1931 silver was replaced with nickel. Further, the ruble circulated only in paper form and was expressed in Treasury notes and chervonets of the State Bank of the USSR. During the post-war monetary reform of 1947, chervonets and Treasury notes were exchanged for new money and a single calculation in rubles was introduced.

The 1961 reform introduced new coins made of white copper-nickel alloy (coin cupronickel) - 50 kopecks and 1 ruble. In May 1965, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the victory over fascism, a commemorative coin with a face value of 1 ruble was issued for the first time in the USSR. The coin depicts the sculpture “To the Liberator Warrior” by Evgeny Viktorovich Vuchetich. In 1977-1980, in honor of the 1980 Olympics, held in Moscow, the first coins were minted from precious metals - gold, silver, platinum. In 1988, for the minting of commemorative and commemorative coins in the USSR, the metal was used for the first time - palladium of purity 999. The interest in which is explained by its belonging to the platinum group, the relative stability of prices on the international market and the attention paid to it by numismatists and investors. The practice of using palladium for minting coins became widespread around the world only in the late 80s.

In 1991, the Bank of the USSR issued ruble coins into circulation for the last time, as well as Bank notes of a new design. People called them “coins of the State Emergency Committee” and “wooden rubles.” But the collapse of the USSR and inflation soon brought them to naught. In 1992, the Bank of Russia issued new rubles in coins and Bank notes, completely abandoning the minting of small change coins. As a result, the smallest coin became 1 ruble. But due to increased inflation in 1993, the Russian government carried out a new monetary reform, as a result of which 10 rubles became the smallest coin. In 1995, the State Bank of Russia abandoned the minting of the ruble in coins, expressing it only in bank notes. Moreover, the smallest denomination becomes 1000 rubles. But already in 1998, during the redenomination of the ruble (changing the denomination of banknotes in order to prepare for the stabilization of monetary circulation), coins appeared in use again. The denomination of the ruble revived not only the coin ruble, but also the long-dormant penny.

With the collapse of the USSR, national currencies were introduced in many former fraternal republics, and now independent states - Laris, Manats, Hryvnias, Litas, etc. Among them is Belarus, which chose the ruble as its national currency, which it became familiar with back in the 13th century. Since then, he has become firmly entrenched in her life and history. In 1992, the National Bank of Belarus introduced the first national rubles into circulation, which were popularly nicknamed “bunnies” because a hare was depicted on a 1-ruble ticket. In 1993, Transnistria introduced coupons denominated in rubles into circulation on its territory. In 1994, the Bank of Tajikistan also introduced the national currency, the ruble. Interestingly, the size, watermarks and colors are painfully reminiscent of the “socialist ribbed” pattern of 1961.

The good old ruble has not been forgotten. In different languages and in different CIS countries, it continues to live as the monetary unit of these states.

In modern Russia, the ruble is legal tender, obligatory for acceptance at face value throughout the Russian Federation. The exchange rate of the ruble in relation to the dollar, euro and other world currencies is set by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

When did the first money appear in Rus'? In what form were they used and for what? We will talk about all this today.

In the 9th century in Rus', animal skins, stones, and food were considered money. But the most valuable commodity in Rus' was Russian furs. Our forest was very rich in various animals. This attracted traders from the East, especially the Byzantine Empire, where gold coins were already minted. This is how money appeared in Rus'.

Western European coins were also imported into Rus', and therefore money in Rus' was called “zlatniki” and “serebrenniki”. Then it came up with its own Russian name - the ruble. A silver ingot from Novgorod was called a ruble, and half of it was called a half.

Throughout the history of the existence of Ancient Rus', money and its types

there were many, many names. At first they were called zlatniks and silver coins, then hryvnias of silver, then Prague groschen, dirhams, kuns, nogat, pools, money. The list could take a very long time, and many of the names are unknown to us. But paper money came to our country late, under Tsarina Catherine II.

The history of money in Rus' is full of mysteries. The modern ruble coin is not at all similar to the ancient money that preceded it. A few centuries earlier, in its place there was the skin of a fur-bearing animal.

The emergence of money plays a key role in the development of the ancient economy, trade, and crafts. The history of money traces the history of the founding of a state, its mentality, the path to sovereignty and identity. No money means no state and no production. Therefore, money has not always served as a means to create financial comfort for citizens. Their general historical significance attracted famous scientists, whose scientific ordeals culminated in unraveling the nature of money and clarifying the relationship between it and the state of the country.

In the beginning, it was customary to consider scraps of fabric, stones, and skins as financial means.. But the fabrics deteriorated, the skins became damp and were susceptible to destruction by moths, the shells were quite fragile, the stones were heavy and inconvenient, especially when the purchase was substantial. The existence of barter exchanges slowed down the growth of trade; it was also not always possible to determine the value of things. The creation of a system of banknotes brought world history to a new stage of development. The world is divided into buyers and sellers.

Convenient iron money was loved not only by Russian people, but also by residents of all continents. The minting of coins covered the whole world with its power and became a true innovation against the backdrop of payment using skins and metal ingots. Each powerful medieval state was distinguished by a special coin. Since statehood in Rus' was slowed down by endless military conflicts and attacks by foreign troops, there was no national currency, which did not affect the sense of patriotism and self-awareness of the Russians. Arab dirhams suited the inhabitants of Rus' as the main currency notes. Roman denarii served as an auxiliary currency. Fine Byzantine coins were also the most commonly found on the Russian market.

Monetary units, regardless of their origin, bore original Russian names, which were assigned to the skins of fur-bearing animals: “rezana”, “nogata”, “kuna”, etc. Colorful names, isn’t it? If you listen to them, you can find a logical approach: “kuna” is the skin of a marten, “nogata” is a piece of skin from the leg of an animal, “rezana” is a fragment from the skin of the head of an animal, which was less valued.

When do we start talking about the history of the origin of money specifically in Rus'? We trace the origins back to the circulation of foreign money, but starting from the 10th century the situation changed irrevocably. Rus' turned into a powerful state with its own religion, culture and currency.

Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko – the dawn of Russian statehood

Dirhams from the Arab Caliphate, called “kuns,” circulated in Rus' thanks to Arab merchants. But in the 10th century, the flow of silver coins with Arabic script stopped. They were replaced by roughly minted Roman denarii. But the reign of Vladimir Svyatoslavich brought new trade and economic relations and a new faith to Rus'. Baptism in 988, crushing victories in wars, established relations with Byzantium - everything was conducive to the creation of new banknotes. This is where the history of the emergence of money in Russia began.

Active production of “zlatniks” and “silver coins” began. Since the idea of creating Russian money itself was not new, they inherited the characteristic features of Arab and Byzantine coinage.

Where to get money from?

The history of the development of money in Rus' does not hide difficult periods of struggle for Russian statehood. The Tatar-Mongol yoke strangled trade, blocked the flow of money to Russian lands, and foreign economic relations changed their direction. The highly developed Byzantium, with its spiritual culture and political power, ceased to be the closest ally of Rus'.

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Silver and gold became the rarest guests in Kievan Rus, since there was no one to import precious metals, and their deposits were not found. In a word, the difficult 13th century deprived Kievan Rus not only of its sovereignty, but also of everything it had accumulated, including its own money. Golden Horde dirhams served as the national currency. But the coins of gold and silver sank into the abyss of time and oppression. There were some items that were used for petty trade, but they did not carry any political significance.

But why is the coinless period still fruitful from a historical point of view? Because it was in the 13th century that the Russian monetary unit, the ruble, appeared. But it was not a paper bill or even a coin. The silver bar, created in Novgorod, became the forefather of our monetary unit.

Renaissance

Or maybe it’s the 14th century, with which the dawn of the Russian national currency began again! This dawn was driven by cultural and economic upsurge. Despite being under the Horde yoke, the Russian lands responded to the onset of the Renaissance with an increase in trade and the formation of new trade relations. North-Eastern Rus' soon recovered from the Tatar raids. Trade grew stronger in the cities of the Russian principalities. Indeed, Rus' in the 14th century was warlike, distrustful and fragmented: each prince tried to create an independent political space. And the coins began to fall again.

The history of money in Rus' has not known a richer and more turbulent period. Each principality minted unique coins glorifying princes and God: Russian people have always been distinguished by piety. The princes grew bolder, and a variety of coins flooded Kievan Rus. Over the course of some fifty years (the end of the 14th century), coinage appeared in Moscow, Ryazan, Novgorod, Rostov, Tver, Yaroslavl, etc. I would like to remind you that coinage as such was absent in Rus' for about three centuries, which was the reason for the low quality of coinage . Under Yaroslav the Wise it was a masterpiece, and in new Rus' it was a piece of wire struck with a coin with an image. The Arab image did not leave Russian money for a long time.

During the Renaissance, Russian silver coins began to be called “dengi,” which means “ringing.” Metal money still remained the only means of payment. They prevailed in money circulation even with the introduction of paper banknotes and banknotes. In addition to silver money, copper pools were made. Both types of money were used as a full-fledged means of payment and settlement.

Iron money of the Moscow state

The Muscovite state began with Moscow, a strong principality under the reign of Dmitry Donskoy. As already mentioned, this principality is one of the first to resume minting coins after a long period without coins. After the victory of Sultan Totamysh on the Kulikovo field, Dmitry Donskoy was forced to pay tribute. We again observe impeccable adherence to Tatar-Arab traditions in Moscow coinage. The permanent image of the prince adorned the obverse. On the reverse there is a distorted and illegible Arabic inscription “Sultan Tokhtamysh”.

In the 15th century, the political fragmentation of Rus' was manifested in the abundance of mints in Rus'. There were about 20 of them. The variety of shapes, images, materials and sizes confused traders, therefore, trade relations became difficult.

The coins still demonstrated the power of their creators and the religious beliefs of the people. Ryazan coins showed the Prince's name and coat of arms, while Tver coins showed hunters with weapons and animals. On the coins of Novgorod, Saint Sophia was minted, who was considered the guardian of the territory, and a city resident who accepted her blessing. The Novgorod coin cannot be confused with coins of other principalities: the addition of “Veliky Novgorod” clarified the history of its origin. The Pskov coins also contained information about the mint: “Pskov money” was indicated on the obverse. In Rostov, there were coins with the image of the confession of John the Baptist and the name of the ruling prince. There were also primitive options - an image of the prince’s head in full face and profile.

All these characteristics of the coinage indicated a real need for reform of monetary policy. Russian lands, under the rule of princes or the people's council, were united into an integral state, and the circulation of a nth number of various banknotes caused difficulties even earlier, not to mention the new period of development.

The reform of the monetary circulation system was introduced in 1534. The changes brought precision and clarity to the monetary circulation system. Now in the centralized Russian state there were only three mints: Pskov, Novgorod and Moscow. The same type of national money was produced in these yards.

Further development of coinage

The creation of the Moscow state from individual principalities, scattered like pearls on Russian lands and on the pages of history, became a major milestone that determined the development of culture, economy and international trade. Throughout the entire 16th and even half of the 17th centuries, the same coins were steadily in circulation in the Moscow state: kopek (the name was taken from the image of a warrior with a spear that was minted on it), denga (valued 2 times less than a kopeck), half (1/ 4 kopecks).

It would seem that the standardization of money should simplify the process of trade and money circulation, but due to the uniformity of denominations, new problems arose. Then they counted not by kopecks, but by altyns (6 kopecks), dengi, and a little later - hryvnias (20 money), half rubles, rubles (2 half rubles). The cost of goods in the barn books was recorded, for example, not 20 kopecks, but “3 altyn and 2 dengi.” Neither the hryvnia, nor the altyn, nor the poltina existed as a type of coin. These were nothing more than counting units. The hryvnia is not a monetary sign, but the weight of a silver bar for which a necklace of 20 silver money could be exchanged. The ruble in the form that we know now did not exist. It existed in a counting abstraction, but in reality it was a bag of “scale” coins.

Why did the coins of the Moscow State receive the nickname “scales”? The technology for making coins has hardly changed. Silver was “dragged”, i.e. they rolled a thin wire out of it, chopped it into equal sections, flattened them, obtaining teardrop-shaped tokens, and then struck them with a coin. These were thin plates the size of a fingernail, which really resembled scales. From the significant year 1534 until the 17th century, the design of coins remained unchanged. And Ivan the Terrible, and Boris Godunov, and Peter I remained true to tradition: the denomination of the coins also did not change. A noble man had huge boxes filled with “scales.” And the minting did not stop under any circumstances.

The coinage of the Moscow state was adapted to any historical and political conditions. Even during the Polish-Lithuanian intervention at the dawn of the 17th century, the militia resisted the invaders, producing coins on which the name of the deceased king of the glorious Rurik dynasty was immortalized (this was Fyodor Ivanovich). Although an official order was issued in Moscow to mint coins with low weight and the name of the Polish king Vladislav, who was proclaimed the Russian Tsar. When Mikhail Romanov ascended the throne, the previously existing system of money was restored. It was 1613.

There have been repeated attempts to counterfeit money and issue coins with a different denomination.

The history of the appearance of money in Russia has seen amazing Polish-Russian coins with double denominations, Finnish-Russian pennies, Russian-Georgian money, which never took root in the monetary circulation of the Moscow state.

1654 marked the beginning of the minting of long-awaited coins with a substantial denomination. Rubles, half-rubles, half-half-rubles coexisted with the “efimka”. "Efimka" was borrowed from Western European cultures. It was an ordinary thaler with a coin countermark and an issue date of 1655. But the “efimki” were not popular among the Russian people either: the exotic appearance did not inspire confidence.

The order to mint copper coins, which had no external differences from silver coins, shook the quiet haven of popular trust. Copper money was an economical option for the Moscow state, which did not mine precious materials. They had to be purchased from other countries, and silver utensils had to be melted down to obtain the necessary raw materials. It was expensive and troublesome. All transactions with silver and gold took place strictly under state control; illegal import and export was threatened with severe punishment. The arrival of copper coins in place of silver coins caused widespread discontent. In 1663, a popular revolt arose, and the new money with a large sign sank into oblivion, leaving behind the traditional kopecks, dengi and half rubles.