What is the currency in Belarus? What is its exchange rate?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

What is the currency in Belarus? Just like we Russians, Belarusians have their own ruble, also known as a “bunny”. This is an interesting currency. It was created in the conditions of a difficult transition period for Belarus after the collapse of the USSR, but nevertheless it took place as a full-fledged banknote recognized by all countries of the world.

Belarusian ruble: interesting facts

What is the name of the currency in Belarus? Definitely - the ruble. But in the early 90s, when the newly independent Republic of Belarus was working on the creation of banknotes, there was an idea to call the national banknote "thaler". This is how certain types of coins in Germany were called in the Middle Ages, and this word has become common in Europe. "Thaler" became the prototype of the "dollar", as well as a number of other currencies at different times.

However, this initiative was not accepted by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Belarus - the majority voted against it. Another fact: Belarusians sometimes call their currency “bunnies”. This is because the 1 ruble banknotes issued in 1992 featured a hare. people very fastadapted to name the new currency after this fluffy animal.

Belarusian ruble: history

After the collapse of the USSR, all former republics began to print their banknotes. About what currency in Belarus should appear as an alternative to the Soviet ruble, the local government began to think in 1992. First, so-called coupons were introduced. In May 1992, the National Bank of the country introduced "settlement tickets", which began to be used simultaneously with the ruble (still of the Soviet type). When buying something in a store, you had to pay with both types of payment means. In July 1992, national Belarusian rubles appeared, however, in a non-cash form: they lay in the Central Bank of Russia on a special correspondent account. Against the backdrop of the exit of the former Soviet republics from the ruble zone in 1992, Belarus banned the use of banknotes of Russian origin and the times of the USSR and secured "tickets" as the only legitimate means of paying for goods and services.

In 1993, the rubles were withdrawn from circulation. In 1994, the National Bank of the country announced the resolution "On the means of payment of the Republic of Belarus". According to this document, a new currency appeared in the country - the Belarusian ruble. Settlement tickets were exchanged for it in the proportion of 1 to 10. In the same year, the ruble was denominated to equalize the cost of these two means of payment. The national banknote of Belarus began to be traded on the stock exchanges. Foreigners from that moment, in turn, now had to keep in mind what currency to take to Belarus.

Inflation in the 90s

Before deciding which currency in Belarus would be capable of performing the function of a full-fledged means of payment, the country's bankers worked in difficult economic conditions. When it was finally approved, the young state felt the realities of the post-Soviet collapse in full. In the 90s, a new type of currency of the Republic of Belarus, due to inflationary processes, constantly grew in nominal value and at the same time became cheaper in relation to the main world banknotes. For example, in early 1994, the dollar was worth 3,800 "hares", and in December - already more than 10,000. In 1995, the ruble continued to fall in price, but more slowly - in March, an American banknote cost about 12,000 Belarusian units. Moreover, until the spring of 1996 exchange rate fluctuations were completely insignificant. True, as some financial analysts note, this was due to a large IMF loan - about 300 million dollars. However, in mid-1996, the Belarusian ruble began to lose value again. By December, the rate settled at 1 to 15,000. And this, as experts noted, is just a nominal figure. The real market ratio required about 26,000 Belarusian banknotes per US dollar.

By December 1998, the rate reached the level of 1 to 320,000. In 2000, the Belarusian ruble underwent a denomination - banknotes were introduced in denominations from 1 to 5,000 national banknotes. Belarusians, especially entrepreneurs, sometimes used American monetary units in their calculations. The inhabitants of the country, as some experts note, did not themselves know what kind of money inBelarus to consider national - dollars or still "hares".

2000s: relative stability?

In the year of the denomination, the Belarusian ruble continued to fall sharply in price - by December, the exchange rate against the dollar was 1 to 1180. But in the next few years, the price of the "bunny" was adjusted relatively smoothly. From 2001 to 2008, the exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble rose to 2100-2200 units per dollar.

The first surge in devaluation in a long time occurred in early 2009, when the Belarusian banknote fell to 2650 per 1 unit of US currency. By the middle of the year, the figure increased to 4930. Two courses appeared in practice - official and "underground". By October, 8,680 Belarusian rubles had to be paid for 1 US dollar. From then until now, however, the exchange rate of Belarus has not changed very much. Now for 1 dollar you need to pay about 10 thousand Belarusian rubles.

What determines the exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble

The exchange rate of the national currency of Belarus is influenced by many factors. Now, as many economists admit, the country's economy is going through difficult times. Belarus needs to pay off its foreign debts and diversify its exports. If the solution of these issues is unsuccessful, then the national currency of the country, as analysts believe, will become cheaper. An important role, according to experts, is played by Russia. At the end of last year, it was possible to agree at the highest level that the Russian Federation would issue a loan to Belarus for 10 years in the amount of $450 million. Also, state-owned banks of Russia can provide additional loans to a neighboring country. At the very end of 2013, Belarus received a loan from VTB in the amount of $440 million, however, analysts believe that this is not enough, given the payments on the state debt in the amount of 3.6 billion units of US currency in 2014. What is the way out for Belarus? The first, according to experts, is the sale of state-owned enterprises, privatization. The second is to negotiate with other countries (primarily with Russia) on further work with public debt. How the government of Belarus conducts business in each of these areas will largely depend on the rate of the national banknote. Which currency in Belarus is stable, promising or subject to crisis? The question is quite complex, and not all experts can answer it unambiguously.

Rubles and altyns

The currency of Belarus, as well as its Russian counterpart, is one of the leading means of payment in the Customs Union - the interstate economic association of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Recently, information has appeared in the media that soon, along with the banknotes of the three countries, a new monetary unit will appear - altyn. According to this information, the currency can be put into circulation by 2025 (and some media have forecasts that include 2019).

There are experts who say that there is already an interstate, though unofficial, agreement on the circulation of this banknote. The initiative of the governments of the three countries is connected, according to analysts, with the complication of the international political situation, as well as with the fact that integrationeconomies may require the introduction of universal means of payment.