2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16
Today the main world currency is the US dollar. The history of the exchange rate of this monetary unit in relation to the Russian ruble dates back to the moment the United States of America gained independence and the formation of the financial system of the newly formed state.
Even in the middle of the XIX century. the currencies of the United States and the Russian Empire were exclusively metallic money. Paper banknotes began to be put into circulation only after the outbreak of the Civil War in the United States, that is, in 1861-1865. At the same time, two monetary systems operated in parallel in the Russian Empire: silver coins and banknotes.
Changes in the exchange rate of the dollar against the ruble before the abolition of the gold standard
Beginning April 2, 1792, the value of the American currency was firmly pegged to gold. This directive was enshrined in a decree of the US Congress. According to this decree, the unshakable characteristics of the gold dollar were established. So, one dollar weighed 1.60493 grams or 24.75 grains, and its rate relative to the monetary unit of tsarist Russia was 1 to 1.39 rubles. Such quotes remained until 1834, when it was decided to assign the following parameters to the gold dollar: 23.25 grains or 1.50463 g of gold. From that moment on, the exchange rate of the national American currency against the rublechanged and was 1 to 1, 3.
In 1897 Witte's reform was implemented. As a result of these events, the exchange rate of the new gold ruble against the US dollar changed and amounted to 1.94. This ratio lasted until the beginning of the First World War.
The situation with the exchange rate in the post-revolutionary period
Nevertheless, the revolutionary events in Russia, the Civil War and the economic upheavals that followed it, launched the mechanism of a catastrophic devaluation of the ruble. So, if in 1916 the ratio of the American dollar and the ruble was at the level of 1 to 6.7, then a year later the rate of the American currency rose to 11. After that, until the creation of the USSR, the ruble depreciated at a rapid pace. Then there was the highest rate of the dollar. In 1924, a monetary reform was carried out in the Soviet Union, which had a significant impact on the state of the domestic financial system. The Soviet ruble began to be backed by gold in the same way as it was in the days of the Russian Empire. Consequently, the former exchange rate of the ruble against the US dollar was also restored - 1.94. Until 1934, inclusive, this ratio remained practically unchanged.
In 1934, the United States was in a state of "Great Depression" - a phenomenon that affected not only the state itself, but also the dollar. The history of the course is changing. The gold backing of the US currency was reduced. At that time, it was equal to 0.888661 grams of the precious metal. The Soviet ruble appreciatedagainst the dollar, and quotes were 1 to 1.24 in favor of the US currency.
Years of stable fixed exchange rate
Starting from the spring of 1950, a stable exchange rate of the Soviet ruble was established against the national currency of the United States at the level of 1 to 4. This situation remained unchanged until the implementation of the monetary reform in the USSR in 1961. From that moment on, a fixed ratio between the two currencies was established for ten years at the level of 0.90 rubles per dollar. The history of the exchange rate of the American currency against the ruble from that moment until the collapse of the USSR did not differ in anything remarkable.
Exchange rate fluctuations in the 70s-90s
In subsequent years, the exchange rate of the Soviet ruble against the American currency constantly fluctuated. These changes were influenced by various factors, including the devaluation of the dollar. For example, in 1972 and 1973 the ratio was about 80 kopecks per dollar. The history of the exchange rate in the next 15 years recorded the strengthening of the ruble, the official quotations were about 75 kopecks per US dollar. Of course, already in these years there was a so-called "black market", in which the dollar was much more expensive. But this trading floor acquired particular importance in the 80s, when the USSR was in a deep crisis, and the Soviet ruble officially continued to strengthen against the American currency. At that time, the dollar officially cost 60 kopecks, the commercial rate of the State Bank of the Soviet Union was 1 to 1.75 in favor of the dollar, and on blackAmerican currency could be bought on the market for 30-33 Soviet rubles.
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