The national currency of Russia, the ruble, is one of the few currencies in the world that for a long period of time did not have its own unique graphic image. By tradition, most people used the simple letter "P" with a dot at the end for a brief perception of the latter as a ruble designation. In 2013, the National Bank of the Russian Federation decided in the period from November 5 to December 5 to hold an open discussion and vote on the regulator's website to determine the graphic symbol for the national currency. According to the results of the survey, a new designation of the ruble was introduced, but more on that below.
How was the vote?
280 thousand people took an active part in the discussion of an important state issue. More than half of those who took part in the survey not only voted for one of the proposed options, but also justified their choice in the form of detailed comments. The ratings of the voting participants and their feedback were carefully studied and analyzed by central bank specialists. It was on their basis that the final decision was made. The procedure in accordance with which the graphic designation of the ruble was approved was one of the tasks of Russia, in particular the Central Bank of the country, which is determined at the legislative level.
Voting statistics
The selected sign in the form of the Cyrillic letter "P", which is crossed out at the bottom, became a favorite, for which 61% of the participants cast their vote. For the second version of the image, 19% of the survey participants cast their votes. The remaining characters scored 5.5%, 4.5% and 1.9%. Among those who took part in the survey were those (8%) who expressed their disapproval of each of the presented options. Citizens of various age groups and social groups became participants in the popular vote. The greatest activity was observed for citizens of the country, whose age ranged from 25 to 34 years.
Most of those who expressed their opinion (72%) are men. Another interesting fact is that citizens (86.5%) who have incomplete higher education decided to choose the ruble designation. The first 100 thousand participants preferred one of the proposed options on the first day of open voting.
Possible graphic options
The first interest in choosing the designation for the national currency was recorded back in 1998. At that time, about 100 options were sent for consideration, which came from 6 different countries. Then the advantage had a real sign. It is mentioned by historian Ivan Sinchuk and dates back to the 17th century. The obsolete designation of the ruble was presented in the form of the letters "P" and "U", which were written in cursive. The first letter of the symbol was rotated 90 degrees. Most of the proposals were limited to modifications of the letter "P". As an alternative, there were sentences in the form of the letter "b". This symbol acted not only as the old Russian “er” sign, but also served as a kind of hint that the Russian currency can be attributed to the list of world hard currencies.
Introduction of the mark into circulation
The ruble designation in the graphic symbol format was considered back in the distant 90s, but it was not possible to realize the idea at that time. The relevance of the issue in 2006 was due to the fact that in the world economy many currencies of the world have become more significant, which has become a prerequisite for the introduction of their notation. The Russian government was particularly interested in the designation of the ruble as a sign during the appearance of the European currency in circulation. In 2006, during the period when the law on the Central Bank was adopted, the introduction of the image of the national currency became a very specific and relevant issue. The inhabitants of the country saw the real application of the chosen sign in 2014. He appeared on new monetary units minted with mints with a face value of 1 ruble. This sign is planned to be used when packing banknotes and in the future to be used as a protective sign on paper bills and in other formats.
International ruble designation
The international graphic image of the Russian currency, as mentioned above, is now presented in the format of the Cyrillic letter "P", which is crossed out at the bottom. This symbol format embodies the stability of the currency. Elvira Nabiullina, the chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, officially announced that the symbol will now proudly represent the ruble in the international market, in particular when displaying quotes and the actual value of world currencies. Work on the creation of the symbol was carried out for 6 years by a special working group since the adoption of the law on the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which entered into force on July 1, 2007. Now the Russian currency can stand on a par with other world currencies and compete with them on equal terms and in all branches of the global financial market.
New symbols on new coins
The updated designation of the Russian ruble today can be seen on new coins, which were minted in a circulation of 100 million. They entered circulation in June 17, 2014 and have a face value of 1 ruble. In accordance with the information provided by the press service of Russia, the coin has the shape of a circle with a diameter of 20.5 millimeters. The reverse side of the coin is decorated with a graphic currency symbol and supplemented with the inscription “ruble”. There is a stylized floral ornament in the shape of a curved branch with smoothly intertwining stems.
Silver Collectible Coins
The new symbolism of the Russian currency can be seen on new collectible coins with a face value of 3 rubles. The coin is made of silver, has a diameter of 39 millimeters. The concentration of semiprecious metal is 31.1 grams in one monetary unit. Alloy test - 925. The quality of the product corresponds to the category "proof". The circulation is 500 pieces. Products corresponding to the quality of "anti-circulation", produced in the amount of 1000 pieces. In the future, it is planned to issue similar coins, but from base metals and with a face value of 1 ruble. According to preliminary estimates, the circulation will be 100 million monetary units. In the future, a nickel alloy with galvanic coating will be used . Commemorative banknotes differ from the coins in circulation by the design of the reverse side. The tiling is decorated with a relief picture of the graphic sign of the ruble in the “P” format, but with the crossed leg.
Two countries, two stories, two different graphic images of the ruble
In 2005, in honor of the decade of the country's monetary unit, the designation of the Belarusian ruble by the national bank of the state was approved. Despite the similarities between the names of Russian and Belarusian currency units, their symbolism is radically different. So, according to official reports of the NBRB, the sign of the Belarusian currency is a combination of two Latin letters “Br”. The idea of creating a symbol was based on the government’s desire to make the country's monetary unit original, recognizable and memorable at first sight. Its use should not cause difficulties with computer typing and when writing a character by hand, which, in principle, was achieved. After the official creation of the sign for the Belarusian ruble, the government strongly recommended that it be actively used by non-banking financial institutions, as well as in the production, placement and distribution of advertising materials, goods, services and works. As in Russia, the choice of symbolism was made by popular vote, in the format of a competition in which participants proposed their own versions of the sign. Three leaders, whose proposals were noted by the competitive commission, were encouraged financially in the amount of 1,275,000 Belarusian rubles. Only 5 characters out of 5 thousand received options participated in the competition.