Belarusian ruble

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Belarusian ruble беларускі рубель (Belarusian) белорусский рубль (Russian)
National Bank of Belarus, 1992 50 kapeek reverse 500 rubles (2000)
ISO 4217 Code	BYR
User(s)	Belarus
Inflation	9.5%
Source	The World Factbook, 2006 est.
Subunit
1/100	kapyeyka
Symbol	Br
Plural	The language(s) of this currency is of the Slavic languages. There is more than one way to construct plural forms. See article.
Coins	None
Banknotes
Freq. used	10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10 000, 20 000, 50 000, 100 000 rubles
Rarely used	1, 5 rubles
Central bank	National Bank of the Republic of Belarus
Website	www.nbrb.by

The ruble (Belarusian: Беларускі рубель; ISO-code BYR) is the currency of Belarus. The symbol for the ruble is Br. It is divided into 100 kapeek ("капеек", singular: kapeyka).

[edit] History

As the Soviet Union came to an end, a temporary coupon system was introduced to regulate the use of Soviet rubles.

These were replaced in May 1992 ^{[1] [2]} by a separate Belarusian ruble (ISO-code BYB) at the rate of 1 Belarusian ruble = 10 Soviet rubles. Only banknotes were issued in this first ruble, in denominations ranging from 50 kapeek to 5 million rubles.

In 2000, a second ruble was introduced (ISO-code BYR), replacing the first at a rate of 1000 old rubles = 1 new ruble. Again, only banknotes were issued.

[edit] Monetary policy of Belarus in the 1990s

On June 1, 1992, non-cash operations with Belarusian currency started being carried out by Belarusian banks. At the end of June 1993, the withdrawal of Soviet money throughout the former republics of the Soviet Union began. The Belarusian ruble became the only valid payment to be used in Belarus. Although there was an agreement signed by Kazakhstan, Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in September with the purpose of establishing a united post-Soviet monetary zone, at the same time, a project of introducing a new national currency, the taler was started in Belarus.

National Bank of Belarus, 1992 50 kapeek reverse

From the very beginning, the government of Belarus started promoting integration with Russia. The idea of unifying the two monetary systems, to be exact - of Belarus becoming part of the Russian monetary system, was actively discussed.

In 1996 the National Bank was put under governmental control. The National Bank has lost the ability to carry out a policy independent from the government.

Two National Bank presidents, (Stanislav Bogdankevich and Tamara Vinnikova) resigned in protest at the National Bank's subordination to the government. As a result Pyotr Prokopovich was appointed president of the National Bank.

5000 Br banknote, 1998, obverse

5000 Br banknote, 1998, reverse

By the beginning of 1997 the devaluation of the ruble to US dollar was 35.5%. The aim of state monetary policy was to narrow free price formation on the national monetary market. Massive restrictions in trade with currencies for companies and individuals were introduced. A black currency market arose. As a result, at the beginning of 1999, the official exchange rate was 2-2.5 times lower than the shadow rate.

Between 1996 and 2000 the volume of unpaid state liability to commercial banks rose by more than 140 times. The National Banks gave loans to credit institution to support their liquidity. The pressure of the state that demanded from the banks to credit the unprofitable agriculture caused critical state of the banking system. As a result, in January 2000 10 of 27 Belarusian commercial banks were in the process of liquidation.

The money supply growth exceeded the GNP by more than 500 times. The official exchange rate went in 1995-2000 down by 30.2 times. In September 1999 the first 5,000,000 Br banknotes were issued. The consumer Price index rose by 74.2 times, the income of the people went down.

The Belarusian ruble is practically not being used in foreign-economic account.

[edit] Monetary integration with Russia

From the beginning of his presidency, Alexander Lukashenko began to suggest the idea of integration with Russian Federation and to undertake steps in this direction. From the beginning, there was also an idea of introducing a united currency for the Union of Russia and Belarus. Art. 13 of the 1999 "Treaty of Creation of the Union State of Russia and Belarus" foresaw a unified currency.

The change to a common currency meant the creation of a united central bank or agency. The placement and control of such facilities proved to be contentious - the main debate was whether they should be in Moscow (the Russian capital), Minsk (the Belarusian capital) or both at the same time.

After the election of Vladimir Putin, Russia took a more pragmatic and determined position in the question of integration with Belarus.

In 2000 the National Bank of Belarus took urgent measures. The Belarusian ruble was devalued by 1000 times, but when the shadow exchange rate released as official, currency exchange liberalised. Stability of the exchange rate became a priority for the National Bank, by Russian demand.

In December 2002 in a meeting of prime ministers of Belarus and Russia, it was declared that at the beginning, the Russian ruble would be introduced as a common currency. It was planned that since July 1, 2003 the Russian ruble would be introduced in Belarus for banking operations and completely replace the Belarusian ruble on January 1, 2004. In 2007 or 2008 a new supranational currency would be introduced.

Although technical and economical conditions were declared to be created, Belarus never introduced the Russian ruble, with progressive postponements of steps towards transition.

[edit] Banknotes

Banknotes that are still legal tender include the 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 ruble. There are no coins or banknotes issued in kapeek.

2000 Series [1]
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	annul
		1 ruble	110 x 60 mm	Green	The building of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus	Denomination in figures	2000	January 1, 2000	January 1, 2004
		5 rubles		Rose-red	View of the Troitskoye Predmestye in Minsk				July 1, 2005
		10 rubles		Light blue	The building of the National Library of Belarus
		20 rubles	150 x 69 mm	Olive-yellow	The building of the National Bank of Belarus	The interior of the building of the National Bank of Belarus
		50 rubles		Orange-red	The Holmsk Gate - fragment of the Memorial Brest Hero-Fortress	The main entrance to the Memorial Brest Hero-Fortress
		100 rubles		Light green	The National Academic Great Opera and Ballet House of Belarus in Minsk	Scene from ballet "Favorite" by E.A. Glebov
		500 rubles	150 x 74 mm	Light brown	The Republican Trade Unions' Palace of Culture in Minsk (Mensk)	Architectural decorations on the Republican Palace of Culture of Belarus
		1000 rubles		Light blue	The National Museum of Arts of Belarus in Minsk	Fragment of the picture "Portrait of the wife with flowers and fruits" by I.Khrutskyi
		5000 rubles		Light violet	The Palace of Sports in Minsk	Image of the "Raubichi" sporting complex
		10 000 rubles		Pink	Panorama of Vitebsk (Vitsebsk) city	Summer amphitheatre in Vitebsk		April 16, 2001
		20 000 rubles		Grey	Rumiancev's and Paskevich's palace in Homyel	A view of the palace from A.Idzkovsky's picture in Homyel		2002
		50 000 rubles		Sky blue	A castle in the settlement of Mir, Korelichi district, Hrodna Voblast	Decorative collage of architectural elements of Mir Castle		December 20, 2002
		100 000 rubles		Orange	The Radziwills' Castle in the town of Neswizh	View of the Radziwills' Castle in Nesvizh from a painting by the Belarusian artist Napoleon Orda		July 15, 2005
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

[edit] References

1. ^ National Bank of the Republic of Belarus. NBRB banknotes. Retrieved on 2006-12-30.
2. ^ Library of Congress. GLOSSARY -- Belarus (Belarus and Moldova). Retrieved on 2006-12-30.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Bills of Belarus

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Coins of Belarus

• National bank of the Republic of Belarus - Official Exchange Rates (English)