Top > Business > 2006 > July > 2006-07-03

Russians Have Ruble Ambitions

Is it possible that the Russian ruble, long known as a joke in the international financial world, could become as important an international currency as the U.S. dollar, the Japanese yen, the British pound sterling, or the Euro? It has been something of an accepted story that Russians would rather stuff their pillows with dollars instead of rubles, but with the two presidential terms of President Vladimir Putin, a war on corruption, and a reformation of the Russian economy, many would love to see the Russian ruble on a par with the other currencies of the world, including the up-and-coming Chinese yuan.

With the Chinese and Russian currencies currently exchanging at one Chinese yuan to 3.36 Russian rubles, and one U.S. dollar equaling 26.86 rubles, it is evident that the Russians have a ways to go. Even so, the Russians aren?t even deterred from their visions of financial greatness by the fact that one euro equals 34.35 Russian rubles. And the Russians could be forgiven for what others think is a pipe dream. With lots of cash coming into Russia at the moment, Moscow was recently able to pay back a $22 billion debt to the Paris Club set of donors.

Still, Russia and the world have memories of the dark days for the ruble in 1998, when Moscow defaulted on foreign debt and revalued the Russian currency. This isn?t stopping the Russian central bank from deciding on a monetary symbol for the ruble, and Moscow has high hopes ? and a large stake in terms of national pride ? on turning the Russian ruble into a currency to be respected and reckoned with.