A monetary reform of the Soviet ruble, also known as the Khrushchev reform (after

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

, the Soviet leader at the time), took place on 1 January 1961. The reform consisted of the devaluation of the ruble against the

United States dollar The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

, and the redenomination of the ruble at a ratio of 10 to 1. It was the fifth monetary reform in the Soviet Union, succeeding the 1947 reform that occurred in response to the impact of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Details

The first part of the reform was to redenominate the ruble at a ratio of 10 to 1. All prices and salaries would be dealt at one new ruble for every 10 old rubles. Copper coins of 1, 2, 3 and 5 old kopeks were not exchanged: amounts less than one new kopek (or 10 old kopeks) were rounded downwards for essential goods, and upward for the rest. The second part of the reform was to devalue the ruble against the

gold standard A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...

, from 14 new rubles per

troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

ounce to 31.5 new rubles per ounce: by devaluing the official exchange rate of the ruble by 55%, US$100 bought 90 new rubles instead of 40.

Later developments

The 1961 monetary reform was the last time during the Soviet era in which ruble was redenominated. The next (and most recent) redenomination of the

Russian ruble The ruble or rouble (; Currency symbol, symbol: ₽; ISO 4217, ISO code: RUB) is the currency of the Russia, Russian Federation. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's central bank, monetary authority ind ...

, at a ratio of 1000 to 1, took place on 1 January 1998 – eight years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The 1961 ruble ( ISO 4217 code: SUR) became the longest-lasting incarnation of the Soviet ruble, at 37 years and 194 days. However, banknotes of 50 and 100 rubles were demonetised in another

monetary reform Monetary reform is any movement or theory that proposes a system of supplying money and financing the economy that is different from the current system. Monetary reformers may advocate any of the following, among other proposals: * A return to ...

in 1991; the last banknotes of the 1961 ruble were later demonetised on 26 July 1993.

Bibliography

References

{{econ-hist-stub Economic history of Russia Reform in the Soviet Union Finance in the Soviet Union Monetary reform 1961 in economic history 1961 in the Soviet Union