The exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble is determined based on abasket of currencies consisting of theRussian ruble (with a weight of 60%), theUS dollar (with a weight of 30%) and therenminbi (with a weight of 10%). Theeuro was part of said currency basket but was excluded in December 2022 due to a decrease in the volume of trade betweenBelarus and theEuropean Union.[5][6][7]
From the collapse of the Soviet Union until May 1992, theSoviet ruble circulated in Belarus alongside the Belarusian ruble. NewRussian ruble banknotes also circulated in Belarus, but were replaced by notes issued by theNational Bank of the Republic of Belarus in May 1992.[9] The first post-Soviet Belarusian ruble was assigned the ISO codeBYB and replaced the Soviet currency at the rate of 1 Belarusian ruble = 10 Soviet/Russian rubles. It took about two years before the ruble became the official currency of the country in 1994 replacing Russian rubles.[2][9]
In 2000, a new ruble was introduced (ISO 4217 codeBYR), replacing the first at a rate of 1 BYR = 1,000 BYB. This wasredenomination with three zeros removed. Only banknotes were issued;coins wereminted solely ascommemorativecollectibles.[9]
From the beginning of his presidency in 1994,Alexander Lukashenko began to suggest the idea of integration with theRussian Federation, and undertook steps in this direction. The idea of introducing aunited currency for theUnion of Russia and Belarus was floated; Article 13 of the 1999 "Treaty of Creation of the Union State of Russia and Belarus" foresaw a unified currency. Belarus' economy was largely a Soviet-style centrally controlled one heavily reliant on cheap energy supplies from Russia.[10][citation needed] Discussions on the common currency continued well past the 2005 implementation goal set by both nations.[11] Starting in 2008, theCentral Bank of Belarus announced that the ruble would be tied to theUnited States dollar instead of theRussian ruble.[10][dubious –discuss] Former bank chairman Stanislav Bogdankevich called it a political decision, tied to Belarus' open displeasure with Russia's hike of oil and gas export prices to Belarus earlier that year[when?].[10]
In July 2016, a new ruble was introduced (ISO 4217 codeBYN), at a rate of 1 BYN = 10,000 BYR. Old and new rubles circulated in parallel from 1 July to 31 December 2016. Belarus also issued coins for general circulation for the first time. Seven banknote denominations (5-, 10-, 20-, 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500 rubles) and eight coin denominations (1-, 2-, 5-, 10-, 20-, and 50 copecks, and 1- and 2 rubles) are in circulation as of 1 July 2016.[12][13] The banknotes havesecurity threads and show 2009 as an issue date (the date of an unsuccessful attempt atcurrency reform).
On December 27, 2016,[14] for the first time in the Belarusian ruble's history, coins were introduced, due to theredenomination. Previously, Belarus was one of the few countries in the world never to have issued coins; this was largely due to rampantinflation, a problem sinceindependence.
Slovakia offered to mint the coins, and provided prototypes. Coins of up to 5 copecks are struck incopper-platedsteel; 10, 20, and 50 copeck coins are struck inbrass-plated steel; 1 ruble coins arenickel-plated steel and 2 ruble coins a bi-metallic composition with a brass-plated steel ring and a nickel-plated steel center plug).[15] All coins show thenational emblem of Belarus, the inscription 'БЕЛАРУСЬ' (Belarus) and the year of minting on theirobverse. The reverse shows the value of the coin and different symbolic ornaments.
Alena Aladava, director of the Belarusian National Arts Museum, on the reverse of a centenary issue
Belarus is a large producer of commemorative coinage for thenumismatic market, most particularlygold andsilverbullion coins and non-circulating legal tender. Their designs range from fairly commonplace to unique and innovative ONE; themes range from "native culture and events" tofairy tales andpop culture topics unrelated to Belarus. A majority of these coins have a face value of 1 ruble; a few are 3-, 5 rubles and higher. Considered novelties, these coins are unlikely to be seen in general circulation.
In 1992, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 50 copecks, and 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000, and 5,000 rubles. These were followed by banknotes of 20,000 rubles in 1994, 50,000 rubles in 1995, 100,000 rubles in 1996, 500,000 rubles in 1998 and 1,000,000 and 5,000,000 rubles in 1999.
In 2000, notes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, and 5,000 rubles (BYR), with 1 BYR = 1,000 BYB (first ruble). In 2001, higher denominations of 10,000, 20,000, and 50,000 rubles were introduced, followed by 100,000 rubles in 2005 and 200,000 rubles in 2012. There were no coins or banknotes issued in copecks.
"On 1 September 2010, new rules of Belarusian orthography came into force. According to the old rules, the correct spelling of the word “fifty” in Belarusian was “пяцьдзесят,” (pyats'dzesyat) but under the new rules, it should be spelled “пяцьдзясят,” (pyats'dzyasyat) the difference being that the seventh character was the Cyrillic letter YE but is now the Cyrillic letter YA. As a result of these new rules, the existing 50 and 50,000 ruble notes dated 2000 now technically contain errors where the denominations are spelled out on the notes. On 29 December 2010, the National Bank of Belarus introduced new 50- and 50,000-ruble banknotes to bring the inscriptions on the notes into compliance with the new rules of Belarusian spelling and punctuation. The images, colors, and sizes of the notes remain consistent with the preceding issues of the same denominations dated 2000. The modified 50 ruble notes also no longer has a security thread, and the modified 50,000 ruble notes have replaced the solid security thread for a 2mm-wide windowed security thread."[17]
In 2016, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 rubles (BYN), with 1 BYN = 10,000 BYR (second ruble). On 4 November 2015, theNational Bank of the Republic of Belarus announced that the banknotes that had been in use at that time would be replaced by the new ones due to the upcomingredenomination.[15] The redenomination would be made in a ratio of 1:10,000 (10,000 rubles of the 2000 series = 1 ruble of the 2009 series). This currency reform also brought the introduction of coins, for the first time inThe Republic of Belarus.[18]
The banknotes are printed by the United Kingdom-based banknote manufacturer,security printing, paper-making and cash handling systems companyDe La Rue. As for coins, they have been minted by both theLithuanian Mint and theKremnica Mint.[19] Both banknotes and coins were ready in 2009, but the2008 financial crisis prevented them from being put into circulation immediately, resulting in a 7-year delay conditional on the necessity to lower inflation. Their designs are very similar to theeuro banknotes.
On 2 January 2009, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus lowered the exchange rate of the ruble by 50%.
On 24 May 2011, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus lowered the exchange rate of the ruble by 56%.[21] Alexei Moiseev, chief economist at Russia'sVTB Capital, said at the time that "a '91-style meltdown is almost inevitable", referring to the crisis which accompanied thedissolution of the Soviet Union.[22]
On 20 October 2011, the exchange rate of the ruble dropped 42% (from Rbl 5,712 to Rbl 8,680 per US$) when it was fully floated following demands to do so by Russia and the IMF.[23]
In January 2015, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus devalued its currency by 23% against theUS dollar despite efforts to keep Russia's currency crisis from spreading across the border. As of 1 February, one U.S. dollar was worth Rbls 15,400; by Tuesday, it fell to Rbls 15,450 to the dollar, as per data from the Belarusian Central Bank's website.[24]
As of mid-March 2022, the Belarusian ruble had reached an all-time low of Rbls 3.33 per US$1, during fallout from the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 1 April 2022, it traded at Rbls 3.26 per US$, and had lost 21.5% of its value year-to-date.[25] From 15 July 2022 to 1 October 2023 the currency was fixed at the rate of 2.5 in order to pay debts; since then its value remains fixed at 3.27
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