Graphical symbol of the ruble. International designation of the ruble

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 representation. Traditionally, most people, as a symbol of the ruble, used the simple letter "P" with a dot at the end for a brief perception of the latter. In 2013, the NB RF decided to hold an open discussion and vote on the regulator's website in the period from November 5 to December 5 to determine the graphic sign for the national currency. As a result of the survey, a new ruble designation was introduced, but this is slightly lower.

How was the vote?

280 thousand people took an active part in the discussion of the important state issue. More than half of those who took part in the poll not only cast their vote for one of the proposed options, but also substantiated their choice in the form of detailed comments. Evaluations of the voting participants and their reviews were carefully studied and analyzed by the specialists of the central bank. It was on their basis and the final decision was made. The procedure, according to which the ruble's symbol was approved, was one of the tasks of Russia, in particular the Central Bank of the country, as determined at the legislative level.

Voting statistics

The chosen sign in the form of the Cyrillic letter "P", which is crossed out in the lower part, became the favorite, for which 61% of participants voted. For the second variant of the image, 19% of the survey participants voted. 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. Participants of the popular vote were citizens of different age groups and social strata of society. The greatest activity was seen for citizens of the country, whose age varied 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 have chosen to designate the ruble. The first 100 thousand participants preferred one of the proposed options on the first day of the open voting.

Possible graphic options

The first interest in the choice of designation for a 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. The mention of him is found in the historian Ivan Sinchuk and dates back to the 17th century. The obsolete designation of the ruble was represented 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 in the role not only of the Old Russian sign "yer", but also was a kind of hint that the Russian monetary unit can be attributed to the list of hard currencies in the world.

Insertion of the mark into circulation

The designation of the ruble in the format of a graphic symbol was considered back in the 90s, but the idea was not realized at that time. The urgency of the issue in 2006 was due to the fact that many world currencies became more significant in the world economy, which was the prerequisite for the introduction of their designations. Of particular interest was the Russian government's 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 urgent issue. The inhabitants of the country saw the real application of the chosen sign already in 2014. He appeared on the new, minted monetary units with a denomination of 1 ruble. This sign is planned to be used for packing banknotes and in the long term to be used as a protective sign on paper bills and in other formats.

International designation of the ruble

The international graphic representation of the Russian monetary unit, as mentioned above, is now represented in the Cyrillic letter "P" format, which is crossed out at the bottom. Such a symbol format represents the stability of a monetary unit. Elvira Nabiullina, who holds the post of 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 quotations and the actual value of world currencies. Work on the creation of the symbol was conducted for 6 years by a special working group since the adoption of the law on the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which came into force on July 1, 2007. Now the Russian monetary unit can stand on the same level with other world currencies and compete with them on an equal footing and in all branches of the world financial market.

New symbols on new coins

The updated designation of the Russian ruble can now be seen on new coins, which were minted by a circulation of 100 million. They went into circulation on June 17, 2014 and have a denomination of 1 ruble. According to 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 symbol of the currency and is supplemented with the inscription "ruble". There is a stylized ornament of plant subjects in the form of a curved branch with smoothly intertwining stems.

Collectible coins of silver

New symbolism of the Russian monetary unit can be seen on new collectible coins with a nominal 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. The sample of the alloy is 925. The quality of the product corresponds to the category "proof". The circulation is 500 pieces. Products corresponding to the quality of "uncirculated" are issued in quantities of 1,000 pieces. In the future, it is planned to issue similar coins, but from base metals and with a denomination of 1 ruble. According to preliminary estimates, the circulation will be 100 million monetary units. In the long term, an alloy of nickel with a galvanic coating will be used . From coins in circulation, memorable banknotes differ in the design of the reverse side. The tailpiece is decorated with a relief image of the ruble symbol in the format "R", but with a crossed out leg.

Two countries, two stories, two different graphic images of the ruble

In 2005, in honor of the decade of the monetary unit of the country, the designation of the Belarusian ruble was approved by the national bank of the state. Despite the similarities between the names of Russian and Belarusian monetary 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 currency unit original, recognizable and memorable at first sight. Its use should not cause difficulties in computer recruitment 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-bank financial institutions, as well as in the production, distribution and distribution of promotional materials, goods, services and works. As in Russia, the choice of symbols was held by popular vote, in the format of the competition, in which participants offered their own variants of the sign. Three leaders, whose proposals were awarded by the competitive commission, were encouraged financially in the amount of 1,275,000 Belarusian rubles. In the competition, only 5 symbols from 5 thousand entered the options.