Belarusian ruble facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Belarusian ruble
200 ruble banknote (third ruble, obverse) 20 copeck coin (reverse)
ISO 4217 Code	BYN
User(s)	Belarus
Inflation	4.9%
Source	National Statistical Committee, December 2017
Subunit
1⁄100	kopeck
Symbol	Rbl
Plural	The language(s) of this currency belong(s) to the Slavic languages. There is more than one way to construct plural forms. See article.
Coins
Freq. used	1 cop, 2 cop, 5 cop, 10 cop, 20 cop, 50 cop, Rbl 1, Rbls 2
Banknotes
Freq. used	Rbls 5, Rbls 10, Rbls 20, Rbls 50, Rbls 100, Rbls 200
Rarely used	Rbls 500

The ruble (Belarusian: рубель, romanized: rubieĺ; Russian: рубль, romanized: rubl'; abbreviation: Rbl, plural: Rbls) is the official money used in Belarus. It is divided into 100 smaller units called kopecks (Belarusian: капейка, romanized: kapiejka, Russian: копейка, romanized: kopeyka). The international code for the Belarusian Ruble is BYN.

History of the Belarusian Ruble

The First Ruble (BYB): 1992–2000

After the Soviet Union broke up, Belarus needed its own money. The government decided to create a new national currency because there wasn't enough cash. Some people suggested calling it the Thaler, but the government chose to stick with the name ruble, which had been used in Belarus for a long time.

The first Belarusian ruble (code: BYB) was introduced in May 1992. It replaced the old Soviet money. One new Belarusian ruble was worth 10 Soviet rubles. It took about two years for the ruble to become the only official money in the country.

The Second Ruble (BYR): 2000–2016

In 2000, Belarus introduced a new ruble (code: BYR). This was a big change called a redenomination. They removed three zeros from the old money. So, 1 new ruble was equal to 1,000 old rubles. At this time, only paper money (banknotes) were used. Coins were only made for collectors, not for everyday use.

Talks about joining money with Russia

Since 1994, the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has talked about joining closer with Russia. There were ideas about having one shared currency for both countries. However, this plan never fully happened. The National Bank of the Republic of Belarus later decided to link its ruble to the United States dollar instead of the Russian ruble.

The Third Ruble (BYN): 2016–Present

In July 2016, Belarus introduced its newest ruble (code: BYN). This was another redenomination, where 1 new ruble was equal to 10,000 of the second rubles. For a few months, both the old and new rubles were used at the same time.

This time, Belarus also started using coins for the first time in its history. There are seven types of banknotes (5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 rubles) and eight types of coins (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 copecks, and 1, 2 rubles). The banknotes show the year 2009, which was when they were first printed, even though they were released later.

Coins of Belarus

First Series of Coins: 2016

On December 27, 2016, Belarus finally introduced coins for regular use. Before this, Belarus was one of the few countries that didn't have coins. This was mainly because of high inflation, which made money lose its value quickly.

Slovakia helped by making the first coin designs. The coins are made from different metals. For example, the smallest coins (up to 5 copecks) are made of steel with a copper coating. The 1 ruble coin is nickel-plated steel, and the 2 ruble coin is made of two different metals.

All coins have the national emblem of Belarus on one side, along with the country's name and the year they were made. The other side shows the coin's value and different traditional symbols.

2016 Belarusian ruble coins
Image		Value	Technical parameters				Description			Date of
Obverse	Reverse		Diameter (mm)	Thickness (mm)	Mass (g)	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	first minting	issue
		1 cop	15	1.25	1.55	Copper-plated steel	Plain	National emblem of Belarus, name of the country, year of minting	Value, the ornament symbolizing wealth and prosperity	2009	1 July 2016
		2 cop	17.5		2.10
		5 cop	19.8		2.7
		10 cop	17.7	1.80	2.8	Brass-plated steel	Reeded		Value, the ornament symbolizing fecundity and vital force
		20 cop	20.35	1.85	3.7
		50 cop	22.25	1.55	3.95
		Rbl 1	21.25	2.3	5.6	Nickel-plated steel			Value, the ornament symbolizing the pursuit of happiness and freedom
		Rbls 2	23.5	2.0	5.81	Brass-plated steel ring with a nickel-plated steel center plug	Lettered	National emblem of Belarus, name of the country, year of minting, divided by Bahach ornament

Special Collector Coins

Belarus also makes many special coins for collectors. These coins are often made of gold or silver. Their designs can be very creative, showing things from Belarusian culture, fairy tales, or even pop culture. Most of these coins have a value of 1 ruble, but some are 3, 5 rubles, or more. These special coins are usually not used for buying things every day.

Alena Aladava, a museum director, on a special silver coin.

Banknotes of Belarus

First Ruble (BYB) Banknotes

Between 1992 and 1999, many different banknotes were printed for the first ruble. They ranged from 50 copecks up to 5,000,000 rubles.

1992 — 1999 series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	issue	withdrawal	lapse
		50 cop	105 × 53 mm	Orange-pink	Image of sciurus	Pahonia ("The Chase")	25 May 1992	1 January 2001	31 December 2000
		Rbl 1		Grey blue	Image of the running European hare or "zaichik" which earned the currency its nickname
		Rbls 3		Green	Image of beavers
		Rbls 5		Blue and pink	Image of wolves
		Rbls 10		Dark green	Image of the Eurasian lynx with kitten
		Rbls 25		Orange	Image of moose
		Rbls 50		Violet	Image of brown bear
		Rbls 100		Green-brown	Image of wisent
		Rbls 200		Yellow-green	Image of the train station square		8 December 1992
		Rbls 500		Violet-red	Victory Square, Minsk
		Rbls 1,000		Green	National Academy of Sciences of Belarus in Minsk		3 November 1993		31 December 2003
		Rbls 1,000	110 × 60 mm			Large image of the number 1,000	16 September 1998
		Rbls 5,000	105 × 60 mm	Red	Trinity Hill in Minsk	Pahonia	7 April 1994
		Rbls 5,000	110 × 60 mm			Large image of the number 5,000	16 September 1998
		Rbls 20,000	150 × 69 mm	Olive-yellow	National Bank of the Republic of Belarus	Pahonia	28 December 1994
		Rbls 50,000		Light brown	Kholm Gate	Brest Fortress Memorial	15 September 1995
		Rbls 100,000		Grey-brown	Opera and Ballet Theatre (Minsk)	Scene from the ballet "Favourite" («Избранница») by E.A. Hlebau	17 October 1996
		Rbls 500,000		Orange-red	The Republican Trade Unions' Palace of Culture in Minsk	Architectural decorations on the Republican Palace of Culture of Belarus	1 December 1998
		Rbls 1,000,000		Sky-blue	The National Museum of Arts of Belarus in Minsk	Fragment of the picture "Portrait of wife with flowers and fruits" by I. Khrutski	30 April 1999
		Rbls 5,000,000		Light violet	Minsk Sports Palace	Image of the "Raubichy" sports complex	6 September 1999

Second Ruble (BYR) Banknotes

The second ruble banknotes were introduced in 2000. They started with values from 1 to 5,000 rubles. Later, higher values like 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, and 200,000 rubles were added. During this time, there were no copeck coins or banknotes.

In 2010, the spelling rules for the Belarusian language changed. This meant that the words for "fifty" on the 50 and 50,000 ruble notes were no longer correct. So, new versions of these banknotes were printed to fix the spelling.

2000 Series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	issue	withdrawal	lapse
		Rbl 1	110 × 60 mm	Green	The building of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus	Denomination in figures	1 January 2000	1 January 2003	31 December 2003
		Rbls 5		Rose-red	View of the Trayetskaye Pradmyestsye in Minsk			1 September 2004	30 June 2005
		Rbls 10		Light blue	The building of the National Library of Belarus			1 March 2013	31 March 2014
		Rbls 20	150 × 69 mm	Olive-yellow	The building of the National Bank of Belarus	The interior of the building of the National Bank of Belarus
		Rbls 50		Orange-red	The Kholm Gate - fragment of the Memorial Brest Hero-Fortress	The main entrance to the Memorial Brest Hero-Fortress		1 July 2015	1 July 2016
		Rbls 100		Green	The National Academic Great Opera and Ballet House of Belarus in Minsk	Scene from ballet "Favourite" by E.A. Hlebau		1 January 2017	1 January 2022
		Rbls 500	150 × 74 mm	Light brown	The Republican Trade Unions' Palace of Culture in Minsk	Architectural decorations on the Republican Palace of Culture of Belarus
		Rbls 1,000		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. Khrutski
		Rbls 5,000		Light violet	Minsk Sports Palace	Image of the "Raubichy" sporting complex
		Rbls 10,000		Pink	Panorama of Vitebsk city	Summer amphitheatre in Vitebsk	16 April 2001
		Rbls 20,000		Grey	Gomel Palace	A view of the palace from A. Idzkouski's picture in Homyel	21 January 2002
		Rbls 50,000		Sky blue	A castle in the settlement of Mir, Karelichy district, Grodno Region	Decorative collage of architectural elements of Mir Castle	20 December 2002
		Rbls 100,000		Orange	The Nesvizh Castle	View of the Radziwills' Castle in Niasvizh from a painting by the Belarusian artist Napoleon Orda	15 July 2005
		Rbls 200,000		Light green	The Mogilev Maslennikov Art Museum	Decorative collage of architectural elements of the museum building	12 March 2012

Third Ruble (BYN) Banknotes

The newest banknotes (BYN) were released in 2016. They come in values from 5 to 500 rubles. These banknotes were printed by a company in the United Kingdom called De La Rue. The coins were made in Lithuania and Slovakia.

Both the banknotes and coins were actually ready in 2009. However, a financial crisis meant they couldn't be used right away. They had to wait seven years until the economy was more stable and inflation was lower. Their designs look quite similar to the euro banknotes.

2009 Series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	withdrawal	lapse
		Rbls 5	135 × 72 mm	Orange	Belaya Vezha in Kamyanyets	collage on the theme of the first Slavic settlements	2009 2019 2020 2022 (5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 ruble banknotes)	1 July 2016	Current	Current
		Rbls 10	139 × 72 mm	Light Blue	Transfiguration Church in Polatsk	collage on the theme of enlightenment and printing
		Rbls 20	143 × 72 mm	Yellow	Rumyantsev-Paskevich Residence in Homyel	collage on the theme of spirituality
		Rbls 50	147 × 72 mm	Green	Mir Castle in Mir	collage on the theme of art
		Rbls 100	151 × 72 mm	Turquoise	Niasvizh Castle in Nesvizh	collage on the theme of theater and folk holidays
		Rbls 200	155 × 72 mm	Violet	Regional Museum of Art in Mahilyow	collage on the theme of crafts and town-planning
		Rbls 500	159 × 72 mm	Pink and Blue	The building of the National Library of Belarus in Minsk	collage on the theme of literature

Exchange Rates

The value of the Belarusian ruble has changed a lot over the years.

• On January 2, 2009, the National Bank of Belarus cut the ruble's value by 50%.
• On May 24, 2011, they lowered it again by 56%.
• On October 20, 2011, the ruble's value dropped by 42% against the US dollar.
• In January 2015, the currency was devalued by 23% against the US dollar.
• In March 2022, during events related to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ruble reached a very low point against the US dollar.
• From July 2022 to October 2023, the currency's value was kept stable to help pay off debts. Since then, its value has remained fixed.

See also

• Economy of Belarus
• Ruble