The ruble or rouble (RUB) is the currency of the Russian Federation and the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Formerly, the ruble was also the currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union prior to their breakups. Belarus and Transnistria also use currencies with the same name. The ruble is subdivided into 100 kopeks (sometimes transliterated kopecks, or copecks, Russian: копе́йка, kopéyka, plural: копе́йки, kopéyki). The ISO 4217 code is RUB or 643; the former code, RUR or 810, refers to the Russian ruble prior to the 1998 denomination (1 RUB = 1000 RUR).
Currently there is no official symbol for the ruble, though the abbreviation руб. is in wide use. Various symbols have been put forward as possibilities, including: “РР” (Cyrillic for “RR”), an “R” with two horizontal strokes across the top (similar to the Philippine peso sign),₱, a “Р” with one horizontal strike.
Currency symbol
A currency symbol was used for the ruble between the 16th century and the 18th century. The symbol consisted of the Russian letters ”Р” (rotated by 90° counter-clockwise) and “У” (written on top of it). The symbol was placed over the amount number to which belonged to. This symbol, however, fell into disuse during the 19th century onward.
No official symbol was used during the final years of the Empire, nor was one introduced in the Soviet Union. The characters R and руб. were utilized and remain so today, though they are not official.
In July 2007, the Central Bank of Russia announced that it would decide on a symbol for the ruble. The bank will test 13 symbols for the ruble. This includes the symbol РР (RR in Russian for Russian Ruble), which has received preliminary approval from the Central Bank. However, one more symbol, a Р with a horizontal stroke below the top similar to the Philippine peso sign, was proposed unofficially. Proponents of the new sign claim that it is simple, recognizable and similar to other currency signs.
Another candidate for a ruble symbol was selected in a competition organized by the Russian News and Information Agency. The “Swanling” symbol was one of 20 winners of the competition and was also one of 8 winners of a competition organized by the website KM.RU in 2006. The symbol has no similarity to any other currency symbol.