5 Rubles – Soviet Union

By 1980, the Soviet Union's currency situation was defined by a stark duality between the domestic ruble and foreign exchange. Internally, the State Bank (Gosbank) maintained strict control over the ruble, which was not a convertible currency. Its value was administratively set by the state, bearing no relation to market forces or global exchange rates. While this system provided surface-level stability, with fixed prices for basic goods, it masked growing economic distortions. Chronic shortages of desirable consumer goods created a situation where money often had limited purchasing power, leading to forced savings and a vibrant black market where the ruble traded at a fraction of its official rate.

Externally, the USSR faced a severe hard currency shortage. To finance imports of vital Western technology and grain, the state relied almost entirely on exports of raw materials, particularly oil and gas. The global oil price shocks of the 1970s had initially provided a windfall, but by 1980, prices were volatile and beginning a long decline. This exposed a critical vulnerability: the Soviet economy generated minimal hard currency from manufactured exports, which were globally uncompetitive. Consequently, the state hoarded gold and foreign currencies like US dollars and Deutsche Marks, operating a complex system of special "certificate rubles" for foreign trade and tightly restricted access to hard currency for its own citizens.

This bifurcated system was increasingly unsustainable. The massive military spending of the late Cold War, combined with the inefficiencies of central planning and the growing cost of subsidizing client states, drained resources. The "era of stagnation" under Brezhnev saw declining growth, while the war in Afghanistan (beginning in 1979) imposed further financial strain. By 1980, the currency regime was a brittle facade, propped up by energy exports and repression of market forces. It could not satisfy consumer demand or foster technological innovation, setting the stage for the fiscal crises that would contribute to the Union's collapse a decade later.