The Reasons of the Collapse of the Ruble Zone

Introduction

The existence and collapse of the common ruble area on the territory of the former Soviet Union (FSU) in 1992-1993, i.e. already after the dissolution of the Soviet state, raised a lot of discussions and controversies among the politicians and experts both inside and outside FSU. In the very beginning of the post-Soviet economic transition quite a lot of people and institutions (including the International Monetary Fund) believed in the possibility to maintain the common currency working for all or at least for part of FSU countries.