The Reasons of the Collapse of the Ruble Zone

Abstract:     
The paper analyzes the causes of the monetary disintegration of the FSU, stages of this disintegration, and macroeconomic consequences of this process. The subsequent sections analyze economic and political conditions of the successful existence of the common currency area, the process of monetary disintegration that already started at the end of 1990 when the Soviet Union still existed and then the period of 1992-1993, after the dissolution of USSR, the most important initiatives to rebuild the ruble area in 1992-1994 and macroeconomic and other consequences of continuing the common currency despite the political disintegration. The paper highlights the role of political consensus and institutionalized political union as the basic precondition to have a common currency.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 38

Keywords: USSR, Russia, CIS, ruble zone, monetary disintegration, common currency area

JEL Classification: F33, P24

working papers series