Tsardom of Russia (1547-1721), Russian Empire (1721-1917), Russian Republic (1917-1918), Russian Federative Soviet Socialist Republic (1917-1922), Russian Federation (1991-present)
Eastern European Country (1547-1922, 1991-present)
Location: Eastern Europe and Siberia
Capital City: Moscow (1547-1712, 1728-1732, 1918-1922, 1991-present), St. Petersburg (1712-1728, 1732-1918)
Government type: Absolute Monarchy (1547-1906), Semi-Constitutional Monarchy (1906-1917), Provisional Government (1917-1918), Communist Republic (1917-1922), Republic (1991-present)
Main languages: Russian
Main religions: Orthodox Christianity
Chronology
1547: Ivan IV of Moscow named as Tsar of Russia
1598-1613: Time of Troubles, widespread disorder, foreign invasions, and succession disputes
1610-1612: Personal Union with Poland
1670-1671: Cossack revolt of Stenka Razin
1721: Designated an Empire
1917: Emperor Nikolai II abdicates, provisional republic established. Bolsheviks form their own republic in opposition.
1917-1922: Russian Civil War
1922: Merges with Belarus, Ukraine, and Transcaucasia to form the Soviet Union
1991: USSR dissolves, Russian Federation independent
Currency
First Ruble (1547-1704)
1 Ruble = 2 Poltina = 100 Kopeks = 200 Denga = 400 Polushka
Second Ruble (1704-1922)
1 Ruble = 2 Poltina = 100 Kopeks = 200 Denga = 400 Polushka
Third Ruble (1992-1998)
1 Ruble = 100 Kopeks
Fourth Ruble (1998-present)
1 Ruble = 100 Kopeks
Coins from Russia in the collection
Tsardom (1547-1721)
•1 Kopek, 1601 (Tsar Boris (1598-1605), silver, Velikiy Novgorod mint, KG#214)
•1 Kopek, Tsar False Dmitry (1605-1606) (silver, Pskov mint, KG#245)
•1 Kopek, 1618-1625 (Tsar Mikhail I (1613-1645), silver (.960), Moscow mint, KG#476)
Empire (1721-1917)
•1 Polushka, 1768 (Empress Yekaterina II (1762-1796), copper, Ekaterinburg mint, C#55.3)
•1 Denga, 1731 (Empress Anna I (1730-1740), copper, Krasny Mint (Moscow), KM#188)
•1 Denga, 1753 (Empress Elizaveta (1741-1762), copper, Krasny Mint (Moscow), KM#188)
•1 Denga, 1754 (Empress Elizaveta (1741-1762), copper, Krasny Mint (Moscow), KM#188)
•1/2 Kopek, 1899 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), copper, Rosenkranz Works (St. Petersburg), Y#48.1)
•1/2 Kopek, 1909 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), copper, St. Petersburg mint, Y#48.1)
•1 Kopek, 1713 (Emperor Pyotr I (1682-1721), copper, Naberezhny Mint (Moscow), KM#117)
•1 Kopek, 1801 (Emperor Pavel (1796-1801), copper, Ekaterinburg mint, C#94.2)
•1 Kopek, 1853 (Emperor Nikolai I (1825-1855), copper, Ekaterinburg mint, C#149.1)
•1 Kopek, 1859 (Emperor Aleksandr II (1855-1881), copper, Ekaterinburg mint, Y#3.1)
•1 Kopek, 1915 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), copper, St. Petersburg mint, Y#9.3)
•2 Kopek, 1813 (Emperor Aleksandr I (1801-1825), copper, Ekaterinburg mint, C#118)
•2 Kopek, 1864 (Emperor Aleksandr II (1855-1881), copper, Ekaterinburg mint, Y#4a)
•2 Kopek, 1874 (Emperor Aleksandr II (1855-1881), copper, Ekaterinburg mint, Y#10.1)
•3 Kopek, 1877 (Emperor Aleksandr II (1855-1881), copper, St. Petersburg mint, Y#11.2)
•5 Kopek, 1779 (Empress Yekaterina II (1762-1796), copper, Ekaterinburg mint, C#59.3)
•5 Kopek, 1830 (Emperor Nikolai I (1825-1855), silver (.868), St. Petersburg mint, C#156)
•5 Kopek, 1831 (Emperor Nikolai I (1825-1855), copper, Ekaterinburg mint, C#140.1)
•5 Kopek, 1905 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), silver (.500), St. Petersburg mint, Y#19a.1)
•10 Kopek, 1903 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), silver (.500), St. Petersburg mint, Y#20a.2)
•15 Kopek, 1889 (Emperor Aleksandr III (1881-1894), silver (.500), St. Petersburg mint, Y#21a.2)
•15 Kopek, 1916 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), silver (.500), St. Petersburg mint, Y#21a.3)
•25 Kopek, 1847 (Emperor Nikolai I (1825-1855), silver (.868), St. Petersburg mint, C#166.1)
•1 Poltina, 1814 (Emperor Aleksandr I (1801-1825), silver (.868), St. Petersburg mint, C#129)
•50 Kopek, 1996 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), silver (.900), St. Petersburg mint, Y#58.2
•1 Ruble, 1877 (Emperor Aleksandr II (1855-1881), silver (.868), St. Petersburg mint, Y#25)
Soviet Republic (1917-1922)
•10 Kopek, 1922 (silver (.500), Y#80)
•50 Kopek, 1922 (silver (.900), Y#83)
Federation (1991-present)
•1 Ruble, 1992 (brass-plated steel, Moscow mint, Y#311)
•10 Ruble, 1992 (aluminum bronze center in cupronickel ring, St. Petersburg mint, Y#307) Commemorative: Red Data Book (Red-breasted goose)
•10 Ruble, 1992 (aluminum bronze center in cupronickel ring, St. Petersburg mint, Y#308) Commemorative: Red Data Book (Amur tiger)
•10 Ruble, 1992 (aluminum bronze center in cupronickel ring, St. Petersburg mint, Y#309) Commemorative: Red Data Book (Central Asian cobra)
•10 Ruble, 1992 (cupronickel, St. Petersburg mint, Y#313)
•20 Ruble, 1992 (cupronickel, St. Petersburg mint, Y#314)
•50 Ruble, 1993 (aluminum bronze, Moscow mint, Y#329.1)
•50 Ruble, 1993 (aluminum bronze center in cupronickel ring, St. Petersburg mint, Y#330) Commemorative: Red Data Book (Himalayan brown bear)
•50 Ruble, 1993 (aluminum bronze center in cupronickel ring, St. Petersburg mint, Y#331) Commemorative: Red Data Book (Turkmen eyelid gecko)
•50 Ruble, 1993 (aluminum bronze center in cupronickel ring, St. Petersburg mint, Y#332) Commemorative: Red Data Book (Caucasian grouse)
•50 Ruble, 1993 (aluminum bronze center in cupronickel ring, St. Petersburg mint, Y#333) Commemorative: Red Data Book (Oriental stork)
•50 Ruble, 1993 (aluminum bronze center in cupronickel ring, St. Petersburg mint, Y#334) Commemorative: Red Data Book (Black Sea dolphin)
•50 Ruble, 1993 (aluminum bronze center in cupronickel ring, St. Petersburg mint, Y#367) Commemorative: Red Data Book (Sandy mole rat)
•50 Ruble, 1993 (aluminum bronze center in cupronickel ring, St. Petersburg mint, Y#368) Commemorative: Red Data Book (Aurochs)
•50 Ruble, 1993 (aluminum bronze center in cupronickel ring, St. Petersburg mint, Y#370) Commemorative: Red Data Book (Peregrine falcon)
•50 Ruble, 1993 (aluminum bronze center in cupronickel ring, St. Petersburg mint, Y#371) Commemorative: Red Data Book (Greater flamingo)
•100 Ruble, 1993 (nickel brass, St. Petersburg mint, Y#338)
•1 Kopek, 1997 (cupronickel-plated steel, Moscow mint, Y#600)
•1 Kopek, 1998 (cupronickel-plated steel, Moscow mint, Y#600)
•5 Kopek, 1998 (cupronickel-plated steel, St. Petersburg mint, Y#601)
•10 Kopek, 1999 (brass, Moscow mint, Y#602)
•10 Kopek, 2000 (brass, St. Petersburg mint, Y#602)
•50 Kopek, 1997 (brass, St. Petersburg mint, Y#603)
•50 Kopek, 2003 (brass, St. Petersburg mint, Y#603)
•1 Ruble, 1997 (brass, Moscow mint, Y#604)
•1 Ruble, 2007 (nickel brass, Moscow mint, Y#833)
•1 Ruble, 2014 (nickel-plated steel, Moscow mint, Y#1512) Commemorative: Symbol of the Ruble
•2 Ruble, 1997 (nickel brass, Moscow mint, Y#605)
•2 Ruble, 2020 (nickel-plated steel, Moscow mint, Y#1676)
•5 Ruble, 1997 (cupronickel-plated copper, Moscow mint, Y#606)
•10 Ruble, 2012 (brass-plated steel, Moscow mint, Y#998)
•25 Ruble, 2014 (cupronickel, St. Petersburg mint, Y#1298) Commemorative: 2014 Sochi Olympics (Logo)
•25 Ruble, 2014 (cupronickel, St. Petersburg mint, Y#1501) Commemorative: 2014 Sochi Olympics (Torch Relay)
•25 Ruble, 2014 (cupronickel, St. Petersburg mint, Y#1368) Commemorative: 2014 Sochi Olympics (Mascots)
•25 Ruble, 2018 (cupronickel, Moscow mint, Y#1834) Commemorative: 2018 FIFA World Cup (Zabivaka)
Banknotes from Russia in the collection
Empire (1721-1917)
•1 Kopek, 1915 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), P#24)
•3 Kopek, 1915 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), P#26)
•50 Kopek, 1915 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), P#31)
•1 Ruble, 1898 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), P#15)
•5 Ruble, 1909 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), P#10)
•10 Ruble, 1909 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), P#11)
•100 Ruble, 1910 (Emperor Nikolai II (1894-1917), P#13)
Republic (1917-1918)
•20 Ruble, 1917 (P#38)
•40 Ruble, 1917 (P#39)
•1,000 Ruble, 1917 (P#37)
Soviet Republic (1917-1922)
•1,000 Ruble, 1918 (P#95)
•1,000 Ruble, 1919 (P#104)
•100,000 Ruble, 1921 (P#117)
Federation (1991-present)
•100 Ruble, 1993 (P#254)
•200 Ruble, 1992 (P#248)
•200 Ruble, 1993 (P#255)
•500 Ruble, 1993 (P#256)
•1,000 Ruble, 1993 (P#257)
•10 Ruble, 1997 (P#268)
•100 Ruble, 1997 (P#270a)
•500 Ruble, 1997 (P#271a)
MMM Biletov notes
•1 Bilet, 1994-1997
•10 Bilet, 1994-1997
•20 Bilet, 1994
•50 Bilet, 1994-1997
•100 Bilet, 1994
•500 Bilet, 1994-1997
•1,000 Bilet, 1994-1997
•10,000 Bilet, 1994
Note: The MMM Company was a ponzi scheme created in 1989 by Russian conman Sergei Mavrodi, and one of the largest such scams ever run. Initially an importer of computer equipment, it soon switched to the financial sector after accusations of tax fraud limited their access to foreign trade, and zeroed in on investments, at first offering Russians investment opportunities in American stocks, but quietly dropping this and not really giving any explanation as to what the investements were supposedly in. MMM ran a huge ad campaign with popular Russian actor Vladimir Permyakov, promising returns of up to 3,000% for investments in MMM. It didn't take long for Russian authorities to suspect something, and a tax evasion investigation began. In 1994, Mavrodi successfully ran for office in the State Duma (Russia's parliament), which granted him immunity from the investigation and allowed MMM to continue operations. The same year, MMM began issuing the biletovs (meaning "ticket" in Russian), certificates partly based on the privatization vouchers used in early post-Soviet Russia, more or less equal to stocks in MMM, which became used almost like a secondary currency in the years of the 90s where the value of the Ruble was volatile. In 1995, the Duma revoked Mavrodi's immunity, and the investigations resumed, but in 1997, the year MMM declared bankruptcy and the scam collapsed, the investigation was put on hold. Between 1994 and 1997, MMM defrauded about 7 million Russians of more than 3 trillion rubles. In 1998, the investigation was reopened, and Mavrodi was arrested in 2003.