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I was living through 90s Russia. The inflation rate was 2500% in 1992. Yes, businesses dealt in US dollars. Prices for major things like cars and apartments w
by ash 7y ago
I was living through 90s Russia. The inflation rate was 2500% in 1992.
Yes, businesses dealt in US dollars.
Prices for major things like cars and apartments were in so called "conventional units" (у.е., условная единица), widely known euphemism for US dollars. [1] Cash dollars were very common for these purchases.
For groceries, rubles were used.
For things like washing machines stores had prices in "conventional units", with a daily changing definition of them.
If you could save, you would do it in USD cash. Exchanging between rubles and dollars was very common and cheap. Everybody knew where cash currency traders ("валютчики") were, usually on the main city square. (I think trading currencies outside of banks was illegal, but police looked away, due to corruption and light/no punishment at the time.)
Salaries for domestic jobs were mostly in rubles, with disastrous consequences. Middle class had almost ceased to exist.
[1]: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Условная_единица https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Условная_единица
- telesilla 7y agoEven into the early 2000s, when I used to visit Moscow more regularly, dollars were preferred for many transactions. Is this still the case? It's been a long time since my last trip there.
- Symbiote 7y agoI was only there for a week, but no restaurants, hotels or museums wanted dollars. Most places accepted credit cards, and many assumed that was how I would be paying.
- ash 7y agoIt's not the case anymore. There was a major devaluation in 1998. This is the reason why people were still suspicious about rubles in the early 2000s.
- fr1tkot 7y agoDollars aren't used for any transactions you or I would make, people do still like making cash savings in Dollars or Euros if they can get their hands on them.
- grecy 7y agoIt's still a similar story in a few countries in Africa I recently drove through like Zimbabwe, Angola, Nigeria, etc.
- mmsimanga 7y agoYou are quite right. I was about to reply to the grandparent that you have just described present day Zimbabwe. History repeats itself.
- toyg 7y agoThis is more economics than history. It’s a pretty simple set of reactions that can happen at any time. You could “repeat it” in parallel anywhere at the same time, if you wanted to.
- eru 7y agoMostly, yes. Though whether people resort to commodity barter or an outside currency like the USD varies. Sometimes both happen. Eg in Germany after the war cigarettes were a common currency, even among non-smokers. But that's probably more a function of comparatively effective restrictions on using foreign currency directly, than anything else? Not sure.
- gowld 7y agoWas this legal? Did the government crack down on USD handlers?