The New Monetary System. Part V: The Ruble Takes the Lead and Wins

The Russian economy represents a unique phenomenon in the global economic system. In terms of GDP calculated by purchasing power parity, it ranks fourth in the world after China, the United States, and India. Russia also holds fourth place in the volume of international gold and foreign exchange reserves, surpassed only by China, Japan, and Switzerland.

Unlike all the aforementioned countries, Russia is self-sufficient in natural resources (oil, gas, gold, timber) and is the richest country by this indicator. The United States holds an honorable second place. At the same time, in terms of per capita consumption, Russia ranks 40th, while the United States leads the global ranking of per capita consumption of goods and services.

This high level of consumption among American citizens is ensured by the dollar as the primary pricing currency in strategic commodity markets and in international settlements.

Thus, if we average three parameters — contribution to global GDP, creation of international foreign exchange reserves, and possession of natural resources — Russia ranks among the three most significant economies on the planet. However, this state of affairs is not supported by a corresponding status of the ruble in the global currency hierarchy.

The ruble is not included in the basket of Special Drawing Rights — the collective settlement and reserve asset of the International Monetary Fund. The ruble is also not among the 18 currencies used in the Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS) system, which services the global foreign exchange market. The most significant Russian banks are under sanctions from Western countries. Russian borrowers are virtually cut off from access to international capital markets.

Obviously, these “failures” are the result of architectural flaws in the modern global monetary system, which since the end of World War II (from which Russia emerged as the principal victor) has been under the vigilant control — or rather, the dictate — of the United States, which has endowed itself with unlimited authority as the guardian of the international monetary order.

However, the era of despotism in international monetary, credit, and financial relations is steadily moving toward its end.

Humanity stands on the threshold of creating a new monetary system in which the right to issue international liquidity will belong to those players capable of offering the world real resources, rather than virtual, unsecured monetary surrogates — whether dollars or new electronic money.

Incidentally, producing the latter requires enormous amounts of energy resources, access to which is at the heart of the fierce struggle unfolding today between the outgoing and the emerging leaders of the global economy. Once again in its history, Russia must withstand this confrontation and finally obtain what rightfully belongs to it — recognition of the ruble as world money.

The international status of the ruble is determined by such parameters as its use as a means of international settlement, reserves, credit, investment, and as an anchor currency for other countries.

The modern history of the ruble as an international currency begins in 2014, when the country adopted an inflation-targeting regime, allowed the ruble to float freely, and abandoned any restrictions on its convertibility for current and financial account transactions.

After the tightening of anti-Russian sanctions in March 2022, which effectively denied Russia the use of the dollar and euro in servicing foreign economic activity, a sharp increase in the share of the ruble in international settlements has been observed.

In March 2026, the share of ruble payments for exports rose to a record 64.9% (up from 61.5% in February). In settlements with Africa, the ruble accounts for 90%, and with European partners — 73%. At the same time, the share of the dollar and euro fell to 14.9%.

Approximately 90–97% of bilateral trade settlements between Russia and China, Russia and India, and Russia and Iran are conducted in national currencies. The Bank of Russia and the Reserve Bank of India have developed mechanisms for reinvesting accumulated rupee balances into shares of Indian enterprises and financing local infrastructure projects.

Flagships of the Russian banking industry, VTB and Sber, are actively developing international settlement routes using national currencies with the outside world through correspondent accounts, partner banks, and alternative settlement schemes.

Currently, VTB reports rapid growth in yuan-denominated accounts and its portfolio of contracts with Chinese counterparties. Thanks to access to Chinese international and domestic payment systems, VTB’s Shanghai branch provides international and domestic payments, foreign exchange operations, and trade finance, and specializes in structuring settlements between Russia and China.

In turn, Sber has the capacity to conduct international settlements in more than 120 countries. Available destinations include China, India, Turkey, the UAE, and other Global South countries.

The ruble is used as an anchor currency in the currency basket of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus. Its weight in the basket is 0.6 compared to 0.3 for the dollar and 0.1 for the yuan.

In May 2026, the Bank of Russia and the National Bank of Kazakhstan signed a three-year swap agreement worth 35 billion rubles / 225 billion tenge. The instrument provides central banks with access to short-term liquidity in the partner’s currency at market rates. For Kazakhstan, this represents a direct channel for obtaining rubles.

Russia has also attempted to introduce the ruble into the world of Islamic finance. In June 2026, VEB.RF issued debut ruble-denominated bonds structured under Sharia law (sukuk) in the amount of 3.5 billion.

According to Bloomberg, in the second quarter of 2026 the Russian ruble became the world’s best-performing currency in terms of appreciation against the dollar, supported by a sharp increase in foreign currency revenues from oil sales following the outbreak of war in the Middle East. Since early April, the ruble has strengthened by approximately 12%, reaching 72.12 per dollar — its highest level since February 2023.

Undoubtedly, all of the above examples do not mean that tomorrow the ruble will have the same international status as the dollar or the euro worldwide, or at least in its “friendly” part. However, as the saying goes, the ice has been broken, and the future of the ruble as an international currency will entirely depend on the persistence and consistency of actions aimed at securing for Russia those international monetary and financial privileges traditionally enjoyed by the world’s most significant economies.

Author: Doctor of Economics, Professor of the Department of World Economy and World Finance at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation Aleksey Vladimirovich Kuznetsov.