Sweden 1953 Circulated 2 Ore Coin Gustav IV King Issue

Description: SVERIGE 1953 CIRCULATED COIN 100% ORIGINAL MONEY YOU ARE BIDDING ON: Sweden 1953 Circulated 2 Ore Coin Gustav IV King Issue Condition: Check the Picture, please Seller: StampLake.com Pro Shipping Details Combined worldwide Fast Prime Express with Package number for $7.95 To save money on postage add more than 1 products to cart and request total from the shopping card page. We will send you invoice with combined shipping price for all of your lots. Please note that we ship your order in 1-2 bussines days. Any further delays in shipment are likely the result of the delivery provider. International Shipments may take up to 3 weeks to arrive to their destination. We appreciate your patience and realistic shipping expectations for those Orders. ANY QUESTION? E-MAIL US All items are absolutely guaranteed to be genuine and as described. Buy with confidence-we are professional, full-time dealers in business for many years online on StampLake.com website. We pack and ship your purchases with care and consideration in a timely manner. With us, you can expect First-Class service and helpful consultation at no extra charge. Product information After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation introduced new coins in 1992 in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 rubles. The coins depict the double-headed eagle without a crown, sceptre and globus cruciger above the legend "Банк России" ("Bank of Russia"). It is exactly the same eagle that the artist Ivan Bilibin painted after the February Revolution as the coat of arms for the Russian Republic.[4] The 1 and 5-ruble coins were minted in brass-clad steel, the 10 and 20-ruble coins in cupro-nickel, and the 50 and 100-ruble coins were bimetallic (aluminium-bronze and cupro-nickel-zinc). In 1993, aluminium-bronze 50-ruble coins and cupro-nickel-zinc 100-ruble coins were issued, and the material of 10 and 20-ruble coins was changed to nickel-plated steel. In 1995 the material of 50-ruble coins was changed to brass-plated steel, but the coins were minted with the old date 1993. As high inflation persisted, the lowest denominations disappeared from circulation and the other denominations became rarely used. During this period, the commemorative one-ruble coins were regularly issued continuing the specifications of prior commemorative Soviet rubles (31 mm diameter, 12.8 grams cupronickel). It is nearly identical to those of the 5-Swiss franc coin (31.45 mm, 13.2 g cupronickel), worth approx. €4.39 or US$5.09 as of August 2018. For this reason, there have been several instances of (now worthless) Soviet and Russian ruble coins being used on a large scale to defraud automated vending machines in Switzerland.[5] RUR banknotesIn 1961, new State Treasury notes were introduced for 1, 3 and 5 rubles, along with new State Bank notes worth 10, 25, 50, and 100 rubles. In 1991, the State Bank took over production of 1, 3 and 5-ruble notes and also introduced 200, 500 and 1,000-ruble notes, although the 25-ruble note was no longer issued. In 1992, a final issue of notes was made bearing the name of the USSR before the Russian Federation introduced 5,000 and 10,000-ruble notes. These were followed by 50,000-ruble notes in 1993, 100,000 rubles in 1995 and, finally, 500,000 rubles in 1997 (dated 1995). Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russian ruble banknotes and coins have been notable for their lack of portraits, which traditionally were included under both the Tsarist and Communist regimes. With the issue of the 500-ruble note depicting a statue of Peter I and then the 1,000-ruble note depicting a statue of Yaroslav, the lack of recognizable faces on the currency has been partially alleviated. SUR and RUR series banknotesSeriesValueObverseReverseIssuerLanguages19611, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 rublesVladimir Lenin or views of the Moscow KremlinValue, and views of the Moscow Kremlin for 50 rubles or higherUSSRmultiple19911, 3, 5, 10, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000 rublesRussian199250, 200, 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 rublesUSSR for 1,000 rubles and lowerBank of Russia for 5,000- and 10,000 rublesRussian1993100, 200, 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 50,000 rublesMoscow Kremlin with the tri-color Russian flagBank of Russia19951,000, 5,000, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000, 500,000 rublesSame design as today's banknotes, where 1 RUB = 1,000 RUR. The 1,000 ruble note did not continue as a 1 new ruble note.RUB (1998–present)See also: Monetary reform in Russia, 1998In 1998 the Russian ruble was redenominated with the new ISO 4217 code "RUB" and number 643, and was exchanged at the rate of 1 RUB = 1,000 RUR. All Soviet coins issued between 1961 and 1991, as well as 1-, 2- and 3-kopeck coins issued before 1961, also qualified for exchange into new rubles.[6] The redenomination was an administrative step that reduced the unwieldiness of the old ruble[7] but occurred on the brink of the 1998 Russian financial crisis.[8] The ruble lost 70% of its value against the US dollar in the six months following this financial crisis, from US$1 = 6 ₽ to approximately 20 ₽.[9] After stabilizing at around US$1 = 30 ₽ from 2001 to 2013, it depreciated to the range of US$1 = 60-80 ₽ from 2014 to 2021 as a result of the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014 and 2010s oil glut. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, it declined further to US$1 = 110 ₽ due to sanctions.[10] The ruble was subject to fluctuation when in April 2022, the ruble went above its pre-war level after falling as low as 150 ₽ per dollar in early March,[11] with the longer-term trend showing a steady decline from mid 2022 to mid 2023 falling from 60 ₽ to 90 ₽ per dollar.[12] SymbolMain article: Ruble signNot to be confused with the Armenian letter ք. The ruble sign since 2013 The "ruble" symbol used throughout the 17th century, composed of the Russian letters "Р" and "У".A currency symbol was used for the ruble between the 16th century and the 18th century. The symbol consisted of the Russian letters "Р" (rotated 90° anti-clockwise) and "У" (written on top of it). The symbol was placed over the amount number it belonged to.[13] This symbol, however, fell into disuse by the mid-19th century.[14] No official symbol was used during the final years of the Empire, nor was one introduced in the Soviet Union. The abbreviations Rbl (plural: Rbls) in Latin[15][16] and руб. (Cyrillic) and the simple characters R (Latin)[17][18][19] and р (Cyrillic) were used. These are still used to-day, though are unofficial.[20] In July 2007, the Central Bank of Russia announced that it would decide on a symbol for the ruble and would test 13 symbols. This included the symbol РР (the initials of Российский Рубль "Russian ruble"), which received preliminary approval from the Central Bank.[21] However, one more symbol, a Р with a horizontal stroke below the top similar to the Philippine peso sign, was proposed unofficially.[21] Proponents of the new sign claimed that it is simple, recognizable and similar to other currency signs.[22][23][24] This symbol is also similar to the Armenian letter ք or the Latin letter Ꝑ. On 11 December 2013, the official symbol for the ruble became RUB, a Cyrillic letter Er with a single added horizontal stroke,[25][better source needed] though the abbreviation "руб." is in wide use. On 4 February 2014, the Unicode Technical Committee during its 138th meeting in San Jose accepted U+20BD ₽ RUBLE SIGN symbol for Unicode version 7.0;[26] the symbol was then included into Unicode 7.0 released on 16 June 2014.[27] In August 2014, Microsoft issued updates for all of its mainstream versions of Microsoft Windows that enabled support for the new ruble sign.[28] The ruble sign can be entered on a Russian computer keyboard as AltGr+8 on Windows and Linux, or AltGr+Р (Qwerty H position) on macOS. CoinsIn 1998, the following coins were introduced in connection with the ruble revaluation and are currently in circulation: Currently circulating coins[29]ImageValueTechnical parametersDescriptionYears of mintingReverseObverseDiameterMassCompositionEdgeObverseReverse1 kop15.5 mm1.5 g[30]Cupronickel-steelPlainSaint GeorgeValue1997–20092014, 20175 kop18.5 mm2.6 g[30]10 kop17.5 mm1.95 g[30]BrassReededSaint GeorgeValue1997–20061.85 gBrass-plated steelPlain2006–201550 kop19.5 mm2.90 g[30]BrassReeded1997–19992002–20062.75 gBrass-plated steelPlain2006–20151 ₽20.5 mm3.25 gCupronickelReededEmblem of the Bank of RussiaValue1997–19992005–20093.00 gNickel-plated steel2009–2015Coat of arms of Russia2016–present2 ₽23 mm5.10 gCupronickelSegmented (Plain and Reeded edges)Emblem of the Bank of Russia1997–19992006–20095.00 gNickel-plated steel2009–2015Coat of arms of Russia2016–present5 ₽25 mm6.45 gCupronickel-clad copperEmblem of the Bank of Russia1997–19982008–20096.00 gNickel-plated steel2009–2015Coat of arms of Russia2016–present10 ₽22 mm5.63 gBrass-plated steelSegmented (plain and reeded edges)Emblem of the Bank of RussiaValue2009–2013, 2015Coat of arms of Russia2016–presentKopeck coins are rarely used due to their low value and in some cases may not be accepted by stores or individuals. These coins began being issued in 1998, although some of them bear the year 1997. Kopeck denominations all depict St George and the Dragon, and all ruble denominations (with the exception of commemorative pieces) depict the double headed eagle. Mint marks are denoted by "СП" or "M" on kopecks and the logo of either the Saint Petersburg or Moscow mint on rubles. Since 2000, many bimetallic 10 ₽ circulating commemorative coins have been issued. These coins have a unique holographic security feature inside the "0" of the denomination 10.[citation needed] In 2008, the Bank of Russia proposed withdrawing 1 and 5 kopeck coins from circulation and subsequently rounding all prices to multiples of 10 kopeks, although the proposal has not been realized yet (though characteristic "x.99" prices are treated as rounded in exchange).[citation needed] The Bank of Russia stopped minting one-kopeck and five-kopeck coins in 2012, and kopecks completely in 2018.[31] The material of 1 ₽, 2 ₽ and 5 ₽ coins was switched from copper-nickel-zinc and copper-nickel clad to nickel-plated steel in the second quarter of 2009. 10 and 50 kopecks were also changed from brass to brass-plated steel.[citation needed] In October 2009, a new 10 ₽ coin made of brass-plated steel was issued, featuring optical security features.[32] The 10 ₽ banknote would have been withdrawn in 2012, but a shortage of 10 ₽ coins prompted the Central Bank to delay this and put new ones in circulation.[33] Bimetallic commemorative 10-ruble coins will continue to be issued.[citation needed] A series of circulating Olympic commemorative 25 ₽ coins started in 2011. The new coins are struck in cupronickel.[34] A number of commemorative smaller denominations of these coins exist in circulation as well, depicting national historic events and anniversaries. The Bank of Russia issues other commemorative non-circulating coins ranging from 1 ₽ to 50,000 ₽.[35] BanknotesOn 1 January 1998, a new series of banknotes dated 1997 was released in denominations of 5 ₽, 10 ₽, 50 ₽, 100 ₽ and 500 ₽. The 1,000 ₽ banknote was first issued on 1 January 2001 and the 5,000 ₽ banknote was first issued on 31 July 2006. Modifications to the series were made in 2001, 2004, and 2010. In April 2016, the Central Bank of Russia announced that it will introduce two new banknotes – 200 ₽ and 2,000 ₽ — in 2017.[36] In September 2016, a vote was held to decide which symbols and cities will be displayed on the new notes.[37] In February 2017, the Central Bank of Russia announced the new symbols. The 200 ₽ banknote will feature symbols of Crimea: the Monument to the Sunken Ships, a view of Sevastopol, and a view of Chersonesus. The 2,000 ₽ banknote will bear images of the Russian Far East: the bridge to Russky Island and the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur Oblast.[38] In 2018, the Central Bank issued a 100 ₽ "commemorative" banknote designed to recognize Russia's role as the host of the 2018 World Cup soccer tournament. The banknote is printed on a polymer substrate, and has several transparent portions as well as a hologram. Despite the note being intended for legal tender transactions, the Central Bank has simultaneously refused to allow the country's automated teller machines (ATMs) to recognize or accept it.[39] See also: Modification of banknotes of the Russian ruble (2022—2025)In March 2021, the Central Bank announced plans to gradually update the designs of the 10 ₽, 50 ₽, 100 ₽, 1,000 ₽ and 5,000 ₽ banknotes and make them more secure; this is expected to be completed in 2025.[40] The first new design, for the 100 ₽ note, was unveiled on 30 June 2022.[41] The design of the new note includes symbols of Moscow on the obverse - Red Square, Zaryadye Park, Moscow State University on Sparrow Hills, and Ostankino Tower - and the Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier on the reverse.[42] In late 2022, the Central Bank resumed the printing of 5-ruble and 10-ruble notes for circulation; freshly printed notes began appearing in 2023.[43] 1997 series[44]ImageValueDimensionsDescriptionDate ofObverseReverseTownObverseReverseWatermarkprinting*issuewithdrawallapse5 ₽137 × 61 mmVeliky NovgorodThe Millennium of Russia monument on background of Saint Sophia CathedralFortress wall of the Novgorod Kremlin"5", Saint Sophia Cathedral19972022 1 January 1998Current, but not issued from 2001 until 2021.Re-issued in 2022. Rarely seen in circulation. Returned to circulation in 2023.[43] 10 ₽150 × 65 mmKrasnoyarskKommunalny Bridge across the Yenisei River, Paraskeva Pyatnitsa ChapelKrasnoyarsk hydroelectric plant"10", Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel1997200120042022Current, but not issued from 2010 to 2021.Re-issued in 2022. Still in use, but rarely seen in circulation. Returned to circulation in 2023.[43] 50 ₽Saint PetersburgA Rostral Column sculpture on background of Peter and Paul FortressOld Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and Rostral Columns"50", Peter and Paul CathedralCurrent100 ₽MoscowQuadriga statue on the portico of the Bolshoi TheatreThe Bolshoi Theatre"100", The Bolshoi Theatre500 ₽ArkhangelskMonument to Czar Peter the Great, sailing ship and sea terminal[45]Solovetsky Monastery"500", portrait of Peter the Great19972001200420101,000 ₽157 × 69 mmYaroslavlMonument to Yaroslav I the Wise and the Lady of Kazan ChapelJohn the Baptist Church"1,000", portrait of Yaroslav the Wise2001200420101 January 20015,000 ₽KhabarovskMonument to Nikolay Muravyov-AmurskyKhabarovsk Bridge over the Amur"5,000", portrait of Muravyov-Amursky2006201031 July 2006These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.Each new banknote series has enhanced security features, but no major design changes. Banknotes printed after 1997 bear the fine print "модификация 2001г." (or later date) meaning "modification of year 2001" on the left watermark area.2017–2025 series[44]ImageValueDimensionsDescriptionDate ofObverseReverseFederal DistrictObverseReverseWatermarkprintingissuewithdrawallapse100 ₽150 × 65 mmCentral Federal DistrictMoscow: Spasskaya Tower, Zaryadye Park, Moscow State University, Ostankino TowerMemorial to the Soviet Soldier, Rzhev, Tver Oblast; Kulikovo Field, Tula Oblast"100", Spasskaya Tower202230 June 2022Current200 ₽150 × 65 mmSouthern Federal DistrictMonument to the Sunken Ships (by sculptor Amandus Adamson), SevastopolView of Chersonesus"200", Monument to the Sunken Ships201712 October 20171,000 ₽157 × 69 mmVolga Federal DistrictNizhny Novgorod: Nikolskaya Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, Nizhny Novgorod Fair, Spit of Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod StadiumMuseum of the History of Statehood of the Tatar People and the Republic of Tatarstan in Kazan, Söyembikä Tower on the Kazan Kremlin, Museum of Archeology and Ethnography in Ufa"1000", Nikolskaya Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin202316 October 20232,000 ₽157 × 69 mmFar Eastern Federal DistrictVladivostok: Russky Bridge, Far Eastern Federal UniversityVostochny Cosmodrome, Tsiolkovsky, Amur Oblast"2000", Russky Bridge201712 October 20175,000 ₽157 × 69 mmUral Federal DistrictYekaterinburg: Stele "Europe - Asia", Iset Tower in Yekaterinburg-City, Vysotsky, Yekaterinburg Circus, House of Communications (main post office building), Palace of Sporting Games, Sevastyanov's HouseMonument "Tale of the Urals" in Chelyabinsk, metallurgical plant, stele "66 parallel" (Arctic Circle) in Salekhard, oil and gas industry facilities"5000", House of Communications (main post office building), Sevastyanov's House202316 October 2023For the rest of the 2017–2025 series, the following designs are planned:[46] 10 ₽ (2025): Novosibirsk on the obverse, Siberian Federal District on the reverse50 ₽ (2025): Saint Petersburg on the obverse, Northwestern Federal District on the reverse500 ₽ (2024): Pyatigorsk on the obverse, North Caucasian Federal District on the reverse.Printing QR codes from the current (2017–present) series of banknotesAll Russian ruble banknotes are currently printed at the state-owned factory Goznak in Moscow, which was founded on 6 June 1919 and operated ever since. Coins are minted in the Moscow Mint and at the Saint Petersburg Mint, which has been operating since 1724. 100 ₽ note controversy An image of the 100-ruble banknote, zoomed up to show a statue of the Greek god Apollo as depicted on top of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, this version of Apollo is shown with his penis and testicles exposed (which was the case on the Bolshoi Theatre at the time of printing, though the original statue was amended with a fig leaf covering them) which lead to one Russian politician, Roman Khudyakov, condemn the banknote as "pornography"On 8 July 2014, State Duma deputy and vice-chairman of the Duma Regional Political Committee Roman Khudyakov alleged that the image of the Greek god Apollo driving a Quadriga on the portico of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on the 100 ₽ banknote constitutes pornography that should only be available to persons over the age of 18. Since it is impractical to limit the access of minors to banknotes, he requested in his letter to the Governor of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina to immediately change the design of the banknote.[47] Khudyakov, a member of parliament for the LDPR party stated, "You can clearly see that Apollo is naked, you can see his genitalia. I submitted a parliamentary request and forwarded it directly to the head of the central bank asking for the banknote to be brought into line with the law protecting children and to remove this Apollo."[48][49] Khudyakov's efforts did not lead to any changes being made to the design. Crimea controversyOn 13 October 2017, the National Bank of Ukraine issued a decree forbidding the country's banks, other financial institutions and Ukraine's state postal service to circulate Russian banknotes which use images of Crimea, a territory that is regarded as Russian-occupied by Ukraine and whose annexation by Russia is not recognised by most UN member states.[50] The NBU stated that the ban applies to all financial operations, including cash transactions, currency exchange activities and interbank trade.[51] Crimea is featured on three banknotes that are currently in circulation – the 100 ₽ commemorative notes issued in 2015 and 2018, as well as the 200 ₽ note issued in 2017. 1,000 ₽ note controversyOn 16 October 2023, the day of unveilling of the new design of the 1,000-ruble note, the design of the note was criticised by Russia's Orthodox Church for displaying the Islamic cresent on one of the buildings on the reverse of the note at the same time as excluding the Orthodox cross from a different building (a former church that is now a museum).[52] The Bank of Russia claimed that the image was not selected to provoke or disregard any faith, but announced on the following day that the design would be revised and the notes would not be printed.[53][54] Effect of international sanctionsKommersant reported that the new 100 ₽ note introduced in 2022 will not work with an estimated 60% of cash registers and bank machines because they are imported and therefore must be updated by foreign companies, and this work may not be completed due to sanctions.[55][56] However, Russian banks have been transferring their ATM networks to domestic software which does not require foreign specialists since at least 2018, with the biggest Russian bank, Sberbank, completing 80% of the transfer by June 2022.[57] Russian banks will start purchasing domestic ATMs with Elbrus processors in 2023, the mandatory share of Russian products in the purchase of ATMs was to be at least 18% for banks with state partnership, since 2022 it has grown to 20%.[58] Commemorative banknotesCommemorative banknote series[59]ImageValueDimensionsDescriptionDate ofObverseReverseObverseReverseWatermarkprinting*issuewithdrawallapse100 ₽150 × 65 mmA snowboarder and some of the Olympic venues of the Sochi coastal cluster.Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, firebird2014 Winter Olympics logo201430 October 2013Current100 ₽150 × 65 mmMonument to the Sunken Ships in Sevastopol Bay, outlines of Monument to the heroes of the Second Siege of Sevastopol and St. Vladimir Cathedral, fragment of a painting by Ivan AivazovskySwallow's Nest castle, Yevpatoria RT-70 radio telescope, outline of Big Khan Mosque in Bakhchisaray and a green stripe containing a QR code linking to the Bank of Russia webpage containing historical information relating to the commemorative banknotePortrait of Empress Catherine the Great201523 December 2015100 ₽150 × 65 mmA boy with a ball under his arm looking up as Lev Yashin saves a ball.A stylized image of the globe in the form of a football with a green image of Russia's territory (including Crimea) outlined on it, as well as the name of the 2018 FIFA World Cup host citiesThe number 2018201822 May 2018On 30 October 2013, a special banknote in honour of the 2014 Winter Olympics held in Sochi was issued. The banknote is printed on high-quality white cotton paper. A transparent polymer security stripe is embedded into the paper to make a transparent window incorporating an optically variable element in the form of a snowflake. The highlight watermark is visible in the upper part of the banknote. Ornamental designs run vertically along the banknote. The front of the note features a snowboarder and some of the Olympic venues of the Sochi coastal cluster. The back of the note features the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi. The predominant colour of the note is blue. On 23 December 2015, another commemorative 100 ₽ banknote was issued to celebrate the "reunification of Crimea and Russia". The banknote is printed on light-yellow-coloured cotton paper. One side of the note is devoted to Sevastopol, the other one — to Crimea. А wide security thread is embedded into the paper. It comes out on the surface on the Sevastopol side of the banknote in the figure-shaped window. A multitone combined watermark is located on the unprinted area in the upper part of the banknote. Ornamental designs run vertically along the banknote. The Sevastopol side of the note features the Monument to Sunken Ships in Sevastopol Bay and a fragment of the painting "Russian Squadron on the Roads of Sevastopol" by Ivan Aivazovsky. The Crimea side of the note features the Swallow's Nest, a decorative castle and local landmark. In the lower part of the Sevastopol side of the banknote in the green stripe there is a QR-code containing a link to the Bank of Russia's webpage, which lists historical information related to the banknote. The predominant colour of the note is olive green. On 22 May 2018, a special banknote to celebrate the 2018 FIFA World Cup was issued.[60] The banknote is printed on polymer. The top part of the note bears a transparent window that contains a holographic element. The design of the note is vertically oriented. The main images of the obverse are a boy with a ball under his arm and a goalkeeper diving for a ball. The main image of the reverse is a stylized image of the globe in the form of a football with green image of the Russian territory outlined on it. On the reverse there is the number 2018 that marks both the issue of the banknote and the World Cup, as well as the name of the host cities in the Russian language. The bottom right corner of the obverse bears a QR-code, which contains a link to the page of the Bank of Russia website with the description of the note's security features. Predominant colours of the note are blue and green. Economics Worldwide official use of foreign currency or pegs. The ruble is used in Russia and Russian occupied territories of Georgia and Ukraine. Russian ruble users, including the Russian Federation US dollar users, including the United States Currencies pegged to the US dollar Euro users, including the Eurozone Currencies pegged to the euro Australian dollar users, including Australia New Zealand dollar users, including New Zealand South African rand users (CMA, including South Africa) Indian rupee users and pegs, including India Pound sterling users and pegs, including the United Kingdom Special drawing rights or other currency basket pegs Three cases of a country using or pegging the currency of a neighbourThe use of other currencies for transactions between Russian residents is punishable, with a few exceptions, with a fine of 75% to 100% of the value of the transaction.[61] International tradeOn 23 November 2010, at a meeting of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, it was announced that Russia and China had decided to use their own national currencies for bilateral trade, instead of the US dollar. The move is aimed to further improve relations between Beijing and Moscow and to protect their domestic economies during the Great Recession. The trading of the Chinese yuan against the ruble has started in the Chinese interbank market, while the yuan's trading against the ruble was set to start on the Russian foreign exchange market in December 2010.[62][better source needed] In January 2014, President Putin said there should be a sound balance on the ruble exchange rate; that the Central Bank only regulated the national currency exchange rate when it went beyond the upper or lower limits of the floating exchange rate; and that the freer the Russian national currency is, the better it is, adding that this would make the economy react more effectively and timely to processes taking place in it.[63] Exchange ratesCurrent RUB exchange ratesFrom Google Finance:AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USDFrom Yahoo! Finance:AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USDFrom XE.com:AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USDFrom OANDA:AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD USD / RUB exchange rate 1994-2023 EUR / RUB exchange rateThe first Russian ruble (RUR) introduced in January 1992 depreciated significantly versus the US dollar from US$1 = 125 RUR to around US$1 = 6,000 RUR (or 6 RUB) when it was redenominated in January 1998. The new ruble then depreciated rapidly in its first year to US$1 = 20 RUB before stabilizing at around US$1 = 30 RUB from 2001 to 2013. The financial crisis in Russia in 2014–2016 was the result of the collapse of the Russian ruble beginning in the second half of 2014.[64][65][66][67][68][69] A decline in confidence in the Russian economy caused investors to sell off their Russian assets, which led to a decline in the value of the Russian ruble and sparked fears of a Russian financial crisis. The lack of confidence in the Russian economy stemmed from at least two major sources. The first is the fall in the price of oil in 2014. Crude oil, a major export of Russia, declined in price by nearly 50% between its yearly high in June 2014 and 16 December 2014. The second was the result of international economic sanctions imposed on Russia following Russia's annexation of Crimea and the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.[64][70] The crisis affected the Russian economy, both consumers and companies, and regional financial markets, as well as Putin's ambitions regarding the Eurasian Economic Union. The Russian stock market in particular experienced large declines, with a 30% drop in the RTS Index from the beginning of December through 16 December 2014. From July 2014 to February 2015 the ruble fell dramatically against the U.S. dollar. A 6.5 percentage point interest rate rise to 17 percent[71] failed to prevent the currency hitting record lows in a "perfect storm" of low oil prices, looming recession and Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.[72] Russia faced steep economic sanctions due to the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. In response to the military campaign, several countries imposed strict economic sanctions on the Russian economy.[d] This led to a 32 percent drop in the value of the ruble, which traded at an exchange rate of 120 rubles per dollar in March 2022.[10] On 23 March 2022, President Putin announced that Russia would only accept payments for Russian gas exports from “unfriendly countries” in rubles.[73] This, along with several other actions to control capital flow, coinciding with soaring commodity prices led to the ruble rallying to a record high in May 2022 that economists feel is unlikely to last.[74] However, the ruble continued to rally in June 2022, hitting its highest point (51 rubles to the dollar) for the past seven years at the end of the month.[75] RUB per US$1998–2022 YearLowest ↓Highest ↑AverageDateRateDateRateRate19981 January5.960029 December20.99009.794519991 January20.650029 December27.000024.648920006 January26.900023 February28.870028.128720014 January28.160018 December30.300029.175320021 January30.13727 December31.860031.3608200320 December29.24509 January31.884630.6719200430 December27.74871 January29.454528.8080200518 March27.46116 December28.997828.191020066 December26.184012 January28.483427.1355200724 November24.264913 January26.577025.5808200816 July23.125531 December29.380424.8529200913 November28.670119 February36.426731.7403201016 April28.93108 June31.779830.367920116 May27.26255 October32.679929.3823201228 March28.94685 June34.039531.066120135 February29.92515 September33.465631.906320141 January32.658718 December67.785138.6025201517 April49.674931 December72.882761.3400201630 December60.273022 January83.591366.8336201726 April55.84534 August60.750358.2982201828 February55.671712 September69.974462.9502201926 December61.716415 January67.192064.6184202010 January61.054818 March80.869272.4388202127 October69.55268 April77.773073.6628202230 June51.158011 March120.378568.4869Source: USD exchange rates in RUB, Bank of Russia[76]Most traded currencies by valueCurrency distribution of global foreign exchange market turnover[77]vteRankCurrencyISO 4217codeSymbol orabbreviationProportion of daily volumeApril 2019April 20221U.S. dollarUSDUS$88.3%88.5%2EuroEUR€32.3%30.5%3Japanese yenJPY¥ / 円16.8%16.7%4SterlingGBP£12.8%12.9%5RenminbiCNY¥ / 元4.3%7.0%6Australian dollarAUDA$6.8%6.4%7Canadian dollarCADC$5.0%6.2%8Swiss francCHFCHF4.9%5.2%9Hong Kong dollarHKDHK$3.5%2.6%10Singapore dollarSGDS$1.8%2.4%11Swedish kronaSEKkr2.0%2.2%12South Korean wonKRW₩ / 원2.0%1.9%13Norwegian kroneNOKkr1.8%1.7%14New Zealand dollarNZDNZ$2.1%1.7%15Indian rupeeINR₹1.7%1.6%16Mexican pesoMXN$1.7%1.5%17New Taiwan dollarTWDNT$0.9%1.1%18South African randZARR1.1%1.0%19Brazilian realBRLR$1.1%0.9%20Danish kroneDKKkr0.6%0.7%21Polish złotyPLNzł0.6%0.7%22Thai bahtTHB฿0.5%0.4%23Israeli new shekelILS₪0.3%0.4%24Indonesian rupiahIDRRp0.4%0.4%25Czech korunaCZKKč0.4%0.4%26UAE dirhamAEDد.إ0.2%0.4%27Turkish liraTRY₺1.1%0.4%28Hungarian forintHUFFt0.4%0.3%29Chilean pesoCLPCLP$0.3%0.3%30Saudi riyalSAR﷼0.2%0.2%31Philippine pesoPHP₱0.3%0.2%32Malaysian ringgitMYRRM0.2%0.2%33Colombian pesoCOPCOL$0.2%0.2%34Russian rubleRUB₽1.1%0.2%35Romanian leuRONL0.1%0.1%36Peruvian solPENS/0.1%0.1%37Bahraini dinarBHD.د.ب0.0%0.0%38Bulgarian levBGNBGN0.0%0.0%39Argentine pesoARSARG$0.1%0.0%…Other1.8%2.3%Total[note 1]200.0%200.0% The total sum is 200% because each currency trade is counted twice: once for the currency being bought and once for the one being sold. The percentages above represent the proportion of all trades involving a given currency, regardless of which side of the transaction it is on. For example, the US dollar is bought or sold in 88% of all currency trades, while the euro is bought or sold in 31% of all trades.SOVIET UNIONThe Soviet Union,[r] officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics[s] (USSR),[t] was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national republics;[u] in practice, both its government and its economy were highly centralized until its final years. It was a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, with the city of Moscow serving as its capital as well as that of its largest and most populous republic: the Russian SFSR. Other major cities included Leningrad (Russian SFSR), Kiev (Ukrainian SSR), Minsk (Byelorussian SSR), Tashkent (Uzbek SSR), Alma-Ata (Kazakh SSR), and Novosibirsk (Russian SFSR). It was the largest country in the world, covering over 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi) and spanning eleven time zones. The country's roots lay in the October Revolution of 1917, which saw the Bolsheviks overthrow the Russian Provisional Government that formed earlier that year following the February Revolution and the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, marking the end of the Russian Empire. The new government, led by Vladimir Lenin, established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (RSFSR), the world's first constitutionally guaranteed socialist state.[v] Persisting internal tensions escalated into the brutal Russian Civil War. As the war progressed in the Bolsheviks' favor, the RSFSR began to incorporate land conquered from the war into nominally independent states, which were unified into the Soviet Union in December 1922. Following Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin came to power. Stalin inaugurated a period of rapid industrialization and forced collectivization that led to significant economic growth, but also contributed to a famine in 1930–1933 that killed millions. The forced labour camp system of the Gulag was also expanded in this period. Stalin conducted the Great Purge to remove his actual and perceived opponents. After the outbreak of World War II, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The combined Soviet civilian and military casualty count — estimated to be around 20 million people — accounted for the majority of losses of Allied forces. In the aftermath of World War II, the territory occupied by the Red Army formed various Soviet satellite states. In the postwar period until the 1960s, the Soviet Union experienced rapid economic development and achieved important "firsts" in the race to space. The beginning of the Cold War saw the Eastern Bloc of the Soviet Union confront the Western Bloc of the United States, with the latter grouping becoming largely united in 1949 under NATO and the former grouping becoming largely united in 1955 under the Warsaw Pact. There was no direct military confrontation between the two organizations; instead, the conflict was fought on an ideological basis and through proxy wars. Both NATO and the Warsaw Pact led to the expansion of military forces and their integration into the respective blocs. The Warsaw Pact's largest military engagement was the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, its own member state, in August 1968 (with the participation of all pact nations except Albania and Romania), which, in part, resulted in Albania withdrawing from the pact less than one month later. Following Stalin's death in 1953, a period known as de-Stalinization occurred under the leadership of Nikita Khrushchev. The Soviets took an early lead in the Space Race with the first artificial satellite, the first human spaceflight, and the first probe to land on another planet (Venus). In the 1970s, there was a brief détente in the Soviet Union's relationship with the United States, but tensions emerged again following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform the country through his policies of glasnost and perestroika. In 1989, during the closing stages of the Cold War, various countries of the Warsaw Pact overthrew their Marxist–Leninist regimes, which was accompanied by the outbreak of strong nationalist and separatist movements across the entire Soviet Union. In 1991, Gorbachev initiated a national referendum—boycotted by the Soviet republics of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova—that resulted in the majority of participating citizens voting in favour of preserving the country as a renewed federation. In August 1991, hardline members of the Communist Party staged a coup d'état against Gorbachev; the attempt failed, with Boris Yeltsin playing a high-profile role in facing down the unrest, and the Communist Party was subsequently banned. The Russian Federation became the Soviet Union's successor state, while all of the other republics emerged from the USSR's collapse as fully independent post-Soviet states. The Soviet Union produced many significant social and technological achievements and innovations. It had the world's second-largest economy, and the Soviet Armed Forces comprised the largest standing military in the world. An NPT-designated state, it possessed the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world. It was a founding member of the United Nations as well as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Before the dissolution, the country had maintained its status as one of the world's two superpowers through its hegemony in Eastern Europe, military and economic strengths and scientific research. EtymologyMain article: Official names of the Soviet UnionSee also: Names of RussiaThe word soviet is derived from the Russian word sovet (Russian: совет), meaning 'council', 'assembly', 'advice',[w] ultimately deriving from the proto-Slavic verbal stem of *vět-iti ('to inform'), related to Slavic věst ('news'), English wise, the root in ad-vis-or (which came to English through French), or the Dutch weten ('to know'; compare wetenschap meaning 'science'). The word sovietnik means 'councillor'.[9] Some organizations in Russian history were called council (Russian: совет). In the Russian Empire, the State Council, which functioned from 1810 to 1917, was referred to as a Council of Ministers.[9] The Soviets as workers' councils first appeared during the Russian Revolution of 1905.[10][11] Although they were quickly suppressed by the Imperial army, after the February Revolution of 1917, workers' and soldiers' Soviets emerged throughout the country, and shared power with the Russian Provisional Government.[10][12] The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, demanded that all power be transferred to the Soviets, and gained support from the workers and soldiers.[13] After the October Revolution, in which the Bolsheviks seized power from the Provisional Government in the name of the Soviets,[12][14] Lenin proclaimed the formation of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic (RSFSR).[15] During the Georgian Affair of 1922, Lenin called for the Russian SFSR and other national Soviet republics to form a greater union which he initially named as the Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia (Russian: Союз Советских Республик Европы и Азии, tr. Sojuz Sovjetskih Respublik Evropy i Azii).[16] Joseph Stalin initially resisted Lenin's proposal but ultimately accepted it, and with Lenin's agreement he changed the name to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), although all republics began as socialist soviet and did not change to the other order until 1936. In addition, in the regional languages of several republics, the word council or conciliar in the respective language was only quite late changed to an adaptation of the Russian soviet and never in others, e.g. Ukrainian SSR. СССР (in the Latin alphabet: SSSR) is the abbreviation of the Russian language cognate of USSR, as written in Cyrillic letters. The Soviets used this abbreviation so frequently that audiences worldwide became familiar with its meaning. After this, the most common Russian initialization is Союз ССР (transliteration: Soyuz SSR) which, after compensating for grammatical differences, essentially translates to Union of SSRs in English. In addition, the Russian short form name Советский Союз (transliteration: Sovjetskij Sojuz, which literally means Soviet Union) is also commonly used, but only in its unabbreviated form. Since the start of the Great Patriotic War at the latest, abbreviating the Russian name of the Soviet Union as СС (in the same way as, for example, United States is abbreviated into US) has been a complete taboo, the reason being that СС as a Russian Cyrillic abbreviation is instead associated with the infamous Schutzstaffel of Nazi Germany, just as SS is in English. One apparent exception was the Russian abbreviation the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, КПСС (KPSS). In English language media, the state was referred to as the Soviet Union or the USSR. In other European languages, the locally translated short forms and abbreviations are usually used such as Union soviétique and URSS in French, or Sowjetunion and UdSSR in German. The Russian SFSR dominated the Soviet Union to such an extent that for most of the Soviet Union's existence, it was commonly, but incorrectly, referred to as Russia. Technically, Russia itself was only one republic within the larger union—albeit by far the largest, most powerful and most highly developed of the 15 republics. Nevertheless, according to historian Matthew White, it was an open secret that the country's federal structure was "window dressing" for Russian dominance. For that reason, the people of the USSR were almost always called "Russians", not "Soviets", since "everyone knew who really ran the show".[17] HistoryMain article: History of the Soviet UnionRevolution and foundation (1917–1927)Main articles: Russian Revolution and History of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (1917–1927) Lenin, Trotsky and Kamenev celebrating the second anniversary of the October RevolutionModern revolutionary activity in the Russian Empire began with the 1825 Decembrist revolt. Although serfdom was abolished in 1861, it was done on terms unfavourable to the peasants and served to encourage revolutionaries. A parliament—the State Duma—was established in 1906 after the Russian Revolution of 1905, but Emperor Nicholas II resisted attempts to move from absolute to a constitutional monarchy. Social unrest continued and was aggravated during World War I by military defeat and food shortages in major cities. A spontaneous popular demonstration in Petrograd on 8 March 1917, demanding peace and bread, culminated in the February Revolution and the abdication of Nicholas II and the imperial government.[18] The tsarist autocracy was replaced by the social-democratic Russian Provisional Government, which intended to conduct elections to the Russian Constituent Assembly and to continue fighting on the side of the Entente in World War I. At the same time, workers' councils, known in Russian as 'Soviets', sprang up across the country, and the most influential of them, the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, shared power with the Provisional Government.[11][12] The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, pushed for communist revolution in the Soviets and on the streets, adopting the slogan of "All Power to the Soviets" and urging the overthrow of the Provisional Government.[19][20] On 7 November 1917, Bolshevik Red Guards stormed the Winter Palace in Petrograd, arresting the Provisional Government leaders and Lenin declared that all power was now transferred to the Soviets.[14][12] This event would later be officially known in Soviet bibliographies as the "Great October Socialist Revolution". The bloody Red Terror was initiated to shut down all opposition, both perceived and real.[21] In December, the Bolsheviks signed an armistice with the Central Powers, though by February 1918, fighting had resumed. In March, the Soviets ended involvement in the war and signed the separate peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. A long and bloody Civil War ensued between the Reds and the Whites, starting in 1917 and ending in 1923 with the Reds' victory. It included foreign intervention, the murder of the former Emperor and his family, and the famine of 1921–1922, which killed about five million people.[22] In March 1921, during a related war against Poland, the Peace of Riga was signed, splitting disputed territories in Belarus and Ukraine between the Republic of Poland and Soviet Russia. Soviet Russia sought to re-conquer all newly independent nations of the former Empire, although their success was limited. Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania all repelled Soviet invasions, while Ukraine, Belarus (as a result of the Polish–Soviet War), Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia were occupied by the Red Army.[23][24] Additionally, forced requisition of food by the Soviet government led to substantial resistance, of which the most notable was the Tambov Rebellion, ultimately put down by the Red Army.[25] Dissolution of the elected Russian Constituent Assembly by the Bolsheviks on 6 January 1918 Russian Civil War in the European part of RussiaThe Civil War had a devastating impact on the economy. A black market emerged in Russia, despite the threat of martial law against profiteering. The ruble collapsed, with barter increasingly replacing money as a medium of exchange[26] and, by 1921, heavy industry output had fallen to 20% of 1913 levels. 90% of wages were paid with goods rather than money.[27] 70% of locomotives were in need of repair[citation needed], and food requisitioning, combined with the effects of seven years of war and a severe drought, contributed to a famine that caused between 3 and 10 million deaths.[28] Coal production decreased from 27.5 million tons (1913) to 7 million tons (1920), while overall factory production also declined from 10,000 million roubles to 1,000 million roubles. According to the noted historian David Christian, the grain harvest was also slashed from 80.1 million tons (1913) to 46.5 million tons (1920).[29] Treaty on the Creation of the USSROn 28 December 1922, a conference of plenipotentiary delegations from the Russian SFSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the Byelorussian SSR approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR[30] and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, forming the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.[31] These two documents were confirmed by the first Congress of Soviets of the USSR and signed by the heads of the delegations,[32] Mikhail Kalinin, Mikhail Tskhakaya, Mikhail Frunze, Grigory Petrovsky and Alexander Chervyakov,[33] on 30 December 1922. The formal proclamation was made from the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. An intensive restructuring of the economy, industry and politics of the country began in the early days of Soviet power in 1917. A large part of this was done according to the Bolshevik Initial Decrees, government documents signed by Vladimir Lenin. One of the most prominent breakthroughs was the GOELRO plan, which envisioned a major restructuring of the Soviet economy based on total electrification of Russia.[34] The plan became the prototype for subsequent Five-Year Plans and was fulfilled by 1931.[35] After the economic policy of 'War communism' during the Russian Civil War, as a prelude to fully developing socialism in the country, the Soviet government permitted some private enterprise to coexist alongside nationalized industry in the 1920s, and total food requisition in the countryside was replaced by a food tax. The Russian famine of 1921–22 killed an estimated 5 million people.[36][37]From its creation, the government in the Soviet Union was based on the one-party rule of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks).[x] The stated purpose was to prevent the return of capitalist exploitation, and that the principles of democratic centralism would be the most effective in representing the people's will in a practical manner. The debate over the future of the economy provided the background for a power struggle in the years after Lenin's death in 1924. Initially, Lenin was to be replaced by a 'troika' consisting of Grigory Zinoviev of the Ukrainian SSR, Lev Kamenev of the Russian SFSR, and Joseph Stalin of the Transcaucasian SFSR. On 1 February 1924, the USSR was recognized by the United Kingdom.[citation needed] The same year, a Soviet Constitution was approved, legitimizing the December 1922 union. According to Archie Brown the constitution was never an accurate guide to political reality in the USSR. For example, the fact that the Party played the leading role in making and enforcing policy was not mentioned in it until 1977.[38] The USSR was a federative entity of many constituent republics, each with its own political and administrative entities. However, the term 'Soviet Russia' – formally applicable only to the Russian Federative Socialist Republic – was often applied to the entire country by non-Soviet writers due to its domination by the Russian SFSR. Stalin era (1927–1953)Main article: History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953)See also: Excess mortality in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin The Soviet famine of 1930–1933, with areas where the effects of famine were most severe shadedOn 3 April 1922, Stalin was named the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Lenin had appointed Stalin the head of the Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate, which gave Stalin considerable power.[39] By gradually consolidating his influence and isolating and outmaneuvering his rivals within the party, Stalin became the undisputed leader of the country and, by the end of the 1920s, established a totalitarian rule. In October 1927, Zinoviev and Leon Trotsky were expelled from the Central Committee and forced into exile. In 1928, Stalin introduced the first five-year plan for building a socialist economy. In place of the internationalism expressed by Lenin throughout the revolution, it aimed to build Socialism in One Country. In industry, the state assumed control over all existing enterprises and undertook an intensive program of industrialization. In agriculture, rather than adhering to the 'lead by example' policy advocated by Lenin,[40] forced collectivization of farms was implemented all over the country. Famines ensued as a result, causing deaths estimated at three to seven million; surviving kulaks (wealthy or middle-class peasants) were persecuted, and many were sent to Gulags to do forced labor.[41][42] Social upheaval continued in the mid-1930s. Despite the turmoil of the mid-to-late 1930s, the country developed a robust industrial economy in the years preceding World War II. Construction of the bridge through the Kolyma (part of the Road of Bones from Magadan to Jakutsk) by the prisoners of DalstroyCloser cooperation between the USSR and the West developed in the early 1930s. From 1932 to 1934, the country participated in the World Disarmament Conference. In 1933, diplomatic relations between the United States and the USSR were established when in November, the newly elected President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, chose to recognize Stalin's Communist government formally and negotiated a new trade agreement between the two countries.[43] In September 1934, the country joined the League of Nations. After the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, the USSR actively supported the Republican forces against the Nationalists, who were supported by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.[44] In December 1936, Stalin unveiled a new constitution that was praised by supporters around the world as the most democratic constitution imaginable, though there was some skepticism. American historian J. Arch Getty concludes: "Many who lauded Stalin's Soviet Union as the most democratic country on earth lived to regret their words. After all, the Soviet Constitution of 1936 was adopted on the eve of the Great Terror of the late 1930s; the "thoroughly democratic" elections to the first Supreme Soviet permitted only uncontested candidates and took place at the height of the savage violence in 1937. The civil rights, personal freedoms, and democratic forms promised in the Stalin constitution were trampled almost immediately and remained dead letters until long after Stalin's death."[45] Five Marshals of the Soviet Union in 1935. Only two of them—Budyonny and Voroshilov—survived the Great Purge. Blyukher, Yegorov and Tukhachevsky were executed.Stalin's Great Purge resulted in the detainment or execution of many 'Old Bolsheviks' who had participated in the October Revolution. According to declassified Soviet archives, the NKVD arrested more than one and a half million people in 1937 and 1938, of whom 681,692 were shot.[46] Over those two years, there were an average of over one thousand executions a day.[47][y] In 1939, after attempts to form a military alliance with Britain and France against Germany failed, the Soviet Union made a dramatic shift towards Nazi Germany.[51] Almost a year after Britain and France had concluded the Munich Agreement with Germany, the Soviet Union made agreements with Germany as well, both militarily and economically during extensive talks. Unlike the case of Britain and France, the Soviet Union's agreement with Germany, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (signed on 23 August 1939), included a secret protocol that paved the way for the Soviet invasion of Eastern European states and occupation of their territories.[52] The pact made possible the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bessarabia, northern Bukovina, and eastern Poland. Stalin and Lavrentiy Beria with Stalin's daughter, Svetlana, on his lap. As head of the NKVD, Beria was responsible for many political repressions in the Soviet Union.On 1 September, Germany invaded Poland and on the 17th the Soviet Union invaded Poland as well. On 6 October, Poland fell and part of the Soviet occupation zone was then handed over to Germany. On 10 October, the Soviet Union and Lithuania signed an agreement whereby the Soviet Union transferred Polish sovereignty over the Vilna region to Lithuania, and on 28 October the boundary between the Soviet occupation zone and the new territory of Lithuania was officially demarcated. On 1 November, the Soviet Union annexed Western Ukraine, followed by Western Belarus on the 2nd. In late November, unable to coerce the Republic of Finland by diplomatic means into moving its border 25 kilometres (16 mi) back from Leningrad, Stalin ordered the invasion of Finland. On 14 December 1939, the Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations for invading Finland.[53] In the east, the Soviet military won several decisive victories during border clashes with the Empire of Japan in 1938 and 1939. However, in April 1941, the USSR signed the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact with Japan, which the Soviets would unilaterally break in 1945, recognizing the territorial integrity of Manchukuo, a Japanese puppet state. The pact ensured Japan would not enter the war against the USSR on the side of Germany later. World War IIMain article: Soviet Union in World War IIFurther information: Eastern Front (World War II), Great Patriotic War (term), World War II casualties of the Soviet Union, German atrocities committed against Soviet prisoners of war, Soviet war crimes, and Rape during the occupation of Germany The Battle of Stalingrad, considered by many historians as a decisive turning point of World War IIGermany broke the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 starting what is known in Russia and some other post-Soviet states as the Great Patriotic War. The Red Army stopped the seemingly invincible German Army at the Battle of Moscow. The Battle of Stalingrad, which lasted from late 1942 to early 1943, dealt a severe blow to Germany from which they never fully recovered and became a turning point in the war. After Stalingrad, Soviet forces drove through Eastern Europe to Berlin before Germany surrendered in 1945. The German Army suffered 80% of its military deaths in the Eastern Front.[54] Harry Hopkins, a close foreign policy advisor to Franklin D. Roosevelt, spoke on 10 August 1943 of the USSR's decisive role in the war, saying that "While in Sicily the forces of Great Britain and the United States are being opposed by 2 German divisions, the Russian front is receiving attention of approximately 200 German divisions."[z] Up to 34 million soldiers served in the Red Army during World War II, 8 million of which were non-Slavic minorities.[56] Residents of Leningrad leave their homes destroyed by German bombing. About 1 million civilians died during the 871-day Siege of Leningrad, mostly from starvation. From left to right, the Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill confer in Tehran, 1943The USSR suffered greatly in the war, losing around 20 million people (modern Russian sources put the number at 26.6 million).[48][57] This includes 8.7 million military deaths. The majority of the losses were ethnic Russians, followed by ethnic Ukrainians.[56] Approximately 2.8 million Soviet POWs died of starvation, mistreatment, or executions in just eight months of 1941–42.[58][59] More than 2 million people were killed in Belarus during the three years of German occupation,[60] almost a quarter of the region's population, including around 550,000 Jews in the Holocaust in Belarus.[61] During the war, the country together with the United States, the United Kingdom and China were considered the Big Four Allied powers,[62] and later became the Four Policemen that formed the basis of the United Nations Security Council.[63] It emerged as a superpower in the post-war period. Once denied diplomatic recognition by the Western world, the USSR had official relations with practically every country by the late 1940s. A member of the United Nations at its foundation in 1945, the country became one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, which gave it the right to veto any of its resolutions. The USSR, in fulfillment of its agreement with the Allies at the Yalta Conference, broke the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 1945 which Japan had been honoring despite their alliance with Germany,[64] and invaded Manchukuo and other Japan-controlled territories on 9 August 1945.[65] This conflict ended with a decisive Soviet victory, contributing to the unconditional surrender of Japan and the end of World War II. Soviet soldiers committed mass rapes in occupied territories, especially in Germany.[66] The wartime rapes were followed by decades of silence.[67][68][69] According to historian Antony Beevor, whose books were banned in 2015 from some Russian schools and colleges, NKVD (Soviet secret police) files have revealed that the leadership knew what was happening, but did little to stop it.[70] It was often rear echelon units who committed the rapes. According to professor Oleg Rzheshevsky, "4,148 Red Army officers and many privates were punished for committing atrocities".[71] The exact number of German women and girls raped by Soviet troops during the war and occupation is uncertain, but historians estimate their numbers are likely in the hundreds of thousands, and possibly as many as two million.[72] U.S. Lend Lease shipments to the USSR. During the war the USSR provided an unknown number of shipments of rare minerals to the US Treasury as a form of cashless repayment of Lend-Lease.The Soviet Union was greatly assisted in its wartime effort by the United States via Lend Lease. In total, the U.S. deliveries to the USSR through Lend-Lease amounted to $11 billion in materials: over 400,000 jeeps and trucks; 12,000 armored vehicles (including 7,000 tanks, about 1,386[73] of which were M3 Lees and 4,102 M4 Shermans);[74] 11,400 aircraft (of which 4,719 were Bell P-39 Airacobras, 3,414 were Douglas A-20 Havocs and 2,397 were Bell P-63 Kingcobras)[75] and 1.75 million tons of food.[76] As Soviet soldiers were bearing the brunt of the war, Roosevelt's advisor Harry Hopkins felt that American aid to the Soviets would hasten the war's conclusion.[77] Roughly 17.5 million tons of military equipment, vehicles, industrial supplies, and food were shipped from the Western Hemisphere to the USSR, 94% coming from the US. For comparison, a total of 22 million tons landed in Europe to supply American forces from January 1942 to May 1945. It has been estimated that American deliveries to the USSR through the Persian Corridor alone were sufficient, by US Army standards, to maintain sixty combat divisions in the line.[78][79] Cold WarMain article: Cold War Map showing greatest territorial extent of the Soviet Union and the states that it dominated politically, economically and militarily in 1960, after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 but before the official Sino-Soviet split of 1961 (total area: c. 35,000,000 km2)[aa]During the immediate post-war period, the Soviet Union rebuilt and expanded its economy, while maintaining its strictly centralized control. It took effective control over most of the countries of Eastern Europe (except Yugoslavia and later Albania), turning them into satellite states. The USSR bound its satellite states in a military alliance, the Warsaw Pact, in 1955, and an economic organization, Council for Mutual Economic Assistance or Comecon, a counterpart to the European Economic Community (EEC), from 1949 to 1991.[80] Although nominally a "defensive" alliance, the Warsaw Pact's primary function was to safeguard the Soviet Union's hegemony over its Eastern European satellites, with the Pact's only direct military actions having been the invasions of its own member states to keep them from breaking away.[81] The USSR concentrated on its own recovery, seizing and transferring most of Germany's industrial plants, and it exacted war reparations from East Germany, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria using Soviet-dominated joint enterprises. It also instituted trading arrangements deliberately designed to favour the country. Moscow controlled the Communist parties that ruled the satellite states, and they followed orders from the Kremlin. Historian Mark Kramer concludes: "The net outflow of resources from eastern Europe to the Soviet Union was approximately $15 billion to $20 billion in the first decade after World War II, an amount roughly equal to the total aid provided by the United States to western Europe under the Marshall Plan."[82] Later, the Comecon supplied aid to the eventually victorious Chinese Communist Party, and its influence grew elsewhere in the world. Fearing its ambitions, the Soviet Union's wartime allies, the United Kingdom and the United States, became its enemies. In the ensuing Cold War, the two sides clashed indirectly in proxy wars. De-Stalinization and Khrushchev Thaw (1953–64)Main article: History of the Soviet Union (1953–1964) Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (left) with US President John F. Kennedy in Vienna, 3 June 1961Stalin died on 5 March 1953. Without a mutually agreeable successor, the highest Communist Party officials initially opted to rule the Soviet Union jointly through a troika headed by Georgy Malenkov. This did not last, however, and Nikita Khrushchev eventually won the ensuing power struggle by the mid-1950s. In 1956, he denounced Joseph Stalin and proceeded to ease controls over the party and society. This was known as de-Stalinization. Moscow considered Eastern Europe to be a critically vital buffer zone for the forward defence of its western borders, in case of another major invasion such as the German invasion of 1941. For this reason, the USSR sought to cement its control of the region by transforming the Eastern European countries into satellite states, dependent upon and subservient to its leadership. As a result, Soviet military forces were used to suppress an anti-communist uprising in Hungary in 1956. In the late 1950s, a confrontation with China regarding the Soviet rapprochement with the West, and what Mao Zedong perceived as Khrushchev's revisionism, led to the Sino–Soviet split. This resulted in a break throughout the global Marxist–Leninist movement, with the governments in Albania, Cambodia and Somalia choosing to ally with China. Republics of the Soviet Union in 1954–1991During this period of the late 1950s and early 1960s, the USSR continued to realize scientific and technological exploits in the Space Race, rivaling the United States: launching the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1 in 1957; a living dog named Laika in 1957; the first human being, Yuri Gagarin in 1961; the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova in 1963; Alexei Leonov, the first person to walk in space in 1965; the first soft landing on the Moon by spacecraft Luna 9 in 1966; and the first Moon rovers, Lunokhod 1 and Lunokhod 2.[83] Khrushchev initiated 'The Thaw', a complex shift in political, cultural and economic life in the country. This included some openness and contact with other nations and new social and economic policies with more emphasis on commodity goods, allowing a dramatic rise in living standards while maintaining high levels of economic growth. Censorship was relaxed as well. Khrushchev's reforms in agriculture and administration, however, were generally unproductive. In 1962, he precipitated a crisis with the United States over the Soviet deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba. An agreement was made with the United States to remove nuclear missiles from both Cuba and Turkey, concluding the crisis. This event caused Khrushchev much embarrassment and loss of prestige, resulting in his removal from power in 1964. Era of Stagnation (1964–1985)Main articles: History of the Soviet Union (1964–1982) and Era of Stagnation Nikolai Podgorny visiting Tampere, Finland on 16 October 1969 Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev and US President Jimmy Carter sign the SALT II arms limitation treaty in Vienna on 18 June 1979.Following the ousting of Khrushchev, another period of collective leadership ensued, consisting of Leonid Brezhnev as general secretary, Alexei Kosygin as Premier and Nikolai Podgorny as Chairman of the Presidium, lasting until Brezhnev established himself in the early 1970s as the preeminent Soviet leader. In 1968, the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact allies invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the Prague Spring reforms. In the aftermath, Brezhnev justified the invasion and previous military interventions, as well as any potential military interventions in the future, by introducing the Brezhnev Doctrine, which proclaimed any threat to Soviet rule in a Warsaw Pact state as a threat to all Warsaw Pact states, therefore justifying military intervention. Brezhnev presided throughout détente with the West that resulted in treaties on armament control (SALT I, SALT II, Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty) while at the same time building up Soviet military might. In October 1977, the third Soviet Constitution was unanimously adopted. The prevailing mood of the Soviet leadership at the time of Brezhnev's death in 1982 was one of aversion to change. The long period of Brezhnev's rule had come to be dubbed one of 'standstill', with an ageing and ossified top political leadership. This period is also known as the Era of Stagnation, a period of adverse economic, political, and social effects in the country, which began during the rule of Brezhnev and continued under his successors Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko. In late 1979, the Soviet Union's military intervened in the ongoing civil war in neighboring Afghanistan, effectively ending a détente with the West. Perestroika and Glasnost reforms (1985–1991)Main articles: Cold War (1985–1991), History of the Soviet Union (1982–1991), and 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–2022) in one-to-one discussions with US President Ronald Reagan (left), 1985Two developments dominated the decade that followed: the increasingly apparent crumbling of the Soviet Union's economic and political structures, and the patchwork attempts at reforms to reverse that process. Kenneth S. Deffeyes argued in Beyond Oil that the Reagan administration encouraged Saudi Arabia to lower the price of oil to the point where the Soviets could not make a profit selling their oil, and resulted in the depletion of the country's hard currency reserves.[84] The Pan-European Picnic took place in August 1989 on the Hungarian-Austrian border.Brezhnev's next two successors, transitional figures with deep roots in his tradition, did not last long. Yuri Andropov was 68 years old and Konstantin Chernenko 72 when they assumed power; both died in less than two years. In an attempt to avoid a third short-lived leader, in 1985, the Soviets turned to the next generation and selected Mikhail Gorbachev. In addition to the failing economy, the prolonged war in Afghanistan led to increased public dissatisfaction with the Communist regime. Also, the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 added motive force to Gorbachev's reforms.[85] He made significant changes in the economy and party leadership, called perestroika. His policy of glasnost freed public access to information after decades of heavy government censorship. Gorbachev also moved to end the Cold War. In 1988, the USSR abandoned its war in Afghanistan and began to withdraw its forces. In the following year, Gorbachev refused to interfere in the internal affairs of the Soviet satellite states, which paved the way for the Revolutions of 1989. In particular, the standstill of the Soviet Union at the Pan-European Picnic in August 1989 then set a peaceful chain reaction in motion, at the end of which the Eastern Bloc collapsed. With the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and with East and West Germany pursuing re-unification, the Iron Curtain between the West and Soviet-occupied regions came down.[86][87][88][89] At the same time, the Soviet republics started legal moves towards potentially declaring sovereignty over their territories, citing the freedom to secede in Article 72 of the USSR constitution.[90] On 7 April 1990, a law was passed allowing a republic to secede if more than two-thirds of its residents voted for it in a referendum.[91] Many held their first free elections in the Soviet era for their own national legislatures in 1990. Many of these legislatures proceeded to produce legislation contradicting the Union laws in what was known as the 'War of Laws'. In 1989, the Russian SFSR convened a newly elected Congress of People's Deputies. Boris Yeltsin was elected its chairman. On 12 June 1990, the Congress declared Russia's sovereignty over its territory and proceeded to pass laws that attempted to supersede some of the Soviet laws. After a landslide victory of Sąjūdis in Lithuania, that country declared its independence restored on 11 March 1990, citing the illegality of the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states. Soviet forces attempted to halt the secession by crushing popular demonstrations in Lithuania (Bloody Sunday) and Latvia (The Barricades), as a result of which numerous civilians were killed or wounded. However, these actions only bolstered international support for the secessionists.[92] T-80 tank on Red Square during the August CoupA referendum for the preservation of the USSR was held on 17 March 1991 in nine republics (the remainder having boycotted the vote), with the majority of the population in those republics voting for preservation of the Union in the form of a new federation. The referendum gave Gorbachev a minor boost. In the summer of 1991, the New Union Treaty, which would have turned the country into a much looser Union, was agreed upon by eight republics. The signing of the treaty, however, was interrupted by the August Coup—an attempted coup d'état by hardline members of the government and the KGB who sought to reverse Gorbachev's reforms and reassert the central government's control over the republics. After the coup collapsed, Russian president Yeltsin was seen as a hero for his decisive actions, while Gorbachev's power was effectively ended. The balance of power tipped significantly towards the republics. In August 1991, Latvia and Estonia immediately declared the restoration of their full independence (following Lithuania's 1990 example). Gorbachev resigned as general secretary in late August, and soon afterwards, the party's activities were indefinitely suspended—effectively ending its rule. By the fall, Gorbachev could no longer influence events outside Moscow, and he was being challenged even there by Yeltsin, who had been elected President of Russia in July 1991. Dissolution and aftermathMain articles: Commonwealth of Independent States and Dissolution of the Soviet Union Changes in national boundaries after the end of the Cold War Internally displaced Azerbaijanis from Nagorno-Karabakh, 1993 Country emblems of the Soviet Republics before and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union (the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (fifth in the second row) no longer exists as a political entity of any kind and the emblem is unofficial.)The remaining 12 republics continued discussing new, increasingly looser, models of the Union. However, by December all except Russia and Kazakhstan had formally declared independence. During this time, Yeltsin took over what remained of the Soviet government, including the Moscow Kremlin. The final blow was struck on 1 December when Ukraine, the second-most powerful republic, voted overwhelmingly for independence. Ukraine's secession ended any realistic chance of the country staying together even on a limited scale. On 8 December 1991, the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus (formerly Byelorussia), signed the Belavezha Accords, which declared the Soviet Union dissolved and established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in its place. While doubts remained over the authority of the accords to do this, on 21 December 1991, the representatives of all Soviet republics except Georgia signed the Alma-Ata Protocol, which confirmed the accords. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned as the President of the USSR, declaring the office extinct. He turned the powers that had been vested in the presidency over to Yeltsin. That night, the Soviet flag was lowered for the last time, and the Russian tricolour was raised in its place. The following day, the Supreme Soviet, the highest governmental body, voted both itself and the country out of existence. This is generally recognized as marking the official, final dissolution of the Soviet Union as a functioning state, and the end of the Cold War.[93] The Soviet Army initially remained under overall CIS command but was soon absorbed into the different military forces of the newly independent states. The few remaining Soviet institutions that had not been taken over by Russia ceased to function by the end of 1991. Following the dissolution, Russia was internationally recognized[94] as the USSR's legal successor on the international stage. To that end, Russia voluntarily accepted all Soviet foreign debt and claimed Soviet overseas properties as its own. Under the 1992 Lisbon Protocol, Russia also agreed to receive all nuclear weapons remaining in the territory of other former Soviet republics. Since then, the Russian Federation has assumed the Soviet Union's rights and obligations, and is widely viewed as the USSR's successor state.[95] Ukraine has refused to recognize exclusive Russian claims to succession of the USSR and claimed such status for Ukraine as well, which was codified in Articles 7 and 8 of its 1991 law On Legal Succession of Ukraine. Since its independence in 1991, Ukraine has continued to pursue claims against Russia in foreign courts, seeking to recover its share of the foreign property that was owned by the USSR. In summing up the international ramifications of these events, Vladislav Zubok stated: 'The collapse of the Soviet empire was an event of epochal geopolitical, military, ideological, and economic significance.'[96] Before the dissolution, the country had maintained its status as one of the world's two superpowers for four decades after World War II through its hegemony in Eastern Europe, military strength, economic strength and scientific research, especially in space technology and weaponry.[97] Post-Soviet statesMain article: Post-Soviet states On 21 December 1991, the leaders of 11 former Soviet republics, including Russia and Ukraine, agreed to the Alma-Ata Protocols, formally establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).The analysis of the succession of states for the 15 post-Soviet states is complex.[98] The Russian Federation is widely seen as the legal continuator state and is for most purposes the heir to the Soviet Union. It retained ownership of all former Soviet embassy properties, inheriting the full Soviet nuclear arsenal, and also inherited the Soviet Union's UN membership, with its permanent seat on the Security Council.[95] Of the two other co-founding states of the USSR at the time of the dissolution, Ukraine was the only one that had passed laws, similar to Russia, claiming it is a state-successor of both the Ukrainian SSR and the USSR.[99] Soviet treaties laid groundwork for Ukraine's future foreign agreements as well as leading to the country agreeing to undertake 16.37% of debts of the Soviet Union for which it was going to receive its share of the USSR's foreign property. Russia's position as the 'only continuation of the USSR' that became widely accepted in the West, as well as constant pressure from the Western countries, allowed Russia to inherit Soviet state property abroad and conceal information about it. Due to that Ukraine never ratified 'zero option' agreement that Russian Federation had signed with other former Soviet republics, as it denied disclosing of information about Soviet Gold Reserves and its Diamond Fund.[100][101] The dispute over former Soviet property and assets between the two former republics is still ongoing: The conflict is unsolvable. We can continue to poke Kiev handouts in the calculation of 'solve the problem', only it won't be solved. Going to a trial is also pointless: for a number of European countries this is a political issue, and they will make a decision clearly in whose favor. What to do in this situation is an open question. Search for non-trivial solutions. But we must remember that in 2014, with the filing of the then Ukrainian Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, litigation with Russia resumed in 32 countries. — Sergei Markov[102]Similar situation occurred with restitution of cultural property. Although on 14 February 1992 Russia and other former Soviet republics signed agreement 'On the return of cultural and historic property to the origin states' in Minsk, it was halted by the Russian State Duma that eventually passed 'Federal Law on Cultural Valuables Displaced to the USSR as a Result of the Second World War and Located on the Territory of the Russian Federation' which made restitution currently impossible, effectively barring the return of looted cultural heritage by Soviet troops during the Second World War to its original owners.[103] Russian GDP since the end of the Soviet Union (from 2014 are forecasts)Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania consider themselves as revivals of the three independent countries that existed prior to their occupation and annexation by the Soviet Union in 1940. They maintain that the process by which they were incorporated into the Soviet Union violated both international law and their own law, and that in 1990–1991 they were reasserting an independence that still legally existed. Nearly all of the post-Soviet states suffered deep and prolonged recessions after shock therapy,[104] with poverty increasing more than tenfold.[105] In a 2001 study by the economist Steven Rosefielde, he calculated that there were 3.4 million premature deaths in Russia from 1990 to 1998, which he partly blames on the "shock therapy" that came with the Washington Consensus.[106] In 2011, The Guardian published an analysis of the former Soviet countries twenty years after the fall of the USSR. They found that "GDP fell as much as 50 percent in the 1990s in some republics... as capital flight, industrial collapse, hyperinflation and tax avoidance took their toll," but that there was a rebound in the 2000s, and by 2010 "some economies were five times as big as they were in 1991." Life expectancy has grown since 1991 in some of the countries, but fallen in others; likewise, some held free and fair elections, while others remained authoritarian.[107] There are additionally six states that claim independence from the other internationally recognized post-Soviet states but possess limited international recognition: Abkhazia, Artsakh, Donetsk, Luhansk, South Ossetia and Transnistria. The Chechen separatist movement of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, the Gagauz separatist movement of the Gagauz Republic and the Talysh separatist movement of the Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic are other such cases which have already been resolved. GeographyMain article: Geography of the Soviet UnionSee also: Geography of Russia Mountain Khan Tengri (6,995 m) of the Tian Shan mountain range.With an area of 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi), the Soviet Union was the world's largest country,[71] a status that is retained by the Russian Federation.[108] Covering a sixth of Earth's land surface, its size was comparable to that of North America.[109] Two other successor states, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, rank among the top 10 countries by land area, and the largest country entirely in Europe, respectively. The European portion accounted for a quarter of the country's area and was the cultural and economic center. The eastern part in Asia extended to the Pacific Ocean to the east and Afghanistan to the south, and, except some areas in Central Asia, was much less populous. It spanned over 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) east to west across 11 time zones, and over 7,200 kilometres (4,500 mi) north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra, taiga, steppes, desert and mountains. The USSR, like Russia, had the world's longest border, measuring over 60,000 kilometres (37,000 mi), or 1+1⁄2 circumferences of Earth. Two-thirds of it was a coastline. The country bordered Afghanistan, the People's Republic of China, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Hungary, Iran, Mongolia, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Turkey from 1945 to 1991. The Bering Strait separated the USSR from the United States. The country's highest mountain was Communism Peak (now Ismoil Somoni Peak) in Tajikistan, at 7,495 metres (24,590 ft). The USSR also included most of the world's largest lakes; the Caspian Sea (shared with Iran), and Lake Baikal, the world's largest (by volume) and deepest freshwater lake that is also an internal body of water in Russia. Landscape near Karabash, Chelyabinsk Oblast, an area that was previously covered with forests until acid rainfall from a nearby copper smelter killed all vegetationNeighbouring countries were aware of the high levels of pollution in the Soviet Union[110][111] but after the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was discovered that its environmental problems were greater than what the Soviet authorities admitted.[112] The Soviet Union was the world's second largest producer of harmful emissions. In 1988, total emissions in the Soviet Union were about 79% of those in the United States. But since the Soviet GNP was only 54% of that of the United States, this means that the Soviet Union generated 1.5 times more pollution than the United States per unit of GNP.[113] The Soviet Chernobyl disaster in 1986 was the first major accident at a civilian nuclear power plant.[114][115][116] Unparalleled in the world, it resulted in a large number of radioactive isotopes being released into the atmosphere. Radioactive doses were scattered relatively far.[117] Although long-term effects of the accident were unknown, 4,000 new cases of thyroid cancer which resulted from the accident's contamination were reported at the time of the accident, but this led to a relatively low number of deaths (WHO data, 2005).[118] Another major radioactive accident was the Kyshtym disaster.[119] One of the many impacts of the approach to the environment in the USSR and post-Soviet states is the Aral Sea. (See status in 1989 and 2014.)[120]The Kola Peninsula was one of the places with major problems.[121] Around the industrial cities of Monchegorsk and Norilsk, where nickel, for example, is mined, all forests have been destroyed by contamination, while the northern and other parts of Russia have been affected by emissions.[122] During the 1990s, people in the West were also interested in the radioactive hazards of nuclear facilities, decommissioned nuclear submarines, and the processing of nuclear waste or spent nuclear fuel.[123][124] It was also known in the early 1990s that the USSR had transported radioactive material to the Barents Sea and Kara Sea, which was later confirmed by the Russian parliament. The crash of the K-141 Kursk submarine in 2000 in the west further raised concerns.[125] In the past, there were accidents involving submarines K-19, K-8, a K-129, K-27, K-219 and K-278 Komsomolets.[126][127][128][129] Government and politicsMain articles: Politics of the Soviet Union and Ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet UnionPart of a series onMarxism–Leninism ConceptsClass systemPolitical systemVariantsPeopleTheoretical worksHistoryBy countryOrganizationsRelated topicsSee also Communism portalicon Politics portalicon Socialism portalvteThere were three power hierarchies in the Soviet Union: the legislature represented by the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, the government represented by the Council of Ministers, and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the only legal party and the final policymaker in the country.[130] Communist PartyMain article: Communist Party of the Soviet Union Military parade on the Red Square in Moscow, 7 November 1964At the top of the Communist Party was the Central Committee, elected at Party Congresses and Conferences. In turn, the Central Committee voted for a Politburo (called the Presidium between 1952 and 1966), Secretariat and the general secretary (First Secretary from 1953 to 1966), the de facto highest office in the Soviet Union.[131] Depending on the degree of power consolidation, it was either the Politburo as a collective body or the General Secretary, who always was one of the Politburo members, that effectively led the party and the country[132] (except for the period of the highly personalized authority of Stalin, exercised directly through his position in the Council of Ministers rather than the Politburo after 1941).[133] They were not controlled by the general party membership, as the key principle of the party organization was democratic centralism, demanding strict subordination to higher bodies, and elections went uncontested, endorsing the candidates proposed from above.[134] The Communist Party maintained its dominance over the state mainly through its control over the system of appointments. All senior government officials and most deputies of the Supreme Soviet were members of the CPSU. Of the party heads themselves, Stalin (1941–1953) and Khrushchev (1958–1964) were Premiers. Upon the forced retirement of Khrushchev, the party leader was prohibited from this kind of double membership,[135] but the later General Secretaries for at least some part of their tenure occupied the mostly ceremonial position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, the nominal head of state. The institutions at lower levels were overseen and at times supplanted by primary party organizations.[136] However, in practice the degree of control the party was able to exercise over the state bureaucracy, particularly after the death of Stalin, was far from total, with the bureaucracy pursuing different interests that were at times in conflict with the party,[137] nor was the party itself monolithic from top to bottom, although factions were officially banned.[138] GovernmentMain article: Government of the Soviet Union The Grand Kremlin Palace, the seat of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, 1982The Supreme Soviet (successor of the Congress of Soviets) was nominally the highest state body for most of the Soviet history,[139] at first acting as a rubber stamp institution, approving and implementing all decisions made by the party. However, its powers and functions were extended in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, including the creation of new state commissions and committees. It gained additional powers relating to the approval of the Five-Year Plans and the government budget.[140] The Supreme Soviet elected a Presidium (successor of the Central Executive Committee) to wield its power between plenary sessions,[141] ordinarily held twice a year, and appointed the Supreme Court,[142] the Procurator General[143] and the Council of Ministers (known before 1946 as the Council of People's Commissars), headed by the Chairman (Premier) and managing an enormous bureaucracy responsible for the administration of the economy and society.[141] State and party structures of the constituent republics largely emulated the structure of the central institutions, although the Russian SFSR, unlike the other constituent republics, for most of its history had no republican branch of the CPSU, being ruled directly by the union-wide party until 1990. Local authorities were organized likewise into party committees, local Soviets and executive committees. While the state system was nominally federal, the party was unitary.[144] The state security police (the KGB and its predecessor agencies) played an important role in Soviet politics. It was instrumental in the Red Terror and Great Purge,[145] but was brought under strict party control after Stalin's death. Under Yuri Andropov, the KGB engaged in the suppression of political dissent and maintained an extensive network of informers, reasserting itself as a political actor to some extent independent of the party-state structure,[146] culminating in the anti-corruption campaign targeting high-ranking party officials in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[147] Separation of power and reformMain article: Perestroika Nationalist anti-government riots in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 1990The constitution, which was promulgated in 1924, 1936 and 1977,[148] did not limit state power. No formal separation of powers existed between the Party, Supreme Soviet and Council of Ministers[149] that represented executive and legislative branches of the government. The system was governed less by statute than by informal conventions, and no settled mechanism of leadership succession existed. Bitter and at times deadly power struggles took place in the Politburo after the deaths of Lenin[150] and Stalin,[151] as well as after Khrushchev's dismissal,[152] itself due to a decision by both the Politburo and the Central Committee.[153] All leaders of the Communist Party before Gorbachev died in office, except Georgy Malenkov[154] and Khrushchev, both dismissed from the party leadership amid internal struggle within the party.[153] Between 1988 and 1990, facing considerable opposition, Mikhail Gorbachev enacted reforms shifting power away from the highest bodies of the party and making the Supreme Soviet less dependent on them. The Congress of People's Deputies was established, the majority of whose members were directly elected in competitive elections held in March 1989, the first in Soviet history. The Congress now elected the Supreme Soviet, which became a full-time parliament, and much stronger than before. For the first time since the 1920s, it refused to rubber stamp proposals from the party and Council of Ministers.[155] In 1990, Gorbachev introduced and assumed the position of the President of the Soviet Union, concentrated power in his executive office, independent of the party, and subordinated the government,[156] now renamed the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR, to himself.[157] Tensions grew between the Union-wide authorities under Gorbachev, reformists led in Russia by Boris Yeltsin and controlling the newly elected Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR, and communist hardliners. On 19–21 August 1991, a group of hardliners staged a coup attempt. The coup failed, and the State Council of the Soviet Union became the highest organ of state power 'in the period of transition'.[158] Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary, only remaining President for the final months of the existence of the USSR.[159] Judicial systemMain article: Law of the Soviet UnionSee also: Socialist lawThe judiciary was not independent of the other branches of government. The Supreme Court supervised the lower courts (People's Court) and applied the law as established by the constitution or as interpreted by the Supreme Soviet. The Constitutional Oversight Committee reviewed the constitutionality of laws and acts. The Soviet Union used the inquisitorial system of Roman law, where the judge, procurator, and defence attorney collaborate to "establish the truth".[160] Human rightsMain article: Human rights in the Soviet UnionHuman rights in the Soviet Union were severely limited. The Soviet Union was a totalitarian state from 1927 until 1953[161][162][163][164] and a one-party state until 1990.[165] Freedom of speech was suppressed and dissent was punished. Independent political activities were not tolerated, whether these involved participation in free labor unions, private corporations, independent churches or opposition political parties. The freedom of movement within and especially outside the country was limited. The state restricted rights of citizens to private property. The Soviet conception of human rights was very different from international law. According to Soviet legal theory, "it is the government who is the beneficiary of human rights which are to be asserted against the individual".[166] The Soviet state was considered as the source of human rights.[167] Therefore, the Soviet legal system regarded law as an arm of politics and courts as agencies of the government.[168] Extensive extrajudicial powers were given to the Soviet secret police agencies. The Soviet government in practice significantly curbed the rule of law, civil liberties, protection of law, freedom of movement[169] and guarantees of property,[168][170] which were considered as examples of "bourgeois morality" by Soviet law theorists such as Andrey Vyshinsky.[171] According to Vladimir Lenin, the purpose of socialist courts was "not to eliminate terror ... but to substantiate it and legitimize it in principle".[168] The Soviet Union signed legally-binding human rights documents, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1973, but they were neither widely known or accessible to people living under Communist rule, nor were they taken seriously by the Communist authorities.[172]: 117  Foreign relationsMain article: Foreign relations of the Soviet Union Sukarno and Voroshilov in a state meeting on 1958 Gamal Abdel Nasser and Nikita Khrushchev in 1964 Soviet stamps 1974 for friendship between the USSR and India Gerald Ford, Andrei Gromyko, Leonid Brezhnev and Henry Kissinger speaking informally at the Vladivostok Summit in 1974 Mikhail Gorbachev and George H. W. Bush signing bilateral documents during Gorbachev's official visit to the United States in 1990During his rule, Stalin always made the final policy decisions. Otherwise, Soviet foreign policy was set by the commission on the Foreign Policy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, or by the party's highest body the Politburo. Operations were handled by the separate Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was known as the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (or Narkomindel), until 1946. The most influential spokesmen were Georgy Chicherin (1872–1936), Maxim Litvinov (1876–1951), Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986), Andrey Vyshinsky (1883–1954) and Andrei Gromyko (1909–1989). Intellectuals were based in the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.[173] Comintern (1919–1943), or Communist International, was an international communist organization based in the Kremlin that advocated world communism. The Comintern intended to 'struggle by all available means, including armed force, for the overthrow of the international bourgeoisie and the creation of an international Soviet republic as a transition stage to the complete abolition of the state'.[174] It was abolished as a conciliatory measure toward Britain and the United States.[175]Comecon, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Russian: Совет Экономической Взаимопомощи, Sovet Ekonomicheskoy Vzaimopomoshchi, СЭВ, SEV) was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under Soviet control that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc along with several communist states elsewhere in the world. Moscow was concerned about the Marshall Plan, and Comecon was meant to prevent countries in the Soviets' sphere of influence from moving towards that of the Americans and Southeast Asia. Comecon was the Eastern Bloc's reply to the formation in Western Europe of the Organization for European Economic Co-Operation (OEEC),[176][177]The Warsaw Pact was a collective defence alliance formed in 1955 among the USSR and its satellite states in Eastern Europe during the Cold War.[178][179] The Warsaw Pact was the military complement to the Comecon, the regional economic organization for the socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe. The Warsaw Pact was created in reaction to the integration of West Germany into NATO.[180][178] Although nominally a "defensive" alliance, the Pact's primary function was to safeguard the Soviet Union's hegemony over its Eastern European satellites, with the Pact's only direct military actions having been the invasions of its own member states to keep them from breaking away.[81][178][181][182]The Cominform (1947–1956), informally the Communist Information Bureau and officially the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties, was the first official agency of the international Marxist-Leninist movement since the dissolution of the Comintern in 1943. Its role was to coordinate actions between Marxist-Leninist parties under Soviet direction. Stalin used it to order Western European communist parties to abandon their exclusively parliamentarian line and instead concentrate on politically impeding the operations of the Marshall Plan, the U.S. program of rebuilding Europe after the war and developing its economy.[183] It also coordinated international aid to Marxist-Leninist insurgents during the Greek Civil War in 1947–1949.[184] It expelled Yugoslavia in 1948 after Josip Broz Tito insisted on an independent program. Its newspaper, For a Lasting Peace, for a People's Democracy!, promoted Stalin's positions. The Cominform's concentration on Europe meant a deemphasis on world revolution in Soviet foreign policy. By enunciating a uniform ideology, it allowed the constituent parties to focus on personalities rather than issues.[185]Early policies (1919–1939)Further information: International relations (1919–1939) § Soviet Union 1987 Soviet stampThe Marxist-Leninist leadership of the Soviet Union intensely debated foreign policy issues and changed directions several times. Even after Stalin assumed dictatorial control in the late 1920s, there were debates, and he frequently changed positions.[186] During the country's early period, it was assumed that Communist revolutions would break out soon in every major industrial country, and it was the Russian responsibility to assist them. The Comintern was the weapon of choice. A few revolutions did break out, but they were quickly suppressed (the longest lasting one was in Hungary)—the Hungarian Soviet Republic—lasted only from 21 March 1919 to 1 August 1919. The Russian Bolsheviks were in no position to give any help. By 1921, Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin realized that capitalism had stabilized itself in Europe and there would not be any widespread revolutions anytime soon. It became the duty of the Russian Bolsheviks to protect what they had in Russia, and avoid military confrontations that might destroy their bridgehead. Russia was now a pariah state, along with Germany. The two came to terms in 1922 with the Treaty of Rapallo that settled long-standing grievances. At the same time, the two countries secretly set up training programs for the illegal German army and air force operations at hidden camps in the USSR.[187] Moscow eventually stopped threatening other states, and instead worked to open peaceful relationships in terms of trade, and diplomatic recognition. The United Kingdom dismissed the warnings of Winston Churchill and a few others about a continuing Marxist-Leninist threat, and opened trade relations and de facto diplomatic recognition in 1922. There was hope for a settlement of the pre-war Tsarist debts, but it was repeatedly postponed. Formal recognition came when the new Labour Party came to power in 1924.[188] All the other countries followed suit in opening trade relations. Henry Ford opened large-scale business relations with the Soviets in the late 1920s, hoping that it would lead to long-term peace. Finally, in 1933, the United States officially recognized the USSR, a decision backed by the public opinion and especially by US business interests that expected an opening of a new profitable market.[189] In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Stalin ordered Marxist-Leninist parties across the world to strongly oppose non-Marxist political parties, labor unions or other organizations on the left, which they labelled social fascists. In the usage of the Soviet Union, and of the Comintern and its affiliated parties in this period, the epithet fascist was used to describe capitalist society in general and virtually any anti-Soviet or anti-Stalinist activity or opinion.[190] Stalin reversed himself in 1934 with the Popular Front program that called on all Marxist parties to join with all anti-Fascist political, labor, and organizational forces that were opposed to fascism, especially of the Nazi variety.[191][192] The rapid growth of power in Nazi Germany encouraged both Paris and Moscow to form a military alliance, and the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed in May 1935. A firm believer in collective security, Stalin's foreign minister Maxim Litvinov worked very hard to form a closer relationship with France and Britain.[193] In 1939, half a year after the Munich Agreement, the USSR attempted to form an anti-Nazi alliance with France and Britain.[194] Adolf Hitler proposed a better deal, which would give the USSR control over much of Eastern Europe through the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. In September, Germany invaded Poland, and the USSR also invaded later that month, resulting in the partition of Poland. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II.[195] World War II (1939–1945)Main articles: Causes of World War II and Diplomatic history of World War II § Soviet UnionUp until his death in 1953, Joseph Stalin controlled all foreign relations of the Soviet Union during the interwar period. Despite the increasing build-up of Germany's war machine and the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Soviet Union did not cooperate with any other nation, choosing to follow its own path.[196] However, after Operation Barbarossa, the Soviet Union's priorities changed. Despite previous conflict with the United Kingdom, Vyacheslav Molotov dropped his post war border demands.[197] Cold War (1945–1991)Main articles: Origins of the Cold War and Cold WarThe Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc, which began following World War II in 1945. The term cold war is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment, the struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, espionage, far-reaching embargoes, rivalry at sports events and technological competitions such as the Space Race. Administrative divisionsMain articles: Subdivisions of the Soviet Union, Soviet republic (system of government), and Republics of the Soviet UnionConstitutionally, the USSR was a federation of constituent Union Republics, which were either unitary states, such as Ukraine or Byelorussia (SSRs), or federations, such as Russia or Transcaucasia (SFSRs),[130] all four being the founding republics who signed the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR in December 1922. In 1924, during the national delimitation in Central Asia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were formed from parts of Russia's Turkestan ASSR and two Soviet dependencies, the Khorezm and Bukharan PSPs. In 1929, Tajikistan was split off from the Uzbekistan SSR. With the constitution of 1936, the Transcaucasian SFSR was dissolved, resulting in its constituent republics of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan being elevated to Union Republics, while Kazakhstan and Kirghizia were split off from the Russian SFSR, resulting in the same status.[198] In August 1940, Moldavia was formed from parts of Ukraine and Soviet-occupied Bessarabia, and Ukrainian SSR. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were also annexed by the Soviet Union and turned into SSRs, which was not recognized by most of the international community and was considered an illegal occupation. After the Soviet invasion of Finland, the Karelo-Finnish SSR was formed on annexed territory as a Union Republic in March 1940 and then incorporated into Russia as the Karelian ASSR in 1956. Between July 1956 and September 1991, there were 15 union republics (see map below).[199] While nominally a union of equals, in practice the Soviet Union was dominated by Russians. The domination was so absolute that for most of its existence, the country was commonly (but incorrectly) referred to as 'Russia'. While the Russian SFSR was technically only one republic within the larger union, it was by far the largest (both in terms of population and area), most powerful, and most highly developed. The Russian SFSR was also the industrial center of the Soviet Union. Historian Matthew White wrote that it was an open secret that the country's federal structure was 'window dressing' for Russian dominance. For that reason, the people of the USSR were usually called 'Russians', not 'Soviets', since 'everyone knew who really ran the show'.[17] RepublicMap of the Union Republics between 1956 and 19911 Russian SFSR2 Ukrainian SSR3 Byelorussian SSR4 Uzbek SSR5 Kazakh SSR6 Georgian SSR7 Azerbaijan SSR8 Lithuanian SSR9 Moldavian SSR10 Latvian SSR11 Kirghiz SSR12 Tajik SSR13 Armenian SSR14 Turkmen SSR15 Estonian SSRMilitaryMain article: Soviet Armed ForcesSee also: Red Army, Soviet Army, Soviet Navy, Soviet Air Forces, Lists of Heroes of the Soviet Union, and Military history of the Soviet Union A medium-range SS-20 non-ICBM ballistic missile, the deployment of which by the Soviet Union in the late 1970s launched a new arms race in Europe when NATO responded by deploying Pershing II missiles in West Germany, among other thingsUnder the Military Law of September 1925, the Soviet Armed Forces consisted of the Land Forces, the Air Force, the Navy, Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) and the Internal Troops.[200] The OGPU later became independent and in 1934 joined the NKVD secret police, and so its internal troops were under the joint leadership of the defense and internal commissariats. After World War II, Strategic Missile Forces (1959), Air Defense Forces (1948) and National Civil Defense Forces (1970) were formed, which ranked first, third, and sixth in the official Soviet system of importance (ground forces were second, Air Force fourth, and Navy fifth). The army had the greatest political influence. In 1989, there served two million soldiers divided between 150 motorized and 52 armored divisions. Until the early 1960s, the Soviet navy was a rather small military branch, but after the Caribbean crisis, under the leadership of Sergei Gorshkov, it expanded significantly. It became known for battlecruisers and submarines. In 1989, there served 500 000 men. The Soviet Air Force focused on a fleet of strategic bombers and during war situation was to eradicate enemy infrastructure and nuclear capacity. The air force also had a number of fighters and tactical bombers to support the army in the war. Strategic missile forces had more than 1,400 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), deployed between 28 bases and 300 command centers. In the post-war period, the Soviet Army was directly involved in several military operations abroad.[7][201][202] These included the suppression of the uprising in East Germany (1953), Hungarian revolution (1956) and the invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968). The Soviet Union also participated in the war in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989. In the Soviet Union, general conscription applied, meaning all able-bodied males aged 18 and older were drafted in the armed forces.[203] EconomyMain article: Economy of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union in comparison to other countries by GDP (nominal) per capita in 1965 based on a West-German school book (1971) > 5,000 DM 2,500–5,000 DM 1,000–2,500 DM 500–1,000 DM 250–500 DM < 250 DMThe Soviet Union adopted a command economy, whereby production and distribution of goods were centralized and directed by the government. The first Bolshevik experience with a command economy was the policy of war communism, which involved the nationalization of industry, centralized distribution of output, coercive or forced requisition of agricultural production, and attempts to eliminate money circulation, private enterprises and free trade. The barrier troops were also used to enforce Bolshevik control over food supplies in areas controlled by the Red Army, a role which soon earned them the hatred of the Russian civilian population.[204] After the severe economic collapse, Lenin replaced war communism by the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1921, legalizing free trade and private ownership of small businesses. The economy steadily recovered as a result.[205] After a long debate among the members of the Politburo about the course of economic development, by 1928–1929, upon gaining control of the country, Stalin abandoned the NEP and pushed for full central planning, starting forced collectivization of agriculture and enacting draconian labor legislation. Resources were mobilized for rapid industrialization, which significantly expanded Soviet capacity in heavy industry and capital goods during the 1930s.[205] The primary motivation for industrialization was preparation for war, mostly due to distrust of the outside capitalist world.[206] As a result, the USSR was transformed from a largely agrarian economy into a great industrial power, leading the way for its emergence as a superpower after World War II.[207] The war caused extensive devastation of the Soviet economy and infrastructure, which required massive reconstruction.[208] The DneproGES, one of many hydroelectric power stations in the Soviet UnionBy the early 1940s, the Soviet economy had become relatively self-sufficient; for most of the period until the creation of Comecon, only a tiny share of domestic products was traded internationally.[209] After the creation of the Eastern Bloc, external trade rose rapidly. However, the influence of the world economy on the USSR was limited by fixed domestic prices and a state monopoly on foreign trade.[210] Grain and sophisticated consumer manufactures became major import articles from around the 1960s.[209] During the arms race of the Cold War, the Soviet economy was burdened by military expenditures, heavily lobbied for by a powerful bureaucracy dependent on the arms industry. At the same time, the USSR became the largest arms exporter to the Third World. A portion of Soviet resources during the Cold War were allocated in aid to the Soviet-aligned states.[209] The Soviet Union's military budget in the 1970s was gigantic, forming 40–60% of the entire federal budget and accounting to 15% of the USSR's GDP (13% in the 1980s).[211] Picking cotton in Armenia in the 1930sFrom the 1930s until its dissolution in late 1991, the way the Soviet economy operated remained essentially unchanged. The economy was formally directed by central planning, carried out by Gosplan and organized in five-year plans. However, in practice, the plans were highly aggregated and provisional, subject to ad hoc intervention by superiors. All critical economic decisions were taken by the political leadership. Allocated resources and plan targets were usually denominated in rubles rather than in physical goods. Credit was discouraged, but widespread. The final allocation of output was achieved through relatively decentralized, unplanned contracting. Although in theory prices were legally set from above, in practice they were often negotiated, and informal horizontal links (e.g. between producer factories) were widespread.[205] A number of basic services were state-funded, such as education and health care. In the manufacturing sector, heavy industry and defence were prioritized over consumer goods.[212] Consumer goods, particularly outside large cities, were often scarce, of poor quality and limited variety. Under the command economy, consumers had almost no influence on production, and the changing demands of a population with growing incomes could not be satisfied by supplies at rigidly fixed prices.[213] A massive unplanned second economy grew up at low levels alongside the planned one, providing some of the goods and services that the planners could not. The legalization of some elements of the decentralized economy was attempted with the reform of 1965.[205] Workers of the Salihorsk potash plant, Belarus, 1968Although statistics of the Soviet economy are notoriously unreliable and its economic growth difficult to estimate precisely,[214][215] by most accounts, the economy continued to expand until the mid-1980s. During the 1950s and 1960s, it had comparatively high growth and was catching up to the West.[216] However, after 1970, the growth, while still positive, steadily declined much more quickly and consistently than in other countries, despite a rapid increase in the capital stock (the rate of capital increase was only surpassed by Japan).[205] Volzhsky Avtomobilny Zavod (VAZ) in 1969Overall, the growth rate of per capita income in the Soviet Union between 1960 and 1989 was slightly above the world average (based on 102 countries).[217] A 1986 study published in the American Journal of Public Health claimed that, citing World Bank data, the Soviet model provided a better quality of life and human development than market economies at the same level of economic development in most cases.[218] According to Stanley Fischer and William Easterly, growth could have been faster. By their calculation, per capita income in 1989 should have been twice higher than it was, considering the amount of investment, education and population. The authors attribute this poor performance to the low productivity of capital.[219] Steven Rosefielde states that the standard of living declined due to Stalin's despotism. While there was a brief improvement after his death, it lapsed into stagnation.[220] In 1987, Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to reform and revitalize the economy with his program of perestroika. His policies relaxed state control over enterprises but did not replace it by market incentives, resulting in a sharp decline in output. The economy, already suffering from reduced petroleum export revenues, started to collapse. Prices were still fixed, and the property was still largely state-owned until after the country's dissolution.[205][213] For most of the period after World War II until its collapse, Soviet GDP (PPP) was the second-largest in the world, and third during the second half of the 1980s,[221] although on a per-capita basis, it was behind that of First World countries.[222] Compared to countries with similar per-capita GDP in 1928, the Soviet Union experienced significant growth.[citation needed] In 1990, the country had a Human Development Index of 0.920, placing it in the 'high' category of human development. It was the third-highest in the Eastern Bloc, behind Czechoslovakia and East Germany, and the 25th in the world of 130 countries.[223] EnergyMain article: Energy policy of the Soviet Union Soviet stamp depicting the 30th anniversary of the International Atomic Energy Agency, published in 1987, a year following the Chernobyl nuclear disasterThe need for fuel declined in the Soviet Union from the 1970s to the 1980s,[224] both per ruble of gross social product and per ruble of industrial product. At the start, this decline grew very rapidly but gradually slowed down between 1970 and 1975. From 1975 and 1980, it grew even slower,[clarification needed] only 2.6%.[225] David Wilson, a historian, believed that the gas industry would account for 40% of Soviet fuel production by the end of the century. His theory did not come to fruition because of the USSR's collapse.[226] The USSR, in theory, would have continued to have an economic growth rate of 2–2.5% during the 1990s because of Soviet energy fields.[clarification needed][227] However, the energy sector faced many difficulties, among them the country's high military expenditure and hostile relations with the First World.[228] In 1991, the Soviet Union had a pipeline network of 82,000 kilometres (51,000 mi) for crude oil and another 206,500 kilometres (128,300 mi) for natural gas.[229] Petroleum and petroleum-based products, natural gas, metals, wood, agricultural products, and a variety of manufactured goods, primarily machinery, arms and military equipment, were exported.[230] In the 1970s and 1980s, the USSR heavily relied on fossil fuel exports to earn hard currency.[209] At its peak in 1988, it was the largest producer and second-largest exporter of crude oil, surpassed only by Saudi Arabia.[231] Science and technologyMain article: Science and technology in the Soviet UnionSee also: Cybernetics in the Soviet Union Soviet stamp showing the orbit of Sputnik 1The Soviet Union placed great emphasis on science and technology within its economy,[232][97] however, the most remarkable Soviet successes in technology, such as producing the world's first space satellite, typically were the responsibility of the military.[212] Lenin believed that the USSR would never overtake the developed world if it remained as technologically backward as it was upon its founding. Soviet authorities proved their commitment to Lenin's belief by developing massive networks, research and development organizations. In the early 1960s, the Soviets awarded 40% of chemistry PhDs to women, compared to only 5% in the United States.[233] By 1989, Soviet scientists were among the world's best-trained specialists in several areas, such as Energy physics, selected areas of medicine, mathematics, welding and military technologies. Due to rigid state planning and bureaucracy, the Soviets remained far behind technologically in chemistry, biology, and computers when compared to the First World. The Soviet government opposed and persecuted geneticists in favour of Lysenkoism, a pseudoscience rejected by the scientific community in the Soviet Union and abroad but supported by Stalin's inner circles. Implemented in the USSR and China, it resulted in reduced crop yields and is widely believed to have contributed to the Great Chinese Famine.[234] The Soviet Union also had more scientists and engineers, relative to the world population, than any other major country due to the strong levels of state support for scientific developments by the 1980s.[235] Under the Reagan administration, Project Socrates determined that the Soviet Union addressed the acquisition of science and technology in a manner that was radically different from what the US was using. In the case of the US, economic prioritization was being used for indigenous research and development as the means to acquire science and technology in both the private and public sectors. In contrast, the USSR was offensively and defensively maneuvering in the acquisition and use of the worldwide technology, to increase the competitive advantage that they acquired from the technology while preventing the US from acquiring a competitive advantage. However, technology-based planning was executed in a centralized, government-centric manner that greatly hindered its flexibility. This was exploited by the US to undermine the strength of the Soviet Union and thus foster its reform.[236][237][238] Space programMain articles: Soviet space program and Nedelin catastrophe From left to right: Yuri Gagarin, Pavel Popovich, Valentina Tereshkova and Nikita Khrushchev at the Lenin's Mausoleum in 1963 Soyuz rocket at the Baikonur CosmodromeAt the end of the 1950s, the USSR constructed the first satellite—Sputnik 1, which marked the beginning of the Space Race—a competition to achieve superior spaceflight capability with the United States.[239] This was followed by other successful satellites, most notably Sputnik 5, where test dogs were sent to space. On 12 April 1961, the USSR launched Vostok 1, which carried Yuri Gagarin, making him the first human to ever be launched into space and complete a space journey.[240] The first plans for space shuttles and orbital stations were drawn up in Soviet design offices, but personal disputes between designers and management prevented their development. In terms of the Luna program, the USSR only had automated spacecraft launches with no crewed spacecraft, passing on the 'Moon' part of Space Race, which was won by the Americans. The Soviet public's reaction to the American moon-landing was mixed. The Soviet government limited the release of information about it, which affected the reaction. A portion of the populace did not give it attention, and another portion was angered.[241][242] In the 1970s, specific proposals for the design of s space shuttle emerged, but shortcomings, especially in the electronics industry (rapid overheating of electronics), postponed it till the end of the 1980s. The first shuttle, the Buran, flew in 1988, but without a human crew. Another, Ptichka, endured prolonged construction and was canceled in 1991. For their launch into space, there is today an unused superpower rocket, Energia, which is the most powerful in the world.[243] In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union built the Mir orbital station. It was built on the construction of Salyut stations and its only role was civilian-grade research tasks.[244][245] Mir was the only orbital station in operation from 1986 to 1998. Gradually, other modules were added to it, including American modules. However, the station deteriorated rapidly after a fire on board, so in 2001 it was decided to bring it into the atmosphere where it burned down.[244] TransportMain article: Transport in the Soviet Union Aeroflot's flag during the Soviet era Nuclear Icebreaker LeninTransport was a vital component of the country's economy. The economic centralization of the late 1920s and 1930s led to the development of infrastructure on a massive scale, most notably the establishment of Aeroflot, an aviation enterprise.[246] The country had a wide variety of modes of transport by land, water and air.[229] However, due to inadequate maintenance, much of the road, water and Soviet civil aviation transport were outdated and technologically backward compared to the First World.[247] Soviet rail transport was the largest and most intensively used in the world;[247] it was also better developed than most of its Western counterparts.[248] By the late 1970s and early 1980s, Soviet economists were calling for the construction of more roads to alleviate some of the burdens from the railways and to improve the Soviet government budget.[249] The street network and automotive industry[250] remained underdeveloped,[251] and dirt roads were common outside major cities.[252] Soviet maintenance projects proved unable to take care of even the few roads the country had. By the early-to-mid-1980s, the Soviet authorities tried to solve the road problem by ordering the construction of new ones.[252] Meanwhile, the automobile industry was growing at a faster rate than road construction.[253] The underdeveloped road network led to a growing demand for public transport.[254] Despite improvements, several aspects of the transport sector were still[when?] riddled with problems due to outdated infrastructure, lack of investment, corruption and bad decision-making. Soviet authorities were unable to meet the growing demand for transport infrastructure and services.[255] The Soviet merchant navy was one of the largest in the world.[229] DemographicsMain article: Demographics of the Soviet Union Population of the Soviet Union (red) and the post-Soviet states (blue) from 1961 to 2009 as well as projection (dotted blue) from 2010 to 2100Excess deaths throughout World War I and the Russian Civil War (including the famine of 1921–1922 that was triggered by Lenin's war communism policies)[256] amounted to a combined total of 18 million,[257] some 10 million in the 1930s,[48] and more than 20 million in 1941–1945. The postwar Soviet population was 45 to 50 million smaller than it would have been if pre-war demographic growth had continued.[258] According to Catherine Merridale, '... reasonable estimate would place the total number of excess deaths for the whole period somewhere around 60 million.'[259] The birth rate of the USSR decreased from 44.0 per thousand in 1926 to 18.0 in 1974, mainly due to increasing urbanization and the rising average age of marriages. The mortality rate demonstrated a gradual decrease as well—from 23.7 per thousand in 1926 to 8.7 in 1974. In general, the birth rates of the southern republics in Transcaucasia and Central Asia were considerably higher than those in the northern parts of the Soviet Union, and in some cases even increased in the post–World War II period, a phenomenon partly attributed to slower rates of urbanization and traditionally earlier marriages in the southern republics.[260] Soviet Europe moved towards sub-replacement fertility, while Soviet Central Asia continued to exhibit population growth well above replacement-level fertility.[261] The late 1960s and the 1970s witnessed a reversal of the declining trajectory of the rate of mortality in the USSR, and was especially notable among men of working age, but was also prevalent in Russia and other predominantly Slavic areas of the country.[262] An analysis of the official data from the late 1980s showed that after worsening in the late-1970s and the early 1980s, adult mortality began to improve again.[263] The infant mortality rate increased from 24.7 in 1970 to 27.9 in 1974. Some researchers regarded the rise as mostly real, a consequence of worsening health conditions and services.[264] The rises in both adult and infant mortality were not explained or defended by Soviet officials, and the Soviet government stopped publishing all mortality statistics for ten years. Soviet demographers and health specialists remained silent about the mortality increases until the late-1980s, when the publication of mortality data resumed, and researchers could delve into the real causes.[265] Women and fertilitySee also: LGBT history in Russia Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, visiting the Lvov confectionery, Ukrainian SSR, 1967Under Lenin, the state made explicit commitments to promote the equality of men and women. Many early Russian feminists and ordinary Russian working women actively participated in the Revolution, and many more were affected by the events of that period and the new policies. Beginning in October 1918, Lenin's government liberalized divorce and abortion laws, decriminalized homosexuality (re-criminalized in 1932), permitted cohabitation, and ushered in a host of reforms.[266] However, without birth control, the new system produced many broken marriages, as well as countless out-of-wedlock children.[267] The epidemic of divorces and extramarital affairs created social hardships when Soviet leaders wanted people to concentrate their efforts on growing the economy. Giving women control over their fertility also led to a precipitous decline in the birth rate, perceived as a threat to their country's military power. By 1936, Stalin reversed most of the liberal laws, ushering in a pronatalist era that lasted for decades.[268] By 1917, Russia became the first great power to grant women the right to vote.[269] After heavy casualties in World War I and II, women outnumbered men in Russia by a 4:3 ratio.[270] This contributed to the larger role women played in Russian society compared to other great powers at the time. EducationMain article: Education in the Soviet Union Young Pioneers at a Young Pioneer camp in Kazakh SSRAnatoly Lunacharsky became the first People's Commissar for Education of Soviet Russia. In the beginning, the Soviet authorities placed great emphasis on the elimination of illiteracy. All left-handed children were forced to write with their right hand in the Soviet school system.[271][272][273][274] Literate people were automatically hired as teachers.[citation needed] For a short period, quality was sacrificed for quantity. By 1940, Stalin could announce that illiteracy had been eliminated. Throughout the 1930s, social mobility rose sharply, which has been attributed to reforms in education.[275] In the aftermath of World War II, the country's educational system expanded dramatically, which had a tremendous effect. In the 1960s, nearly all children had access to education, the only exception being those living in remote areas. Nikita Khrushchev tried to make education more accessible, making it clear to children that education was closely linked to the needs of society. Education also became important in giving rise to the New Man.[276] Citizens directly entering the workforce had the constitutional right to a job and to free vocational training. The education system was highly centralized and universally accessible to all citizens, with affirmative action for applicants from nations associated with cultural backwardness. However, as part of a general antisemitic policy, an unofficial Jewish quota was applied[when?] in the leading institutions of higher education by subjecting Jewish applicants to harsher entrance examinations.[277][278][279][280] The Brezhnev era also introduced a rule that required all university applicants to present a reference from the local Komsomol party secretary.[281] According to statistics from 1986, the number of higher education students per the population of 10,000 was 181 for the USSR, compared to 517 for the US.[282] Nationalities and ethnic groupsMain articles: Islam in the Soviet Union, National delimitation in the Soviet Union, Korenizatsiia, and Soviet Central Asia People in Samarkand, Uzbek SSR, 1981 Svaneti man in Mestia, Georgian SSR, 1929The Soviet Union was an ethnically diverse country, with more than 100 distinct ethnic groups. The total population of the country was estimated at 293 million in 1991. According to a 1990 estimate, the majority of the population were Russians (50.78%), followed by Ukrainians (15.45%) and Uzbeks (5.84%).[283] Overall, in 1989 the ethnic demography of the country showed that 69.8% was East Slavic, 17.5% was Turkic, 1.6% were Armenians, 1.6% were Balts, 1.5% were Finnic, 1.5% were Tajik, 1.4% were Georgian, 1.2% were Moldovan and 4.1% were of other various ethnic groups.[284] All citizens of the USSR had their own ethnic affiliation. The ethnicity of a person was chosen at the age of sixteen by the child's parents.[285] If the parents did not agree, the child was automatically assigned the ethnicity of the father. Partly due to Soviet policies, some of the smaller minority ethnic groups were considered part of larger ones, such as the Mingrelians of Georgia, who were classified with the linguistically related Georgians.[286] Some ethnic groups voluntarily assimilated, while others were brought in by force. Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians, who were all East Slavic and Orthodox, shared close cultural, ethnic, and religious ties, while other groups did not. With multiple nationalities living in the same territory, ethnic antagonisms developed over the years.[287][neutrality is disputed] Members of various ethnicities participated in legislative bodies. Organs of power like the Politburo, the Secretariat of the Central Committee etc., were formally ethnically neutral, but in reality, ethnic Russians were overrepresented, although there were also non-Russian leaders in the Soviet leadership, such as Joseph Stalin, Grigory Zinoviev, Nikolai Podgorny or Andrei Gromyko. During the Soviet era, a significant number of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians migrated to other Soviet republics, and many of them settled there. According to the last census in 1989, the Russian 'diaspora' in the Soviet republics had reached 25 million.[288] Ethnographic map of the Soviet Union, 1941Ethnographic map of the Soviet Union, 1941 Ethnographic map of the Soviet Union, 1970Ethnographic map of the Soviet Union, 1970HealthMain article: Health care in the Soviet Union An early Soviet-era poster discouraging unsafe abortion practicesIn 1917, before the revolution, health conditions were significantly behind those of developed countries. As Lenin later noted, "Either the lice will defeat socialism, or socialism will defeat the lice".[289] The Soviet health care system was conceived by the People's Commissariat for Health in 1918. Under the Semashko model, health care was to be controlled by the state and would be provided to its citizens free of charge, a revolutionary concept at the time. Article 42 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution gave all citizens the right to health protection and free access to any health institutions in the USSR. Before Leonid Brezhnev became general secretary, the Soviet healthcare system was held in high esteem by many foreign specialists. This changed, however, from Brezhnev's accession and Mikhail Gorbachev's tenure as leader, during which the health care system was heavily criticized for many basic faults, such as the quality of service and the unevenness in its provision.[290] Minister of Health Yevgeniy Chazov, during the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, while highlighting such successes as having the most doctors and hospitals in the world, recognized the system's areas for improvement and felt that billions of rubles were squandered.[291] After the revolution, life expectancy for all age groups went up. This statistic in itself was seen by some that the socialist system was superior to the capitalist system. These improvements continued into the 1960s when statistics indicated that the life expectancy briefly surpassed that of the United States. Life expectancy started to decline in the 1970s, possibly because of alcohol abuse. At the same time, infant mortality began to rise. After 1974, the government stopped publishing statistics on the matter. This trend can be partly explained by the number of pregnancies rising drastically in the Asian part of the country where infant mortality was the highest while declining markedly in the more developed European part of the Soviet Union.[292] DentistrySoviet dental technology and dental health were considered notoriously bad. In 1991, the average 35-year-old had 12 to 14 cavities, fillings or missing teeth. Toothpaste was often not available, and toothbrushes did not conform to standards of modern dentistry.[293][294] LanguageMain articles: Languages of the Soviet Union and Reforms of Russian orthographyUnder Lenin, the government gave small language groups their own writing systems.[295] The development of these writing systems was highly successful, even though some flaws were detected. During the later days of the USSR, countries with the same multilingual situation implemented similar policies. A serious problem when creating these writing systems was that the languages differed dialectally greatly from each other.[296] When a language had been given a writing system and appeared in a notable publication, it would attain 'official language' status. There were many minority languages which never received their own writing system; therefore, their speakers were forced to have a second language.[297] There are examples where the government retreated from this policy, most notably under Stalin where education was discontinued in languages that were not widespread. These languages were then assimilated into another language, mostly Russian.[298] During World War II, some minority languages were banned, and their speakers accused of collaborating with the enemy.[299] As the most widely spoken of the Soviet Union's many languages, Russian de facto functioned as an official language, as the 'language of interethnic communication' (Russian: язык межнационального общения), but only assumed the de jure status as the official national language in 1990.[300] ReligionMain article: Religion in the Soviet Union Cover of Bezbozhnik in 1929, magazine of the Society of the Godless. The first five-year plan of the Soviet Union is shown crushing the gods of the Abrahamic religions. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow during its demolition in 1931 The Saviour Church on Sennaya Square in Leningrad was one of many notable church buildings destroyed during The Thaw A paranja burning ceremony in the Uzbek SSR as part of Soviet Hujum policiesChristianity and Islam had the highest number of adherents among the religious citizens.[301] Eastern Christianity predominated among Christians, with Russia's traditional Russian Orthodox Church being the largest Christian denomination. About 90% of the Soviet Union's Muslims were Sunnis, with Shias being concentrated in the Azerbaijan SSR.[301] Smaller groups included Roman Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, and a variety of Protestant denominations (especially Baptists and Lutherans).[301] Religious influence had been strong in the Russian Empire. The Russian Orthodox Church enjoyed a privileged status as the church of the monarchy and took part in carrying out official state functions.[302] The immediate period following the establishment of the Soviet state included a struggle against the Orthodox Church, which the revolutionaries considered an ally of the former ruling classes.[303] In Soviet law, the 'freedom to hold religious services' was constitutionally guaranteed, although the ruling Communist Party regarded religion as incompatible with the Marxist spirit of scientific materialism.[303] In practice, the Soviet system subscribed to a narrow interpretation of this right, and in fact used a range of official measures to discourage religion and curb the activities of religious groups.[303] The 1918 Council of People's Commissars decree establishing the Russian SFSR as a secular state also decreed that 'the teaching of religion in all [places] where subjects of general instruction are taught, is forbidden. Citizens may teach and may be taught religion privately.'[304] Among further restrictions, those adopted in 1929 included express prohibitions on a range of church activities, including meetings for organized Bible study.[303] Both Christian and non-Christian establishments were shut down by the thousands in the 1920s and 1930s. By 1940, as many as 90% of the churches, synagogues, and mosques that had been operating in 1917 were closed; the majority of them were demolished or re-purposed for state needs with little concern for their historic and cultural value.[305] More than 85,000 Orthodox priests were shot in 1937 alone.[306] Only a twelfth of the Russian Orthodox Church's priests were left functioning in their parishes by 1941.[307] In the period between 1927 and 1940, the number of Orthodox Churches in Russia fell from 29,584 to less than 500 (1.7%).[308] The Soviet Union was officially a secular state,[309][310] but a 'government-sponsored program of forced conversion to atheism' was conducted under the doctrine of state atheism.[311][312][313] The government targeted religions based on state interests, and while most organized religions were never outlawed, religious property was confiscated, believers were harassed, and religion was ridiculed while atheism was propagated in schools.[314] In 1925, the government founded the League of Militant Atheists to intensify the propaganda campaign.[315] Accordingly, although personal expressions of religious faith were not explicitly banned, a strong sense of social stigma was imposed on them by the formal structures and mass media, and it was generally considered unacceptable for members of certain professions (teachers, state bureaucrats, soldiers) to be openly religious. While persecution accelerated following Stalin's rise to power, a revival of Orthodoxy was fostered by the government during World War II and the Soviet authorities sought to control the Russian Orthodox Church rather than liquidate it. During the first five years of Soviet power, the Bolsheviks executed 28 Russian Orthodox bishops and over 1,200 Russian Orthodox priests. Many others were imprisoned or exiled. Believers were harassed and persecuted. Most seminaries were closed, and the publication of most religious material was prohibited. By 1941, only 500 churches remained open out of about 54,000 in existence before World War I. Convinced that religious anti-Sovietism had become a thing of the past, and with the looming threat of war, the Stalin regime began shifting to a more moderate religion policy in the late 1930s.[316] Soviet religious establishments overwhelmingly rallied to support the war effort during World War II. Amid other accommodations to religious faith after the German invasion, churches were reopened. Radio Moscow began broadcasting a religious hour, and a historic meeting between Stalin and Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Sergius of Moscow was held in 1943. Stalin had the support of the majority of the religious people in the USSR even through the late 1980s.[316] The general tendency of this period was an increase in religious activity among believers of all faiths.[317] Under Nikita Khrushchev, the state leadership clashed with the churches in 1958–1964, a period when atheism was emphasized in the educational curriculum, and numerous state publications promoted atheistic views.[316] During this period, the number of churches fell from 20,000 to 10,000 from 1959 to 1965, and the number of synagogues dropped from 500 to 97.[318] The number of working mosques also declined, falling from 1,500 to 500 within a decade.[318] Religious institutions remained monitored by the Soviet government, but churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques were all given more leeway in the Brezhnev era.[319] Official relations between the Orthodox Church and the government again warmed to the point that the Brezhnev government twice honored Orthodox Patriarch Alexy I with the Order of the Red Banner of Labour.[320] A poll conducted by Soviet authorities in 1982 recorded 20% of the Soviet population as 'active religious believers.'[321] LegacySee also: Neo-Sovietism and Nostalgia for the Soviet Union The neutrality of this section is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (June 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) World War II military deaths in Europe by theatre and by year. Nazi Germany suffered 80% of its military deaths on the Eastern Front.[322]The legacy of the USSR remains a controversial topic. The socio-economic nature of communist states such as the USSR, especially under Stalin, has also been much debated, varyingly being labelled a form of bureaucratic collectivism, state capitalism, state socialism, or a totally unique mode of production.[323] The USSR implemented a broad range of policies over a long period of time, with a large amount of conflicting policies being implemented by different leaders. Some have a positive view of it whilst others are critical towards the country, calling it a repressive oligarchy.[324] The opinions on the USSR are complex and have changed over time, with different generations having different views on the matter as well as on Soviet policies corresponding to separate time periods during its history.[325] 2001 stamp of Moldova shows Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space.Western academicians published various analyses of the post-Soviet states' development, claiming that the dissolution was followed by a severe drop in economic and social conditions in these countries,[326][327] including a rapid increase in poverty,[328][329][330][331] crime,[332] corruption,[333][334] unemployment,[335][336] homelessness,[337][338] rates of disease,[339][340][341] infant mortality and domestic violence,[342] as well as demographic losses,[343] income inequality and the rise of an oligarchical class,[344][328] along with decreases in calorie intake, life expectancy, adult literacy, and income.[345] Between 1988 and 1989 and 1993–1995, the Gini ratio increased by an average of 9 points for all former Soviet republics.[328] According to Western analysis, the economic shocks that accompanied wholesale privatization were associated with sharp increases in mortality,[346] Russia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia saw a tripling of unemployment and a 42% increase in male death rates between 1991 and 1994,[347][348] and in the following decades, only five or six of the post-communist states are on a path to joining the wealthy capitalist West while most are falling behind, some to such an extent that it will take over fifty years to catch up to where they were before the fall of the Soviet Bloc.[349][350] Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, annual polling by the Levada Center has shown that over 50% of Russia's population regretted this event, with the only exception to this being in the year 2012 when support for the Soviet Union dipped below 50 percent.[351] A 2018 poll showed that 66% of Russians regretted the fall of the Soviet Union, setting a 15-year record, and the majority of these regretting opinions came from people older than 55.[351][352] In 2020, polls conducted by the Levada Center found that 75% of Russians agreed that the Soviet era was the greatest era in their country's history.[353] According to the New Russia Barometer (NRB) polls by the Centre for the Study of Public Policy, 50% of Russian respondents reported a positive impression of the Soviet Union in 1991.[354] This increased to about 75% of NRB respondents in 2000, dropping slightly to 71% in 2009.[354] Throughout the 2000s, an average of 32% of NRB respondents supported the restoration of the Soviet Union.[354] In a 2021 poll, a record 70% of Russians indicated they had a mostly/very favourable view of Joseph Stalin.[355] In Armenia, 12% of respondents said the USSR collapse did good, while 66% said it did harm. In Kyrgyzstan, 16% of respondents said the collapse of the USSR did good, while 61% said it did harm.[356] In a 2018 Rating Sociological Group poll, 47% of Ukrainian respondents had a positive opinion of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, who ruled the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, while viewing Lenin, Stalin and Gorbachev very negatively.[357] A 2021 poll conducted by the Levada Center found that 49% of Russians prefer the USSR's political system, while 18% prefer the current political system and 16% would prefer a Western democracy. A further 62% of people polled preferred the Soviet system of central planning, while 24% prefer a market-based system.[358] According to the Levada Center's polls, the primary reasons cited for Soviet nostalgia are the advantages of the shared economic union between the Soviet republics, including perceived financial stability.[359] This was referenced by up to 53% of respondents in 2016.[359] At least 43% also lamented the loss of the Soviet Union's global political superpower status.[359] About 31% cited the loss of social trust and capital.[360] The remainder of the respondents cited a mix of reasons ranging from practical travel difficulties to a sense of national displacement.[359] The 1941–1945 period of World War II is still known in Russia as the 'Great Patriotic War'. The war became a topic of great importance in cinema, literature, history lessons at school, the mass media, and the arts. As a result of the massive losses suffered by the military and civilians during the conflict, Victory Day celebrated on 9 May is still one of the most important and emotional dates in Russia.[361] Catherine Wanner asserts that Victory Day commemorations are a vehicle for Soviet nostalgia, as they "kept alive a mythology of Soviet grandeur, of solidarity among the Sovietskii narod, and of a sense of self as citizen of a superpower state".[362] Russian Victory Day parades are organized annually in most cities, with the central military parade taking place in Moscow (just as during the Soviet times).[363][364] Additionally, the recently introduced Immortal Regiment on May 9 sees millions of Russians carry the portraits of their relatives who fought in the war.[365] Russia also retains other Soviet holidays, such as the Defender of the Fatherland Day (February 23), International Women's Day (March 8), and International Workers' Day.[366] In the former Soviet republicsSee also: Anti-Sovietism, Anti-Russian sentiment, and Decommunization in Ukraine People in Russian-occupied Donetsk celebrate the annual Victory Day over Nazi Germany, 9 May 2018. Protest against Ukrainian decommunization policies in Donetsk, 2014. The red banner reads, "Our homeland USSR".In some post-Soviet republics, there is a more negative view of the USSR, although there is no unanimity on the matter. In large part due to the Holodomor, ethnic Ukrainians have a negative view of the Soviet Union.[367] Russian-speaking Ukrainians of Ukraine's southern and eastern regions have a more positive view of the USSR. In some countries with internal conflict, there is also nostalgia for the USSR, especially for refugees of the post-Soviet conflicts who have been forced to flee their homes and have been displaced. This nostalgia is less an admiration for the country or its policies than it is a longing to return to their homes. The many Russian enclaves in the former USSR republics such as Transnistria have in a general a positive remembrance of it.[368] By the political leftSee also: Criticism of communist party rule § Left-wing criticismThe left's view of the USSR is complex. While some leftists regard the USSR as an example of state capitalism or that it was an oligarchical state, other leftists admire Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Revolution.[369] Council communists generally view the USSR as failing to create class consciousness, turning into a corrupt state in which the elite controlled society. Many anti-Stalinist leftists such as anarchists are extremely critical of Soviet authoritarianism and repression. Much of the criticism it receives is centered around massacres in the Soviet Union, the centralized hierarchy present in the USSR and mass political repression as well as violence towards government critics and political dissidents such as other leftists. Critics also point towards its failure to implement any substantial worker cooperatives or implementing worker liberation, as well as corruption and the Soviet authoritarian nature.[citation needed] Anarchists are also critical of the country, labeling the Soviet system as red fascism. Factors contributing to the anarchist animosity towards the USSR included the Soviet destruction of the Makhnovist movement after an initial alliance, the suppression of the anarchist Kronstadt rebellion, and the defeat of the rival anarchist factions by the Soviet-supported Communist faction during the Spanish Civil War.[370] Maoists also have a mixed opinion on the USSR, viewing it negatively during the Sino-Soviet Split and denouncing it as revisionist and reverted to capitalism. The Chinese government in 1963 articulated its criticism of the USSR's system and promoted China's ideological line as an alternative.[371][372] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) released a press statement titled "We welcome the end of a party which embodied the historical evil of great power chauvinism and hegemonism".[373] Noam Chomsky called the collapse of the Soviet Union "a small victory for socialism, not only because of the fall of one of the most anti-socialist states in the world, where working people had fewer rights than in the West, but also because it freed the term 'socialism' from the burden of being associated in the propaganda systems of East and West with Soviet tyranny — for the East, in order to benefit from the aura of authentic socialism, for the West, in order to demonize the concept."[374] CultureMain article: Culture of the Soviet UnionSee also: Soviet cuisine, Music of the Soviet Union, Fashion in the Soviet Union, Broadcasting in the Soviet Union, Printed media in the Soviet Union, and SamizdatDuration: 3 minutes and 2 seconds.3:02The 'Enthusiast's March', a 1930s song famous in the Soviet Union Soviet singer-songwriter, poet and actor Vladimir Vysotsky in 1979The culture of the Soviet Union passed through several stages during the USSR's existence. During the first decade following the revolution, there was relative freedom and artists experimented with several different styles to find a distinctive Soviet style of art. Lenin wanted art to be accessible to the Russian people. On the other hand, hundreds of intellectuals, writers, and artists were exiled or executed, and their work banned, such as Nikolay Gumilyov who was shot for alleged conspiracy against the Bolshevik regime, and Yevgeny Zamyatin.[375] The government encouraged a variety of trends. In art and literature, numerous schools, some traditional and others radically experimental, proliferated. Communist writers Maxim Gorky and Vladimir Mayakovsky were active during this time. As a means of influencing a largely illiterate society, films received encouragement from the state, and much of director Sergei Eisenstein's best work dates from this period. During Stalin's rule, the Soviet culture was characterized by the rise and domination of the government-imposed style of socialist realism, with all other trends being severely repressed, with rare exceptions, such as Mikhail Bulgakov's works. Many writers were imprisoned and killed.[376] Following the Khrushchev Thaw, censorship was diminished. During this time, a distinctive period of Soviet culture developed, characterized by conformist public life and an intense focus on personal life. Greater experimentation in art forms was again permissible, resulting in the production of more sophisticated and subtly critical work. The regime loosened its emphasis on socialist realism; thus, for instance, many protagonists of the novels of author Yury Trifonov concerned themselves with problems of daily life rather than with building socialism. Underground dissident literature, known as samizdat, developed during this late period. In architecture, the Khrushchev era mostly focused on functional design as opposed to the highly decorated style of Stalin's epoch. In music, in response to the increasing popularity of forms of popular music like jazz in the West, many jazz orchestras were permitted throughout the USSR, notably the Melodiya Ensemble, named after the principle record label in the USSR. In the second half of the 1980s, Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and glasnost significantly expanded freedom of expression throughout the country in the media and the press.[377] SportSee also: Voluntary Sports Societies of the Soviet Union, CSKA Moscow, Soviet Union at the Olympics, and Soviet Union men's national ice hockey team Valeri Kharlamov represented the Soviet Union at 11 Ice Hockey World Championships, winning eight gold medals, two silvers and one bronze.In summer of 1923 in Moscow was established the Proletarian Sports Society "Dynamo" as a sports organization of Soviet secret police Cheka. Founded on 20 July 1924 in Moscow, Sovetsky Sport was the first sports newspaper of the Soviet Union. On 13 July 1925 the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) adopted a statement "About the party's tasks in sphere of physical culture". In the statement was determined the role of physical culture in Soviet society and the party's tasks in political leadership of physical culture movement in the country. The Soviet Olympic Committee formed on 21 April 1951, and the IOC recognized the new body in its 45th session. In the same year, when the Soviet representative Konstantin Andrianov became an IOC member, the USSR officially joined the Olympic Movement. The 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki thus became first Olympic Games for Soviet athletes. The Soviet Union was the biggest rival to the United States at the Summer Olympics, winning six of its nine appearances at the games and also topping the medal tally at the Winter Olympics six times. The Soviet Union's Olympics success has been attributed to its large investment in sports to demonstrate its superpower image and political influence on a global stage.[378] The Soviet Union national ice hockey team won nearly every world championship and Olympic tournament between 1954 and 1991 and never failed to medal in any International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournament in which they competed. Soviet Olympic team was notorious for skirting the edge of amateur rules. All Soviet athletes held some nominal jobs, but were in fact state-sponsored and trained full-time. According to many experts, that gave the Soviet Union a huge advantage over the United States and other Western countries, whose athletes were students or real amateurs.[379][380] Indeed, the Soviet Union monopolized the top place in the medal standings after 1968, and, until its collapse, placed second only once, in the 1984 Winter games, after another Eastern bloc nation, the GDR. Amateur rules were relaxed only in the late 1980s and were almost completely abolished in the 1990s, after the fall of the USSR.[381][382] According to British journalist Andrew Jennings, a KGB colonel stated that the agency's officers had posed as anti-doping authorities from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to undermine doping tests and that Soviet athletes were "rescued with [these] tremendous efforts".[383][384] On the topic of the 1980 Summer Olympics, a 1989 Australian study said "There is hardly a medal winner at the Moscow Games, certainly not a gold medal winner, who is not on one sort of drug or another: usually several kinds. The Moscow Games might as well have been called the Chemists' Games."[383] A member of the IOC Medical Commission, Manfred Donike, privately ran additional tests with a new technique for identifying abnormal levels of testosterone by measuring its ratio to epitestosterone in urine. Twenty percent of the specimens he tested, including those from sixteen gold medalists, would have resulted in disciplinary proceedings had the tests been official. The results of Donike's unofficial tests later convinced the IOC to add his new technique to their testing protocols.[385] The first documented case of 'blood doping' occurred at the 1980 Summer Olympics when a runner[who?] was transfused with two pints of blood before winning medals in the 5000 m and 10,000 m.[386] Documents obtained in 2016 revealed the Soviet Union's plans for a statewide doping system in track and field in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Dated prior to the country's decision to boycott the Games, the document detailed the existing steroids operations of the program, along with suggestions for further enhancements.[387] The communication, directed to the Soviet Union's head of track and field, was prepared by Sergei Portugalov of the Institute for Physical Culture. Portugalov was also one of the main figures involved in the implementation of the Russian doping program prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics.[387]COINS Hammered coinage is the most common form of coins produced since the invention of coins in the first millennium BC until the early modern period of ca. the 15th–17th centuries, contrasting to the very rare cast coinage and the later developed milled coinage.Hammered coins were produced by placing a blank piece of metal (a planchet or flan) of the correct weight between two dies, and then striking the upper die with a hammer to produce the required image on both sides. The planchet was usually cast from a mold. The bottom die (sometimes called the anvil die) was usually counter sunk in a log or other sturdy surface and was called a pile. One of the minters held the die for the other side (called the trussel), in his hand while it was struck either by himself or an assistant.In later history, in order to increase the production of coins, hammered coins were sometimes produced from strips of metal of the correct thickness, from which the coins were subsequently cut out. Both methods of producing hammered coins meant that it was difficult to produce coins of a regular diameter. Coins were liable to suffer from "clipping" where unscrupulous people would remove slivers of precious metal since it was difficult to determine the correct diameter of the coin.Coins were also vulnerable to "sweating," which is when silver coins would be placed in a bag that would be vigorously shaken. This would produce silver dust, which could later be removed from the bag.Milled coinsThe ability to fashion coins from machines (Milled coins) caused hammered coins to gradually become obsolete during the 17th century. Interestingly, they were still made in Venice until the 1770s. France became the first country to adopt a full machine-made coin in 1643.In England, the first non-hammered coins were produced in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the 1560s, but while machine-produced coins were experimentally produced at intervals over the next century, the production of hammered coins did not finally end until 1662.Cast coinsAn alternative method of producing early coins, particularly found in Asia, especially in China, was to cast coins using molds. This method of coin production continued in China into the nineteenth century. Up to a couple of dozen coins could be produced at one time from a single mold, when a 'tree' of coins (which often contained features such as a square hole in the centre) would be produced and the individual coins (called cash) would then be broken off.Coins are pieces of hard material used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a government.Coins are usually metal or alloy metal, or sometimes made of synthetic materials. They are usually disc shaped. Coins made of valuable metal are stored in large quantities as bullion coins. Other coins are used as money in everyday transactions, circulating alongside banknotes: these coins are usually worth less than banknotes: usually the highest value coin in circulation (i.e. excluding bullion coins) is worth less than the lowest-value note. In the last hundred years, the face value of circulation coins has occasionally been lower than the value of the metal they contain, for example due to inflation. If the difference becomes significant, the issuing authority may decide to withdraw these coins from circulation, or the general public may decide to melt the coins down or hoard them (see Gresham's law).Exceptions to the rule of face value being higher than content value also occur for some bullion coins made of silver or gold (and, rarely, other metals, such as platinum or palladium), intended for collectors or investors in precious metals. Examples of modern gold collector/investor coins include the British sovereign minted by the United Kingdom, the American Gold Eagle minted by the United States, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf minted by Canada, and the Krugerrand, minted by South Africa. The American Gold Eagle has a face value of US$50, and the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins also have nominal (purely symbolic) face values (e.g. C$50 for 1 oz.); but the Krugerrand does not.Historically, a great quantity of coinage metals (including alloys) and other materials (e.g. porcelain) have been used to produce coins for circulation, collection, and metal investment: bullion coins often serve as more convenient stores of assured metal quantity and purity than other bullion.[1]Today, the term coin can also be used in reference to digital currencies which are not issued by a state. As of 2013, examples include BitCoin and LiteCoin, among others.As coins have long been used as money, in some languages the same word is used for "coin" and "currency".CurrencyAksumiteAchaemenidByzantineChineseFilipinoGreekIndianJapanRomanThaiTibetanMedieval currenciesProductionMintDesignersCoiningMillingHammeringCastCollectionCoin collectingCoinsCommemorative coinsBullion coinsNotaphilyBanknotesCommemorative banknotesExonumiaCredit cardsJetonsMedalsTokensChequesScripsScripophilyStocksBonds Numismatics portalicon Money portalA coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a government. Coins often have images, numerals, or text on them. Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and medals. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse means the back face. The obverse of a coin is commonly called heads, because it often depicts the head of a prominent person, and the reverse is known as tails.Coins are generally made of metal or an alloy, or sometimes of man-made materials. They are usually disc shaped. Coins made of valuable metal are stored in large quantities as bullion coins. Other coins are used as money in everyday transactions, circulating alongside banknotes. Usually, the highest value coin in circulation (excluding bullion coins) is worth less than the lowest-value note. In the last hundred years, the face value of circulated coins has occasionally been lower than the value of the metal they contain, primarily due to inflation. If the difference becomes significant, the issuing authority may decide to withdraw these coins from circulation, possibly issuing new equivalents with a different composition, or the public may decide to melt the coins down or hoard them (see Gresham's law).Exceptions to the rule of face value being higher than content value also occur for some bullion coins made of copper, silver, or gold (and rarely other metals, such as platinum or palladium), intended for collectors or investors in precious metals. Examples of modern gold collector/investor coins include the British sovereign minted by the United Kingdom, the American Gold Eagle minted by the United States, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf minted by Canada, and the Krugerrand, minted by South Africa. While the Eagle, and Sovereign coins have nominal (purely symbolic) face values, the Krugerrand does not.Historically, a considerable variety of coinage metals (including alloys) and other materials (e.g. porcelain) have been used to produce coins for circulation, collection, and metal investment: bullion coins often serve as more convenient stores of assured metal quantity and purity than other bullion.Ancient HistoryBullion and unmarked metalsAn oxhide ingot from Crete. Late Bronze Age metal ingots were given standard shapes, such as the shape of an "ox-hide", suggesting that they represented standardized values.Metal ingots, silver bullion or unmarked bars were probably in use for exchange among many of the civilizations that mastered metallurgy. The weight and purity of bullion would be the key determinant of value. In the Achaemenid Empire in the early 6th century BC, coinage was yet unknown. The barter system, as well as silver bullion were used instead for trade.The practice of using silver bars for currency also seems to have been current in Central Asia from the 6th century BC. Coins were an evolution of "currency" systems of the Late Bronze Age, where standard-sized ingots, and tokens such as knife money, were used to store and transfer value. Phoenician metal ingots had to be stamped with the current ruler to guarantee their worth and value, which is probably how stamping busts and designs began.Tongbei in Bronze Age China (c. 1100 BC)In the late Chinese Bronze Age, standardized cast tokens were made, such as those discovered in a tomb near Anyang.[4][5] These were replicas in bronze of earlier Chinese currency, cowrie shells, so they were named Bronze Shell.[6]China Henan Coin Factory (c. 640 – 550 BC)The worlds oldest coin factory is excavated in the ancient city Guanzhuang in Henan province in China. The factory produced shovel-shaped bronze coins between 640 B.C. and 550 B.C., which is the oldest securely dated minting site.Iron AgeLydian and Ionian electrum coins (c. 600 BC)Coin of Alyattes of Lydia, c. 620/10-564/53 BC.The earliest inscribed coinage: electrum coin of Phanes from Ephesus, 625–600 BC. Obverse: Stag grazing right, ΦΑΝΕΩΣ (retrograde). Reverse: Two incuse punches, each with raised intersecting lines.[9]The earliest coins are mostly associated with Iron Age Anatolia of the late 7th century BC, and especially with the kingdom of Lydia.[10] Early electrum coins (an alluvial alloy of gold and silver, varying wildly in proportion, and usually about 40–55% gold) were not standardized in weight, and in their earliest stage may have been ritual objects, such as badges or medals, issued by priests.[11] The unpredictability of the composition of naturally occurring electrum implied that it had a variable value, which greatly hampered its development.[12]Most of the early Lydian coins include no writing ("myth" or "inscription"), only an image of a symbolic animal. Therefore, the dating of these coins relies primarily on archaeological evidence, with the most commonly cited evidence coming from excavations at the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, also called the Ephesian Artemision (which would later evolve into one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World). This was the site of the earliest known deposit of electrum coins.[9] Anatolian Artemis was the Πὀτνια Θηρῶν (Potnia Thêrôn, "Mistress of Animals"), whose symbol was the stag. It took some time before ancient coins were used for commerce and trade[citation needed]. Even the smallest-denomination electrum coins, perhaps worth about a day's subsistence, would have been too valuable for buying a loaf of bread.[13] Maybe the first coins to be used for retailing on a large-scale basis were likely small silver fractions, Hemiobol, Ancient Greek coinage minted by the Ionian Greeks in the late sixth century BC.[14]In contrast Herodotus mentioned the innovation made by the Lydians:[12]"So far as we have any knowledge, they [the Lydians] were the first people to introduce the use of gold and silver coins, and the first who sold goods by retail"— Herodotus, I94[12]And both Aristotle (fr. 611,37, ed. V. Rose) and Pollux (Onamastikon IX.83), mention that the first issuer of coinage was Hermodike/Demodike of Cyme.[15] Cyme was a city in Aeolia, nearby Lydia."Another example of local pride is the dispute about coinage, whether the first one to strike it was Pheidon of Argos, or Demodike of Kyme (who was wife of Midas the Phrygian and daughter of King Agammemnon of Kyme), or Erichthonios and Lycos of Athens, or the Lydians (as Xenophanes says) or the Naxians (as Anglosthenes thought)"— Julius Pollux, Onamastikon IX.83[15]Many early Lydian and Greek coins were minted under the authority of private individuals and are thus more akin to tokens or badges than to modern coins,[16] though due to their numbers it is evident that some were official state issues. The earliest inscribed coins are those of Phanes, dated to 625–600 BC from Ephesus in Ionia, with the legend ΦΑΕΝΟΣ ΕΜΙ ΣHΜΑ (or similar) (“I am the badge/sign/mark of Phanes/light”) or just bearing the name ΦΑΝΕΟΣ (“of Phanes”).The first electrum coins issued by a monarch are those minted by king Alyattes of Lydia (died c. 560 BC), for which reason this king is sometimes mentioned as the originator of coinage.Croesus: Pure gold and silver coinsCroeseidsGold Croeseid, minted by King Croesus, c. 561–546 BC. (10.7 grams, Sardis mint)Silver Croeseid, minted by King Croesus, c. 560–546 BC (10.7 grams, Sardis mint) The gold and silver Croeseids formed the world's first bimetallic monetary system, c. 550 BC.[12] The successor of Alyattes, king Croesus (r. c. 560–546 BC), became associated with great wealth in Greek historiography. He is credited with issuing the Croeseid, the first true gold coins with a standardized purity for general circulation.[12] and the world's first bimetallic monetary system c. 550 BC.[12] Coins spread rapidly in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, leading to the development of Ancient Greek coinage and Achaemenid coinage, and further to Illyrian coinage.[18]Achaemenid coinage (546–330 BC)Main article: Achaemenid coinageThe first type of Siglos (Type I: "King with bow and arrows", upper body of the king only), from the time of Darius I, c. 520–505 BCDaric gold coin, c. 490 BC; one of the most successful of Antiquity.When Cyrus the Great (550–530 BC) came to power, coinage was unfamiliar in his realm. Barter and to some extent silver bullion was used instead for trade.[2] The practice of using silver bars for currency also seems to have been current in Central Asia from the 6th century.[3]Cyrus the Great introduced coins to the Persian Empire after 546 BC, following his conquest of Lydia and the defeat of its king Croesus, who had put in place the first coinage in history. With his conquest of Lydia, Cyrus acquired a region in which coinage was invented, developed through advanced metallurgy, and had already been in circulation for about 50 years, making the Lydian Kingdom one of the leading trade powers of the time.[2] It seems Cyrus initially adopted the Lydian coinage as such, and continued to strike Lydia's lion-and-bull coinage.[2]Original coins of the Achaemenid Empire were issued from 520 BC – 450 BC to 330 BC. The Persian Daric was the first truly Achaemenid gold coin which, along with a similar silver coin, the Siglos, represented the bimetallic monetary standard of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.Coinage of Southern Asia under the Achaemenid EmpireSee also: Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley and Coinage of IndiaA siglos found in the Kabul valley, 5th century BC. Coins of this type were also found in the Bhir Mound hoard.The Achaemenid Empire already reached the doors of India during the original expansion of Cyrus the Great, and the Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley is dated to c. 515 BC under Darius I.[2] An Achaemenid administration was established in the area. The Kabul hoard, also called the Chaman Hazouri hoard,[22] is a coin hoard discovered in the vicinity of Kabul, Afghanistan, containing numerous Achaemenid coins as well as many Greek coins from the 5th and 4th centuries BC.[21] The deposit of the hoard is dated to the Achaemenid period, in approximately 380 BC.[23] The hoard also contained many locally produced silver coins, minted by local authorities under Achaemenid rule. Several of these issues follow the "western designs" of the facing bull heads, a stag, or Persian column capitals on the obverse, and incuse punch on the reverse.According to numismatist Joe Cribb, these finds suggest that the idea of coinage and the use of punch-marked techniques was introduced to India from the Achaemenid Empire during the 4th century BC.[26] More Achaemenid coins were also found in Pushkalavati and in Bhir Mound.Punch-marked coin minted in the Kabul Valley under Achaemenid administration, c. 500–380 BC, or c. 350 BC.[28][21]Gandharan "bent-bar" punch-marked coin minted under Achaemenid administration, of the type found in large quantities in the Chaman Hazouri and the Bhir Mound hoards.Gandharan "bent-bar" punch-marked coin minted under Achaemenid administration, of the type found in large quantities in the Chaman Hazouri and the Bhir Mound hoards.Early punch-marked coins of Gandhara, Taxila-Gandhara region.Greek Archaic coinage (until about 480 BC)Further information: Archaic period of ancient Greek coinageSilver stater of Aegina, 550–530 BC. Obv. Sea turtle with large pellets down centre. Rev. incuse square punch with eight sections.Athenian coin (c. 500/490–485 BC) discovered in the Shaikhan Dehri hoard in Pushkalavati, Ancient India. This coin is the earliest known example of its type to be found so far east.According to Aristotle (fr. 611,37, ed. V. Rose) and Pollux (Onamastikon IX.83), the first issuer of Greek coinage was Hermodike of Kyme.A small percentage of early Lydian/Greek coins have a legend.[30] The most ancient inscribed coin known is from nearby Caria. This coin has a Greek legend reading phaenos emi sema[31] interpreted variously as "I am the badge of Phanes", or "I am the sign of light".[32] The Phanes coins are among the earliest of Greek coins; a hemihekte of the issue was found in the foundation deposit of the temple of Artemis at Ephesos (the oldest deposit of electrum coins discovered). One assumption is that Phanes was a mercenary mentioned by Herodotus, another that this coin is associated with the primeval god Phanes or "Phanes" might have been an epithet of the local goddess identified with Artemis. Barclay V. Head found these suggestions unlikely and thought it more probably "the name of some prominent citizen of Ephesus".Another candidate for the site of the earliest coins is Aegina, where Chelone ("turtle") coins were first minted c. 700 BC. Coins from Athens and Corinth appeared shortly thereafter, known to exist at least since the late 6th century BC.Coin of Phaselis, Lycia, c. 550–530/20 BC.Coin of Lycia, c. 520–470/60 BC.Lycia coin, c. 520-470 BC. Struck with worn obverse die.Coin of Lesbos, Ionia, c. 510–80 BC.AntiquityClassical Greek antiquity (480 BC~)Tetradrachm of Athens(c. 454–404 BC)Obverse: a portrait of Athena, patron goddess of the city, in helmetReverse: the owl of Athens, with an olive sprig and the inscription "ΑΘΕ", short for ΑΘΕΝΑΙΟΝ, "of the Athenians"A Syracusan tetradrachm(c. 415–405 BC)Obverse: head of the nymph Arethusa, surrounded by four swimming dolphins and a rudderReverse: a racing quadriga, its charioteer crowned by the goddess Victory in flight.Further information: Ancient Greek coinage and Illyrian coinageThe Classical period saw Greek coinage reach a high level of technical and aesthetic quality. Larger cities now produced a range of fine silver and gold coins, most bearing a portrait of their patron god or goddess or a legendary hero on one side, and a symbol of the city on the other. Some coins employed a visual pun: some coins from Rhodes featured a rose, since the Greek word for rose is rhodon. The use of inscriptions on coins also began, usually the name of the issuing city.The wealthy cities of Sicily produced some especially fine coins. The large silver decadrachm (10-drachm) coin from Syracuse is regarded by many collectors as the finest coin produced in the ancient world, perhaps ever. Syracusan issues were rather standard in their imprints, one side bearing the head of the nymph Arethusa and the other usually a victorious quadriga. The tyrants of Syracuse were fabulously rich, and part of their public relations policy was to fund quadrigas for the Olympic chariot race, a very expensive undertaking. As they were often able to finance more than one quadriga at a time, they were frequent victors in this highly prestigious event. Syracuse was one of the epicenters of numismatic art during the classical period. Led by the engravers Kimon and Euainetos, Syracuse produced some of the finest coin designs of antiquity.Amongst the first centers to produce coins during the Greek colonization of mainland Southern Italy (Magna Graecia) were Paestum, Crotone, Sybaris, Caulonia, Metapontum, and Taranto. These ancient cities started producing coins from 550BC to 510BC.Amisano, in a general publication, including the Etruscan coinage, attributing it the beginning to about 560 BC in Populonia, a chronology that would leave out the contribution of the Greeks of Magna Graecia and attribute to the Etruscans the burden of introducing the coin in Italy. In this work, constant reference is made to classical sources, and credit is given to the origin of the Etruscan Lydia, a source supported by Herodotus, and also to the invention of coin in Lydia.Aegina coin type, incuse skew pattern, c. 456/45–431 BCCoin of Akanthos, Macedon, c. 470-430 BC.Coin of Aspendos, Pamphylia, c. 465–430 BC.Coin from Korkyra, c. 350/30–290/70 BC.Coin of Cyprus, c. 450 BC.Appearance of dynastic portraiture (5th century BC)The Achaemenid Empire Satraps and Dynasts in Asia Minor developed the usage of portraiture from c. 420 BC. Portrait of the Satrap of Lydia, Tissaphernes (c. 445–395 BC).Although many of the first coins illustrated the images of various gods, the first portraiture of actual rulers appears with the coinage of Lycia in the 5th century BC. No ruler had dared illustrating his own portrait on coinage until that time.The Achaemenids had been the first to illustrate the person of their king or a hero in a stereotypical manner, showing a bust or the full body but never an actual portrait, on their Sigloi and Daric coinage from c. 500 BC. A slightly earlier candidate for the first portrait-coin is Themistocles the Athenian general, who became a Governor of Magnesia on the Meander, c. 465–459 BC, for the Achaemenid Empire, although there is some doubt that his coins may have represented Zeus rather than himself. Themistocles may have been in a unique position in which he could transfer the notion of individual portraiture, already current in the Greek world, and at the same time wield the dynastic power of an Achaemenid dynasty who could issue his own coins and illustrate them as he wished.[46] From the time of Alexander the Great, portraiture of the issuing ruler would then become a standard, generalized, feature of coinage.Coin of Themistocles as Governor of Magnesia. Obv: Barley grain. Rev: Possible portrait of Themistocles, c. 465–459 BC.Portrait of Lycian ruler Kherei wearing the Persian cap on the reverse of his coins (ruled 410–390 BC).Portrait of Lycian ruler Erbbina wearing the Persian cap on the reverse of his coins (ruled 390–380 BC).Portrait of Lycian ruler Perikles facing (ruled 380-360 BC).Indian coins (c. 400 BC – AD 100)See also: Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley and Coinage of IndiaHoard of mostly Mauryan Empire coins, 3rd century BC.The Karshapana is the earliest punch-marked coin found in India, produced from at least the mid-4th century BC, and possibly as early as 575 BC,[48] influenced by similar coins produced in Gandhara under the Achaemenid empire, such as those of the Kabul hoard,[49] or other examples found at Pushkalavati and in Bhir MoundChinese round coins (350 BC~)Main article: Ancient Chinese coinageChinese round coins, Eastern Zhou dynasty – Warring States Period, c. 300–220 BC. Four Hua (四化, 30mm, 6.94 g). Legend Yi Si Hua ([City of] Yi Four Hua).In China, early round coins appeared in the 4th century BC and were adopted for all China by Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di at the end of 3rd century BC.[50] The round coin, the precursor of the familiar cash coin, circulated in both the spade and knife money areas in the Zhou period, from around 350 BC. Apart from two small and presumably late coins from the State of Qin, coins from the spade money area have a round hole and refer to the jin and liang units. Those from the knife money area have a square hole and are denominated in hua (化).Although for discussion purposes the Zhou coins are divided up into categories of knives, spades, and round coins, it is apparent from archaeological finds that most of the various kinds circulated together. A hoard found in 1981, near Hebi in north Henan province, consisted of: 3,537 Gong spades, 3 Anyi arched foot spades, 8 Liang Dang Lie spades, 18 Liang square foot spades and 1,180 Yuan round coins, all contained in three clay jars.Hellenistic period (320 BC – AD 30)Further information: Ptolemaic coinage, Seleucid coinage, and Indo-Greek coinagePoshumous Alexander the Great tetradrachm fromPosthumous Alexander the Great tetradrachm from Temnos, Aeolis. Dated 188–170 BC. Obverse: Alexander the Great as Herakles facing right wearing the nemean lionskin. Reverse: Zeus seated on throne to the left holding eagle in right hand and scepter in left; in left field PA monogram and angular sigma above grape vine arching over oinochoe; ALEXANDROU vertical in right field. Reference: Price 1678.The Hellenistic period was characterized by the spread of Greek culture across a large part of the known world. Greek-speaking kingdoms were established in Egypt and Syria, and for a time also in Iran and as far east as what is now Afghanistan and northwestern India. Greek traders spread Greek coins across this vast area, and the new kingdoms soon began to produce their own coins. Because these kingdoms were much larger and wealthier than the Greek city states of the classical period, their coins tended to be more mass-produced, as well as larger, and more frequently in gold. They often lacked the aesthetic delicacy of coins of the earlier period.Still, some of the Greco-Bactrian coins, and those of their successors in India, the Indo-Greeks, are considered the finest examples of Greek numismatic art with "a nice blend of realism and idealization", including the largest coins to be minted in the Hellenistic world: the largest gold coin was minted by Eucratides (reigned 171–145 BC), the largest silver coin by the Indo-Greek king Amyntas Nikator (reigned c. 95–90 BC). The portraits "show a degree of individuality never matched by the often bland depictions of their royal contemporaries further West" (Roger Ling, "Greece and the Hellenistic World").Seleucus Nicator (312–281 BCE), Ai Khanoum. Antiochus I (281–261 BC), Ai Khanoum.Bilingual coin of Indo-Greek king Antialcidas (105–95 BC).Bilingual coin of Agathocles of Bactria with Hindu deities, c. 180 BC.Roman period (290 BC~)Further information: Roman currency, Roman Republican currency, Aureus, Solidus (coin), Denarius, Antoninianus, and SestertiusO: Bearded head of Mars with Corinthian helmet left.R: Horse head right, grain ear behind.The first Roman silver coin, 281 BC. Crawford 13/1Coinage followed Greek colonization and influence first around the Mediterranean and soon after to North Africa (including Egypt), Syria, Persia, and the Balkans.[52] Coins came late to the Roman Republic compared with the rest of the Mediterranean, especially Greece and Asia Minor where coins were invented in the 7th century BC. The currency of central Italy was influenced by its natural resources, with bronze being abundant (the Etruscans were famous metal workers in bronze and iron) and silver ore being scarce. The coinage of the Roman Republic started with a few silver coins apparently devised for trade with Celtic in northern Italy and the Greek colonies in Southern Italy, and heavy cast bronze pieces for use in Central Italy. The first Roman coins, which were crude, heavy cast bronzes, were issued c. 289 BC.[53] Amisano, in a general publication, including the Etruscan coinage, attributing it the beginning to about 550 BC in Populonia, a chronology that would leave out the contribution of the Greeks of Magna Graecia and attribute to the Etruscans the burden of introducing the coin in Italy. In this work, constant reference is made to classical sources, and credit is given to the origin of the Etruscan Lydia, a source supported by Herodotus, and also to the invention of coin in Lydia.[39]Sestertius of Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maximus, AD 238 Set of three Roman aurei depicting the rulers of the Flavian dynasty. Top to bottom: Vespasian, Titus and Domitian, AD 69–96Silver Drachma of Mehrdad (Mithridates I) of Persian Empire of Parthia, 165 BCMiddle AgesFurther information: Byzantine mints, Visigothic coinage, Coinage in Anglo-Saxon England, Medieval Bulgarian coinage, Gold dinar, Coinage of the Republic of Venice, Portuguese dinheiro, Sceat, and PfennigFurther information: History of the English penny (c. 600 – 1066), Japanese mon (currency), and ReichsmünzordnungThe first European coin to use Arabic numerals to date the year in which the coin was minted was the St. Gall silver Plappart of 1424.[54]Lombardic Tremissis depicting Saint Michael, AD 688–700Silver coin of Borandukht of Persian Sassanian Empire, AD 629Silver Dirham of the Umayyad Caliphate, AD 729; minted by using Persian Sassanian frameworkAbbasid coin, c. 1080sAlmoravid coin, 1138–1139Modern historyBrunswick-Wolfenbüttel Thaler minted in 1629Japanese local currency Genbun Inari Koban Kin, c. 1736–1741 1768 silver Spanish Dollar, or eight reales coin (the “piece of eight” of pirate fame), minted throughout the Spanish Empire1768 silver Spanish Dollar, or eight reales coin (the “piece of eight” of pirate fame), minted throughout the Spanish EmpireOttoman coin, 1818One Rupee coin issued by the East India Company, 1835Silver coin of the Bengal Sultanate ruler Jalaluddin MuhammadValueFive million mark coin (Weimar Republic, 1923). Despite its high denomination, this coin's monetary value dropped to a tiny fraction of a US cent by the end of 1923, substantially less than the value of its metallic content.An unusual copper coin of KingGeorge IV of Georgia withGeorgian inscriptions, 1210A silver coin made during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Alamgir IICurrencyMost coins presently are made of a base metal, and their value comes from their status as fiat money. This means that the value of the coin is established by law, and thus is determined by the free market only in as much as national currencies are used in domestic trade and also traded internationally on foreign exchange markets. Thus, these coins are monetary tokens, just as paper currency is: their value is usually not backed by metal, but rather by some form of government guarantee. Thus, there is very little economic difference between notes and coins of equivalent face value.Coins may be in circulation with face values lower than the value of their component metals, but they are never initially issued with such value, and the shortfall only arises over time due to inflation, as market values for the metal overtake the face value of the coin. Examples are the pre-1965 US dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar (containing slightly less than a tenth, quarter, half, and full ounce of silver, respectively), US nickel, and pre-1982 US penny. As a result of the increase in the value of copper, the United States greatly reduced the amount of copper in each penny. Since mid-1982, United States pennies are made of 97.5% zinc, with the remaining 2.5% being a coating of copper. Extreme differences between face values and metal values of coins cause coins to be hoarded or removed from circulation by illicit smelters in order to realize the value of their metal content. This is an example of Gresham's law. The United States Mint, in an attempt to avoid this, implemented new interim rules on December 14, 2006, subject to public comment for 30 days, which criminalized the melting and export of pennies and nickels.[55] Violators can be fined up to $10,000 and/or imprisoned for up to five years.[56]Collector's itemsA coin's value as a collector's item or as an investment generally depends on its condition, specific historical significance, rarity, quality, beauty of the design and general popularity with collectors. If a coin is greatly lacking in all of these, it is unlikely to be worth much. The value of bullion coins is also influenced to some extent by those factors, but is largely based on the value of their gold, silver, or platinum content. Sometimes non-monetized bullion coins such as the Canadian Maple Leaf and the American Gold Eagle are minted with nominal face values less than the value of the metal in them, but as such coins are never intended for circulation, these face values have no relevance.Collector catalogs often include information about coins to assists collectors with identifying and grading. Additional resources can be found online for collectors These are collector clubs, collection management tools, marketplaces,[57] trading platforms, and forums,Media of expressionSee also: Hobo nickel and Elongated pennyCoins can be used as creative media of expression – from fine art sculpture to the penny machines that can be found in most amusement parks. In the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) in the United States there are some regulations specific to nickels and pennies that are informative on this topic. 31 CFR § 82.1 forbids unauthorized persons from exporting, melting, or treating any 5 or 1 cent coins.[58]This has been a particular problem with nickels and dimes (and with some comparable coins in other currencies) because of their relatively low face value and unstable commodity prices. For a while,[when?] the copper in US pennies was worth more than one cent, so people would hoard pennies and then melt them down for their metal value. It cost more than face value to manufacture pennies or nickels, so any widespread loss of the coins in circulation could be expensive for the US Treasury. This was more of a problem when coins were still made of precious metals like silver and gold, so strict laws against alteration make more sense historically.31 CFR § 82.2(b) goes on to state that: "The prohibition contained in § 82.1 against the treatment of 5-cent coins and one-cent coins shall not apply to the treatment of these coins for educational, amusement, novelty, jewelry, and similar purposes as long as the volumes treated and the nature of the treatment makes it clear that such treatment is not intended as a means by which to profit solely from the value of the metal content of the coins."Debasement and clippingA Swiss ten-cent coin from 1879, similar to the oldest coins still in official use todayAlexander the Great Tetradrachm from the Temnos MintAlexander the Great Tetradrachm from the Temnos Mint, c. 188–170 BCThroughout history, monarchs and governments have often created more coinage than their supply of precious metals would allow if the coins were pure metal. By replacing some fraction of a coin's precious metal content with a base metal (often copper or nickel), the intrinsic value of each individual coin was reduced (thereby "debasing" the money), allowing the coining authority to produce more coins than would otherwise be possible. Debasement occasionally occurs in order to make the coin physically harder and therefore less likely to be worn down as quickly, but the more usual reason is to profit from the difference between face value and metal value. Debasement of money almost always leads to price inflation. Sometimes price controls are at the same time also instituted by the governing authority, but historically these have generally proved unworkable.The United States is unusual in that it has only slightly modified its coinage system (except for the images and symbols on the coins, which have changed a number of times) to accommodate two centuries of inflation. The one-cent coin has changed little since 1856 (though its composition was changed in 1982 to remove virtually all copper from the coin) and still remains in circulation, despite a greatly reduced purchasing power. On the other end of the spectrum, the largest coin in common circulation is valued at 25 cents, a very low value for the largest denomination coin compared to many other countries. Increases in the prices of copper, nickel, and zinc meant that both the US one- and five-cent coins became worth more for their raw metal content than their face (fiat) value. In particular, copper one-cent pieces (those dated prior to 1982 and some 1982-dated coins) contained about two cents' worth of copper.Some denominations of circulating coins that were formerly minted in the United States are no longer made. These include coins with a face value of a half cent, two cents, three cents, and twenty cents. (The half dollar and dollar coins are still produced, but mostly for vending machines and collectors.) In the past, the US also coined the following denominations for circulation in gold: One dollar, $2.50, three dollars, five dollars, ten dollars, and twenty dollars. In addition, cents were originally slightly larger than the modern quarter and weighed nearly half an ounce, while five-cent coins (known then as "half dimes") were smaller than a dime and made of a silver alloy. Dollar coins were also much larger, and weighed approximately an ounce. One-dollar gold coins are no longer produced and rarely used. The US also issues bullion and commemorative coins with the following denominations: 50¢, $1, $5, $10, $25, $50, and $100.Circulating coins commonly suffered from "shaving" or "clipping": the public would cut off small amounts of precious metal from their edges to sell it and then pass on the mutilated coins at full value.[60] Unmilled British sterling silver coins were sometimes reduced to almost half their minted weight. This form of debasement in Tudor England was commented on by Sir Thomas Gresham, whose name was later attached to Gresham's law. The monarch would have to periodically recall circulating coins, paying only the bullion value of the silver, and reminting them. This, also known as recoinage, is a long and difficult process that was done only occasionally.[61] Many coins have milled or reeded edges, originally designed to make it easier to detect clipping.Other usesSome convicted criminals from the British Isles who were sentenced to transportation to Australia in the 18th and 19th centuries used coins to leave messages of remembrance to loved ones left behind in Britain. The coins were defaced, smoothed and inscribed, either by stippling or engraving, with sometimes touching words of loss. These coins were called "convict love tokens" or "leaden hearts".[62] Some of these tokens are in the collection of the National Museum of Australia.Modern featuresCoins can be stacked.1884 United States trade dollarFrench 1992 twenty Franc Tri-Metallic coinBimetallic Egyptian one pound coin featuring King TutankhamenThe side of a coin carrying an image of a monarch, other authority (see List of people on coins), or a national emblem is called the obverse (colloquially, heads); the other side, carrying various types of information, is called the reverse (colloquially, tails). The year of minting is usually shown on the obverse, although some Chinese coins, most Canadian coins, the pre-2008 British 20p coin, the post-1999 American quarter, and all Japanese coins are exceptions.The relation of the images on the obverse and reverse of a coin is the coin's orientation. If the image on the obverse of the coin is right side up and turning the coin left or right on its vertical axis reveals that the reverse of the coin is also right side up, then the coin is said to have medallic orientation—typical of the Euro and pound sterling; if, however, turning the coin left or right shows that the reverse image is upside down, then the coin is said to have coin orientation, characteristic of the United States dollar coin.Bimetallic coins are sometimes used for higher values and for commemorative purposes. In the 1990s, France used a tri-metallic coin. Common circulating bimetallic examples include the €1, €2, British £1, £2 and Canadian $2 and several peso coins in Mexico.The exergue is the space on a coin beneath the main design, often used to show the coin's date, although it is sometimes left blank or contains a mint mark, privy mark, or some other decorative or informative design feature. Many coins do not have an exergue at all, especially those with few or no legends, such as the Victorian bun penny.3 Rubles proof coin of Russia, minted in 2008Not all coins are round; they come in a variety of shapes. The Australian 50-cent coin, for example, has twelve flat sides. Some coins have wavy edges, e.g. the $2 and 20-cent coins of Hong Kong and the 10-cent coins of Bahamas. Some are square-shaped, such as the 15-cent coin of the Bahamas and the 50-cent coin from Aruba. During the 1970s, Swazi coins were minted in several shapes, including squares, polygons, and wavy edged circles with 8 and 12 waves.Scalloped coin of Israel1996 one cent coin from BelizeDecagonal two Piso Philippine coin 1990Some other coins, like the British 20 and 50 pence coins and the Canadian Loonie, have an odd number of sides, with the edges rounded off. This way the coin has a constant diameter, recognizable by vending machines whichever direction it is inserted.A triangular coin with a face value of £5 (produced to commemorate the 2007/2008 Tutankhamun exhibition at The O2 Arena) was commissioned by the Isle of Man: it became legal tender on 6 December 2007.[63] Other triangular coins issued earlier include: Cabinda coin, Bermuda coin, 2 Dollar Cook Islands 1992 triangular coin, Uganda Millennium Coin and Polish Sterling-Silver 10-Zloty Coin.Some medieval coins, called bracteates, were so thin they were struck on only one side.Many coins over the years have been manufactured with integrated holes such as Chinese "cash" coins, Japanese coins, Colonial French coins, etc. This may have been done to permit their being strung on cords, to facilitate storage and being carried. Nowadays, holes help to differentiate coins of similar size and metal, such as the Japanese 50 yen and 100 yen coin.1917 French coin with integrated holeChinese cash coin, 1102–11061941 Palestine coinModern-day Japanese 50-yen coin 1924 East African coinHolographic coin from Liberia features the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World)The Royal Canadian Mint is now able to produce holographic-effect gold and silver coinage. However, this procedure is not limited to only bullion or commemorative coinage. The 500 yen coin from Japan was subject to a massive amount of counterfeiting. The Japanese government in response produced a circulatory coin with a holographic image.The Royal Canadian Mint has also released several coins that are colored, the first of which was in commemoration of Remembrance Day. The subject was a colored poppy on the reverse of a 25-cent piece minted through a patented process.An example of non-metallic composite coins (sometimes incorrectly called plastic coins) was introduced into circulation in Transnistria on 22 August 2014. Most of these coins are also non-circular, with different shapes corresponding to different coin values.For a list of many pure metallic elements and their alloys which have been used in actual circulation coins and for trial experiments, see coinage metals.Physics and chemistryAn American Silver Eagle minted in 2019 (left), an example of a Bullion coin. Its obverse design is based on the older, formerly circulating silver Walking Liberty half dollar (right).FlippingTo flip a coin to see whether it lands heads or tails is to use it as a two-sided dice in what is known in mathematics as a Bernoulli trial: if the probability of heads (in the parlance of Bernoulli trials, a "success") is exactly 0.5, the coin is fair.SpinningFurther information: Euler's DiskCoins can also be spun on a flat surface such as a table. This results in the following phenomenon: as the coin falls over and rolls on its edge, it spins faster and faster (formally, the precession rate of the symmetry axis of the coin, i.e., the axis passing from one face of the coin to the other) before coming to an abrupt stop. This is mathematically modeled as a finite-time singularity – the precession rate is accelerating to infinity, before it suddenly stops, and has been studied using high speed photography and devices such as Euler's Disk. The slowing down is predominantly caused by rolling friction (air resistance is minor), and the singularity (divergence of the precession rate) can be modeled as a power law with exponent approximately −1/3.OdorIron and copper coins have a characteristic metallic smell that is produced upon contact with oils in the skin. Perspiration is chemically reduced upon contact with these metals, which causes the skin oils to decompose, forming with iron the volatile molecule 1-octen-3-one.Regional examplesPhilippinesThe Piloncitos are tiny engraved gold coins found in the Philippines, along with the barter rings, which are gold ring-like ingots. These barter rings are bigger than doughnuts[specify] in size and are made of pure gold from the Archaic period (c. 10th to 16th century).In the Philippines, small, engraved gold coins called Piloncitos were excavated, some as lightweight as 0.09 to 2.65 grams. Piloncitos have been unearthed from Mandaluyong, Bataan, the banks of the Pasig River, Batangas, Marinduque, Samar, Leyte and some areas in Mindanao. Large quantities were found in Indonesian archaeological sites, suggesting that they may not have originated in the Philippines, but rather were imported. However, numerous Spanish accounts state that the gold coins were mined and labored in the Philippines, such as the following from 1586:“The people of this island (Luzon) are very skillful in their handling of gold. They weigh it with the greatest skill and delicacy that have ever been seen. The first thing they teach their children is the knowledge of gold and the weights with which they weigh it, for there is no other money among them.”Numismatics portal Tony Clayton. "Comprehensive list of metals and their alloys which have been used at various times, in coins for all types of purposes". coinsoftheuk.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-08-15. Metcalf, William E. (2016). The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage. Oxford University Press. pp. 61–65. ISBN 9780199372188. Discovery of a hoard of currency with silver bars near Malayer, dated circa 600 BCE, with photographs in Bivar, Adrian David Hugh. Hoard of Ingot-Currency of the Median Period from Nūsh-i Jān, near Malayir (1971). pp. 97–111. "中國最早金屬鑄幣 商代晚期鑄造銅貝-河南概況". Big5.henan.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2012-05-22. Giedroyc, Richard (2006-11-15). The Everything Coin Collecting Book: All You Need to Start Your Collection …. ISBN 9781593375683. Archived from the original on 2013-05-28. Retrieved 2012-05-21. YK Kwan. "A snap shot view of The history of China by YK Kwan". Chinesechinese.net. Archived from the original on 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2012-05-21. Kramer, Jillian (6 August 2021). "'World's oldest' coin factory discovered in China". National geographic. Retrieved 24 July 2022. Zhao, Hao; Gao, Xiangping; Jiang, Yuchao; Lin, Yi; Zhu, Jin; Ding, Sicong; Deng, Lijun; Zhang, Ji (6 August 2021). "Radiocarbon-dating an early minting site: the emergence of standardised coinage in China". Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. 95 (383): 1161–1178. doi:10.15184/aqy.2021.94. S2CID 238220610. Retrieved 24 July 2022. CNG: IONIA, Ephesos. Phanes. Circa 625–600 BC. EL Trite (14mm, 4.67 g). M. Kroll, review of G. Le Rider's La naissance de la monnaie, Schweizerische Numismatische Rundschau 80 (2001), p. 526. D. Sear, Greek Coins and Their Values Vol. 2, Seaby, London, 1979, p. 317. "The Types of Greek Coins" An Archaeological Essay by Percy Gardner 1883 p.42 "Considering these and other facts it may be held to be probable, if not absolutely proved, that priests first issued stamped coin, and that the first mints were in Greek temples." Metcalf, William E. (2016). The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage. Oxford University Press. pp. 49–50. ISBN 9780199372188. "Hoards, Small Change, and the Origin of Capitalism," Journal of the Hellenistic Studies 84 (1964), p. 89 M. Mitchiner, Ancient Trade and Early Coinage, Hawkins Publications, London, 2004, p. 214 Muscarella, Oscar White (15 June 2013). Archaeology, Artifacts and Antiquities of the Ancient Near East: Sites, Cultures, and Proveniences. ISBN 978-9004236691. G. Hanfmann, pp. 73, 77. R. Seaford, p. 128, points out, "The nearly total lack of … coins in the excavated commercial-industrial areas of Sardis suggests that they were concentrated in the hands of the king and possibly wealthy merchants." A. Ramage, "Golden Sardis", King Croesus' Gold: Excavations at Sardis and the History of Gold Refining, edited by A. Ramage and P. Craddock, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2000, p. 18. "Cent". Archived from the original on 6 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015. Michael Alram, "DARIC", Encyclopaedia Iranica, December 15, 1994, last updated November 17, 2011 Bopearachchi, Osmund; Cribb, Joe (1992), "Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia", in Errington, Elizabeth; Cribb, Joe; Claringbull, Maggie (eds.), The Crossroads of Asia: transformation in image and symbol in the art of ancient Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ancient India and Iran Trust, pp. 57–59, ISBN 978-0-9518399-1-1, Coins of this type found in Chaman Hazouri (deposited c.350 BCE) and Bhir Mound hoards (deposited c.300 BCE). Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, pp. 57–59: "The most important and informative of these hoards is the Chaman Hazouri hoard from Kabul discovered in 1933, which contained royal Achaemenid sigloi from the western part of the Achaemenid Empire, together with a large number of Greek coins dating from the fifth and early fourth century BCE, including a local imitation of an Athenian tetradrachm, all apparently taken from circulation in the region." Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, pp. 300–301 Bopearachchi, Coin Production and Circulation 2000, p. 309 and Note 65 Metcalf, William E. (2016). The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage. Oxford University Press. pp. 70–80. ISBN 9780199372188. André-Salvini, Béatrice (2005). Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia. University of California Press. p. 208 Coin no.381 for the Persian column capitals. ISBN 9780520247314. Cribb, Investigating the introduction of coinage in India 1983, p. 101 372. Lot: 658, Lot of two AR bent bars, CNG Coins. Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, pp. 57–59: "Silver bent-bar punch-marked coin of Kabul region under the Achaemenid Empire, c.350 BC: Coins of this type found in quantity in Chaman Hazouri and Bhir Mound hoards." (Commentary by Joe Cribb and Osmund Bopearachchi) "Extremely Rare Early Silver from the Kabul Valley", CNG 102, Lot:649, CNG Coins "A Truly International Currency", Triton XV, Lot: 1163, ATTICA, Athens Archived 2019-12-25 at the Wayback Machine, CNG Coins "Inscriptions and Titles on ancient Greek coins". Snible.org. Archived from the original on 2012-06-08. Retrieved 2012-05-21. "Electrum stater inscribed with the name of Phanes". British Museum. 2011-09-29. Archived from the original on 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2012-05-21. Newton Num. Chron., 1870, p. 238 Head, Barclay V. (1911). Historia Numorum, A Manual of Greek Numismatics, New and Enlarged Edition. London: Clarendon Press. Retrieved 25 October 2021. British Museum Catalogue 11 – Attica Megaris Aegina, 700 – 550 BCE, plate XXIII Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. C. Kraay, Archaic and Classical Greek Coins, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1976. Vintage stamps and rare coins sale online! Продажа старинных марок и редких монет онлайн - stamplake.com STAMPLAKE.COM PROFESSIONAL SELLER Type of capital investments, as investments in antiques is growing in popularity more and more each day. It's quite a profitable and safe investment, as prices for antiques are steadily growing (on average 20% per year), which often exceeds the growth of stocks in the stock market. In addition, investment in antiques enriches not only materially bringing income but also spiritually, bringing esthetic pleasure. However, investing money in antiques is a complex activity. In order to make substantial amount of money, You need to acquire special knowledge and build relationships in the appropriate community. It is necessary to understand what things really have the potential to increase in value and which, on the contrary, are hopeless. The word "antique" has Latin roots and means "old". The core value of antiques is in the fact that they are old. Age objects which are considered as antique, can start from 10-15 years, depending on the historical, physical and chemical characteristics of the object. Often, investment in antiques and collecting go hand in hand. That's why making money on old things is going better at those who are careful to things and who are orientating in the history very well. Fortunately for new investors, in the environment of antiques consultants are available whose main task is to help the investor to separate the "wheat from the chaff" and to make competent investment. 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If you want to do engage in such a profitable and exciting business, as investing in antiques, we will be happy to offer You assistance which will be provided by our experienced consultants who can help You see all the "pitfalls", to make the right choices and get real pleasure from the trip to the mysterious and magical world of collection. Dear collectors! StampLake.com are working for you and it's very important for us, that you can always find and buy in our store exactly what you are looking for and dreaming about. Therefore, if you do not succeed in finding the item, let us know and we will find and order the product you are interested in. Features and further details Dear collectors! StampLake.com are working for you and it's very important for us, that you can always find and buy in our store exactly what you are looking for and dreaming about. Therefore, if you do not succeed in finding the item, let us know and we will find and order the product you are interested in. Our company is made by collectors for collectors. We are selling various items which are related to the collection (coins, banknotes, faleras, antiques, various accessories, specialized literature and much else). Definitely here you will find a lot of necessary and useful items which you are interested in. We are always glad to meet you personally and definitely you will find the item you are interested in. Contact us We can be contacted at any time through eBay messages if you have any questions, comments or product requests. We will respond to you within 24-48 hours and do our best to help you out! We encourage our customers to contact us with any questions or concerns! We'd like to be sure you are completely satisfied with your purchase. Payment PAYPAL , VISA , MASTERCARD , MASESTRO , AMERICAN EXPRESS Shipping WITH PACKAGE NUMBER IN 1-2 WORKING DAYS AFTER PAYMENT Disclaimer 14 days returns accepted, buyer pays return shipping cost Best regards from STAMPLAKE.COM

Price: 3.96 USD

Location: Bergen

End Time: 2024-12-05T01:43:46.000Z

Shipping Cost: 3.79 USD

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Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer

All returns accepted: Returns Accepted

Item must be returned within: 30 Days

Refund will be given as: Money Back

Circulated/Uncirculated: Circulated

Denomination: 5 Öre

Year: 1953

Grade: Ungraded

Country/Region of Manufacture: Sweden

Certification: Uncertified