Residents of the peninsula spend hryvnia waiting for Russian currency

Two currencies - Russian and Ukrainian - have been circulating on the peninsula since Monday. However, the hryvnia remains the main currency - there is much more of it in Crimea. Rubles and hryvnias, according to the plan of the Crimean government, will coexist until January 1, 2016. While the Russian currency is in short supply, there are no euros or dollars in banks.

Photo: Alexander Miridonov, Kommersant / buy photo

Rubles appeared in large quantities in the hands of Crimeans on March 25. 200 thousand pensioners received pensions there. “On the very first day I couldn’t pay in rubles at the supermarket,” recalls Tatyana Parubina with annoyance in her voice. “I had to exchange it for hryvnia at the exchange office. But now everything is fine. Accepted everywhere." But pharmacies quickly reoriented themselves. Here rubles have been actively calculated since the beginning of the week. “A lot of pensioners come,” pharmacist Irina Kostenko talks to me, writing out prices in rubles with a pen. “But we give out change in hryvnias.” We don’t have small Russian money yet. We issue according to the exchange rate.” Course - 3.8 rubles. for one hryvnia: this is exactly how it was defined in the Crimean government. The day before, the State Council of the peninsula revised the course. Now prices can be recalculated in the range from 3.6 to 3.8 rubles. per hryvnia. “And I exchange rubles at the bank for hryvnia, and then pay,” says Simferopol resident Nadezhda Ivanovna. “It’s more profitable this way.” There one hryvnia for 3.5 rubles. give. In general, for now I’m trying to pay in hryvnias: I need to get rid of them.”

Now Crimeans are getting rid of Ukrainian kopecks and metal hryvnia coins: they spend them in stores or on public transport. Most Crimean banks have already stopped exchanging kopecks for paper hryvnia. Not only shops and pharmacies, but also cafes, gas stations, hairdressers, and cinemas are switching to payments in two currencies. But for now they continue to pay mainly in Ukrainian currency. “For the whole week, one guy in a cafe paid in rubles,” says Alexander Smirnov, commercial director of one of the Simferopol cinemas.

The situation will soon change, the Crimean government assures. The Russian currency should almost completely replace the Ukrainian one in a few months. Following pensioners, state employees began to receive salaries in rubles; in April, it is expected that scholarships will be paid to students in Russian money. Today, many banks and ATMs do not operate in Crimea, but they should soon switch to working in Russian currency. “I think that from Tuesday-Wednesday the banking system will operate fully as usual. They will give money to people at ATMs. It will be rubles,” said Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksenov. In the meantime, most operating banks hold rubles: it is almost impossible to buy Russian money or foreign currency at their cash desks. Most banks in March also stopped issuing dollars and euros to clients from current accounts and currency through money transfers: according to official information from banks, stocks of this currency have also run out in Crimea.

Vadim Nikiforov, Simferopol

The ruble is slowly conquering Crimea