Bulgarian Lev country flag

Bulgarian Lev

BGN

Лв.
Russian Ruble country flag

Russian Ruble

RUB

Bulgarian Lev
The lev (лев; plural: лева, левове; lev, leva, levove; ISO 4217 code: BGN) was the currency of Bulgaria from 1880 to 2025. The euro replaced the lev on 1 January 2026; during the cash changeover period (1–31 January 2026), the lev and the euro circulated in parallel for cash payments, and from 1 February 2026 the euro became the sole legal tender in Bulgaria. The name lev derives from an archaic Bulgarian word meaning "lion" (modern лъв, lǎv, IPA: [ɫɤf]). The lev was subdivided into 100 stotinki (стотинки; singular: стотинка, stotinka); the term is derived from the Bulgarian word for "hundred" (сто, sto) and is modelled on the French centime. On Bulgarian euro coinage, the denominations below one euro use the inscriptions СТОТИНКА / СТОТИНКИ as the Bulgarian equivalent of "cent". Under a currency board introduced in 1997, the lev was initially pegged to the Deutsche Mark (1,000 BGL = 1 DEM). In 1999, the lev was redenominated at 1000:1 with 1 new lev (1 BGN) equal to 1 DEM. Subsequently the peg was shifted to the euro at a fixed rate of 1 EUR = 1.95583 BGN. The lev joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) on 10 July 2020 at the same rate until ultimately exiting both the ERM II and the currency board upon joint the eurozone on 1 January 2026.
Russian Ruble
The ruble or rouble (Russian: рубль, romanized: rublʹ; symbol: ₽; ISO code: RUB) is the official currency of Russia. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's monetary authority independent of all other government bodies. The ruble is the second-oldest currency in continuous use, after pound sterling, as well as the first decimal currency. The ruble was the currency of the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union, where it was known as the Soviet ruble (code: SUR, 810). Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet ruble was replaced in Russia with the Russian ruble (code: RUR, 810) at par in the following year. The Russian ruble continued to be used in 11 post-Soviet states, forming a "ruble zone" until 1993. In 1998, the ruble was redenominated (code: RUB, 643) shortly before the 1998 financial crisis, at a rate of 1000 RUR = 1 RUB. The ruble is a free-floating currency and is subdivided into 100 kopecks which have fallen out of use due to inflation. In 2023, the digital ruble was introduced. The Russian ruble is also used as a de facto legal tender in Baikonur, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.