Chapter 30 The depreciation of the ruble in the former Soviet Union (ask for recommendations and collections)

Now that everyone has discussed and decided to sell the apples themselves, the rest is to find a buyer, but before they can go out to find a buyer, the buyer himself will come to the door.

"Commander of the First Regiment, I heard that your regiment got a few carts of apples from the border yesterday, right?" asked the commander of the Second Regiment of the Maozi Border Guards to the commander of Brother Natasha.

"Yes, what's wrong with that? That's what everybody does. "The commander of a regiment said indifferently that several regiments stationed at the pass in turn had done similar things.

"Of course, no problem, I'm just here to buy some apples from you and sell them. The second regiment commander said.

"What price, how much?" asked the head of the regiment.

"15 rubles! 20,000 catties. The second regiment commander said.

"Yes. The commander of the first regiment thought about it for a while and said, after all, the two regiments guarded the pass together, and the benefits of this kind of smuggled goods could not be monopolized.

"But this money will not be given to you until I sell the apples to me in Moscow, is that okay?" asked the second regiment commander.

"You're going to sell apples to Moscow, it's too far, isn't it?" asked the head of the regiment.

"Not far away, I contacted the train station and asked them to hang me an extra car. The second regiment commander said.

"Who are you going to sell your apples to?" asked the head of the regiment.

"The army logistics department under my uncle, General Paul. The second regiment commander said.

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"Why are the Soviet troops willing to smuggle it in person for a mere hundreds of thousands of rubles?" Jia Lei asked Su Renfeng.

"Just a few hundred thousand rubles, Jia Lei, you just arrived in the Soviet Union, I'm afraid you don't know the purchasing power of rubles, right?" Su Renfeng thought for a while and asked.

"I really don't know, the ruble in the Soviet Union seems to be quite worthless, and our fruits, vegetables, clothes and socks are sold here for dozens of times the price in China. Jia Lei replied.

"When I sell the apples tomorrow, I'll take you to a store in the Soviet Union, and then you'll know how cheap prices are in the Soviet Union! You must know that the official exchange rate of the ruble is 0.6 to 1 US dollar, and the ruble is worth more than the US dollar! Even the exchange rate adjustment price is 0.8 to 1 US dollar. Su Renfeng said that at the end of October 1990, the official exchange rate of the ruble had not collapsed.

Before dawn the next day, three big trucks set off with Jia Lei and Apple, and the army has its own military connections!

Natasha's brother sold the apples directly to the Pacific Fleet's logistics department, knowing that in the early nineties, the Navy fleet was far more abundant than the Army, and shelf-stable fruits like apples were especially popular with the Navy.

Even if they were driving military trucks on the road, Jia Lei and they had encountered several checkpoints on the road, and ordinary checkpoints could easily pass through as long as they communicated well and left a bribe of dozens of rubles, but the closer they got to Vladivostok, the more and more dense the checkpoints.

"Why are there so many checkpoints in Vladivostok?" Jia Lei asked Su Renfeng.

"Of course, it's because of the Pacific Fleet, which is the most important naval fleet of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union easily does not allow foreigners to enter the fleet location. Su Renfeng replied.

"Pacific Fleet!Can I go and have a look?" Jia Lei asked excitedly.

"I don't know, I'll help you ask, I really want to see submarines and aircraft carriers!" Su Renfeng said.

This request was undoubtedly refused, not to mention that not only foreigners were Soviets at the time, but not everyone could enter the naval port to visit.

"Su, you must know that the Pacific Fleet is one of our top secrets, and as a soldier, you should understand that this kind of military restricted area is not something that civilians can visit with you! The regiment commander asked me to tell you the following itinerary, you don't have to follow it, we will send things to the Navy Logistics Department. "Natasha's brother.

"But if we don't go, how can we know how much these apples are sold for?" Jia Lei asked, and Su Renfeng translated for him.

"I'll tell you how much the apples sell, after all, we're relatives! But you have to know that the price offered by the purchasing department is different from what we can get, and we have to give some of it to the head of the purchasing department. The real price is definitely not the same as the purchase price!" said Natasha's brother.

Jia Lei also understands this truth, do you eat kickbacks!

So Jia Lei and Su Renfeng had already arrived in Vladivostok, but they still hadn't seen the appearance of the Pacific Fleet at all, so they were put down, and Natasha's brother sent a soldier to take them to the city to play.

"Now that I have time, why don't I take you to familiarize yourself with the prices and transportation in the Soviet Union! At the same time, let you know the real purchasing power of the ruble in the Soviet Union. Su Renfeng said.

"I'm really curious about whether the Soviet ruble is really that valuable now?" Jia Lei said, knowing that the first thing that everyone thinks of about the ruble is depreciation and collapse!

But few people know the purchasing power of the ruble before the devaluation!

Jia Lei was honored to come to the Soviet Union before the large-scale depreciation of the ruble, and he was fortunate to see the prices of the Soviet era that had never changed in the 40 years that had lasted in the Soviet Union!

Although prices on the black market have risen considerably, because the Soviet Union implemented a planned economy, the prices of things that the government set and produced in Soviet stores did not change.

But most of these things have a price, and you can't buy them with money.

****

At the end of the 80s, the ruble was 1:1.6 against the dollar, and in 1987 the ruble reached a high price of 06:1 dollar

The reason why the ruble is worth more than the dollar is that it was the heyday of the Soviet Union, and its heavy industry, basic science and aerospace technology were among the leading in the world, and the strong heavy industry base supported the strength of the ruble.

And before November 1990, the official exchange rate of the ruble was still the highest value of 0.6:1 US dollar!

"The USSR had two currencies, one was banknotes, the ruble, and the other was the coin kopeck. 1 ruble is equal to 100 kopecks, and the rubles are in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 rubles, and the kopecks are 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 50 kopecks, and 1 ruble;" Su Renfeng put the rubles and kopecks of various denominations on the table one by one and began to explain to Jia Lei.

"The kopeck in the Soviet Union is about the same as a few dimes in China, and the ruble is equal to the yuan, right?" Jia Lei understood simply and rudely.

"It's true, it's about the same, and the purchasing power is about the same! But because of the exchange rate difference, the actual value of the kopeck is higher than that of the Huaxia coin, you can see that the coins below 5 kopecks are made of copper, and the coins above 10 kopecks are silver coins!" Su Renfeng said, pointing to the coin.

Jia Lei took a closer look, and sure enough, a thought suddenly popped into his mind, if the ruble depreciates hundreds or thousands of times in the future, I am afraid that the metal used as a coin will be worth more than the face value of the coin!

"In the Soviet Union, prices were very cheap and stable, and in fact, because of the price bureau's unified pricing, prices in the Soviet Union did not change for 40 years. A pound of white bread weighs 453.59g for only 25 kopecks, which is enough food for one person for a day. And for us foreigners, the most important and most commonly used is the five kopecks. Whether it is a metro, a bus, a trolleybus, a tram, the fare for public transport is 5 kopecks. Su Renfeng picked up the largest and heaviest 5 kopeck coin and said, and then he took Jia Lei out.

Jia Lei and Su Renfeng got on a tram with Brother Bing, and Su Renfeng threw three 5 kopeck coins into the coin box.

"In the Soviet Union, no matter how far you take a bus, it costs only five kopecks, and the taxi fare is 20 kopecks per kilometer. The postage for a letter sent from Moscow to China is also 5 kopecks!" Su Renfeng told Jia Lei, who sat on the chair of the tram and listened carefully.

"Everything is 5 kopecks, 5 kopecks is so useful! This car is not bad!" Jia Lei sighed.

This is the first time he has made a tram since his rebirth, and from this alone, we know that the Soviet Union is now one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world!

When the tram stopped at an intersection, Su Renfeng took Jia Lei out of the car, and then he looked at it and took Jia Lei to a store with a long queue at the door.

"Aren't we lining up?" Jia Lei asked Su Renfeng curiously.

"No, we don't buy non-staple food and food, just see if you don't have to queue!" Su Renfeng told Jia Lei.

"Since the beginning of this summer, the supply of goods has been tight, and the queues in the grocery stores have been getting longer and longer. When the common people heard that the price was going to rise, they frantically snapped up all the daily necessities and even food. Su Renfeng said.

"Summer, is it after Russia's independence?" Jia Lei asked.

"Yes!" replied Su Renfeng.

On June 12, 1990, Russia issued a declaration on state sovereignty.

The Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic issued the Declaration on State Sovereignty, declaring the "absolute sovereignty" of the Russian Federation on its territory.

Because of its independence, Russia and other countries under the control of the Soviet Union could not trade easily, and many food and daily necessities that were originally supplied by other countries began to be in short supply.

"Why don't there be price cards in this store?" Jia Lei asked as he walked into the store.

"You don't need a price board in the store because all the prices are on the goods. Su Ren told Jia Lei, and then he pointed out to Jia Lei the prices of various commodities.

Jia Lei was surprised to find that all prices were really "marked" on the goods.

The price of clothing, shoes and hats is printed on a small strip of cloth and sewn on the top of the item, and the price of the tableware is directly written on the tableware. For example, the plate is written on the bottom, the knife and fork are engraved on the handle, and the most interesting thing is that the words "12 kopecks" in the glass are fired at the bottom of the glass.

"What should I do if the price rises after the price is written on the product first?" Jia Lei looked at the words 12 kopecks on the glass and asked the salesman in English embarrassedly.

"There will be no price increases, prices in the Soviet Union have not risen in 40 years!" replied the salesman in English.

Such "calcined" prices were like a symbol of the Soviet economic system, which could never be changed. In the daily life of the Soviets, people did not know what "price increase" was, and there was no concept of "price increase".

So after the collapse of the USSR and the depreciation of the ruble, the Soviets were caught off guard!

Jia Lei glanced at the prices in the store.

Long white bread (weighing about a pound) 25 kopecks, beef (kg) 2 rubles,

Chicken (kg) 3.4 rubles, butter (kg) 3.5 rubles, potatoes (kg) 10 kopecks, cabbage (kg) 20 kopecks, orange (kg) 2 rubles.

"Food in the Soviet Union was very cheap, but meat and fruits seemed to be very expensive, which is why our apples were sold so expensive, you see, those fruits only had labels but were not in stock! Most stores in the Soviet Union had no fruits. Su Renfeng pointed to the empty shelves and told Jia Lei.

"It seems that not only are the fruits out of stock, but I also see that the other counters here are also out of stock!" Jia Lei glanced at the empty store shelves and said, just looking at the long queue outside the door, he knew how many people were rushing to buy.

"Yes! The people feel that the price of things is going to rise, and they are desperately stocking up, frantically snapping up all the daily necessities and even food. The counters in every store are almost empty, but the homes of ordinary people have everything, I visited a Russian friend's house the other day, and she told me that her flake has beef for three months, and the toilet paper is piled up all over the closet. Su Renfeng told Jia Lei.

"It's right to stock up, maybe one day the ruble will depreciate!" Jia Lei agreed.

"Maybe! The black market price of the ruble against the dollar is going to be 1 to 1!" Su Renfeng sighed.

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