President Putin: Russia must ensure full convertibility of the ruble

Russian President Vladimir Putin has assigned the country the task of ensuring full convertibility of the ruble, meaning both "internal and external" convertibility "for current and capital transactions." Russia used to have one of the most solid currencies in the world, the president reminded the Federal Assembly in his State of the Nation address on Friday. "The value of the 'gold ruble' showed what the state was worth," he said.

"I'll put it straight: The country needs a ruble that would be tradable on international markets, it needs a solid and reliable bond with the world's economic system," declared the president. He stressed that Russia, a fully fledged member of the group of eight best-developed countries, simply had to achieve this goal.

Once this goal is achieved, the country will really begin to integrate into the world economy, Putin stressed. What will this mean for Russian citizens? "Whenever they travel abroad, they will only need two things, a Russian passport and Russian rubles," he said.