1 Rouble

The 1938 Soviet rouble series was issued under the People's Commissariat of Finance as part of a broader currency reorganization that consolidated the monetary system following the turbulent reforms of the early Soviet period. These small-denomination notes circulated heavily throughout the late Stalin era, surviving the entire wartime economy and well into the postwar years — the 1938 design remained in circulation without replacement until 1947.

The 1947 currency reform was punitive by design: citizens had ten days to exchange old notes at rates that effectively confiscated savings above 3,000 roubles. Most surviving 1938 roubles were surrendered or destroyed in that exchange window.