The ruble or rouble (/ˈruːbəl/; Russian: рубль; IPA: [rublʲ]) is or was a currency unit of a number of countries in Eastern Europe closely associated with the economy of Russia. Originally, the ruble was the currency unit of Imperial Russia, and it is currently the currency unit of Belarus, Russia and the partially recognised states of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria. The rubles of Belarus, Russia and Transnistria are distinct currencies. In the past, several other countries influenced by Russia and the Soviet Union had currency units that were also named rubles. One ruble is divided into 100 kopeks (Russian: копе́йка, tr. kopeyka; IPA: [kɐˈpʲejkə]).
According to one version, the word "ruble" is derived from the Russian verb рубить (rubit), "to cut, to chop, to hack", as ruble was considered as a cutout piece of a silver grivna.
Rubles were parts of the grivna or pieces of silver with notches indicating their weight. Each grivna was divided into four parts; the name "ruble" came from the word "cut" because the silver rod weighing 1 grivna was split into four parts, which were called rubles.