Rubles and Dollars

[Bill Leidy]

Dear Paul, Ani, and the rest of SEELANGS,

Those conversion rates ($6 and $7 per ruble) seem awfully low to me. We 
know from the opening pages that raggedy know-it-alls like Lebedev make 
17 rubles per month (which, according to these conversion rates, would 
be about $100 per month), and that talented calligraphers such as 
Myshkin can earn a starting salary of 35 rubles per month (a bit more 
than $200 by these conversion rates). No matter what the actual cost of 
living was back in those days, I assume that most American students 
won't be able to imagine anyone possibly living on $100 or $200 per 
month in modern times, so I would give a higher conversion rate as a 
ballpark figure.

Best,
-bill

---
Bill Leidy
PhD Candidate
Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Stanford University

On 9/3/2012 8:45 PM, SEELANGS automatic digest system wrote:
> Ani
>
> We often come up against this. Here are a few tools.
>
> 1. If you can find a historical reference point, for what rubles were worth internationally at the time (in dollars, francs, some precious metal), you are off to a good start. One good source of that can be foreign travelers to Russia and their memoirs. Or do some reading on history of Russian currency to find a near to your target point at which rubles were convertible to X amount of a precious metal, etc. {http://som.yale.edu/~drey/rusbonds/rus_ms.htm}
>
> 2. Once you have that and can establish a contemporaneous dollar value, these are good tools
> http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/uscompare/result.php
> http://www.orst.edu/Dept/pol_sci/fac/sahr/sahr.htm
>
> 3. Here, meanwhile, are official exchange rates back to 1924.
> http://www.cbr.ru/currency_base/OldVal.aspx
>
> Paul Richardson
> Russian Life magazine
>
> p.s. Here, btw, is an interesting discussion in a Dostoyevsky forum that arrives at 1R 1860s = $6 modern.
> http://www.fyodordostoevsky.com/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=198.0
>
> Another source came up with just under $7 twenty years earlier:
> http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1880323
>
> On Sep 3, 2012, at 6:07 PM, SEELANGS automatic digest system wrote:
>
>> >Date:    Mon, 3 Sep 2012 22:05:01 +0000
>> >From:    "Kokobobo, Ani"<akokobobo at KU.EDU>
>> >Subject: the value of 19th c. rubles
>> >
>> >Dear all,
>> >
>> >Does anyone have any suggestions on how to explain the monetary value of nineteenth-century rubles?  I haven't found the current conversion rates especially helpful in this case.  I am sure it is all relative, but what I'm looking for is a way to match up 19th c. monetary sums to a value system that students would understand.
>> >
>> >To provide a concrete example, in_The Idiot_  there are several sums of money that are mentioned -- e.g. the 100,000 ruble packet, or the 18,000 rubles Rogozhin starts with.  Is it the equivalent of $100,000 in our current rates?  Is it substantially more?  Much less?  Can anyone share how they contextualize these kinds of amounts into a productive narrative for students?  Might there be any useful resources/references you use?
>> >
>> >I realize the question is diffuse, so any kind of suggestions would be helpful.  Please reply off list.
>> >
>> >Gratefully,
>> >Ani
>> >******************************************
>> >Ani Kokobobo
>> >Assistant Professor
>> >Slavic Languages and Literatures
>> >University of Kansas
>> >1445 Jayhawk Blvd., Room 2138
>> >Lawrence, KS 66045
>> >Phone: 785-864-2346
>> >http://www2.ku.edu/~slavic/people/kokobobo.shtml

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------