Why is the ruble called wooden? Strong wooden currency Removal without roads

Alexander Igorevich

Reading time: ~4 minutes

No matter how they called money in Rus', the most original and ambiguous was the everyday expression “wooden ruble.” We conducted a whole study on why the Russian medium of exchange is called that way. Let's get acquainted with the main assumptions in this regard, and also find out why it is not the Russian ruble that is actually “wooden”, but the American dollar!

The main versions of the origin of the phrase “wooden ruble”

There are several theories about the origin of this everyday expression, which we will now discuss.

1. The first rubles were made of wood.

To be honest, this version is immediately rejected by everyone who is at least a little familiar with the history of money in Rus'. The first mention of rubles dates back to the end of the 13th century, more precisely, we are talking about the Novgorod charter from 1291-1299. Then it was an oblong silver bar in the shape of a stick, weighing about 200 grams, and its length was from 14 to 20 cm. There were one or more dents on the back of such a monetary unit.

Therefore, we can say with confidence - there was literally no wooden currency in sight.

Although there is a well-known story about how a certain breeder Voronov D. proposed to the great Peter the Great to introduce banknotes made of wood into circulation for a total amount of 5,000,000 rubles, which was associated with the industrial crisis and lack of security. And after the rise of trade and industry, as soon as Russia has accumulated enough real money, this will need to be confiscated and destroyed by burning.

2. Since we export timber, that means the money is appropriate.

The second theory states that the main source of income in Russia is export, and in earlier times the main exported raw material was wood. This went on for many centuries, so this version has a right to exist: this is how the Russian currency could be nicknamed not only by Russians, but also by overseas timber buyers.

3. Since the bill is brown, that means the money is made of wood.

Those who lived through the times of the USSR probably remember a small piece of paper printed in light brown shades - it was the good old Soviet ruble. There is an assumption that it was precisely because of this color and widespread occurrence that a stable expression emerged, the origin of which we are now exploring.

4. Round stains on paper bills are a sign of “wooden” origin

Again, we appeal to those who grew up in the USSR - if you remember, before the collapse of the Union, ruble bills had the inscription “1 ruble” in a frame in all the languages of its constituent republics. And after 1991, similar banknotes were issued, in which simply concentric circles were depicted in this place. And they supposedly resembled annual rings, showing the age of the tree.

Wood has long been the main finishing and building material in Russia. However, over the past century of the industrial revolution, lumber has in some places given way to the market for “wood derivatives” - laminated boards and plywood. Unlike chipboard and fibreboard, plywood appeared long before industrialization - back in Ancient Rome. Nowadays, the center of production of this material has become the North-West of Russia. Birch plywood is produced in Novodvinsk, Cherepovets and Syktyvkar, and since the late 1990s - in St. Petersburg.

In construction stores, plywood is selling with a bang: its modern competitors have not yet stood the test of time... PHOTO by Victor BARTENEV/INTERPRESS

The foliage has overtaken the needles

Russia has always been the leader in the production of birch plywood (74% of world production). It would seem, why exactly hardwood in the production of plywood has overtaken pine, which grows more in our area? Oddly enough, the main supply of plywood logs (roughly speaking, logs from which veneer is rolled out - the basis of this building material) is located in our country. Birch is also better suited for finishing work in a number of ways.

In addition to the Russian Federation, birch plywood is actively produced in Finland, Estonia and Latvia. According to the data announced at the XIX St. Petersburg International Forestry Forum by an expert from the Finnish consulting company Vasilisa Henninen, Russia in Lately demonstrates growth in plywood production by an average of 6% per year.

But our competing partners (Estonia and Latvia) are not lagging behind. But in Finland, plywood production volumes have been decreasing since 2006. It is worth considering that we are talking about valuable pure plywood, and not combined plywood, the outer part of which is made of birch, and the inner part is made of other less valuable wood species. This type of plywood is produced both in Belarus and Poland. This is due to the fact that local birch is characterized by a high percentage of defects.

According to Rosstat, the volume of birch plywood production in Russia in the first half of 2017 reached 1.9 million cubic meters, which is 0.3% more than a year earlier. Officials set a task for timber industry to increase annual plywood production to 5.7 million cubic meters by 2022. However, not everything is so simple: the Russian plywood industry, which owns a quarter of all the world's forests, suddenly faced... a shortage of birch raw materials.

Removal without roads

Domestic birch log harvesters faced the same problems as their colleagues exporting pine or spruce from their plots. Almost all of the birch trees growing in inhabited areas have already been cut down. Timber traders have to go into the thicket for birch - in the literal sense of the word. And, as you know, there are not even minimally suitable roads there. It is estimated that one meter of logging route costs 500 - 800 rubles. Who will build them and at whose expense?

“The situation is complicated by the fact that deciduous plots, which include birch, are less profitable compared to coniferous ones,” says Yuri Shishkunov, a specialist in the field of forest supply. “According to harvesters, the average yield margin from a coniferous plot is 1,000 rubles, from an aspen plot – 500 rubles, and from a birch plot – only 200 rubles.”

It seems easier with plywood production. You could even say that there is some overcapacity on the market. The list of leading manufacturers includes the Sveza Group of Companies (one of the main production facilities of which is located in St. Petersburg), Syktyvkar, Zheshartsky, Murom, Cherepovets, Arkhangelsk, Ufa, Vyatsky plywood factories and mills, as well as the Segezha Group of Companies ( Kirov region, Karelia). The UPM plant in Chudovo, Novgorod region, also produces plywood. This is the only enterprise in this area that is owned by a European player. In total, there are about six dozen plywood factories in Russia. Of these, only one (in Bratsk) produces coniferous plywood.

One of the most modern plywood factories is St. Petersburg SVEZA Ust-Izhora. Last year alone, 102 million rubles were invested in equipment modernization. Production volume is 110 thousand cubic meters of plywood per year, of which more than 80% of the production is exported. St. Petersburg plywood is purchased by such companies as Schmitz Cargobull (Germany, a European leader in the production of trailers), PERI (Germany), DOKA (Austria - world leaders in the production of system formwork).

Birch demand

“In the near future, demand for plywood will increase in areas such as construction (formwork), packaging and furniture,” says birch plywood expert Antti Kamarainen. - There are prerequisites that the parquet market will recover, which is facilitated by the improving situation on the construction market in Western Europe, USA and Asia. Due to its specific strength, laminated birch plywood will continue to be relevant for use in the production of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and trailers.”

According to experts, the demand for Russian plywood is due to its high quality at a relatively low price. So, we sell this material for export at an average of 400 euros per cubic meter. For comparison: the cost of Baltic plywood is 600 - 700 euros per cubic meter. The most expensive is Finnish plywood - 800 - 900 euros per cubic meter. Another feature of domestic production: despite the fact that Russia has very cheap labor, the cost of plywood production remains high. Apparently, the high cost of project financing (bank loans) plays a role, as well as the poorly developed local transport infrastructure.

“The average salary of a worker at Russian plywood and veneer plants is about 500 euros (30 thousand rubles) per month,” states Vasilisa Henninen. - The average monthly salary in the Baltic or Finnish plywood production is 2 thousand euros and 3.5 thousand euros, respectively. At the same time, the labor productivity of one employee at a Russian enterprise is about 60 cubic meters. m per year, and in Finland and the Baltic countries - 220 cubic meters and 250 cubic meters, respectively."

MEANWHILE

Export of veneer logs (cubic meters) in 2016:
China - 1.3 million
Finland - 183.7 thousand
Poland - 33.2 thousand
Latvia - 28.8 thousand
Lithuania - 23 thousand
Belarus - 22 thousand
Türkiye - 20.5 thousand
Iran - 8.8 thousand
Uzbekistan - 6 thousand
Ukraine - 5.5 thousand
Other countries - 5 thousand.

Comments

J. German. crown; in the early applications: club, com, tree top, with foliage; the upper plane of the parapet, the upper edge of the diamond, etc. military music: attached parts of pipes and horns. Kronverk m. military a large external extension to the fortress, consisting of two bastions (heads) and two wings. Crown glass m. and flint glass, two types of glass, used. for composing achromatic telescopes so that objects appear in colors other than the rainbow. Kronpik m. paint, chrome potassium. Calipers m. compasses (spreader) of the smallest sizes, for the smallest circles and arcs in drawings; bow-legged compass, for measuring the thickness of round and oblong bodies, balls and cylinders. Bracket m. German. our largest sandpiper, Numenius arcuata, shepherd, horse herder (translated from Tatar ilk "chi), large steppe sandpiper, steppe sandpiper, steppe; there are two or three types of them in size. Bracket, kr(tr)agshtein, console, jib, shelf

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Why is the ruble called wooden? Strong wooden currency Removal without roads