The 2011 currency crisis and redenomination

Belarus went through a severe balance-of-payments crisis in 2011, after loose lending and large wage increases before the 2010 presidential election widened the current-account deficit. The National Bank of Belarus devalued the ruble by more than 60 percent against the dollar in the course of 2011, and annual inflation rose above 100 percent that year. Support from a Russian-led regional fund and the IMF followed, and the central bank gradually tightened policy and moved toward a managed float over the following years. The ruble was redenominated twice, at 1,000 to one in 2000 and 10,000 to one in July 2016, removing zeros after chronic inflation. Inflation fell to single digits after 2016, but the economy remains closely tied to Russian energy and trade, so the ruble and output remain sensitive to shocks that hit Russia.