Which ruble is beneficial for the state - strong or weak?

The DOLLAR exchange rate against the ruble, which reached an absolute maximum in the first ten days of March (121.5 rubles per dollar), has rapidly strengthened since then. The reason for this was a whole range of measures by the Bank of RUSSIA to restrict the free movement of capital, which interrupted the era of the floating ruble exchange rate for an indefinite period (from November 2014 to February 2022). As a result of trading on May 18, the exchange rate of the American currency on the Moscow Exchange reached 63.5 rubles. per dollar, which is considered the lowest since pre-pandemic February 2020. According to BLOOMBERG calculations, the ruble has become the leader of growth this year among major currencies.

Russian officials and economists have been arguing for years about who benefits from a weakening or strengthening ruble. RBC figured out what the current sharp strengthening of the national currency means for the Russian budget.