Two lines of economic development in contemporary society stand out in relief in the money and currency sphere. On the one hand, the purchasing power of the ruble has been steadily rising, its gold content and rate of exchange have gone up and, by virtue of the powerful advance of the socialist economy, it has become the most stable currency in the world. On the other hand, the purchasing power of the U. S. dollar has been declining systematically, the U. S. gold reserve is being disastrously drained, and there is an ever growing danger of devaluation of the dollar, whose standing has been sinking as the economic crisis keeps mounting in that country. Today, the Soviet Union is the only country in the world whose monetary unit has a higher gold content than before the First World War (in 1913). This inevitable result of the historical development of the currency of the mightiest socialist country can be properly understood only through a scientific analysis of the mechanics of the relationship of the purchasing power, gold content, and rate of exchange of the Soviet ruble.
