Crimea starts to pay pensions in rubles
MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) - Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov has announced that the local authorities have started to pay pensions in Russian rubles in the republic.
"Pensions are being paid in Russian rubles at our post offices today," Aksyonov said on his Twitter page.
The Kryminform news agency reported earlier, citing Crimea's Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliyev, that starting from March 25, the republic's 200,000 retired persons would be able to receive their pensions in Russian rubles.
"The first cash rubles will appear in the Crimean economy today - the Krympochta [Crimea Post] enterprise is starting to pay pensions to nearly 200,000 retired persons," Temirgaliyev said on his Facebook page.
The republic's major chain stores have already started to reprogram their cashier desks to accept Russian rubles along with Ukrainian hrynvi.
The law on Crimea's accession to Russia makes the Russian ruble the republic's legal tender. The simultaneous circulation of the Russian ruble and the Ukrainian hryvnia began in Crimea on Monday. The Ukrainia hryvnia will be used in Crimea until January 1, 2016.
