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MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's Central Bank has adopted an official symbol for the national currency, the ruble, which has been approved in a public vote.
The Cyrillic "P" with a horizontal stroke has won 61 percent of votes on the Central Bank's web site. The letter is pronounced as "R."
Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina said Wednesday the new sign was designed to symbolize the ruble's stability.
The ruble has seen dramatic plunges amid the post-Soviet economic decline, but it has stabilized in recent years thanks to the flow of petrodollars.
Some critics have warned that the new symbol could confuse those who use the Latin alphabet, but Nabiullina rejected such concerns.
The Central Bank said it would issue a new one ruble coin this year carrying the new symbol.
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