THOUSAND YEAR RUBLE The 4th medal of the Series is the Thousand Year Ruble commemorating the mintage of the first Russian coins in the city of Kiev in 988, Striking both Ag and Au, the Kievan Rus, under Prince Vladimir, established the base currency which became the Ruble of today. Byzantine Christian motifs highlighted the first designs, in observance of the baptism of Russia into Christianity that same year. Mintage - 1000.