"What is the difference between a dollar and a…

A joke about the worthlessness of the Russian rouble/ruble currency became popular in 1993 and 1998.

“Q: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A ROUBLE AND A DOLLAR? A: A DOLLAR!” was posted on the newsgroup eunet.jokes on June 2, 1993. “What’s the difference between a dollar and a ruble ? a dollar” was posted on the newsgroup soc.culture.soviet on June 2, 1993. “Q: What’s the difference between a dollar and a rouble ? A: A dollar” was posted on the newsgroup rec.humor on September 5, 1995.

“THE teenage son of a London-based investment banker gave the most succinct explanation this week of the Russian currency crisis. Asked the difference between a dollar and a rouble, he replied: a dollar.” was printed in The Guardian (London, UK) on September 3, 1998. “What is the difference between a dollar and a ruble ? A dollar” was posted on Reddit—Jokes on February 26, 2022.

Wikipedia: Ruble
The ruble or rouble (/ˈruːbəl/; Russian: рубль, IPA: [rublʲ]) is the currency unit of a number of countries in Eastern Europe closely associated with the economy of Russia.

Google Groups: eunet.jokes
Capitalist
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Jun 2, 1993, 4:46:32 AM
Q: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A ROUBLE AND A DOLLAR?
A: A DOLLAR!
David.
Ecole d’ingénieurs de Geneve
Geneva, Switzerland

Google Groups: soc.culture.soviet
Rub - dol!
Michael Ratner
Jun 2, 1993, 6:21:30 PM
(...)
Here’s another good one:

What’s the difference between a dollar and a ruble ?
a dollar.

Google Groups: rec.humor
Life B.3
Henry Cate
Sep 5, 1995, 3:00:00 AM
(...)
Q: What’s the difference between a dollar and a rouble ?
A: A dollar.

Q: What’s the relation between a dollar, a rouble and a pound?
A: A pound of roubles equals a dollar.

Newspapers.com
3 September 1998, The Guardian (London, UK), “Underside” by Roger Cowe, pg. 20, col. 6:
THE teenage son of a London-based investment banker gave the most succinct explanation this week of the Russian currency crisis. Asked the difference between a dollar and a rouble, he replied: a dollar.

Newspapers.com
5 September 1998, The Daily Telegraph (London, UK), “Stoic Russians watch savings disappear again” by Alan Philps,
AS politicians haggled over the spoils of power and the Russian rouble plummeted further, a bitter joke was doing the rounds in Moscow yesterday. Question: “What is the difference between a rouble and a dollar?” Reply: “Exactly one dollar.”

Newspapers.com
5 September 1998, Edmonton (Alberta) Journal, “Ruble continues freefall” by Alan Philps (The Daily Telegraph), pg. F8, col. 1:
A bitter joke was doing the rounds in Moscow Friday: Question: “What is the difference between a ruble and a dollar?” Answer: “Exactly one dollar.”

Google Groups: alt.vacation.las-vegas
Bellagio Art Gallery
Eric Simandl
Sep 24, 1998, 3:00:00 AM
(...)
Speaking of art in Las Vegas and Russia, have you heard this one?
“What’s the difference between a dollar and a ruble?”
“A dollar”.

Google Groups: alt.genius.panikovsky
Russian Marriage and relationships - what else? - Hands on PMS advice!!
Panikovsky
Oct 26, 1998, 3:00:00 AM
to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
(...)
have you heard this most recent joke:

Q: What is the difference between a rouble and a dollar?
A: About a dollar.

Twitter
John Goering ن
@epaga
Q: What’s the difference between a ruble and a dollar? A: A dollar. #fb (Oh and T: -37 minutes and counting)
10:23 AM · Jul 1, 2010·Silver Bird

Twitter
Brendon DiVincenzo
@D_VO
Joke: What’s the difference between a ruble and a dollar? A: A dollar.
1:33 PM · Jul 1, 2010·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Mahesh Narayan
@mnarayannyc
Replying to @BKBrianKelly
@BKBrianKelly@jbarnyla “Whats the difference between a Rouble and a Dollar?” A Dollar
3:25 PM · Oct 22, 2014·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Dr. Phil Pearlman
@ppearlman
”@JLyonsFundMgmt: circa 1998: Q: What’s the difference between a dollar and a ruble? A: a dollar.”
7:41 AM · Dec 16, 2014·StockTwits Web

Twitter
_
@francoismaillot
Q: What is the difference between 1 dollar and 1 rouble? A: 1 dollar #GoodJokesNeverDie
1:19 PM · Dec 15, 2014·Twitter for Android

Reddit—Jokes
Posted by u/zouty December 17, 2014
What’s the difference between a ruble and a dollar?
One dollar

Twitter
Dirk Dresden
@DirkDresden
What is the difference between a dollar and a ruble ?: A dollar. submitted by ilove42 [link] [comment] http://bit.ly/1c9RBot
10:59 AM · May 3, 2015·twitterfeed

Twitter
Bjørn Noren
@BjENoren
Replying to @jkBaltzersen
Trykke ekstra penger er velprøvd ja. Under Sovjet-tiden sa man: “Know the difference between the dollar and the rouble? It´s the dollar”
Translated from Norwegian by Google
Printing extra money is proven yes. During the Soviet era it was said, “Know the difference between the dollar and the ruble? It’s the dollar”
1:41 AM · Jun 27, 2017·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
UBF riccardo
@UBFriccardo
Replying to @PriapusIQ
Reminds me of the old joke:
What’s the difference between a dollar and a rouble?
A dollar.
6:23 AM · Jan 22, 2021·Twitter Web App

Reddit—Jokes
Posted by u/InfamousZorg February 26, 2022
What is the difference between a dollar and a ruble ?
A dollar.
COMMENTS
sittinginaboat

98.8 cents, actually. So, yeah. A dollar.

Reddit—Jokes
Posted by u/imgur_com_y8suYkD February 26, 2022
What’s the difference between a million dollars and a million rubles?
About a million dollars.

“What is the difference between a dollar and a rouble?”/“A dollar.”