SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine
A resolution, shortening the duration of Ukrainian national currency's - the hryvnia - circulation in Crimea, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 27, came into effect on Sunday.
The Russian ruble has thus become the only legal currency in Crimea.
Signs marked ‘only ruble’ proliferated in markets and shops in the peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in March.
Shoppers in Simferopol had to wait in long lines in front of exchange offices, after salesmen refused to accept the hryvnia.
“I came here to exchange some money," said one customer who wished not to be named. "I was thinking the currency transition would be easier.”
Both the ruble and the hryvnia were in circulation in Crimea since the March annexation.
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