The ruble or rouble (; ) is or was a currency unit of a number of countries in Eastern Europe closely associated with the economy of Russia. Originally, the ruble was the currency unit of Imperial Russia and then the Soviet Union (as the Soviet ruble). it is the currency unit of Russia (as the Russian ruble), Belarus (as the Belarussian ruble) and the unrecognised state of Transnistria (as the Transnistrian ruble). The Russian ruble is also used in two regions of Georgia: the partially recognised states (including by Russia) Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In the past, several other countries influenced by Russia and the Soviet Union had currency units that were also named rubles.