22nd March 1919 Saturday
Flag Day!
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“On Saturday March 22nd there was a Flag Day in Archangel and Solombola. A flag-day of all things! I thought all that sort of thing had been left behind in Blighty. Anyhow I was touched for three roubles! What the flag-day was for I know not. I hope it was in aid of the Society for Cutting and Cleaning the Hair and Beards of Russian Priests!”
Sample of a 1919 3 Ruble banknote.
This was a period of hyper Inflation and put in context for the period of March 1919 £1 would get you about 400 rubles. 3 rubles was worth about 2d or 1p in modern UK money. It is impossible to give an exact rate of exchange as the rate was changing daily. Wages were often paid in kind with a sort of barter currency worth more than the paper money.
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