Russian ruble becomes top-performing currency of 2025

Despite numerous international sanctions, the Russian ruble has demonstrated resilience against various economic shocks and has become the best-performing currency of the year, strengthening significantly against the U.S. dollar.

The Russian ruble has strengthened against the U.S. dollar in 2025, making it the most successful currency, the Russian president's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev said.

"The ruble has strengthened by 40% against the dollar this year and has become the top-performing currency of the year," Dmitriev said.

Commenting on the talks with U.S. representatives, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) stated that the country's economy withstood sanctions from both the U.S. and the European Union, asserting that any attempts to pressure Russia are futile.

The Russian delegation has been conveying this position of President Vladimir Putin to the U.S. leadership for the third consecutive day, the presidential envoy reported.

"For the third day, we have been negotiating with representatives of the U.S. administration. We are very clearly conveying President Putin's position that only a constructive, respectful dialogue will yield results; any attempts to pressure Russia are simply pointless," Kirill Dmitriev said.

When asked about the reasons for the sanctions pressure initiated by U.S. leader Donald Trump, the Russian president's special representative claimed that no one wants a peaceful settlement in Ukraine more than Russia and that this message is being delivered to the U.S.

"We are committed to a constructive dialogue and to a clear presentation of Russia's stance on many points. Indeed, Russia wants a peaceful solution," Dmitriev said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is discussing the Russian proposal to build a tunnel connecting Russia and Alaska, the Russian president's special representative for international investment and economic cooperation added.

As previously reported, Russia and Alaska could be linked by an underwater tunnel under the Bering Strait, a project which is entirely feasible, according to Kirill Dmitriev. The 70-mile tunnel under the Bering Strait could be built in less than 8 years at a cost not exceeding $8 billion.