An unsound currency is not a good medium of exchange. The outside world refuses to accept it. Even trade within the CIS and the Baltic states is collapsing because the ruble is such a poor medium of exchange. The purported food shortages do not result from lack of food supplies but from lack of a sound currency. An unsound currency is not a good unit of account.
Inflation distorts prices and makes business calculations difficult.
Without a reliable unit of account, it is impossible to make meaningful accounting calculations or to write contracts. Even with a reliable unit of account, the CIS will have serious problems training people to perform elementary bookkeeping and accounting according to Western standards. The additional accounting complications that inflation causes will destroy any possibility of accurately keeping the accounts required in a smooth-running market economy. In sum, an unsound currency prevents important elements of a market economy from working. If the CIS nations cannot establish sound currencies quickly, the repercussions will be severe both at home and in Western Europe.