SuperRouble

After his mysterious recent absence from public view, Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Friday for a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union.

The organisation is a new economic bloc consisting of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia (Ukraine unsurprisingly opted not to join), and it's part of Russia's strategy to embrace its "near abroad."

The union is still in its early days, having formally begun only in January, but the bloc has tentatively agreed to bring in a single currency and a Eurasian Central Bank by 2025.

What would a Eurasian currency look like? Well, probably not too much different from the ruble — Russia's economy is far and away the largest in the union, and any currency would respond mostly to weakness or strength in Russia.

While introducing a project that combines the oil-driven volatility of the ruble with the vicious diplomatic bickering of the euro would not be without risk, the EEU seems as if it has made up its mind — at least for now. According to the Moscow Times, Kazakhstan's view of the union is getting a little less rosy, which could kill off plans for further political integration.

A commemorative coin from the series "The Gatherer of Russian Lands," which was minted to mark Crimea's annexation last year into the Russian Federation.