From the early 1960s, the USSR began to develop active cooperation with socialist and developing countries. Thousands of Soviet specialists were sent abroad to work. The government then faced the question of how to "protect" them from foreign currency.
A practical need arose to create a system in which citizens would not receive foreign currency in their hands and would spend funds earned in foreign currency at home.
The most important parts of the new system were the Bank for Foreign Trade of the USSR (Vneshtorgbank of the USSR) and the all-Union association Vnesposyltorg. In the former, citizens were required to keep their foreign currency in the form of "invalyutnye rubles," and to spend it through the network of Vnesposyltorg shops and firms.
It is important to note that, unlike other socialist countries, currency "substitutes" in the USSR were issued not for foreigners, but for its own citizens.
The detachable check of Series D of Vnesheconombank (Vneshtorgbank) of the USSR is a monetary obligation of Vnesheconombank (Vneshtorgbank) of the USSR to pay the amount specified on the check. The checks were bound into checkbooks of the corresponding denomination. Detachable checks were intended for payments by diplomatic staff for goods and services in specialized stores. All checks were printed by Goznak.
The Bank for Foreign Trade of the USSR (Vneshtorgbank of the USSR) was established in 1924. The terms for maintaining accounts changed constantly. The Bank's clients included both legal entities and individuals.
For senior diplomatic officials (from the rank of counselor and above), there were separate Series "D" checks, accepted for payment on a par with cash foreign currency from foreigners in the parallel system of hard-currency shops—"Beryozka" stores.
Thus, in the USSR there were two completely separate retail systems (check-based and hard-currency) of stores. In hard-currency stores, only foreigners, diplomats, and the highest party nomenklatura could legally shop. Ordinary overseas employees had to use only the check-based "Beryozka" stores, which in turn were closed to other Soviet citizens who had only Soviet rubles.