From the early 1960s, the USSR began to develop active cooperation with socialist and developing countries. Thousands of Soviet specialists were sent abroad for work. The government 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 currency in hand and would spend the funds earned in foreign currency at home.
The most important parts of the new system were the USSR Bank for Foreign Trade (Vneshtorgbank of the USSR) and the all-Union association Vnesposyltorg. In the former, citizens were required to keep currency in the form of foreign-currency rubles, and through the network of Vnesposyltorg shops and firms to spend it.
It is important to note that, unlike other socialist countries, currency "substitutes" in the USSR were issued not for foreigners, but for the country’s own citizens.
A detachable cruise cheque of Vnesheconombank (Vneshtorgbank) of the USSR is a monetary obligation of Vnesheconombank (Vneshtorgbank) of the USSR to pay the amount indicated on the cheque. The cheques were bound into chequebooks of the appropriate denomination. Detachable cheques were intended for payments by certain categories of citizens for goods and services on Soviet cruise ships operating on international routes. All cheques were printed by GOZNAK.