This seems to be going towards the system which soviet union used. The official rate is an illusion created by the government while actual market exchange is basically illegal:

The Soviet Union officially valued the ruble in the planned economy at an average of 0.74 руб per USD ... However, as the ruble was not internationally exchangeable and as Soviet citizens could not legally own foreign currency, rubles changed hands in the black market at an average of 4.14 руб per dollar in the same period

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_ruble#Exchange_rates

At least here in Argentina, the official exchange rate is US$1=AR$100.

But if you want to buy US$1 you must pay from AR$150[1] to AR$200[2] or even more. There are a few methods and each one has different maximal amounts, delays, technical problem and level of legality.

[1] It's a very optimistic number, discounting a rebate that will get paid in may 2023, up to US$200 per month per person.

[2] Or even more, probably AR$215 or something.

>But if you want to buy US$1 you must pay from AR$150[1] to AR$200[2] or even more. There are a few methods and each one has different maximal amounts, delays, technical problem and level of legality.

The recent return to dolar azul after the brief period of the official rate actually being meaningful is very sad.

You have hit on, by the way, why Russia's equivalent to dolar azul is not so different from the official rate. You and any other Argentinean can, with US dollars, buy things from/travel to abroad. As spaceheater said, "Since the whole world seems to hate Russians right now, I guess no point buying USD and traveling somewhere".

Easy. Try buying and selling at this rate. It’s a hugely constrained market.

I can tell you I have an asset worth 1e12 dollars but no one can buy it or sell it. This is kind of the same.

Ok but is the market rate not derived from the prices that people actually are buying and selling at? If not that's kind of insane.

That’s my point, there isn’t really a free market for rubles. It’s so tightly controlled by the Russian state, they might as well name a price.

Exactly, what their govt called "market rate".

Similarly, I remember at one point there was almost 0 cases of COVID positives officially. But a huge spike in respiratory problems or other causes deaths for some reason.