MOSCOW - Russia's national currency unit, the ruble, has for the first time obtained an official graphic symbol, the Central Bank said Wednesday.

"Assigning a graphic sign to the ruble symbolizes its status as a stable currency," Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina told reporters, adding there was an "objective necessity" to create the symbol.

In November, the bank offered five different drafts for public discussion and some 280,000 people participated in the online vote.

According to Nabiullina, the design with a letter P (which is the Russian R) crossed with a horizontal line, "which symbolizes ruble's stability," garnered 61 percent of the vote.

First coins with the new ruble's coin image will be minted in 2014, Central Bank first deputy chief Georgy Luntovski told reporters.