KIEV -- The collapse of the Russian ruble this week sent waves of concern through former Soviet republics, most of which are still closely tied to the ruble by geography and trade.


The worst hit in the ruble's drop of more than 20 percent Tuesday were countries such as Georgia and Uzbekistan, whose fragile currencies are largely dependent on the Russian currency.


But even Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine, which have more solid currencies and are less closely linked to Moscow, said their economies would suffer.


"If the situation were different, we could take advantage of the moment and pay off our debts. But the problem is we have no money with which to pay," said Oleh Popov, foreign economic adviser to Ukraine's president Leonid Kuchma.


"What is bad for our neighbor is bad for us. Although we are not tied to the ruble, our economies are very close and we'll feel the repercussions of Russia's problems."


In most former Soviet republics, where the relatively stable ruble is considered almost a hard currency, people rushed to sell their cash rubles in exchange for dollars and German marks as the value of the Russian unit plummeted.


In Belarus, which until recently actively sought monetary union with Russia, cash Russian rubles fell on Wednesday to half their previous value against the local currency.


"The cheapening of imports from Russia and higher prices for exported goods would seem good for Belarus," said Nikolai Luzgin, a senior Belarussian Central Bank official.


"But in fact this hurts us. Our exports are already uncompetitive on the Russian market."


The Central Bank chairman in Moldova, on the border with Romania, said the country had suffered serious losses from the ruble's decline.


Leonid Talmaci said Moldova would press at the Commonwealth of Independent States summit in Moscow next week for at least part of trade between former Soviet republics to be conducted in dollars.


Finance Minister Valeriu Chitan told the local Infotag news agency that Moldovan companies dealing with Russia had lost up to 40 percent of expected revenues.


Moldova, like many former Soviet republics, imports most of its fuel and other raw materials from Russia. It sees Russia as the main market for its farm-based economy.


In the Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan, the value of the local currency, the som, fell immediately from 27 to 33-35 to the dollar, reflecting its close links to the ruble.


A similar plunge occurred in Azerbaijan, where the manat fell by about 20 percent.


In Georgia, once one of the wealthiest parts of the Soviet Union, officials said the ruble's decline had catastrophic consequences.


"This has created big problems for us," Finance Minister David Yakobitze said. "We are completely dependent on Russia as concerns this question. As a result, prices have risen. The masses will suffer."