The ruble's depreciation may have hurt the most for average Russians.

The Russian ruble lost half of its value in the first days of the conflict in Ukraine, going from 84 rubles per dollar before the invasion to as high as 154 rubles per dollar by March 7.

The ruble has regained some of its value, rising to 96.5 rubles per dollar on Tuesday, but experts say the currency will face more pressure as the West imposes economic sanctions.

The ruble's fall is just a correction, according to Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote. Russia has suffered a lot in this conflict. They will be feeling the effects of these sanctions.

The West’s retaliation against Russia hits the ruble hard

After the war in Ukraine began, Western nations immediately cut economic ties with Russia, which has only just begun to destroy the country's economy.

The U.S. and its allies banned Russian oil imports, revoked the country's favored trade status, and cut off signature Russian exports.

Russian stocks were removed from the U.S. and Europe's stock markets. The Russian stock market was closed on February 25 because of losses, and will not reopen until next week.

Russia's debt to junk status was lowered by credit rating agencies due to the pressure on the Russian economy.

The central bank of Russia responded quickly to the West's economic retaliation by stabilizing its currency and reducing the impact of sanctions. The policy rate was raised from 9.5% to 20% and large quantities of liquidity were supplied to help banks manage withdrawals. Russia restricted access to foreign currency exchanges and limited transfers abroad in response to the bank run.

While the efforts have led to a modest recovery in the ruble against the dollar, experts say the ruble is unlikely to return to its pre-war level.

Dark days ahead for the Russian ruble

Russia's currency traded between 57 and 80 rubles per dollar, meaning it lost 20% of its value, and experts say more pain is on the way.

Unless there is a ceasefire, and something changes from this point, it's hard to see the Russian ruble gaining in value against other foreign exchange currencies.

JP Morgan's foreign currency exchange experts now believe that Russia's currency will average 105 rubles per dollar through the year 2022.

The ruble's value won't be affected by recent moves by Russian central banks to limit citizens from exchanging money. The analyst said that the economy will struggle to rebound because demand for Russian oil and commodities has weakened dramatically, while Western efforts to achieve more energy independence will likely make it difficult for Russia to return to its pre-war status as a major energy supplier.

Russia's economy will shrink next year according to JP Morgan. Russia's economic struggles will get worse in the next few years as the country's GDP will decline and inflation will go up, according to the bank.

I don't see how the Russian ruble could appreciate from these levels because of the limited economic growth. We will probably see a recession in Russia.

A Russian gold rush

Average Russians have been hit hard by the ruble's plunge. The experiences of 10 Russians dealing with the ruble's collapse were detailed by Fortune. Arthur, 31, an investment consultant, said that everything disappeared at once. I am waiting and lying low.

Russian government scrapping a 20% value-added tax on purchases of precious metals is one of the reasons why many Russians are investing in gold.

Russia's central bank was forced to stop buying gold this week due to soaring demand from Russians.

Russia's Sberbank said last week that demand for metals has doubled since the war began. The bank plans to increase the number of offices that sell precious metals to help people protect their savings.