According to an article on Sports NDTV dated 22 January 2013, the Bank of Russia has announced that it will start printing 100-ruble (US$3.30) banknotes in March to commemorate the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, 7-23 February 2014.

The new note features a blue color scheme, vertical orientation, and depicts a snowboarder flying over Sochi on the front and the Olympic Stadium and the Firebird on the back.

Ten million notes will be printed, with introduction into circulation in October 2013, 100 days prior to the start of the games. Some notes will be packaged as numismatic products.

Additional information and images are requested so that this report can be confirmed.

Courtesy of David Surette, Phil Martin, Brian Lema, Andrey Kuvaldin, Albert Vokhmin, Dmitry Zagorenko, Afanasov Evgeny.

Tags: Russia

According to an article on The Moscow News dated 23 December 2011, Georgry Luntovsksy, the head of the Bank of Russia, has acknowledged, “In the fourth quarter [of 2011] we once again began printing the paper 10 ruble note, as banks had begun to complain of a deficit of the coins.” In October 2009, the bank announced the 10-ruble (US$0.30) note would be replaced with a coin.

Tags: Russia

5,000 rubles (US$166), 2010 (date appears vertically below serial number at left front). Introduced 6 September 2011. Like P273 but with the following changes:

• The color and styling of the front and back of the partially modified.
• Dated 2010 at bottom left front.
• Embedded security fibers in paper.
• Wide windowed security thread.
• Coat of arms of Khabarovsk in SPARK ink.
• Tactile elements for the sight impaired.
• Rainbow moire pattern.
• Horizontal novel serial numbering at left.
• Magnetic properties added.
• New UV printing.

Courtesy of Andrey Kuvaldin, Vitali Khaletski, and Sergei Balykhin.

Tags: Russia

500 rubles (US$16.65), 2010. Introduced 6 September 2011. Like P271 but with the following changes:

• The color and styling of the front and back of the partially modified.
• Dated 2010 at bottom left front.
• Embedded security fibers in paper.
• Wide windowed security thread.
• Tactile elements for the sight impaired.
• Rainbow moire pattern.
• Horizontal novel serial numbering at left.
• Magnetic properties added.
• New UV printing.

The most substantial change to the design is on the back, which now features a correct view of the Solovetsky Monastery, which the preceding 500-ruble notes incorrectly depicted during its time as a concentration camp.

Courtesy of Andrey Kuvaldin and Sergei Balykhin.

Tags: Russia

The Moscow News has run the above photo of Gennady Luntovsky, deputy chairman of Bank of Russia, holding a modified 5,000-ruble (US$177) note which has enhanced anti-counterfeiting features. According to this Russian-language post, the new 5,000-ruble notes are scheduled for introduction in 2012, along with upgraded 500-ruble notes.

Additional information and images are requested so that this report can be confirmed.

Tags: Russia

According to an article on AdIndex.ru dated 01.11.2010, Russia’s central bank hopes to finalize a new symbol for its currency, the ruble, and introduce a revised 5,000-ruble (US$164) note in 2011.

Tags: Russia

Paul Goble, a longtime specialist on ethnic and religious questions in Eurasia, has posted an interesting article on his Window on Eurasia blog, Primorsky Kray Deputies Suggest Reviving a Regional Currency, in which he discusses the possibility of Russian regions issuing their own local currencies, and covers historical examples of such issuances following the fall of the Soviet Union.

Courtesy of Valts Mikelsons.

Tags: Russia

On 10 August 2010, Bank of Russia issued a new 1,000-ruble (US$33.20) note with improved security features, including a translucent band, OVI bank logo, SPARK patch with bear on shield, rainbow moire pattern, electrotype 1000 watermark, solid security thread with demetalized 1000, microperf, intaglio printing, microprinting, and a slightly darker and refined picture of Yaroslavl kremlin chapel, and Yaroslav I the Wise, as well as a number of changes to shading lines and margins. The new note is aimed at fighting counterfeiters. Older notes of the same denomination issued in 1997 and 2004 (Pick 277) will be removed from circulation as they wear out, but remain legal tender.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: Russia

The International Bank Note Society has announced the formation of a new Russian chapter. According to Dmitriy Litvak, president of the new chapter, "The main difference between the Russian (IBONS) chapter and the other IBNS chapters is that it is based on a linguistic (Russian) base rather than a geographical one. The Russian-speaking community of banknote collectors has at least 3,000 members around the world. This is why we face difficulty in having conferences and meetings as we are in 14 countries. To overcome this, a website forum at www.bonistika.net was created for the spread of collective knowledge. As I have explained before, Bonistika is the term that is used by this community to describe banknote collecting. I am happy to report that since the inauguration of IBONS on 7 February 2010 we have increased our numbers from seven IBNS members and 21 non-members to 10 IBNS members and 37 non-members. I extend my invitation to any members of IBNS to share our ideas and knowledge. My colleagues and I would like to extend our knowledge of the Soviet, post-Soviet, and Russian banknotes to all IBNS. We will be able to collectively work on answering any questions posed. Our main goal is to create and maintain communication between all IBNS members and Russian speaking members of IBONS."

Tags: Russia

On 31 October 2006, the Bank of Russia announced that it intends to replace all 10-ruble (Pick 273, US$0.37) banknotes with coins. “Coins serve longer than banknotes,” explained deputy chairman Georgy Luntovsky. Coins can circulate for 10 to 15 years, while 10- and 50-ruble notes have a lifetime of approximately half a year.

On 22 October 2009, the bank announced that it would stop issuing 10-ruble (US$0.35) banknotes in 2010 because they wear out quickly and are too expensive to produce. The notes will be replaced by a coin.

Courtesy of Mikhail Istomin.

Tags: Russia

According to a Mosnews.com article dated May 22, 2009, “elderly residents of the city of Archangelsk, North Russia, have asked the Minister of Finance, Alexei Kudrin, to change the image on the 500-ruble banknote (Pick 271, shown below), which they claim is a picture of a Soviet death camp. The note carries an image of the Solovetsky Monastery, a UNESCO world heritage site. However, in the Soviet era between 1926 and 1938 the crosses were removed from the buildings and the site was used as a special prison and a gulag prototype.”

“We all understand that they just wanted to depict one of the most beautiful sights of our city, the famous Solovetsky Monastery, but they have accidentally depicted the Solovetsky death camp,” 72-year-old Arkhangelsk resident Vasily Fedotov said.



“If you look at the [back of the] banknote closely you will notice that the holy crosses, which usually top Orthodox churches, are only seen on one golden dome in the picture. This means that the artist has painted the death camp. Our banknote is the only note in the world with a picture of a World War II concentration camp. Our feelings are hurt. We feel pain for veterans and for the people who died in these damned death camps. I hope that Alexei Kudrin will hear our prayers and change the picture,” he added.

Tags: Russia

5,000 rubles, 1997. Issued July 31, 2006. Red and brown. Statesman Nikolay Nikolayevich Muravyov-Amursky’s Monument in Khabarovsk at center with commercial ship in background; his bust as wmk. Automobile bridge across Amur River (the border between Russia and China negotiated by Muravyov) on back. Denomination appears in microperforations. Windowed security thread. Khabarovsk coat of arms in crimson to golden green OVI. Microprinting: “CBRF,” silhouettes of tigers, bears, fish, and trees. 157 x 69 mm.
 
Courtesy of Mikhail Istomin.

Tags: Russia