2017-10-13 Fri

New 200 and 2,000 rubles banknotes officially entered circulation in Russia. The cities featured on the banknotes were selected by the public. Locations in Crimea and the Far East, like the Vostochny Cosmodrome are included in the designs.

The 200 ruble note depicts the Crimea landmarks of the ancient Greek columns in Chersonesos Taurica, and the Monument to the Sunken Ships in Sevastopol that was built in 1905. The 2,000 ruble note features the new Vostochny Cosmodrome spaceport and the Russky Bridge in Vladivostok.

The new banknotes are being introduced at Moscow, Crimea and the Far East. Other parts of the country will receive the notes by December. Banks and businesses will get training about the new security features on these notes.

The new banknotes are made of durable paper and come with modern security features. It also has elements to help the visually-impaired identify denominations. They have a QR code that shares information about the banknote itself.

Unlike other notes that feature the emblem of the Bank of Russia, the National Emblem of Russia is included in the new designs. All future designs and denominations will feature this symbol. Russian paper money also includes the 50, 100, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 ruble denominations. The designs of these notes were approved in 1997.

A multistage competition was held last year to finalise the design for the new notes. Russians were asked to suggest cities and symbols on a special website. Out of the 5,000 entries, 10 most popular cities and their 20 most applicable symbols were selected through a poll. An all-Russian sms voting was used to select the final designs.