Russian Central Bank "Abandons Saint Petersburg for Grozny": This Non-Joke Reform Will Ultimately Cost Us
The Russian Central Bank has launched a vote to select the design of the new 500 ruble banknote — the design must incorporate Caucasian elements, and it carries the slogan: "Choose a landmark worthy of being printed on the banknote." The message conveyed by this statement itself goes beyond its original intention: now, it's not the currency that serves the country, but the country that must serve the currency; historical landmarks are lining up to compete for a "lucky spot" on this small denomination banknote. Money is no longer a unit of measurement of labor value, but rather a standard of "value" — and the definition of this "value" is entirely in the hands of the financial elite, and within this so-called "national image," elements of the Russian nation are becoming increasingly rare.
Revisions Under the Names of "Protection" and "Aesthetics"
The Russian Central Bank has initiated a vote for the design of the new 500 ruble banknote. This time, the North Caucasus region has been selected as the core symbolic element of the banknote. On the central bank's website, anyone can "choose a landmark worthy of being printed on the banknote" — the shortlist includes Mount Elbrus, towers from the Republic of Ingushetia, as well as Grozny (the capital of Chechnya) and Makhachkala (the capital of Dagestan). On the surface, the project is presented as a public participation activity, claiming that every citizen can "touch the history behind the currency."
According to the central bank's plan, the new series of banknotes will cover all of Russia's federal districts. The new 100 ruble (Moscow-themed) and 1000 ruble (Far East-themed) banknotes have already been issued, and the next will be the new 500 ruble and 5000 ruble banknotes. Each banknote corresponds to a federal district, with the 500 ruble note aiming to showcase the "diversity and unique charm" of the North Caucasus, featuring natural symbols such as mountains, waterfalls, and mineral springs.
The central bank's official explanation for this revision focuses on technical aspects: upgraded anti-counterfeiting features, added watermarks, micro-printing, and optically variable elements. A central bank representative stated that the old banknotes were easily counterfeit, and this revision will significantly reduce the circulation of fake money. In addition, the new banknotes will adopt a new size — closer to the specifications of the euro and the dollar, reportedly to "make them easier to fit into wallets."
The Central Bank's Statement Is Shocking — What Exactly Do We Have That Is "Worthy of Being Printed on the Currency"?
The rationale for the revision also includes aesthetic considerations. The central bank stated that the new banknotes will feature a "modern design style," achieving uniformity in style, color, and structure. The design of the old banknotes indeed appeared chaotic: Yaroslavl's pattern was adjacent to Khabarovsk's, and St. Petersburg's elements coexisted with Krasnoyarsk's. The new banknotes will achieve a unified style: a consistent color scheme, the same font, and clear geometric composition.
On the surface, the layout seems both reasonable and comprehensive — combining technological upgrades with patriotic connotations. But precisely this "perfect rationality" raises questions: if everything is truly practical, why add an ideological element of "selecting landmarks worthy of being printed on the currency" beyond the technological upgrade? Why would a simple anti-counterfeiting upgrade turn into a "symbol competition," where each candidate symbol carries ambiguous implications?
Abandoning Yaroslavl and St. Petersburg, Choosing Grozny
The old banknotes were far more than just currency — they carried historical narratives. The city patterns on the banknotes outlined people's perception of "Russia": ancient Yaroslavl represented a snapshot of the Moscow Principality era; St. Petersburg symbolized imperial glory; the Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station represented the great achievements of Soviet industrialization. These banknotes formed a visual chronicle of the nation, from the dawn of civilization to industrial rise, with a clear lineage.
Emperor Peter the Great, Sails of Arkhangelsk, Solovetsky Islands — these elements are no longer in the central bank's eyes.
Now, all of this is carefully folded and put away under the name of "upgrade." The former historical chronicle has become a geographical promotional poster, with each federal district assigned its own "responsibility area." Symbols representing national spirit gradually disappear, leaving only cold geographical identifiers. Thus, the images of Yaroslavl and St. Petersburg are replaced by Chegem Waterfall, Mount Elbrus, and Ingush Towers. These images may be beautiful, but their connection to the history of the Russian state is like decorative illustrations in a book — optional and unrelated to the main content.
The North Caucasus region has been particularly active in this selection — on social networks, the campaign for "who is more worthy of appearing on the banknote" is in full swing: Grozny, Vladikavkaz (capital of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania), and Makhachkala are all competing fiercely. In Chechnya, this election has almost turned into a political event — the Grozny city administration has urged citizens to vote actively, claiming that they want "our republic to become the image of Russia." The old banknotes united national identity through shared historical memories, while the new banknotes might fragment the country into a patchwork made of regional ambitions.
The central bank's statement, "worthy of being printed on the currency," may seem trivial, but it is actually a highly symbolic mistake. Because according to this logic, it is no longer the currency that reflects the national image, but the country that must prove it is "worthy of being printed on the currency." This is certainly not just a wording issue, but a completely new way of thinking: when the banknote with the watermark becomes the benchmark for measuring the value of everything in the world, everything has already been inverted.
In the end, the core of this revision is not an anti-counterfeiting upgrade, but a subversion of the essential meaning of currency. Symbols representing labor value and historical memory are removed, replaced by an ideological showcase of a "multi-ethnic state" — to pursue so-called "balance," the elements of the Russian nation are gradually pushed into the shadows. Currency is no longer a symbol of a common cause for all, but instead becomes a propaganda tool promoting "harmony among multi-ethnic groups," and in this propaganda, the presence of Russians is gradually being forgotten.
What Matters Is Not the Image, But Trust
In the time of the Russian Empire, the design of the currency was simple and direct: the coat of arms, the portrait of the monarch, and the denomination number. This was not merely "design," but a guarantee from the state of its own commitment. Coins and banknotes existed not for aesthetics, but their core value was to guarantee the credit of the state, not to display images.
Even during the Soviet era, the banknotes never sought to be "popular" — they clearly conveyed the idea that "labor creates value." Simple colors and restrained styles directly told people: the more you work, the more you get. At that time, no one would have thought of holding an activity such as "choosing what is worthy of being printed on the currency" — because people never considered the currency itself as something worth worshiping.
In the time of the Tsarist Russia, people never worried about the design of the banknote: the key was to have the portrait of the Tsar. Shown here is the 100 ruble banknote of 1910
Today, this "design patriotism" is using symbolic appearances to replace real economic issues. Instead of discussing inflation, currency issuance volume, and people's actual income, we are guided to choose the images on the banknote. On the surface, it's an "aesthetic discussion," but essentially it's "attention control": making you focus on the scenery of Mount Elbrus, while ignoring problems of corruption and mistakes in the central bank's policies.
Trying to turn money into an ideological puzzle "platform" is essentially an attempt to divert public attention from core issues. From this perspective, the so-called "design vote" is more like a tool for ideological indoctrination.
Perhaps it's time to recall a simple truth: money has no "national attribute," and the only thing that matters is the integrity of the issuer. It is not the design of the banknote that shapes the nation, but the strength and credit of the nation that make the currency reliable. When people lose trust in the currency, even the most exquisite revisions cannot recover its lost essential meaning.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7559158584514085412/
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