The issue of banknotes of a new denomination is an infrequent phenomenon in modern Russian history. However, a year ago, the media for the first time told about the possibility of the release of two whole new banknotes - 2000 and 200 rubles. Their introduction into circulation was planned for October 2017. Let's see how relevant this statement is today, whether we should wait for the release of new bills and what they will look like.
How it all began: statement by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation
The fact that the release of new banknotes of 200 and 2000 rubles is not an ordinary newspaper duck, says a link to an official source - the Central Bank of Russia. The introduction of new banknotes to the media was reported by the Chairman of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina. The need to enter money of such a denomination comes from the fact that today most of the financial settlements of citizens fall between 100-500 rubles and 1000-5000 rubles.
About when banknotes of 200 and 2000 rubles came out, it was also mentioned. The head of the regulator explained that their release is advisable only in conditions when inflation in the Russian Federation will be at the level of 4-6%. The 4% indicator is precisely what it is planned to achieve by the end of 2017 - that is, by the promised October. E. Nabiullina assured citizens that the issue of new banknotes will not affect the state budget in any way, nor will it aggravate the level of inflation and will not affect the total money supply in the country.
BCS chief economist V. Tikhomirov believes that introducing new denominations will even help save the Central Bank by issuing new notes - they will have to be printed in a much smaller volume, as in the light of recent years, banknotes of 100 and 1000 rubles noticeably "feel better."
200 or 300?
After the economic situation in our country has stabilized sufficiently, the need arose to issue intermediate denominations. However, a dilemma arose: samples of new banknotes - 200 and 2000 rubles, or 300 and 3000 rubles? For the first option, there was an appeal to world experience - the same 200 dollars, 200 euros, 2,000 tenge, 2 fiefs in China. For the second - look at your own experience. Remember the Soviet 3 rubles.
But, as we see, the Central Bank nevertheless settled on the first option. And in 2015, by the way, a jubilee coin with a face value of 3 rubles was issued specially for the BRICS and SCO summit.
"Urban" tradition
Many of us are interested in what banknotes of 2000 and 200 rubles will look like. The head of the Central Bank assured citizens that they would not stand out against the background of an established "urban" tradition - images on banknotes of the great cities of Russia, as well as their historical symbols. However, this time the design will be approved not only by the developers, but the entire population of Russia - each of us had to choose which city is worthy to appear on banknotes of 200 and 2000 rubles - it was enough to send our vote for the image we liked.
The "urban tradition" was born, as the conscious contemporaries of that time probably remember, in 1995:
- Vladivostok - on a bill of 1 thousand rubles.
- Novgorod - by 5 thousand rubles.
- Krasnoyarsk - by 10 thousand rubles.
- St. Petersburg - 50 thousand rubles.
- Moscow - for 100 thousand rubles.
After the denomination in 1997, banknotes of a different type were issued, but all within the framework of the old tradition. However, Yaroslavl was already depicted on a thousand-ruble banknote, and Khabarovsk on a five-thousandth banknote.
Maybe Crimea?
In 2014, LDPR State Duma deputy Alexei Didenko sent the Central Bank of the Russian Federation the following proposal: to issue a 10,000-ruble note in honor of the restoration of Crimea with Russia, dedicated to this event with its design. And in December of that year, the Union of Crimean winemakers again sent a proposal to the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, to issue an already 200-ruble note dedicated to the Black Sea peninsula. It was proposed to depict vineyards, bunches and vines, as well as a view of Ayu-Dag.
However, the Central Bank limited itself to the fact that in December 2015 it issued a limited edition 100-ruble commemorative banknote:
- The "face" of the banknote was dedicated to the Crimea, or rather, to its most recognizable symbol - the Swallow's Nest castle, on the cliff of Ai-Todor cape, near the village of Gaspra.
- The object of the flip side was the hero city of Sevastopol. The banknote depicts the Monument to the Scuttled Ships, which is located in the Sevastopol Bay. It was erected in 1905 to mark the 50th anniversary of the First Defense of the city. Then a whole fleet of sailing ships was flooded in order to block the entrance to the Sevastopol raid for enemy ships. In the background, many will recognize a fragment of the picture of the legendary marine painter Aivazovsky "Russian squadron at the Sevastopol raid."
Vladivostok 2000
Speaking about banknotes of 200 and 2000 rubles, one can’t help but recall the petition posted on the network in 2014 and signed by more than 6 thousand people - citizens advocated issuing a bill with the image of Vladivostok. And its face value smoothly flowed from the famous song "Mumiy Troll" (whose homeland is this Far Eastern city) under the name "Vladivostok-2000".
A banknote sample was also proposed: the Manjur sailboat, a fragment of the colonnade, a funicular and the Russian Bridge, built in 2012 for the APEC summit from the Golden Bay to Russky Island. Activists believed that the introduction of such a bill would allow a creative look at the ruble, which, in their opinion, is so necessary for the national currency.
However, at that time money circulation did not feel the need for Russian banknotes of 200 and 2000 rubles, and the existing nominal series completely satisfied all the needs of society. The introduction of such intermediate values into circulation largely depends on the level of inflation in the state. In 2014, Russia belonged to countries with a high level of this indicator, therefore, the bill series should remain within the limits of multiples of 1 and 5.
About rating systems
The difficulty in introducing banknotes of 2000 and 200 rubles is also indicated by the fact that the system of denominations in the world is of only three types:
- Multiple 1-2-5.
- Multiple 1-2.5-5.
- Multiple 1-5-10.
In 1997, in Russia, after the denomination, the last scheme was adopted. This was due to high inflation. Therefore, the introduction of 200 and 2000 rubles in the circulation of banknotes is also an additional difficulty, because the country will have to switch to a new system of proportions of denominations of banknotes.
But what about the vote?
We didn’t just tell you about the Crimea, Sevastopol and Vladivostok - these are the symbols we will see on the new banknotes of 200 and 2000 rubles. This time they decided to make the choice of banknote design popular - on June 28, 2016, a three-stage voting for the choice of symbols was launched. On October 7 of the same year, its results were announced live on the Russia 1 channel.
The winners of 200 and 2000 rubles banknotes are Sevastopol (Monument to the Scuttled Ships and Tauric Chersonesos) and the Far East (Russian Bridge and Vostochny Cosmodrome). Kazan and D. Vostok were the leaders for a long time, however, at the final stage, the capital of Tatarstan lost to the hero city. The final approval of the design of new banknotes, however, is for the Board of Directors of the Central Bank.
What will be the new banknotes, citizens will find out very soon - by the end of 2017. This news has once again been confirmed by Elvira Nabiullina.
New bills and the economy
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has assured several times concerned citizens - issuing banknotes of a new denomination will not affect the Russian economic situation, will not cause inflation and will not affect the money supply - it will remain the same. The latter is achieved through the gradual withdrawal of shabby banknotes and coins from circulation. No "special" seizures of hundred-ruble rubles and one thousand rubles from the population are all the more planned.
The issue of new denominations will also not be carried out on the blood taxes of citizens - neither the printing of 200- and 2000-ruble notes, nor their introduction into circulation, nor the withdrawal of a certain amount of already unusable banknotes. The main condition for the early entry of banknotes is inflation not higher than 4% in the country. To achieve this level will be the following measures:
- Establishing and maintaining a high credit key rate.
- Overpricing.
- Some decrease in consumer activity.
How many wait for them?
Meanwhile, October is close, and we are not hearing news of the introduction of new banknotes. With what it can be connected? Consider the reasons:
- Again, the rate of inflation. If it unexpectedly increased or did not decrease in size, according to plans, the introduction of new notes will be delayed.
- Final design approval is a rather lengthy process.
- Issuing money is a time-consuming process.
- New bills are not being put into circulation “now and immediately” - they are gradually appearing in small batches in various regions of the country, in exchange for unusable banknotes.
Summarizing, we will find the courage to say that banknotes of 200 and 2000 rubles will soon begin to appear in the wallets of Russians. Putting new face values into circulation is a rarity for modern Russia. Remember the last time a new bill appeared - 5,000 rubles. In addition, the procedure depends not only on the work of printing presses and designers. In order to start putting the "Far Eastern" and "Sevastopol" notes into circulation, optimal economic conditions are needed - in particular, this is the share of inflation.