200 Russian Ruble #439

Front

Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin, the main gate tower and clock tower built in 1491 by Pietro Antonio Solari, one of the most recognizable symbols of Russia. The tower stands 71 meters tall and houses the Kremlin Clock; it has served as the official entrance to the Kremlin since the 15th century and has been featured on Soviet and Russian currency throughout the 20th century as an emblem of state power.

Back

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870–1924), founder of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), leader of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, and first head of the Soviet state. Lenin established the world's first socialist state and remained the central ideological figure of the USSR; his portrait appeared on virtually all Soviet banknotes from the 1930s until the dissolution of the USSR. The State Emblem of the USSR featuring hammer and sickle surrounded by wheat sheaves is shown at right.

History

This 200 ruble note is from the final issue of the State Bank of the USSR, printed in 1991-1992 during the terminal crisis of the Soviet Union. The note bears the date 1992 but was issued by the 'State Bank of the USSR' (Государственного Банка СССР) even though the USSR formally dissolved on December 26, 1991. These notes continued to circulate briefly in the Russian Federation and other successor states in early 1992. The design features the traditional Soviet iconography of Lenin and the Kremlin that had appeared on USSR currency since the Stalin era. This series was rapidly demonetized during the hyperinflation of 1992-1993, replaced by new Russian Federation issues in 1993. The warning text states that counterfeiting is prosecuted by law. Serial number БГ 5447930 indicates a standard production run.