The Central Bank of Russia is asking for design ideas for the 1000-ruble banknote. We're looking at the contenders.
The new banknote is dedicated to the Volga Federal District, with 25 objects to choose from—monuments, historical and modern buildings and structures, cultural heritage sites, and even a postcard. You can vote for only one of them, and the "winners" will be used by artists to design the back of the banknote (the foreground, background, and background images).
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation attempted to update the design last year, but the prototype presented sparked a conflict: Orthodox activists were offended by the absence of a cross on the image of the former church (now the Kazan Museum of the History of the Statehood of the Tatar People), while the designers placed the Syuyumbike Tower with a crescent moon next to it.
Following public accusations of inciting hatred due to the “humiliation of symbols of Russian statehood and the Orthodox faith,” the banknote was issued stopped, it was not put into circulation.
The objects whose proximity on the banknote sparked controversy are not included in the new vote. Read our cards to learn about the notable features of the 25 objects featured—perhaps this will help you make your choice.
Voting will last until 12:00 (Moscow time) on December 12, 2024. To vote on Online The Central Bank will require authorization via email, government services, or social media.
1. Vyatka Art Museum named after Victor and Apollinary Vasnetsov, Kirov
Opened in 1910 (Kirov was called Vyatka until 1934), it was the first art and history museum in the North and North-East of Russia.
The collection currently contains approximately 22 works of painting, graphic art, sculpture, decorative and applied art, and folk art. It all began as a private initiative by local artists who set themselves the goal of developing the visual arts and raising the cultural level of their native region's population.
2. Main building of Kazan Federal University, Kazan
One of the three oldest universities in Russia, founded in 1804 by Emperor Alexander I (and known as the Imperial Kazan University until the 1917 Revolution). On November 17, the university celebrated its 220th anniversary.
The main building, which may appear on the banknote, was built in 1825. This sprawling building, designed in the style of Russian classicism and featuring columns along the central façade, actually comprises several separate structures. The main building houses a library, an anatomical theatre, a physics and chemistry laboratory, offices, and an astronomical observatory, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023.
3. State Lermontov Museum-Reserve "Tarkhany" in the village of Lermontovo (Penza Region)
Founded in 1939, the museum's main attraction is the Arsenyev Estate and its manor house, where Lermontov spent his childhood. The poet's ashes are also buried in the crypt here.
The estate was built at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries by Mikhail Vasilyevich Arsenyev and his wife, Elizaveta Alekseyevna (née Stolypina, Mikhail Yuryevich's beloved grandmother). In 1794, they jointly acquired the village of Nikolskoye. In 1800, the village acquired the name Tarkhany, derived from the vernacular "tarkhanit" (to tarhan), a term for the buying and selling activities the peasants engaged in besides farming: trading in honey, lard, tar, wax, and other goods purchased in neighboring villages.
4. State memorial and architectural complex “Museum-Estate of P.I. Tchaikovsky", Votkinsk (Udmurt Republic)
In 1939, the newspaper Udmurtskaya Pravda published information about the state of the building where the composer was born: "The fireplaces in Tchaikovsky's house, which existed during his lifetime, have been reduced to rubble. The staircases are broken, the ceiling beams and floors are damaged... The pile of bricks and planks smells of dust and musty air."
The authorities immediately set about restoring the estate, using surviving old plans. In April 1940, on the eve of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 100th birthday, the museum opened.
5. Palace of Farmers, Kazan
Built in 2010 in the city's historic center, near the northern wall of the Kazan Kremlin on Palace Square, the architect Leonid Gornik combined elements of Empire, Classicism, Baroque, and Renaissance styles, and placed an arch with a 20-meter bronze "tree of life" at the center of the composition.
The palace is the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Main Directorate of Veterinary Medicine, the Republican Agro-Industrial Center for Investment and Innovation, and a number of subordinate organizations.
6. House-monument to Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov, Ulyanovsk
It is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. Its construction was initiated by a scholarly archival commission, which proposed perpetuating the memory of the renowned novelist with a "public benefit institution" to house a historical, archaeological, and art museum, a library, and a school of industrial and technical drawing.
Permission from Emperor Nicholas II was received on June 18, 1910. Funds were quickly raised—over 100 rubles. The cornerstone was laid on June 6, 1912—the writer's 100th birthday.
7. Zhigulevskaya Hydroelectric Power Station on the Volga River, Zhigulevsk
Built in 1957, it was the largest hydroelectric power station in the world and is now the second most powerful in the European part of Russia.
It supplies electricity to the Moscow, Ural, and Middle Volga power systems and helps cover peak loads in the Unified Energy System of Russia. In addition to generating electricity, it supports large-capacity shipping, water supply, and flood protection.
8. Gagarin International Airport, Saratov
The second major airport built from scratch in modern Russia. The idea was proposed in 2005 and subsequently actively promoted by State Duma deputy Vyacheslav Volodin.
Opened in 2019, the complex includes a passenger terminal and a station square with a pond and art installations. It has also received international awards.
9. Monument to the Patroness Mother, Cheboksary
Opened in 2003, the monument is made of Carrara marble. It stands 46 meters tall, including the pedestal, and is reached by 99 steps. At the bottom of the pedestal is a plaque with an inscription in two languages (Russian and Chuvash): "Blessed are my children who live in peace and love."
The monument depicts a woman blessing her children—all Chuvash people. It embodies the people's spiritual memory, love, and the value of family ties.
10. Monument of Glory, Samara
Built between 1968 and 1971, the funds for its construction were collected from city residents—one ruble from each employee of the factories and plants operating at the time—as a sign of recognition of the services of aviation industry workers during the Great Patriotic War.
The 13-meter-tall figure of a worker on a 40-meter-tall pedestal—the monument—remains one of the tallest structures in Samara. It is made of steel used to build spaceships.
11. Mordovian Republican Museum of Fine Arts named after Stepan Dmitrievich Erzya, Saransk
The museum's collection contains the largest collection of works by the outstanding Soviet artist, sculptor, and artist Erzya.
The museum was founded in 1968. Only in 1995 was it named after Stepan Dmitrievich, and in 2002 the museum was designated as a particularly valuable cultural heritage site of the Mordvin people.
12. A.S. Pushkin Museum-Reserve "Boldino", Bolshoe Boldino village (Nizhny Novgorod Region)
The complex was founded in 1949 in the village where the Pushkin family estate once stood. The architecture was recreated based on archival documents.
The poet’s seclusion in Bolshoe Boldino from September to November 1830 became a fruitful period of his life – the “Boldino Autumn”.
13. Orenburg History Museum, Orenburg
The museum's main building, built in the mid-19th century, is designated a federal urban planning and architectural monument. It was originally constructed as a new stone storehouse and non-commissioned officer guardhouse for the Orenburg Treasury. Funds for the construction were collected from the city's residents for the "construction of government offices and prisons." Built in the neo-Gothic style, it resembles a small medieval fortress.
The museum opened in 1983. Initially, it was only a department of pre-Soviet Russian history; it became an independent institution in 1989.
14. Museum of Folk Art, Penza
The two-story house with a mezzanine, which houses the museum, is recognized as a monument of wooden architecture of the first half of the 19th century. The estate changed hands many times, and in 1901 it was acquired by Penza timber merchant Stepan Lavrentyevich Tyurin, and since 1911 it has belonged to his widow, Lyubov Andreyevna. After the Revolution, it housed an orphanage, and during the Great Patriotic War, a hospital. Later, the house housed military families.
The museum, which is located in the building, was founded in 1975. Its mission is to preserve, study, and promote traditional Penza arts and crafts, trades, and the works of folk artisans.
15. Museum and Exhibition Center "Samara Space", Samara
Opened in 2007, the monument's most impressive exhibit is a genuine R-7 Soyuz launch vehicle, which has been produced in Samara since 1958. The monument was erected in honor of the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight in 2001.
The rocket monument and museum building form a single architectural unit. The rocket and building together stand 68 meters tall and weigh 20 tons, with the supporting structure weighing an additional 53 tons.
16. Monument to Salavat Yulaev, Ufa
Unveiled on November 17, 1967, on the high bank of the Belaya River, monumental sculptor Soslanbek Tavasiev spent 25 years working on the monument, creating a unique structure—the largest equestrian statue in Russia, with only three supporting points.
The statue of the Bashkir national hero stands 9,8 meters tall, and with the pedestal, 14 meters, weighing a total of 40 tons. It is made of bronzed cast iron. Currently in disrepair, restoration is planned.
17. Yuri Gagarin Park of Space Conquerors, Smelovka village (Saratov region)
An open-air memorial and educational complex was established near the site where Yuri Gagarin landed.
The project was initiated by State Duma deputy Vyacheslav Volodin. The park opened in 2021 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first human spaceflight. The memorial's stated goal is to promote the history and exploration of Russia's space activities.
The project was implemented as part of a public-private partnership, and Saratov native Roman Abramovich also took part.
18. Sailing Volga barge (antique), 19th century postcard
By the beginning of the 19th century, shipping on the Volga had become a trade for people of all walks of life, and in the second half of the century, a unique, distinctive form of transport, designed specifically for the rafting of cargo, appeared on the Volga waters.
The main goods transported were rye flour, wheat, millet, buckwheat, salt, soap, potash, oats, steel, copper, iron, cast iron, and crystal. Prisoners became special "cargo" in the 19th century.
The postcard from which the Central Bank borrowed the image states that a loaded kosouska (a type of oblique boat) under sail is distinguished by its ease of movement. According to popular belief, oblique boats were designed by Stepan Razin for swift raids on coastal territories.
19. Perm Museum of Local History, Perm
The mansion in the historic center of Perm is named after the entrepreneur and philanthropist Nikolai Meshkov, who bought the house (built in 1920), which had repeatedly burned down, from the city and rebuilt it by 1889.
The Perm Museum of Local History (the oldest and largest in the Perm region) has occupied the mansion since late 2007. The museum reopened to visitors on May 18, 2009, when the mansion's restoration was completed. Its collection contains 600 items. In 2011, a permanent exhibition, the "Museum of Permian Antiquities," opened to the public, featuring Permian fossils.
20. Presidential Bridge over the Volga River, Ulyanovsk
Opened in 2009, it connects the M5 and M7 highways. One of the longest bridges in Russia and Europe and the largest girder-type river bridge in the world, it is 5,825 meters long, and the entire bridge span is 12,970 meters. Its total weight exceeds 4,000 tons. The height of the supports ranges from 11 to 60 meters, and the width of the upper deck is 25 meters.
21. Samara Academic Drama Theater named after Maxim Gorky, Samara
One of the oldest drama theaters in Russia, founded in 1851. It occupies a building built in 1888, recognized as a cultural heritage site of federal significance.
The theater building is considered the city's main landmark. This red brick, Russian-style structure with white stone carvings stands on the high bank of the Volga, offering stunning views of the river and the Zhiguli Gate. Locals often refer to the theater as a "teremok" or gingerbread house.
22. Saratov State Conservatory named after Leonid Sobinov, Saratov
The conservatory occupies a building built in 1902 according to the designs of architect Alexander Yagn. However, the city's residents disapproved of the result, and the simple structure with its massive façade was rebuilt. In 1912, Yagn's young colleague, Sergei Kalistratov, took on the project. Thus, a small Gothic castle with sharp spires, delicate balconies, and lancet windows appeared on Saratov's main street.
The conservatory building has its own secret. On one of the facades, above the third-floor windows, are five figures—gargoyles, which in Gothic architecture serve as drainpipes. But not in this case. So what are these figures? According to legend, the architect depicted in the mysterious animals five officials who refused to fund his project.
23. Saratov automobile bridge across the Volga River, Saratov and Engels
Opened in 1965, it is one of the largest engineering structures in Russia and for a long time was the longest in Europe, with a total length of 2825,8 meters.
The road bridge across the Volgograd Reservoir took seven years to build. In March 2004, several overhead contact towers supporting trolleybuses collapsed. An inspection of the bridge revealed its dilapidated condition, and the contact towers were completely dismantled. Trolleybus service was only restored in July 2021.
The bridge's service life is coming to an end, and the city plans to build a new bridge, while the existing one may be demolished or converted to a pedestrian crossing.
24. High-speed passenger hydrofoil ship "Meteor"
The Meteor was a mass-produced series of Soviet high-speed passenger riverboats capable of coastal navigation. It was developed by the Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod) Central Design Bureau under the direction of Rostislav Alekseev.
The Meteor, along with the Raketa, was and remains the most widely produced hydrofoil vessel in the world, operated in almost 20 countries around the world.
25. Family Center "Kazan", Kazan
The Wedding Palace, opened in 2013, is one of Kazan's main attractions. Its unique architecture, shaped like a bowl (or kazan—a traditional Eastern cast metal cooking pot with a semicircular bottom), was designed and built by Dashi Namdakov (a sculptor and architect from Buryatia). On the building's roof, 32 meters above river level, is an observation deck offering views of the Kazan Kremlin, the Kremlin embankment, and the surrounding area.
