The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has initiated an important change in the country's monetary system, proposing to change the name of Ukrainian coins from "kopecks" to "steps." This initiative is aimed at restoring historical justice, de-Russification, and the revival of national traditions in the monetary circulation of Ukraine.
Why "step"?
According to the head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Andriy Pyshny, a study of the history of monetary circulation in Ukraine has revealed that the name "kopeck" is a symbol of the Muscovite occupation. In contrast, "shag" is an ancient Ukrainian word that was used to denote small coins since the 16th-17th centuries. The return of this name will help strengthen national identity and support the process of de-Russification in Ukraine.
Legislative changes
The introduction of a new name for coins will require a number of changes in Ukrainian legislation. In particular, it will be necessary to make amendments to the laws “On Pension Provision”, “On Capital Markets and Organized Commodity Markets”, as well as to Article 249 of the Tax Code of Ukraine to synchronize terminology. The most significant change will be the correction of Article 32 of the Law “On the National Bank of Ukraine”, which currently states that the hryvnia is equal to 100 kopecks. In addition, some resolutions of the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, adopted in the early 1990s, which fixed the name “kopeck”, will lose their force.
Parallel coin circulation
The National Bank emphasized that the name change will not lead to the immediate withdrawal of kopecks from circulation. Kopecks and shags will be in circulation in parallel, which will avoid additional costs for recycling old coins and producing new ones. Citizens will not have to take any measures to exchange kopecks for shags.
