NBU to change denomination inscription on 2,000 hryvnia banknote featuring Stus
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has decided to update the style of the denomination inscription on the new 2,000 hryvnia banknote featuring a portrait of Vasyl Stus following a discussion about the stylistic similarity of the inscription with an unofficial Cyrillic adaptation of a Russian-origin font, the regulator announced.
"When the inscription on a banknote featuring Stus is associated with the work of a citizen of an aggressor country, the very fact of such an association is sufficient. There are no Russian shadows on a banknote featuring a poet killed by Russia," commented National Bank Governor Andriy Pishny.
The updated denomination inscription will be executed in accordance with the official Cyrillic version of the Bickham Script font, without any author's variations.
The National Bank noted that no font package was used to create the previous version of the inscription, and there are no legal issues regarding its design.
The banknote has not yet entered production, so the changes will not affect its scheduled introduction into circulation, which is scheduled for September 4, 2026.
"Therefore, we have the only correct solution. The denomination will be changed. And thanks to the attentive professionals who care about the appearance of our hryvnia. This is how responsibility should work – mutual," Pishny wrote on his Facebook page.
As reported, on July 10, the NBU unveiled a new 2,000 hryvnia banknote featuring a portrait of Ukrainian poet, dissident, and human rights activist Vasyl Stus. The reverse side features the building of the Philology Department of Donetsk National University, where he studied.
Following the presentation of the new banknote, designer Bohdan Hdal stated that the design once again uses the Bickham Script font with an unofficial Cyrillic adaptation, which he calls pirated.
According to him, this refers to the Cyrillic version of the font created by Russian designer Alexandra Gofman. Hdal, together with type designer Andriy Shevchenko, raised a similar issue in 2019 after the release of the thousand-hryvnia banknote.