The hryvnia first appeared in the wallets of citizens of independent Ukraine back in 1996. It replaced coupons – temporary banknotes denominated in Soviet rubles. But the very name of the currency has been known since the times of Kievan Rus, where it was used in various principalities as a monetary unit. The appearance of the hryvnia has come a long way from a metal ingot of the 11th century to a paper banknote of the 20th-21st centuries. Below we will tell you about who drew Ukrainian money and how the history of the state is connected with the design of the hryvnia.
Design of the hryvnia from the times of Kievan Rus
It is not known for certain who created the first model of hryvnia silver bars. Probably, the diamond-shaped currency was the most convenient for carrying and dividing into parts during monetary exchange transactions. The surface of the ingots from the times of Kievan Rus was decorated with the coats of arms of princes (trident, etc.) and various metric marks. Over time, the shape and design changed somewhat, but in most cases the surface of the ancient hryvnia was not decorated with complex ornaments and designs.
George Narbut and sketches from the times of the UPR
After separation from the Russian Empire, the Central Rada of the Ukrainian People's Republic began issuing a national currency in 1917 – karbovanets. The design of the karbovanets was assigned to the artist Georgiy Narbut. He is rightly called the father of Ukrainian money, since he became the third person after Vladimir the Great and Yaroslav the Wise to depict a trident on the national currency. Between 1917 and 1920, Narbut prepared 13 banknote designs out of 24 issued.
The future graphic artist was born on the Narbutov small village in the Chernihiv province. He received his initial art education on his own, and in St. Petersburg and Munich he continued his studies with famous masters. His teachers were Ivan Biblin, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Elizaveta Zaitseva, Shimon Golloshi. An important stage in Narbut’s development as an artist was his turn to ancient Ukrainian art: he later drew inspiration from it while working on sketches of money. In 1917 he moved to Kyiv, where he drew sketches of uniforms and labels. In the same year, he was invited to join the design team to work on banknotes of the first Ukrainian money.
In 1918, the political situation changed, and the Central Rada decided to proclaim the UPR an independent state. Narbut, who by that time had already completed work on the old sketches, began designing the Ukrainian hryvnia, which was equal to half a karbovanets.
Narbut was commissioned to develop designs for 10, 100 and 500 hryvnia. For each banknote, the artist prepared thematic drawings associated with certain periods of the development of Ukrainian statehood. On the 10-hryvnia banknote you can see original ornaments characteristic of book engravings of the 17th century. On the 100-hryvnia bill, Narbut drew a worker with a hammer and a peasant woman with a sickle (popular types of revolutionary movements of the early twentieth century). On the 500-hryvnia banknote, the artist depicted the image of young Ukraine – girl's head in rays of light with a wreath. People ironically called the bill “gorpinka”. The sketch of the 2 hryvnia banknote was commissioned to be developed by the artist Vasily Krichevsky, but the ornaments on it turned out to be more primitive than those proposed by Narbut.
In 1918, Hetman Pavel Skoropadsky came to power. In order to assert his authority, he decided to return to the concept of karbovanets as the state currency of the new state. Narbut was again invited to the team of developers of sketches of new money. This time he was assigned to work only on the 100 karbovanets bill. On it, the artist depicted a portrait of Bohdan Khmelnitsky and industrial motifs that were popular at that time. Artists O. Krasovsky, I. Mozolevsky, B. Romanovsky, A. Prikhodko worked on sketches of other banknotes, but from an aesthetic point of view, their contribution was less significant compared to the achievements of Narbut. After the advent of Soviet power, hryvnias and karbovanets disappeared from use until the early 90s of the twentieth century.
Ukrainian hryvnia of the first generation since independence
A new stage in the work on the design of the hryvnia began after the collapse of the USSR. In 1992, the first sketches of money were created by artists Vasily Lopata and Boris Maksimov. When working on the design of the first generation of banknotes, they were inspired by the history of the Ukrainian state, symbols and architectural monuments.
On the olive 1-hryvnia banknote, Vladimir the Great was depicted – one of the founders of the ancient Kyiv state, who managed to strengthen ties with Byzantium through the baptism of the people. On the reverse side of the banknote you can see the ruins of Chersonesus – capital of the ancient state on the territory of Crimea. According to the artists' plan, the images on the 1-hryvnia banknote were supposed to demonstrate the continuity of power on the territory of Ukraine from antiquity to modern times. There is a guess that, in the absence of surviving portraits of Prince Vladimir, the artist Lopata portrayed himself.
On the brown 2-hryvnia banknote, artists depicted Prince Yaroslav the Wise, who ruled after Vladimir the Great, and the Hagia Sophia, built during his reign. Of particular interest are the patterns on the banknotes: the artist Maksimov borrowed their elements from the design of objects of the early 11th century.
The blue 5-hryvnia banknote depicts the famous Hetman Bohdan Khmelnitsky and a landscape with a family tomb in the village of Subotov. The choice of theme for the banknote design reflects the logic of the historical development of Ukrainian statehood – After Kievan Rus, the second significant era was the Cossacks. According to eyewitnesses, when Leonid Kravchuk was looking at the sketches of the national currency offered to him, he suddenly pointed to a 5-hryvnia bill and said: “We’ll make this money!”
The purple 10-hryvnia banknote depicts Hetman Ivan Mazepa and the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Lopata later said that the choice of a historical figure for the banknote raised concerns among Leonid Kravchuk, who at that time held a position in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. He feared that placing Ivan Mazepa on the banknote would cause criticism from Moscow in connection with Mazepa's activities during the war between the Russian Empire and Sweden in the first half of the 18th century.
To design the gray-brown 20-hryvnia banknote, a stylized portrait of the writer Ivan Frank and a landscape with the Lviv Opera House were used. It is symbolic that one of the most famous representatives of Ukrainian literature, Con., appears on the banknote. XIX – beginning XX centuries
The red 50 hryvnia banknotes of 1992 depicted the politician Mykhailo Grushevsky and the Teacher's House building, where the Central Rada met. Artists prepared sketches of the currency, but this banknote was never put into use. Ukrainians also did not see a 100 hryvnia banknote with Taras Shevchenko and the building of the Verkhovna Rada in their wallets. Vasily Lopata wrote about the choice of exactly this age of the poet on the banknote in his book “Hopes and Disappointments, or Metamorphoses of the Hryvnia”: “I tried to present a universal portrait of the great Ukrainian poet and thinker, which would symbolize everything that Taras is for us: prophecy , rebellion, tragedy, lyricism...I completed eight versions of the portrait. I settled on the least traditional image of the elderly Shevchenko, who seemed to potentially contain everything that he means, as for every Ukrainian....” Like the 50-hryvnia bill, it was never put into use. Banknotes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 hryvnia were introduced on September 2, 1996, after the economy stabilized after the economic crisis, although they were printed in Canada and Malta back in 1992.
Inexplicable metamorphoses occurred with the hryvnia printing. Lopata was shocked by the English version of the 20-hryvnia note with Ivan Franko, which was crudely redesigned by an unknown artist, deviating from his original design. Errors in the drawing and changes in the image on the watermark shocked the author of the engravings. According to him, the situation with the 50- and 100-hryvnia bills was even worse, since they were also very different from Lopata’s original plan. He tried to get an explanation, but was faced with evasive answers and hints of state secrets. The shovel was planned to be sent to England to participate in the process of printing a 200-hryvnia bill, but the trip was suddenly canceled by the National Bank. The fate of the banknotes and his repeated drawings, which were handed over personally to the head of the National Bank, Hetman, still remain unknown.
Design of hryvnias of large denominations
The new series of 1994-2001 already included denominations of 50, 100 and 200 hryvnia. Later, 500- and 1000-hryvnia bills also appeared in everyday use. The 200-hryvnia banknote depicts the poet and writer Lesya Ukrainka and Lubart's Castle (the tower of the Lutsk Castle). The banknote was put into use in 2001, but most Ukrainians rarely came across it. The design of the new series has noticeable differences from the first generation banknotes: there is no characteristic ornament on the edges of the banknotes and the style of other design elements has been changed.
The 500-hryvnia banknote depicts the philosopher Grigory Skovoroda and the Kiev-Mohyla Academy. The banknote was printed already in 2006. The attention of vigilant citizens was almost immediately attracted by the “Masonic” a symbol of the all-seeing eye, but experts consider it an imitation of an ancient Egyptian religious symbol.
In 2019, a 1000 hryvnia banknote was printed for the first time. It depicts academician Vladimir Vernadsky and the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Discussions regarding the advisability of introducing large denomination banknotes took place back in the early 90s. It is known that Vasily Lopata proposed to depict Metropolitan Peter Mogila on it. In 2008, the candidacy of the Ukrainian writer Panteleimon Kulish was also considered.
New vertical commemorative banknote 2023
The National Bank of Ukraine issued a commemorative banknote in denomination of 20 hryvnia, dedicated to the heroism of the Ukrainian people against the Russian invaders. The banknote was put into circulation on February 23, 2023. The author of the design is Honored Artist of Ukraine Vladimir Taran.
The front side of the commemorative banknote depicts the figures of three Ukrainian soldiers planting the national flag of Ukraine. This photo "Ukrainian soldiers raise the flag" by Alexander Smirnov, placed against the background of a map of Ukraine and flags of countries that support Ukraine. The reverse side of the Ukrainian commemorative banknote depicts a crown of thorns and hands tied with adhesive tape — symbols of war crimes by Russian troops. There are also poppies, symbolizing bullet marks, and an anti-tank hedgehog with viburnum, changing color depending on the angle of inclination. Additional protective elements include a stylized Ukrainian Armed Forces chevron and the inscription “Remember!” We won't forgive! Never!”, emphasizing the importance of memory and persistence.
The banknote has a unique vertical format and was issued in a limited edition of 300 thousand copies. The banknote circulates on the territory of Ukraine and is available for purchase through the NBU online store.
The design of the Ukrainian hryvnia is an important element of national identity and culture. It reflects the historical and cultural heritage of Ukraine, and is also constantly evolving in response to new technological trends and safety requirements. The evolution of the hryvnia design demonstrates the close connection between the history of the country and its currency, emphasizing the significance of the hryvnia as a symbol of independence and national dignity.
KyivGallery art critic