Renaming "kopiika" to "shah": Rada supported the law in the first reading
Kyiv • UNN
Draft law No. 14093 provides for the de-Sovietization of the name of Ukraine's small coin. At the same time, the coins "kopiika" and "shah" will be in circulation simultaneously for some time, and the ratio will remain 1:1.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the first reading (as a basis) a draft law on the de-Sovietization of the name of Ukraine's small change coin. It is about the "kopiika", which is planned to be renamed to "shah", reports UNN.
Details
The text of draft law No. 14093 is published on the website of the Ukrainian parliament. As the press service of the Verkhovna Rada noted, this decision has not only a technical but also a symbolic meaning.
"Kopiika" is a legacy of the Russian Empire and the Soviet past. Instead, "shah" is a historical Ukrainian name that was used during the times of the Hetmanate and the Ukrainian People's Republic.
At the same time, the change will not require additional costs: the coins "kopiika" and "shah" will be in circulation simultaneously for some time, and the ratio will remain 1:1.
It is also reported that in the next 3-4 years, only "50 shah" coins are planned to be issued in the amount of several tens of millions of pieces - all other denominations will be more than 1 UAH.
As noted by People's Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak, 264 deputies voted "for".
In addition, the Verkhovna Rada plans to convene a plenary session on December 27 to finally approve the decision to rename "kopiika" to "shah".
Context
The National Bank of Ukraine proposed to replace the name of Ukrainian coins "kopiika" with "shah" to restore historical justice.
The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory supported the renaming of kopiikas to shahs.
Further, the Verkhovna Rada registered a draft law on renaming Ukrainian coins "kopiika" to "shah". This is intended to restore historical justice and de-Sovietize monetary circulation.
Recall
The head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Andriy Pyshnyi, stated the importance of introducing coins named "shah" instead of kopiikas. He noted that the name "kopiika" is mostly used in Russia, Belarus, and in the territories temporarily occupied by the Kremlin.
According to him, the transition to "shahs" should have taken place in the early 1990s, that is, after the restoration of independence. But the political elites of that time lacked the will.