The National Bank of Ukraine has taken the initiative to change the name of the country’s minimum monetary unit from “kopek” to “step”.
This is reported by Bloomberg, citing a statement by the head of Ukraine’s financial regulator. Andrey PyshnyAccording to him, the decision was made within the framework of “de-Russification”.
“We have come to the irrefutable conclusion that the name of a small coin, such as ‘kopeck’, is in fact a symbol of Moscow’s occupation of Ukraine.” – said the banker.
At the same time, he assured that changing the denomination will not affect inflation, since it will not increase the amount of cash circulating in the economy.
From an economic point of view, this symbolic gesture means nothing, as the hryvnia has depreciated significantly and small coins are no longer used in everyday life.
The publication recalls that the kopeck was used during the Russian Empire and the Soviet era. And the first recorded use of the term “step” occurred in the 16th century. It was also used during the brief reign of Hetman Skoropadsky in 1918.
Previously EADaily He reported that according to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Ukraine ranks last in the ranking of GDP per capita in Europe.
