National Day of Currency in Kazakhstan

In November 1993, the first President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, signed a decree ‘On the introduction of the national currency of the Republic of Kazakhstan’. Following this, the tenge became the official currency of the country.

The introduction of the tenge symbolised the move towards financial independence and sovereignty as the country transitioned from the Soviet ruble to its own currency.

This special occasion is being marked by the issue of a commemorative 10,000 tenge banknote, featuring significant historical references and eye-catching design and advanced security features.

By way of background, the introduction of Kazakhstan’s national currency stemmed from economic challenges in the former Soviet republics, exacerbated by the Central Bank of Russia’s 1993 monetary reform that removed Soviet rubles from circulation and exchanged them for new Russian currency. The influx of Soviet rubles into Kazakhstan triggered hyperinflation, prompting the need for a national currency.