1 Rouble Arktikugol

Arktikugol — the Soviet coal-mining trust operating on Svalbard — issued its own scrip currency for use at its Arctic settlements, principally Barentsburg. Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard under the 1920 Spitsbergen Treaty complicated ordinary Soviet commercial activity there; the trust's internal currency sidestepped the need to conduct retail transactions in Norwegian kroner while keeping wages and purchases contained within the company system.

The 1961 series replaced earlier Arktikugol issues and remained in use for decades, outlasting the USSR itself. These notes are sometimes found with handling wear consistent with genuine Arctic-settlement circulation — not pristine office stock.