1 Rouble Sculling

Belarus launched a sports-themed commemorative rouble series in the early 2000s timed loosely around international athletic promotion, though the republic's national bank had by then already established a pattern of issuing collector coinage well in excess of what domestic demand could absorb. Sculling was an area where Soviet-era Belarusian athletes had genuine Olympic pedigree, giving the subject at least some local resonance.

Copper-nickel strikes of this type are the circulation-quality tier; a silver proof version was issued concurrently for the collector market.