10 Roubles Arktikugol

Arktikugol was a Soviet state trust established to mine coal on Svalbard, exploiting a provision in the 1920 Spitsbergen Treaty that allowed Soviet nationals to conduct commercial activity on Norwegian-administered territory. The trust operated the settlements of Barentsburg and Pyramiden essentially as closed Soviet enclaves, and because Norwegian krone were required for external transactions, the trust issued its own scrip for internal use — keeping hard currency from circulating among workers who had no need for it.

The 1957 series replaced earlier Arktikugol issues and remained in use well into the post-Stalin period. Denominations were accepted only at trust-run shops, canteens, and facilities within the mining settlements.