1000 Roubles Cathedral of Ascension in Kitskany

Transnistria declared independence from Moldova in 1990 following armed conflict that left over 1,000 dead, but no UN member state recognizes the territory to this day. The Transnistrian Republican Bank has nonetheless issued a full program of collector coinage since the mid-1990s, partly as a revenue stream and partly as an assertion of institutional legitimacy. The Cathedral of the Ascension in Kitskany — a functioning Orthodox monastery complex on the Dniester's right bank — sits in the ambiguous borderland that defines the region's unresolved status.

The 2001 gold issues were among the earliest precious-metal pieces from this program, struck in very small quantities for a collector market that remains poorly documented.