2 Euros Finno-Ugric peoples

Estonia issued this coin to mark the World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples, a gathering held every five years that brings together representatives of roughly two dozen linguistically related groups scattered across northern Europe and Siberia. The congress has carried political weight since the Soviet collapse, when many of these peoples — Mordvins, Maris, Khanty, and others — gained limited but real cultural autonomy within the Russian Federation.

The choice to commemorate this on a circulating €2 was deliberate Estonian soft power: the country positions itself as the most prosperous and politically stable member of the Finno-Ugric family.