2 Roubles A.I. Vasilyev

Alexander Ivanovich Vasilyev was a prominent Russian art historian and fashion critic best known in the post-Soviet period for popularizing the history of costume and dress through television and public lecturing. His inclusion in this 2012 series — part of Bank of Russia's long-running "Outstanding Personalities of Russia" program — reflects how broadly that series defines cultural contribution. Vasilyev was still very much alive when this coin was issued, making it one of the rarer cases in the series where the subject was a living honoree.