20 Roubles Icon of Smolensk

Belarus issued a series of icon-themed silver coins in the 2000s and 2010s, with the Smolensk Hodegetria — one of the most venerated Marian icons in Eastern Orthodox tradition — carrying particular historical weight in Belarusian and Russian devotional culture. The original Smolensk icon was reportedly brought to Rus' from Constantinople in 1046 as part of the dowry of a Byzantine princess, and copies proliferated across the region for centuries, each accorded nearly equal sacred status to the prototype.

The coin's rectangular format, rather than round, was specifically chosen to echo the proportions of an icon panel — a deliberate production decision that required a non-standard die configuration at the Mint of Poland, which struck the majority of Belarusian commemorative issues during this period.