20 Roubles Rus Christianizing

Belarus issued this coin to mark the 1025th anniversary of the Christianization of Kievan Rus, an event dated to 988 AD when Vladimir the Great's mass baptism in the Dnieper River imposed Orthodox Christianity across his realm by decree. The anniversary fell in 2013, and both Russia and Belarus mounted coordinated commemorative programs — a politically pointed gesture given the ongoing effort by the two states to frame a shared Orthodox civilizational identity distinct from the post-Soviet West.

The gilding on .925 silver was applied selectively, a production technique the National Bank of Belarus used extensively during this period for religious and historical commemoratives.