200 Roubles Southwest Asian Leopard

Issued as part of Russia's ongoing Red Book series, which began in 1993 to commemorate endangered species listed in the Russian Federation's national conservation registry. The Persian leopard — Panthera pardus saxicolor — had been reduced to perhaps 70–90 individuals in Russian territory by the time of this issue, concentrated almost entirely in the North Caucasus. A captive breeding and reintroduction program run jointly with WWF and the Sochi National Park was already underway.

Red Book coins from this period are struck in relatively small quantities and see almost no secondary circulation — most go directly into collector hands.