25 Kopecks - Military Trade Check

Vneshtorgbank's military trade checks — sometimes called "voenno-torgovye cheki" — were issued through Vneshtorg and its Vnesposyltorg subsidiary as a parallel currency system for Soviet military personnel serving abroad. Rather than receiving hard currency or convertible rubles, soldiers and officers stationed in Warsaw Pact countries and Soviet-backed postings were paid partly in these checks, redeemable only at specific closed retail outlets. The system insulated the Soviet economy from hard currency leakage while still giving military personnel access to goods unavailable domestically.

The 1976 series is distinguished from earlier check issues by the absence of a blue tint band, a detail that matters for authentication within the series.