5 Dollars - Elizabeth II 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia

The 1020th anniversary of the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in 988 AD — traditionally dated to the mass baptism ordered by Prince Vladimir I in the Dnieper River — was marked by both Russia and Ukraine in 2008 with considerable political friction, each state claiming the event as foundational to its own national identity. Cook Islands issued dozens of commemorative silver rounds that year under licensing arrangements that had little connection to the events being commemorated.