50 Roubles

The 1991 series was the last full issue of Soviet banknotes before the USSR ceased to exist in December of that year. Goznak had been printing state currency continuously since 1818, and this run carried no indication that it would be among the final products of that particular political order — production timelines meant sheets were already being printed as the union dissolved around them.

Pavlov's January 1991 currency reform, which voided all 50 and 100 Rouble notes issued before 1991 with only 72 hours' notice, created acute public distrust of paper money at exactly the moment this note entered circulation. Many Soviet citizens simply stopped holding large-denomination notes.