The Provisional Government of the Northern Region — usually called the Chaikovskiy Government after its chairman, the veteran Socialist-Revolutionary Nikolai Chaikovskiy — was established at Arkhangelsk in August 1918 under Allied occupation following the British-led intervention. This 500-rouble note belongs to a series adapted from existing Imperial or Provisional Government stock by means of a distinguishing perforation, a quick solution to the administrative problem of differentiating circulating currency in a region cut off from Bolshevik-controlled territory.
The perforation was the entire security measure — no new printing, just a mechanical cancellation-and-authorization in one step. When the Allies withdrew and the White northern front collapsed in early 1920, the government dissolved, and most of its currency became worthless within weeks.
The Provisional Government of the Northern Region — usually called the Chaikovskiy Government after its chairman, the veteran Socialist-Revolutionary Nikolai Chaikovskiy — was established at Arkhangelsk in August 1918 under Allied occupation following the British-led intervention. This 500-rouble note belongs to a series adapted from existing Imperial or Provisional Government stock by means of a distinguishing perforation, a quick solution to the administrative problem of differentiating circulating currency in a region cut off from Bolshevik-controlled territory.
The perforation was the entire security measure — no new printing, just a mechanical cancellation-and-authorization in one step. When the Allies withdrew and the White northern front collapsed in early 1920, the government dissolved, and most of its currency became worthless within weeks.