New Ukrainian banknote of 2000 hryvnias with Stus: the Jew who preserved his poems, and the trace of this story in Israel
On September 4, 2026, Ukraine introduces a new banknote with a denomination of 2000 hryvnias (approximately 130 shekels). It will feature Vasyl Stus — one of the greatest Ukrainian poets of the 20th century, dissident, human rights activist, and Soviet political prisoner who died in a camp in 1985.
The most obvious discussion around the new banknote has already begun: inflation, rising prices, why a 2000 hryvnia denomination was needed at all, and why now. But if we focus only on the money, we will miss one of the most unusual parts of this story.
When Stus's notebook with poems was taken away in a Soviet camp and he was told it was destroyed, some of the texts remained in the memory of another prisoner. His name was Mikhail Heifetz. He was a Jew, a Leningrad writer, and a political prisoner. Later, Heifetz repatriated to Israel, lived in Jerusalem, and continued to write about the people he met behind barbed wire.
Thus, the new Ukrainian banknote gains an Israeli story that is not directly on the banknote.
Why Ukraine needed 2000 hryvnias
The economic part should not be overlooked here. Since the introduction of the 1000 hryvnia banknote in 2019, the average salary in…
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