Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The video describes a covert operation to deliver the first banknotes across the Atlantic to Ukraine.
Ukrainian creative association “MUR,” together with the National Bank of Ukraine, presented a musical-dance video “People Create the Hryvnia,” dedicated to the 30-year anniversary of the monetary reform 1996. The video tells the story of the Ukrainian currency’s creation—from the design development before independence to a secret operation delivering the first banknotes across the Atlantic Ocean, according to the NBU on Facebook.
The clip was directed by MUR founder Oleksandr Khomenko, the producer of photography was Mykola Shmundir, and the choreographer was Dana Sarman. Music was written by Viktor Tkachenko, and the lyrics were created by Oleksandr Khomenko and Oleksandr Zaika.
The NBU reminded that the first hryvnias were printed in Canada, since the young state lacked its own capabilities to print banknotes. Due to the high cost of air transport, the money was delivered by sea during the secret operation “Shield of Ukraine.”
The fighters of the special unit “Alpha” were registered as crew members of a civilian freighter, and the weapons were concealed on board. Only a few people knew that the vessel was carrying 105 containers of hryvnia.
The journey lasted 49 days, covered more than 11 thousand kilometers, eight seas, 13 straits, and territories of 10 states. During the voyage the ship remained without satellite communication, narrowly avoiding collision with another vessel, and the crew prepared even for a possible attack on the cargo.
“The hryvnia was not simply printed. People created the hryvnia,” the NBU emphasized.
After delivery, Ukraine spent almost four more years preparing for their circulation. President Leonid Kuchma 25 in August 1996 signed a decree on the monetary reform, and from 2 to 16 September the country simultaneously used hryvnias and karbovanets.
The exchange was conducted at a rate of 100 thousand karbovanets per one hryvnia, with no limits and no confiscations. After the reform, the hryvnia became the only legal means of payment in Ukraine.
Last year, Ukrzaliznytsia, in collaboration with “MUR,” conducted a one-off art action for Defender of Ukraine Day, temporarily renaming the Kyiv–Kramatorsk train to “Kyiv–Rebelyia.” Participants and actors from “MUR” saw the train off from Kyiv station, but the collaboration sparked a wave of criticism in society: public figures, military personnel, and passengers accused the artists and Ukrzaliznytsia of inappropriate PR, exploiting memory, and demeaning a frontline route that serves as a symbolic “road of life.”
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