It began with a seemingly harmless call from the Central Bank to select the design for a new 500-ruble (approximately $5) banknote featuring the North Caucasus Federal District.

However, it soon escalated into a conflict between Chechen authorities and pro-war bloggers, along with accusations of undermining national cohesion and even allegations of foreign interference. This led to a flood of memes.

On Sunday evening, the Central Bank announced the cancellation of the vote, citing “numerous attempts” to manipulate the voting figures for specific designs, while also facing claims of result manipulation.

The Moscow Times examines how the creation of a new banknote design turned into a heated political issue and compiles some of the most entertaining memes inspired by the voting process.

The online poll, which started on October 1, aimed to determine the front and back designs of the 500-ruble note, allowing voters to choose from 16 well-known landmarks in the North Caucasus Federal District.

Initially, participants could cast their votes through social media platforms VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, via email, and through the state services portal Gosuslugi.

Voting for the front of the banknote went off without a hitch, with the Akademicheskaya Galereya—an old resort in Pyatigorsk built over a mineral spring—leading with over a million votes.

However, voting for the reverse side soon turned contentious, with the Grozny-City skyscraper complex from Chechnya and Mount Elbrus, Europe’s tallest peak, rising to the forefront.

In a bid to promote his republic’s capital on the new currency, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov announced on Friday that individuals voting for Grozny-City on all platforms could win one of ten new iPhone 17s.

Popular Chechen blogger Askhab Tamaev went even further, offering a car as a prize to those who supported the skyscraper.

The following day, in a move to curb duplicate votes, the Central Bank limited voting to Gosuslugi, where each account is tied to a single passport.

This decision incited fury among Chechen officials, with local state media airing guides on how to vote for Grozny-City through Gosuslugi.

In a video statement, Akhmed Dudayev, Chechnya’s minister of information and national policy, expressed dismay at the last-minute changes to the voting rules, urging the Central Bank to resist pressures from “provocateurs, foreign agents, and liberal circles.”

“Dear friends at the Central Bank, if you’re unhappy with the rapid rise in our voting totals or if you’re not pleased that we’re in the lead, just let us know,” Dudayev remarked. “Clarify that you would prefer another option to come out on top — then we can discuss.”

In the video, widely distributed by Kadyrov and major Chechen media, Dudayev criticized the Central Bank’s “dishonest and unjust” choice and called on its staff to respond to the concerns of upset Chechen citizens.

Reacting to the Chechen mobilization, a group of right-wing bloggers spearheaded by Vladislav Pozdnyakov—the founder of the now-dissolved ultra-nationalist Male State—urged their followers to back the Mount Elbrus design.

Pozdnyakov accused Chechen authorities of artificially inflating votes, asserting that “90% of the votes are merely bot-generated,” and claimed that the Central Bank had made the voting process unjust.

He rallied his 536,000 Telegram followers to vote for Elbrus, stating: “Today, we need every supporter who values national unity and respects equality under our laws and constitution!”

Vyacheslav Davankov, the deputy speaker of the State Duma and leader of the New People party, also urged support for Elbrus, offering a trip for two to a resort near the mountain as an incentive.

In response, Chechen officials announced plans to reach out to President Vladimir Putin about the vote, denouncing a “disgusting campaign of hatred against the Chechen people” that was unfolding online.

“If the Central Bank allows a symbol on the new banknote to succeed through means other than fairness—through money and animosity—it undermines the very essence of a multiethnic Russia,” Dudayev said on Sunday.

“This will not just be an embarrassment for the contest—it will serve as a wake-up call for the entire nation.”

Some analysts criticized the Central Bank for conducting the vote in the first place, suggesting it was a tactic to incite discord among Russia’s regions or even a form of foreign interference.

Pro-war journalist Dmitry Steshin called for counterintelligence to investigate the actions of the Central Bank, claiming its initiative was sowing division between Russians and Chechens, either due to “officials’ narrow-mindedness” or due to the influence of Russia’s adversaries.

Daniil Bessonov, another pro-war blogger with around 300,000 subscribers on his Neofitsialny Bessonov Telegram channel, recommended that the Central Bank issue notes or coins featuring soldiers from the Ukraine conflict if it had the funds and time for alterations.

Even the Wagner Group’s Telegram channel, which shares updates about their mercenary activities, chimed in: “It’s crucial to understand that there are forces keen on inciting outrage within our society. Remember the key point: regardless of which design is ultimately chosen for the new banknotes, we must remain united.”

On Sunday, the Central Bank declared the public vote canceled entirely.

“We have encountered numerous attempts to artificially boost the vote count for specific designs using technical means, making it impossible to achieve an objective outcome,” the statement read.

The Bank also mentioned that new voting dates would be announced separately and that the list of design options would remain unchanged.

“Following an analysis of all voting channels, we will propose new conditions to eliminate the potential for dishonest activities,” the regulator stated.

By Saturday evening, Grozny-City had received 1,038,248 votes, while Mount Elbrus was in the lead with 1,078,416 votes.

The controversy surrounding the banknote selection sparked a wave of memes and humorous ideas for the new design.