Kazakhstan issued a new 20,000-tenge bank note ($42) on Sept. 30 to replace one of the same denomination that was first issued in 2015 and also in a circulating commemorative version last year for the 30th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union.

The latter was a candidate in the International Bank Note Society Banknote of the Year Competition for 2021. Yet despite its popularity, the National Bank of Kazakhstan apparently wanted to get rid of the old note so badly that the denomination is not even listed in the currency section of its website. In fact, the Kazakh language announcement of the new note says it “adds to the range of other denominations.”

The new note is identical to the old one with a huge exception, the portrait of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev is replaced on the back with a huge eagle flying in most of the space vacated by the president. Another eagle, in gold, replaces the “30” of the commemorative.

Nazarbayev, president of the former Soviet republic for three decades from its creation until he resigned in 2019, was a relic of communism. He continued to retain significant power as head of the Security Council. The parliament named him to that position for life in 2018, but he was removed in January 2022 after civil unrest over rising gas prices. The move, according to Reuters, is the latest step taken by the nation to dismantle the personality cult of Nazarbayev.

The national symbols of Kazakhstan are on the note’s face: the Angilik El monumental arch, flying doves, the Kazakh Eli monument in Astana, and the national flag. The face still carries the number “30” representing the years of independence that was on the commemorative version.

A panoramic view of the capital city, Astana, the Akorda presidential palace, and the eagle in flight that replaces Nazarbayev are on the back.

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