Open Day at the Bank of Russia attended by over 70,000 visitors

The 4th annual Open Day of the Bank of Russia was held on 28 September 2019 in nearly 90 Russian cities. This year, over 70,000 people visited the megaregulator (nearly 60,000 last year).

Both Russian and foreign visitors were able to see the interior of old buildings where Bank of Russia offices are located, which are usually accessible only to Bank of Russia employees. They were also able to see unique collections of Russian coins and banknotes, learn about cash desk machines operations and many other things.

In Novosibirsk and some other cities, tour guides revealed the secrets of minting silver and gold coins. In Kazan, visitors were enthralled by a range of banknotes of the past: from the famous ‘katenkas’ and ‘petenkas’ that would not even fit in modern wallets to the tiny ‘dumkas’ and ‘kerenkas’. In Sevastopol, visitors to the Bank of Russia took pictures with a full-height copy of a 500-ruble banknote, the last banknote of the Russian empire government.

In Izhevsk, an inclusive museum of the history of banking was organised for visually impaired people where all items were accompanied with descriptions in Braille. In Blagoveshensk, visitors could visit a specially arranged apartment for the State bank governor, which had only one room used simultaneously as a bedroom, a dining room and a study. In Astrakhan, visitors could see the bank governor's study, designed over 100 years ago, and learned about a safe buried in one of its walls.

There were, as usual, master classes and lectures covering pertinent topics Russian people need to know: from being able to tell real money from counterfeit and following security rules when making online payments to the principles of competent investment and the ability to recognise a financial pyramid. For example, in Chelyabinsk, visitors to the Bank of Russia not only learned to correctly identify protective elements and authenticity signs on banknotes but also used a special tool to find images of tigers, roes, bears and even cosmonauts on them.

Those who were not able to join lectures or excursions could take part in various finance-themed team games, intellectual quests and competitions, including financial battles. Everyone had a chance to win: in Ufa, a 13-year old schoolboy did better than the adults and won in the ‘Finance at Your Fingertips’ game. Financial quest participants in Vladivostok learned not only about finances but also about their native city because they had to search for landmarks depicted on commemorative coins issued by the Bank of Russia. Anadyr schoolchildren tried their hands at being Bank of Russia employees making payments and transfers and issuing cash to ‘commercial banks’.

In Kaliningrad, the exhibition dedicated to the history of the cash collection service in Russia showing an old horse-driven carriage used by clerks to transport cash sparked vivid interest among the visitors.

In Nizhny Novgorod, visitors to the ‘History of Insurance’ exhibition dedicated to the 125th anniversary of insurance supervision learned the purpose of ‘fire insurance marks’, the metal plaques affixed to the front of fire insured buildings.

Visitors to the Moscow venue could watch how the national payment system works, how payments are transferred, and find out about the role of the Bank of Russia in the process. Muscovites and guests from other regions also tried to balance inflation with the key rate using a seesaw.

Young Open Day guests put together jigsaw puzzles, solved financial crossword and picture puzzles, competed against each other in delivering ‘money’ to the ‘bank’ using radio-controlled cars, and watched plays on appropriate financial conduct. In Buryatia, a 3-year old participant of the ‘Count the Money’ game did so in English while in Tuva a 12-year old schoolboy did squats in a cash collector's bullet-proof vest weighing 6 kilos. He managed to squat 16 times.

In Bank of Russia venues in various cities, visitors put together a consumer basket, learned to tell apart personal and official inflation, measured their height using meters made from banknote scraps, and took pictures in themed photo areas. For example, in Krasnodar, they could take a picture in a pool filled with coins, which was drawn on the pavement.

A detailed account of the events will be published in the news section of each Bank of Russia main branch.