The 225th Anniversary of the Bolshoi Theater

Obverse

in the center — the Emblem of the Bank of Russia [the two-headed eagle with wings down, lower — the semicircular inscription — «БАНК РОССИИ» (BANK OF RUSSIA)] framed by a circle of dots and inscriptions along the rim: at the top — «ТРИ РУБЛЯ» (THREE RUBLES), at the bottom — the year of issue «2001», the letters to the left indicate the metal sign and the fineness, to the right — the fine metal content and the mint trade mark.

Reverse

a scene from the 4th Act of the opera «Life for the Tsar» («Ivan Soussanin»), over it — the building of the Bolshoi Theater and the date «225», the inscriptions along the rim: at the top — «БОЛЬШОЙ ТЕАТР» (BOLSHOI THEATER), at the bottom — «ИВАН СУСАНИН» («IVAN SOUSSANIN»).

Authors

The artist: A.V. Baklanov.
The sculptor: A.S. Kunats.
St. Petersburg Mint (СПМД).
The edge: 300 corrugations.

The first national opera «Life for the Tsar» («Ivan Soussanin») was composed by M.I. Glinka, founder of the Russian classic opera, in 1836. The opera is based upon a legend about the heroic deed of a Kostroma peasant during the Polish invasion of 1612.