pamc wrote: Mon Oct 13, 2025 6:13 pm i interpret that as Ukrainian hackers adding Zelensky image on the 500 ruble note

Everything is much more complicated.

Elbrus won: the Central Bank abruptly canceled the vote for the choice of an image on a 500-ruble bill after the outrage in Chechnya.

Voting for the symbol on the new 500-ruble bill was stopped after Elbrus broke into the lead.

The Central Bank of Russia canceled a controversial vote for symbols on a new 500-ruble banknote two days before the results. The Bank of Russia has begun a planned modernization of the 1997 banknotes, in which the 500-ruble banknote will receive a new design dedicated to the North Caucasus Federal District. An online vote was organized to select the symbols that will be depicted on both sides of the banknote, which caused a significant public outcry.

The vote took on the character of an All-Russian discussion, where Mount Elbrus and the Grozny City complex became the main contenders for the placement. The head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, publicly supported the option of the Grozny skyscrapers, organizing a campaign to promote this symbol and promising prizes to the voting participants. In response, activists and bloggers launched a counter-campaign in support of Elbrus as a pan-Caucasian natural symbol.

As of October 12, about 2.5 million people participated in the voting on the website of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The leader was the version with the image of Elbrus, which scored 1.225 million votes, while 1.064 million participants voted for Grozny City.

But now the vote has been canceled. The central bank stated that it had recorded numerous attempts to falsify the results, so the procedure was suspended.

"New voting dates will be announced later. The list of symbols for voting will remain," the Central Bank said, noting that new conditions for voting will be created that will eliminate the possibility of unfair actions.

There has indeed been a lot of talk about "unfair actions." In particular, the network noticed a sharp increase in votes for "Grozny City" at night, which in theory may indicate a vote fraud. But the question is: why was the vote canceled at the last moment? And is there a need for such a vote, which is more likely to split society?

Many experts ask a similar question.

"I have only one question for the representatives of the bank - why didn't you do it immediately, as soon as you realized that the vote was not fair, but after almost a week!!! I have a suspicion that there is some kind of relationship here," writes military blogger Yuri Podolyaka.

The MIG Russia channel writes that it would be nice to hold a popular vote on whether it is necessary to change the image on the bill at all. And really, if the topic is so sensitive, wouldn't it be better to leave the banknote alone?

Recall, the Chechen minister accused the Central Bank of the Russian Federation of impurity due to voting on the bill.