Berezhna backs renaming Ukraine’s 'kopeck' coin to 'shag'
Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy of Ukraine - Minister of Culture of Ukraine Tetyana Berezhna supports changing the name of the circulation coin "kopeck" ("kopiika" to "shag" ("shag")
"Regarding the circulation coin: I, of course, support everything that distances us from imperial symbols. We understand from which word the word "kopeck" comes. I absolutely support "shag" as the Ukrainization, decolonization, de-Sovietization, de-imperialization of the coin," Berezhna said during the consideration of the issue of its purpose in the Verkhovna Rada.
As reported, the people's deputies propose to the Verkhovna Rada to change the name of the circulation coin "kopeck" to "shag." It is noted that changing the name of the coin "kopeck" (one hundredth of a hryvnia) to the historically justified "shag" will allow to revive the national traditions of Ukraine in the monetary nomenclature and complete the monetary reform begun in 1996.
In September 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine initiated a change in the name of the currency coin from "kopecks" to "shags." In January 2025, the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINP) expert commission stated that the NBU's initiative to change the name of the currency coin deserves support.
The head of the (UINP) Oleksandr Alferov states that the name of the currency unit "shag" has been used in the territory of present-day Ukraine since the 17th century and was specifically Ukrainian.
Former head of the UINP Anton Drobovych supports the NBU's initiative to change the name of the currency coin from "kopecks" to "steps".
The National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) did not support draft law No. 14093 on de-Sovietization, which provides for changing the name of the Ukrainian currency from "kopeck" to "shag", as it has no economic justification and feasibility, but is only a diversion of state resources from the needs of security and protection of the state from an aggressor country.