TikTok trend revives century-old Ukrainian 'shah' coin as symbol of identity
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Ukrainian youth have rediscovered the story of a forgotten coin — the shah — sparking a viral trend that blends history, decolonization, and national identity. The movement now involves everyone from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU)and Verkhovna Rada to top TikTok creators.
“What do you think about bringing back the shah?” This simple question has taken Ukrainian TikTok by storm, amassing millions of views in just a few days. What began as an educational campaign about a long-lost coin — launched by the creative collective MUR and the initiative @shah_ukra — has grown into a full-fledged cultural phenomenon. Influencers, musicians, and artists have joined in, promoting the shah, a coin from the era of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR), which the NBU has proposed to restore as a replacement for Soviet-era kopecks.
According to the organizers, the project reached more than a million viewers in just three days — a remarkable feat for educational content.
A viral rediscovery
Oleksandr Khomenko, founder of MUR and author of the musicals You [Romance] and Rebellion [1991], told NV that the reaction exceeded all expectations.
“Usually, no one really supports government initiatives,” he said. “But when we posted about the shah, people flooded the comments saying, ‘Let’s start a petition!’”
In October 2025, parliament registered a bill proposing to replace the name of the small coin “kopeck” with the historic Ukrainian term “shah.” The bill, introduced by Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk and a group of MPs, goes beyond renaming — it envisions new designs featuring Ukrainian symbols and inscriptions. Lawmakers described it as part of the country’s derussification of the financial system, since “kopeck” comes from the Russian kopyo (spear), while shahrestores an authentically Ukrainian tradition.
The shah dates back to Ukraine’s liberation struggle of 1917–1921. In 1918, the UPR government issued paper denominations of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 shahs — decorated with the trident emblem and Ukrainian text. At the time, one karbovanets equaled two hryvnias or 200 shahs. After the fall of the UPR, Soviet authorities destroyed or repurposed the remaining shah notes as cigarette-label paper — literally erasing symbols of Ukrainian statehood.
Now, over a century later, young Ukrainians are reviving that memory — transforming historical trivia into a powerful message about continuity and identity.
TikTok turns historians into trendsetters
Influencer Ellevika, with 2.5 million followers, helped the trend explode. “Who really knows Ukraine best?” she asked her viewers. “Did you know what our real Ukrainian coin was called?” She described the shah as a forgotten emblem of independence and urged followers to learn more about it.
“We’ve lost so much by forgetting our own history of money,” she said, reminding viewers how colonial rule severed Ukraine’s cultural continuity.
Another TikToker, Krapka (230,000 followers), shared that she learned about the shah through @shah_ukra and retold its history: “It had Ukrainian inscriptions and the trident. It proves we had our own financial system.” She added, “Everything that reminds us who we are is part of our strength.”
Decolonization in every detail
Khomenko sees the shah revival as part of a larger process. “People are hungry for authenticity,” he said. “We’re shedding Russian influence in culture, language, and cinema.”
He pointed to the growth of Ukrainian TV shows, plays, and music festivals as examples of cultural renewal. “The devil is in the details,” he added. “Everything that distances us from the Russians is a good thing.”
For Khomenko, decolonization is not only about breaking away — it’s about proving that Ukraine had its own original cultural products 100 or even 150 years ago. “So no one in the world can ever again claim that Lenin ‘invented’ Ukraine,” he said.
More than money
NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi sees the return of the shah as more than a monetary reform — it’s about reclaiming national heritage and restoring agency.
He said the move would strengthen Ukraine’s identity and serve as protection against Russian manipulation and historical distortion. “In today’s conditions,” Pyshnyi said, “this final break is especially crucial.”
Public enthusiasm reflects that sentiment. Pyshnyi noted that the NBU’s spring exhibition “Hryvnia: More Than Money,” organized with the Ukrainian House, drew over 35,000 visitors, including nearly 12,000 young people and children.
The bill to rename the kopeck to shah is still awaiting parliamentary approval.
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