Soviet “Babylonian” Banknotes Were Issued In A Variety Of Denominations

In 1919, after the Bolshevik victory in the Revolution, the fledgling Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, the precursor to the USSR, issued a series of currency notes with this popular inscription, written in seven languages: Russian, German, French, Italian, Greek, English, Arabic, and Chinese. Because of the linguistic multiplicity, these notes are known as ”Babylonians,“ a reference to the Biblical Tower of Babel.