Overview

• The Central Bank halted the nationwide online vote on October 12 and said new dates will be announced, with the same list of candidate symbols retained and tighter conditions planned.
• Officials said numerous attempts to artificially increase tallies for certain options made an objective outcome impossible, prompting an audit of mail, Gosuslugi, VK and Odnoklassniki participation paths.
• Before the cancellation, preliminary tallies showed Mount Elbrus narrowly ahead of Grozny‑City for the reverse side of the note, according to figures cited by RBC.
• Chechen officials had accused the Bank of changing procedures and closing platforms as support for Grozny‑City grew, and after the decision the republic’s minister hailed the end of what he called an unfair process.
• Dagestan’s tourism ministry scrapped a prize draw linked to votes for Derbent’s fortress, and a group of State Duma deputies led by Anna Kuznetsova proposed that any new poll first ask whether the banknote image should be changed at all.