Obverse. Photo © Bank of Russia
  • 25 Rubles 2020, Russia, Federation, Weapons Designers of the of Great Patriotic War Victory (1941-1945), Alexander Yakovlev - Yak-9 Fighter
  • 25 Rubles 2020, Russia, Federation, Weapons Designers of the of Great Patriotic War Victory (1941-1945), Alexander Yakovlev - Yak-9 Fighter
Description

The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Northern, Southern and Central and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. It has been known as the Great Patriotic War in the former Soviet Union and in modern Russia.

The battles on the Eastern Front constituted the largest military confrontation in history. They were characterized by unprecedented ferocity, wholesale destruction, mass deportations, and immense loss of life due to combat, starvation, exposure, disease, and massacres. Of the estimated 70 million deaths attributed to World War II, over 30 million, many of them civilian, occurred on the Eastern Front. The Eastern Front was decisive in determining the outcome of the European portion of World War II, eventually serving as the main reason for the defeat of Nazi Germany. It resulted in the destruction of the Third Reich, the partition of Germany for nearly half a century and the rise of the Soviet Union as a military and industrial superpower.

Date of issue: 12 March 2020

Obverse

In the centre the relief image of the National Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation, above the semicircular inscription along the rim THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION framed on both sides by ornamental elements of doubled rhombuses, in the lower part of the disc, at the edge the horizontal inscription BANK OF RUSSIA, 25 RUBLES and the date 2019 under it, over it to the right the mint trade mark.

The two main elements of Russian state symbols (the two-headed eagle and the mounted figure slaying the dragon) predate Peter the Great. Today, however, the official description does not refer to the rider on the central shield as representing Saint George, mainly in order to maintain the secular character of the modern Russian state. The imperial crowns on each head stand for the unity and sovereignty of Russia, both as a whole and in its constituent republics and regions. The orb and scepter grasped in the eagle's talons are traditional heraldic symbols of sovereign power and authority. They have been retained in the modern Russian arms despite the fact that the Russian Federation is not a monarchy.

Designer: E. V. Kramskaya
Sculptor: A. A. Dolgopolova

РОССИЙСКАЯ ФЕДЕРАЦИЯ
ММД
БАНК РОССИИ
25 РУБЛЕЙ
2020 г.

Reverse

Depicts a relief image of the Yak-9 fighter aircraft and the inscription YAK-9 on the right; along the rim there are the inscriptions WEAPONS OF THE GREAT VICTORY at the top and A.N. YAKOVLEV at the bottom.

Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev (1906–1989) was a Soviet aeronautical engineer. He designed the Yakovlev military aircraft and founded the Yakovlev Design Bureau. The Yakovlev Design Bureau developed large numbers of fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Air Force during World War II. Particularly well known are the Yak-1, Yak-3 and Yak-9 as well as the Yak-6 transport. In 1945 Yakovlev designed one of the first Soviet aircraft with a jet engine, the Yak-15. He also designed the first Soviet all-weather interceptor, the Yak-25P, and the first Soviet supersonic bomber, the Yak-28. In the post-war period, Yakovlev was best known for the civilian airliner, the Yak-42, a three-engine medium-range aircraft, and numerous models for aerobatics.

The Yakovlev Yak-9 was a single-engine single-seat multipurpose fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union in World War II and after. Fundamentally a development of the robust and successful Yak-7B fighter based in turn on a tandem-seat advanced trainer Yak-7UTI, the Yak-9 arrived to Soviet fighter aviation regiments at the Stalingrad Front in December 1942 and played a major role in taking air superiority over Luftwaffe aces on the new Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and Messerschmitt Bf 109G fighters during the grand Battle of Kursk in summer 1943.

Designer: O.G. Shepel

ОРУЖИЕ ВЕЛИКОЙ ПОБЕДЫ
ЯК-9
А.С. ЯКОВЛЕВ

Edge

180 corrugations

Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material Cupronickel
Weight 10 g
Diameter 27 mm
Thickness 2.3 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Moscow Mint (MMD)

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