Obverse. Photo © Bank of Russia
  • 3 Rubles 2020, CBR# 5111-0439, Russia, Federation, Russian Animation, Gena the Crocodile
  • 3 Rubles 2020, CBR# 5111-0439, Russia, Federation, Russian Animation, Gena the Crocodile
Description

Gena the Crocodile (Russian: Крокодил Гена) is a 1969 Soviet/Russian stop-motion animated film directed by Roman Kachanov in Soyuzmultfilm studio. This film introduces the characters Gena the Crocodile, Cheburashka, and the old woman Shapoklyak. The film was based on Eduard Uspensky's stories about the characters. Its famous soundtrack was composed by Mikhail Ziv, including songs composed by Vladimir Shainsky. People were so fond of clumsy Cheburashka that the film became iconic, and the character gained popularity worldwide.

Gena the Crocodile works as a zoo animal at an urban zoo. Every evening, he returns home to his lonely apartment. Gena gets very tired of playing chess against himself and decides to find some friends to play with. Animals and people respond to advertisements that he posts all around the city. First, a girl named Galya comes with a homeless puppy, who is then followed by Cheburashka. They decide to build a house for all the lonely citizens of the city, but a mischievous old lady, Shapoklyak, tries to stop them in different ways.

Date of issue: 24.11.2020

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 3 RUBLES and the date 2020 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.

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

РОССИЙСКАЯ ФЕДЕРАЦИЯ
Ag 925 31,1
СПМД
БАНК РОССИИ
3 РУБЛЯ
2020 г.

Reverse

Depicts a coloured image of Gena the Crocodile and Cheburashka in front of a railway station, surrounded by the inscription 'Gena the Crocodile'.

Gena the Crocodile is a fictional, friendly crocodile in the series of animation films Gena the Crocodile, Cheburashka and Shapoklyak by Roman Kachanov (Soyuzmultfilm studio). He debuted in the 1966 novel Gena the Crocodile and His Friends by Eduard Uspensky. The 50-year-old Gena works in a zoo as an attraction. In his spare time, he plays the garmon and likes to sing. His two best-known songs are "Pust' begut neuklyuzhe..." and "Goluboy vagon" ("The Blue Train Car"). The crocodile's name is a typical diminutive of the Russian male name Gennady.

Gena and Cheburashka, the title character in the series, are best friends.

Cheburashka is an iconic Russian classic cartoon character who later became a popular character in Russian jokes (along with his friend, Gena the Crocodile). According to the creator of the character, Eduard Uspensky (1965), Cheburashka is an "animal unknown to science", with large monkey-like ears and a body resembling that of a cub, who lives in a tropical forest. He accidentally gets into a crate of oranges, eats his fill, and falls asleep. The crate is eventually delivered to a grocery store in an unnamed Russian city (hinted to be Moscow), where the rest of the main story unfolds.

The puzzled store manager finds the creature in the crate when he opens it, and takes him out and sits him on the table. The creature's paws are numb after staying in the crate for so long, and he tumbles down ("чебурахнулся" cheburakhnulsya, a Russian colloquialism meaning "tumbled") from the table, onto the chair, and then onto the floor. This inspires the store manager to name the little creature "Cheburashka". Words with this root were archaic in Russian; Uspensky gave them a new lease on life.

Artist: A. A. Brynza

КРОКОДИЛ ГЕНА

Edge

300 corrugations

3 Rubles

Colorised
CBR# 5111-0439
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material Silver
Fineness 0.925
Weight 31.1 g
Diameter 39 mm
Thickness 3.3 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Saint Petersburg Mint (SPMD)

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