Czeslaw Slania's Engraved Banknotes 
for Kazakhstan

In 1993 the Republic of Kazakhstan introduced its own currency – Tenge.

• 1993.   The person on the banknote is Aronuly SUINBAI (1815-1898), who is among the outstanding and brilliant representatives ofa democratic current of poetic (akyn) creative work.  He was famous for poetic talent and ability to perform and improvise.  Suinbai's creative work reflects the history and traditions, and life and morals of the Kazakhs, and is imbued with enthusiasm for the struggle for justice and a belief in future of his people.  

  On the back of the banknote is depicted a landscape of Alatau.

• 1993.  The person portrayed is Chokan VALICHANOV (1835-1865).  He began as a military man and finished the Military College in Omsk City which was one of the good educational Schools in Russia. When he was 18 he became an aide-de-camp of the Governor of the South Siberia. But his scientific career started, when he went to Kyrgyzstan in 1856. In 1856-1859 he traveled to Kashgar as a merchant, because this place was closed for foreigners and he collected interesting materials on geography, history, culture of Eastern Turkestan. In 1859 when he was 24 he became a member of a Higher Scientific Society “Russian Geographical Society”. He wrote more than 50 works, which are collected in 5-volumes. One could have an impression that investigation of his works for more than 100 years left nothing not investigated. However, even nowadays his works are first-rate sources for modern orientalists both kyrgyz and foreign ones. The proof of this is the international conference held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in 1996 devoted to the 140 anniversary of Ch. Valichanov’s registration of the heroic epos “Manas”. 

On the back of the banknote is depicted the landscape of Ok Zhetpes mountains.