What currency did Kyrgyzstan introduce on 10 May 1993 as its national monetary unit?

Kyrgyzstan introduced the Kyrgyzstani som on 10 May 1993 as its national monetary unit. It replaced the Soviet ruble, making Kyrgyzstan one of the first former Soviet republics to establish a separate currency.

The word “som” means “pure” in several Turkic languages and was also used in the Soviet Union for the ruble in some Central Asian languages. The currency’s name therefore reflects the region’s linguistic and monetary history.

The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic issues som banknotes and coins. One som is divided into 100 tyiyn, although low-value tyiyn coins are rarely important in everyday transactions.

The som is distinct from the Tajikistani somoni, which was introduced later and named after Ismail Somoni, a tenth-century ruler. The Kyrgyzstani som has the ISO code KGS and is represented by the symbol с.