The head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINP), Oleksandr Alferov, has said that the name of the unit of exchange "shag" has been used in the territory of present-day Ukraine since the 17th century and was specifically Ukrainian. "The name 'kopiika' (kopeck) originated in Moscow in the 16th century. Both then and now, it denotes a purely ruble zone, and now, in addition to Russia, it includes Belarus, the separatist Russian entity of Transnistria, and temporarily occupied Ukrainian lands. The kopeck accidentally became a currency coin for our hryvnia, which was, is, and remains a marker of our identity both in the Middle Ages and during the times of the UNR. More than 100 years ago, the hryvnia had a unit of exchange "shag," a name that has been used in our territory since the 17th century and was specifically Ukrainian and remained so even during the time of Ukraine's enslavement by empires," the UINP press service quotes Alferov.