The occupation authorities set up their own institutions that issued their own legal tender banknotes in the territories of the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Romania occupied by the German army during World War I. The introduction of paper money with a new graphic design began in the middle of 1916.
Lower denominations of ostrubles and ostmarks, designed for areas east of the Ober-Ost, had the poorest layout of all the money issued by the Germans in the occupied territories in the East – they were embellished only by an ornamental drawing. In contrast, the highest denominations – 100 ostrubles, 100 and 1,000 ostmarks – had a very extensive iconography, which distinguished them from paper money earmarked for the occupied territories in Eastern Europe. Banknotes intended for the General Government of Warsaw had the most national character due to the presence of the White Eagle on the intense red background. In contrast, apart from the language, paper money intended for other occupied territories did not have any graphic features that would be targeted at ethnic groups such as the Lithuanians, Latvians and Romanians. The layouts of these banknotes contain references also to the Greek and Roman mythologies. These references include male and female busts and a group of characteristic attributes that suggest that these are images of Demeter, Athena, Hermes and Ares.
