MOSCOW, September 8 (RIA Novosti) - Counterfeiters have already managed to reproduce the unreleased 5000 ($177) ruble note, an Interior Ministry official said.

Yevgeny Starikov, Deputy Head of Interior Ministry's Criminalistics department, said the most common forgeries in Russia are of the 100, 500 and 1000 ruble notes, "but forgeries of the 5,000 ruble note are already beginning to appear, although it is still only being prepared for release," he said.

Official banknote inspectors in Russia use Russian-made DORS Counterfeit Detectors. In tests, the detectors have also proved effective at detecting forged euro and dollar notes, Starikov said.