Discovery of Antarctica - the seventh continent

A cover from Russia 🇷🇺 

Bicentenary of the First Antarctic Expedition 

Date of issue : 17-07-2019

First Russian Antarctic Expedition of 1819-1821 was a sea voyage led by Bellingshausen and Lazarevfrom 1819 to 1821 to the Southern Ocean to prove or disprove the existence of a seventh continent — Antarctica.

On 28 January [O.S. 16 January] 1820 the expedition discovered Antarctica and approached it at 69° 21' 28" South, 2° 14' 50" West^[7] (now on Bellingshausen Ice Shelf [ru]near Princess Martha Coast). In January 1821 the expedition rounded the western side of Antarctica and made several geographical discoveries. 

After a 751-day voyage, the Vostok and Mirnyreturned to Kronstadt on 5 August [O.S. 24 July] 1821. There they were met by Emperor Alexander I.

The expedition created a unique scientific collection (stored at Kazan University) and pictures of Antarctic landscapes and animals.

Thanks Alexander for the cover ! 

Greetings from Moscow

Two beautiful covers with flower stamps of Russia with two pictorial postmarks - wishing greetings - of Moscow ! 

Postcrossing in Russia

Postcrossing is a popular hobby in Russia and Russia post has permanent pictorial cancelations for postcrossing in several postoffices across the country 

 Motiv 1 

Cheboksary, ✔️ 

Gelendzhik, 

Kazan, 

Krasnodar, 

Krasnoyarsk, ✔️ 

Novosibirsk,  ✔️ 

Oryol, 

Samara, 

Sochi, 

Sterlitamak, 

Tyumen, 

Ufa, ✔️ 

Yekaterinburg

Chelyabinsk ✔️ 

Motiv 2 Moscow ✔️ 

Motiv 3 Kirov

I will be uploading envelopes that I receive with these postmarks as I get them 

Krasnoyarsk 660017

Ufa 450010

Novosibirsk  630099

Cheboksary 428000

Moscow 101000

Chelyabinsk 454000

Republic of Bashkortostran, Russia

A cover from Ufa, Russia with some nice stamps and a pictorial postmark ! 

450th anniversary of the entry of Bashkirs into Russia 

Date of issue- 24/April/2007

The Republic of Bashkortostan , also historically known as Bashkiria, is a federal subject of Russia (a republic (state)). It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Its capital is the city of Ufa. 

The Bashkirs are a Turkic ethnic group, indigenous to Bashkortostan and to the historical region of Badzhgard, extending on both sides of the Ural Mountains, in the area where Eastern Europemeets North Asia. In religion the Bashkirs are mainly Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi madhhab. 

The Bashkirs were a warlike and powerful people, and were engaged in cattle breeding. Bashkirs worshipped twelve gods: winter, summer, rain, wind, trees, people, horses, water, night, day, death, heaven and earth, the one above all being the sky god. Apparently, by 10th century, Islam had already began its spread among the Bashkirs, as one of the ambassadors was a Muslim Bashkir. By 1236, lands of Bashkortostan were incorporated into the empire of Genghis Khan. After the breakup of the Mongol Empire, in the middle of the 16th century, Bashkirs joined the Tsardom of Russia. From the late 16th to early 19th centuries Bashkirs occupied the territory from the left bank of the Volga on the south-west to the riverheads of Tobol in the east, from the river Sylva in the north, to the middle stream of the Yaik in the south, in the Middle and Southern Urals, in Cis-Urals, including Volga territory and Trans-Urals. The Bashkirs finally give up nomadic life in the 19th century, adopting the agricultural lifestyle that remains their primary means of support. 

Bashkir riders 

After the 1917 revolution and the end of WW1, All-Bashkir Qoroltays (conventions) decided on the need to create a national federal republic within Russia. As a result, 15 November 1917 Bashkir Regional (central) Shuro (Council) proclaimed the establishment of Bashkurdistan -in areas with predominantly Bashkir population of Orenburg, Perm, Samara, Ufa provinces.

In March 1919, based on the agreements between the Russian Government and the Bashkir Government -Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed. 

Bashkir government 1920

The republic declared its sovereignty within the Soviet Union on 11 October 1990 as Bashkir Soviet Socialist Republic, and in 1992 it declared full independence. Two years later, Bashkortostan agreed to remain within the legislative framework of the Russian Federation, provided that mutual areas of competence were agreed upon.

Ufa (Russian: Уфа́ ) is the capital city of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, and the industrial, economic, scientific and cultural center of the republic. It is the eleventh most populous city in Russia. 

The major religions in the city are Sunni Islam and Russian Orthodoxy. 

Lala Tulpan ("Tulip in Bloom") in Ufa is one of Russia's largest mosques with 53-metre-tall twin minarets. The building can hold up to 1000 worshippers. It was built between 1990 and 1998 to a modernist design by Wakil Davlyatshin.

The postmark on the envelope showing the mosque 

The other stamp on the cover :

250th anniversary of State Hermitage Museum , St. Petersburg, Russia

Date of issue : 20 June 2014

The State Hermitage Museum is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The second-largest art museum in the world, it was founded in 1764 when Empress Catherine the Great acquired an impressive collection of paintings from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky. The museum celebrates the anniversary of its founding each year on 7 December, Saint Catherine's Day. It has been open to the public since 1852. The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment, including the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian emperors. Apart from them, the Menshikov Palace, Museum of Porcelain, Storage Facility at Staraya Derevnya, and the eastern wing of the General Staff Building are also part of the museum. The museum has several exhibition centers abroad. The Hermitage is a federal state property.

Thanks Valentina for this beautiful envelope with the stamps and postmarks showing the beauty and history of your great city ! 

Sevastopol - the disputed land

A cover from Sevastopol, Crimean peninsula , Russia 🇷🇺 

Sevastopol is the largest city on the Crimean Peninsula and a major Black Sea port. The city is administered as a federal city of the Russian Federation following Crimea's annexation by Russia in 2014, though Ukraine and most of the UN member countries continue to regard Sevastopol as a city with special status within Ukraine.

The location and navigability of the city's harbours have made Sevastopol a strategically important port and naval base throughout history. The city has been a home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which is why it was considered as a separate city in Crimea of significant military importance and was therefore once a closed city.

Although relatively small at 864 square kilometres (334 sq mi), Sevastopol's unique naval and maritime features provide the basis for a robust economy. The city enjoys mild winters and moderate warm summers; characteristics that help make it a popular seaside resort and tourist destination, mainly for visitors from the former Soviet republics. The city is also an important centre for marine biology; in particular, dolphins have been studied and trained in the city since the end of World War II.

On 20 February 2014, Russian armed forces seized control of the Crimean peninsula. The city council of Sevastopol reportedly unilaterally declared that it wished to join the Russian Federation as a federal subject. The city council on 11 March released a joint resolution with the Supreme Council of Crimea to unite as an independent republic between the potential passing of the referendum and union with Russia. Ukrainian authorities and the international community strongly criticised the referendum decision. The actions of the Russian Federation were qualified by the international community as aggression against Ukraine, and occupation of its territory.

Postcards showing the Crimean bay and the memorial of the sunken ship 

The Monument to the Sunken Ships is the symbol of the city of Sevastopol, on disputed Crimean peninsula. Located in the Sevastopol Bay, it was designed by Amandus Adamson and built by Valentin Feldmann in 1905. The monument was erected in 1905 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Siege of Sevastopol, during the Crimean War, in which many ships of the Imperial Russian Navy were destroyed, most of them part of the Black Sea Fleet.

Postcrossing in Russia

A cover with beautiful cachet from Russia with the Postcrossing stamp ( 2015 )

What’s more interesting is the postmarks on this cover ! While the front postmarks shows the cancellation rate as 04-01-2019 very clearly , 

.... the cancellations on the reverse show the date as 09-12-2018 ! 

Christmas in Russia

A first day cover of Russia 2018 Christmas stamp - uprated with other stamps 

The Russian 2018 Christmas stamp was issued on 4-12-2018 and shows a Russian lady in the traditional costume standing in a snowy night ! 

The stamp is an augmented reality stamp - but the app doesn’t work on my phone :( 

The first day postmark is that of nice snowflakes ! 

Thanks Anton for this beautiful cover :) 

A Bridge on troubled waters

A First Day Cover from Russia 

Crimean Bridge - date of issue - May 2018 

The Crimean Bridge constructed between 2014 - 2018 and opened to traffic on May 15 , 2018 is the longest bridge in Europe. 

The bridge connects the Crimean peninsula with the Taman peninsula of Russian mainland across the strait of Kerch in the Black Sea. 

History 

A bridge across this strait was first planned by Tsar Nicholas II in 1903 but has been abandoned several times after that , because of various geo- political and environmental issues. 

In March 2014, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine by military intervention soon after the 2014 Ukraine Revolution. Russia has used up massive man power and finances in constructing this long bridge - that can be used for both automobiles and railways. 

Strategy

Russia has built the bridge claiming that it would improve the impoverished Crimean peninsula and bring back its GDP to the average Russian GDP. It claims that easy transport to the peninsula would improve its economy because, Ukraine had cut off access through its mainland and only ferry services were available from Taman. 

By building the bridge with a height span of just 55 metres, Russia has blocked traffic of large Ukrainian ships to the Ukraine ports north of the bridge ! Russians have established dominance over the ship traffic in the region ! 

Problems

The Bridge is located on a very earthquake prone zone and the sea underneath has lots of volcanic mud pools that is very dangerous. So the safety of this bridge is a matter of serious concern ! 

Another cover with the beautiful stamp :) 

And a Maxicard ! 

Thanks Sergey and Yuliya for these beautiful covers and postcards :) 

Russian dolls and Christmas

A prepaid envelope from Russia ! The prepaid envelope was issued for the Sochi Winter games of 2014 .

The official mascots of the Paralympic Games in Sochi  were - 

Ray of Light, alternative known as Fire Boy (in Russian: Luchik, Лучик)

Snowflake, also known as Snow Girl (in Russian: Snezhinka, Снежинка)

EUROPA 2015 - Old toys - Russia 

Russian Post released a special stamp on 16th February 2015 with the EUROPA theme “Old toys” - depicting Dymkovo toys and Matryoshka Dolls. Dymkovo toys, also known as the Vyatka toys or Kirov toys are molded painted clay figures of people and animals (sometimes in the form of a pennywhistle). It is one of the old Russian folk art handicrafts, which still exists in a village of Dymkovo near Kirov (former Vyatka). Traditionally, the Dymkovo toys are made by women.

A matryoshka doll, also known as Russian nesting doll, refers to a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other. The first Russian nested doll set was made in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter at Abramtsevo. Traditionally the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a sarafan, a long and shapeless traditional Russian peasant jumper dress. The figures inside may be of either gender; the smallest, innermost doll is typically a baby turned from a single piece of wood. Much of the artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be very elaborate.

The cancellation is on the Christmas Day , 2018 with an image of Santa Claus ! 

Thanks Natalie for this cover :) 

And another postcard with a Santa Claus special cancellation from Penza, Russia again !! 

I guess Santa has been very happy with me this year ;) 

Russia and Karl Marx

I received a cover with the Karl Marx of Russia too ! 

I guess I have written enough and more about Karl Marx and Marxism in two previous posts - when I received covers with Marx stamps from Germany and Kyrgyzstan. 

Karl Marx, a German philosopher, is known for his revolutionary political ideas during the Russian Revolution. He established the idea of “materialist conception of history”, meaning how society and the economy is organized is determined by changes material conditions. He published this thesis in his manuscript called The German Ideology. While writing The German Ideology, Marx also joined the Communist League, an international proletarian organization, and wrote a polemic against P.J. Proudhon’s idealistic socialism.
Vladimir Lenin was a theorist and communist philosopher during the Russian Revolution and a serious follower of many of the Marxist ideals. He is remembered as one of the greatest revolutionaries in history for many reasons, first being, founding and leading the Bolshevik Party. This contribution led to the creation of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which marked the beginnings of the Soviet Union. 

Thanks Alexey for this nice cover ! 

I hope to receive the Karl Marx stamp of China also soon !! 

Update : 29-01-2019

Thanks Kira for this cover ! Yet another cover with Russian Karl Marx stamp :) 

Arctic Russia

Another cover from a postoffice above the Arctic circle in Russia 

The cover has arrived from Murmansk, Russia. 

Murmansk is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far northwest part of Russia. It sits on both slopes and banks of a modest ria or fjord, Kola Bay, an estuarine inlet of the Barents Sea. Its bulk is on the east bank of the inlet. It is in the north of the rounded Kola Peninsula which covers most of the oblast (semi-autonomous region). The city is 108 kilometres (67 mi) from the border with Norway and 182 kilometres (113 mi) from the Finnish border. The city is named for the Murman Coast; an archaic term in Russian for Norway.

Its northern latitude of 68°58'N makes Murmansk 2° north of the Arctic Circle at approximately 66°33'N. It remains by far the largest city north of the Arctic Circle and is a major port on the Arctic Ocean.

Co-ordinates : 68.9585° N, 33.0827° E

Postal code : 183000 - 183099

The cover is from the postoffice with postal code 183038 

Northern lights seen from Murmansk- google pictures 

Thanks Kira for the beautiful cover ! 

100 years of Icebreaker Krasin ( 1917-2017)

Designed by the famous Russian seaman, Admiral Stepan O. Makarov and built in 1916 in Britain, the ship was originally named after the Russian mythological warrior - "Svyatogor". Renamed "Krasin" during the Soviet era, the powerful icebreaker took part in the rescue operation to save the Italian polar expedition led by Umberto Nobile. During WWII the "Krasin" led Allied convoys, which brought strategic supplies, arms and ammunition to the Soviet Union. The convoys fought their way to the northern Soviet seaports, despite heavy Nazi bombardment and the constant threat of submarine attacks. Many Allied ships and cargo vessels failed to reach their destination, but the "Krasin" was lucky enough to survive. After the war the historic icebreaker took an active part in research expeditions in the Polar Ocean and led Soviet cargo convoys through the polar region. Rather than being destroyed (like the famous icebreaker "Yermak") to make way for more modern ships, the "Krasin" was preserved and restored, thanks to the tremendous dedication of its captain and crew and of volunteers and naval history enthusiasts. 

Year of issue - 2017 

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