February 7, a souvenir sheet dedicated to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ Official Mascot to be issued
The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ Official Mascot voting campaign was launched in April 2016. At the first stage, Russian football fans chose ten candidates, after which students of art universities put the finishing touches on the characters giving them a visual form. Then, a special jury selected the three finalists: the Cat, the Tiger and the Wolf. The open voting ended on October 21, 2016, the result of which was revealed during a live show on Russia’s Channel 1. The Wolf named Zabivaka™ was declared a winner.
The Official Mascot will play a very important role in the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. The wolf will not only promote the event and entertain crowds at the stadiums, but also become an ambassador for Russia and a worldwide “celebrity”.
Additionally, JSC “Marka” will manufacture first day covers and special cancellation postmarks for Ekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Krasnodar, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, St Petersburg, Samara, Saransk, Sochi and Volgograd. An illustrated cover containing the souvenir sheet and a first day cover with cancellation (Moscow) inside will also be produced.
Design: O. Shushlebina.
Face value: 100 RUB.
Size of sheet: 102×71 mm, size of stamp in sheet: 30×42 mm.
Circulation: 250,000 copies.
February 7, a postage stamp dedicated to Major General Sulom-Beck Oskanov to be issued as part of the continuation of the Heroes of the Russian Federation series
A Hero of the Russian Federation is a title conferred for merits to the state and nation connected with a deed of a heroic valor. The Hero of the Russian Federation is awarded a special insignia, the Gold Star Medal.
Major General Sulom-Beck Oskanov (1943–1992) was the first Russian citizen to be awarded a title of the Hero of the Russian Federation (posthumously) for courage and heroism shown while fulfilling military duty.
Oskanov was born in 1943 in Plievo, Chechen-Ingush ASSR, into a peasant family. He graduated with honors from Kacha Higher Military Aviation College in 1966 and in 1974 — from the Lenin Military and Political Academy. He graduated from the Voroshilov Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR in absentia in 1991.
He was a deputy commander for political affairs of a training aviation squadron since 1969, and a deputy commander for political affairs of a fighter aviation regiment of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany since 1974. In 1984–1986, he was a deputy commander of a fighter aviation formation of the Southern Group of Forces in Hungary and a Head of the Russian Air Force Combat Employment and Retraining Center in Lipetsk since 1989.
Sulom-Beck Oskanov was one of the first in the Air Force to master the 4th-generation fighter Mikoyan MiG-29. His last flight took place in severe environment on February 7, 1992. An artificial horizon failure reportedly occurred in his aircraft, and the pilot became disoriented due to low visibility, which resulted in a fatality.
The postage stamp features the portrait of Sulom-Beck Oskanov, a Hero of the Russian Federation, and the Gold Star Medal.
Additionally, JSC “Marka” will manufacture first day covers and first day postmarks for Moscow and St Petersburg.
Design: A. Drobyshev.
Face value: 19.00 RUB.
Size of stamp: 42×30 mm, size of sheet: 104×110 mm.
Form of issue: sheet with illustrated margins of 5 (2×3) stamps and a coupon.
Circulation: 135,000 stamps (27,000 sheets).
February 10, a postage stamp dedicated to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Turkey Andrei Karlov to be issued as part of the continuation of the Heroes of the Russian Federation series
A Hero of the Russian Federation is a title conferred for merits to the state and nation connected with a deed of a heroic valor. The Hero of the Russian Federation is awarded a special insignia, the Gold Star Medal.
Andrei Gennadyevich Karlov (1954 –2016) was a Russian career diplomat who served as the Russian Ambassador to Turkey.
He was born in Moscow on 4 February 1954. He graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1976 and from the Diplomatic Academy of the MFA of Russia in 1992.
Andrei Karlov devoted all his life to developing Russian diplomacy. He worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation since 1976. Karlov was an official of the USSR Embassy to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 1976–1981 and in 1984–1990. In 1992–1997, he was an official of the Russian Embassy to the Republic of Korea.
From 2001 till 2007, Andrei Karlov served as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to the DPRK. The diplomat actively promoted the construction of the Russian Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Pyongyang, for which he was awarded the Order of Saint Seraphim of Sarov.
In 2007–2008, he was a Deputy Director, and in 2009–2013, the Director of the Consular Department and a member of the MFA of Russia Board.
On 12 July 2013, Andrei Karlov was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Turkey by a Decree of the President of the Russian Federation.
The envoy was assassinated in Turkey capital at the opening of an art exhibition titled “Russia through Turks’ Eyes” on 19 December 2016. The street in Ankara, where the Russian Embassy is situated, was renamed in honor of the fallen diplomat.
On 20 December 2016, by a Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Andrei Karlov was awarded a title of the Hero of the Russian Federation (posthumously) for courage and heroism shown while serving as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Turkey and for major contribution to implementing the external policy of the Russian Federation.
The postage stamp features the portrait of Andrei Karlov, a Hero of the Russian Federation, and the Gold Star Medal.
Additionally, JSC “Marka” will manufacture first day covers and first day postmarks for Moscow and St Petersburg.
Design: О. Savina.
Face value: 19.00 RUB.
Size of stamp: 42×30 mm, size of sheet: 104×110 mm.
Form of issue: sheet with illustrated margins of 5 (2×3) stamps and a coupon.
Circulation: 135,000 stamps (27,000 sheets).
February 15, an envelope with an original stamp dedicated to the 225th birth anniversary of Gioachino Rossini, a composer, to be issued as part of the World Cultural Luminaries series
Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) was an Italian composer, a classic of opera. He was born into a family of musicians in Pesaro, Italy. Rossini's parents began his musical training early; he studied music theory, playing violin and viola, as well as singing. He studied at the Conservatorio di Bologna from 1806 to 1810.
Rossini received his first great success with his operas
La cambiale di matrimonio (
The Marriage Contract) (1810) and
L'equivoco stravagante (
The Curious Misunderstanding) (1811).
Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione (
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution) (1816) was a triumph for Rossini. The composer lived in Naples from 1816 to 1823.
During these years, he authored
Otello (1816),
Armida (1817),
La gazza ladra (
The Thieving Magpie) (1817),
La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo (
Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant) (1817),
Mosè in Egitto (
Moses in Egypt) (1818),
La donna del lago (
The Lady of the Lake) (1819),
Maometto II (1820),
Zelmira (1822),
Semiramide (1823).
He moved to Paris in 1823 and worked as a musical director of the Théâtre-Italien. Rossini was awarded the titles Premier Compositeur du Roi and Inspecteur Général du Chant en France in 1826. Rossini produced
Le comte Ory (1828) and
Guillaume Tell (
William Tell) (1829) in Paris. In 1836, the composer came back to Italy. He took up a position as a director of the Conservatorio di Bologna in 1845.
The envelope with an original stamp contains a composition of symbols of various kinds of art: a lyre, a palette, a book, a quill, a column and a theatre curtain, as well as a portrait of Gioachino Rossini and a score autograph at a music stand.
Additionally, JSC “Marka” will manufacture a special cancellation postmark for Moscow.
Design: A. Moskovets (an emblem); V. Khablovskiy (an illustration).
Circulation: 1,000,000 copies.
February 22, a postage stamp dedicated to the Institute of the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation to be issued
The office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation was established by the Federal Constitutional Law “On the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation” dated 26 February 1997 with the aim to ensure the state protection of civil rights and freedoms, their observance and respect thereof by state authorities, local self-government bodies and government officials.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation is a public authority protecting human and civil rights and freedoms in terms of defending, safeguarding and promoting rights and freedoms. It also provides qualified legal assistance.
The postage stamp features the logo of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation.
Additionally, JSC “Marka” will manufacture a first day cover and postmark for Moscow.
Design: O. Shushlebina.
Face value: 19 RUB.
Size of stamp: 42×30 mm, size of sheet: 146×170 mm.
Form of issue: sheet with illustrated margins of 15 (3×5) stamps.
Circulation: 375,000 stamps (25,000 sheets).
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