On December 2, a postcard with a commemorative stamp dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of the world's first soft landing on Mars will go into postal circulation in the Space Exploration series
On December 2, 1971, the descent vehicle of the Mars-3 automatic interplanetary station (AIS) for the first time performed soft landing on the surface of the Red Planet.
Mars-3 was designated to explore Mars both from the orbit and directly from the planet's surface and consisted of an orbital station (an artificial Mars satellite) and a descent vehicle with an automatic Mars station.
AIS Mars-3 was launched on May 28, 1971, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome using a Proton-K launch vehicle with an additional 4th stage of the D booster unit. The flight to Mars lasted more than 6 months.
The commemorative stamp provides a symbolic image of a carrier rocket being launch into space; the main image features the Mars-3 automatic interplanetary station.
In addition to the issue of the postcards, JSC Marka will produce special cancels for Moscow, St. Petersburg, Khimki of the Moscow Region, Baikonur, Penza, and Yevpatoria of the Republic of Crimea.
Design Artists: A. Drobyshev (stamp), R. Komsa (illustration).
Quantity: 18 thousand postcards.
On December 3, an envelope with a commemorative stamp dedicated to the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops in the Battle of Moscow will go into postal circulation in the On the 80th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945 series
On December 5, 1941, a counteroffensive operation of the Soviet Army began at the approaches to Moscow. It was on that day that the active phase of the offensive started along a wide front from Kalinin in the north to Yelets in the south, resulting in the first but not the last defeat of the Nazi troops that forced them to begin the retreat. It consisted of two phases: the counter-attack from December 5, 1941, to January 7, 1942, and the general offensive of the Soviet Army from January 8 to April 20, 1942.
The idea of the operation was to simultaneously defeat the way of the Soviet Army through the most dangerous strike groups of Army Grouping Center that threatened Moscow from the north and south, and then to defeat the entire Army Grouping Center in the course of the ongoing counteroffensive.
The Soviet counter-offensive at the approaches to Moscow resulted in a landmark event: for the first time in World War II, the "invincible" Nazi armada was stopped, the German troops were thrown away from the Soviet capital by 100-250 km, and a general offensive of the Red Army along the entire Soviet-German front began. This was the inflection point in the course of the Great Patriotic War.
The envelope with a commemorative stamp provides an emblem of the celebration of the 80th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945; the main image features servicemen of the Soviet Army during an attack on the enemy and the map of the counteroffensive.
In addition to the issue of the envelope with a commemorative stamp, JSC Marka will produce a special cancel for Moscow.
Photo: O. Knorring/TASS.
Design Artist: S. Kapranov; emblem author: A. Moskovets.
Quantity: 1 million envelopes.
On December 7, two postage stamps dedicated to Viktor V. Naydenov and German P. Karakozov, statesmen and officials of procuracy authorities will go into postal circulation timed to the 300th Anniversary of the Prosecutor's Office of Russia
Viktor V. Naydenov (1931-1987) was an outstanding procuracy and investigative officer of the Prosecutor's Office of the USSR, State Councilor of Justice 1st Class.
While working in the position of Deputy Prosecutor General of the USSR, the Head of the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor's Office of the USSR, Viktor V. Naydenov organized the investigation of a number of high-profile crimes of bribery and abuse of office committed by senior Party and Soviet officials.
The postage stamp provides Viktor V. Naydenov’s portrait and an image of a shield of special shape with swords as an element of the uniform.
German P. Karakozov (1926–1992) was an outstanding investigative officer of the Prosecutor's Office of the USSR, State Councilor of Justice 2nd Class, an Honored Lawyer of the RSFSR.
While working in the position of the Head of the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor's Office of the USSR, German P. Karakozov developed and organized the investigation of criminal cases of bribery and abuse of office committed by senior Party and Soviet officials.
The postage stamp provides German P. Karakozov’s portrait and an image of a shield of special shape with swords as an element of the uniform.
In addition to the issue of the postage stamps, JSC Marka will produce First Day Covers and a special cancel for Moscow.
Design Artist: R. Komsa.
Face value: 40 rubles.
Stamp size: 37×37 mm, sheet size: 132×138 mm.
Emission form: sheets with formatted margins with 9 (3×3) stamps.
Quantity: 90 thousand each stamp (10 thousand each sheet).
On December 9, a postage stamp devoted to the New Year will go into postal circulation
New Year is the most beloved and long-desired holiday for most people in Russia. A New Year postal stamp 2021 is the winner of an All-Russian competition of drawings of a New Year postage stamp and a greeting card. Svetlana Tokarenko, a designer from St. Petersburg, has become the winner of the stamp drawing contest. The jury of the contest consisted of professional artists, graphic artists and designers, members of the Union of Artists of Russia. In total, the competition organizers received 126 art works performed in various techniques: graphic design, watercolor, oil, pencil drawing, etc.
The round postage stamp provides an image of a stylized snowflake. The stamp is made on self-adhesive paper.
In addition to the issue of the postage stamp, JSC Marka will produce First Day Covers and special cancels for Kaliningrad, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Penza, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, St. Petersburg, Veliky Ustyug of the Vologda Region, Volgograd, Voronezh and Yoshkar-Ola. Also issued are a maxi-card and two types of illustrated envelopes: one of the first type contains stamps, labels, and a first-day cover with a cancel for Veliky Ustyug; the other for the second form of issue contains stamps made with silver paste and screen varnish.
Artist: S. Tokarenko; Design: M. Bodrova.
Face value: 24 rubles.
Stamp size (diam): 30 mm, sheet size: 141×141 mm.
Emission form: a sheet with formatted margins with 9 (3×3) stamps.
Quantity: 414 thousand stamps (46 thousand sheets) (the first form of issue); (6.5 thousand sheets (the second form of issue).
On December 10, a postal block dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of the Republic of Dagestan will go into postal circulation
The Republic of Dagestan was established on January 20, 1921, as an Autonomous Republic in the composition of the RSFSR. It forms a part of the North Caucasian Federal District and is a member of the North Caucasian Economic Region. The area is 50.27 thousand sq. km. The population is 3 133 303 (2021). The capital of the Republic is Makhachkala.
Nowadays, the defining sectors of the economy of Dagestan are agriculture, winemaking, fishing, arts and crafts (including carpet weaving), oil and natural gas recovery, consumer goods manufacturing and chemical industry, mechanical engineering and electric power generation. There are 1,200 buildings acknowledged as monuments of architecture in Dagestan, and 40 of them are monuments of federal significance. Among them, there are also UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The postage stamp provides inscription “100 years of the Republic of Dagestan”. The margins of the block feature the coat of arms of the Republic of Dagestan and the national ornament; the Naryn-Kala fortress in Derbent; the defensive tower in Itsari; an arch of Uytash airport; the central Juma mosque and the Kumyk theater named after A.P. Salavatov in Makhachkala; the Avarian Music and Drama Theater named after Gamzat Tsadasa; the Partu Patima monument in the village of Kumukh of the Lakia District; the Vatan museum complex in Khitsib; and the Chirkey Hydroelectric Power Plant.
In addition to the issue of the postal block, JSC Marka will produce First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow and Makhachkala.
Design Artist: I. Ulyanovsky.
Face value: 100 rubles.
Block size: 135×88 mm, stamp size in the block (diam): 33 mm.
Quantity: 27 thousand blocks.
On December 10, a stamp dedicated to the 75th Anniversary of Russian ice hockey will go into postal circulation
On December 22, 1946, the first USSR ice hockey championship opened with games in Moscow, Leningrad, Arkhangelsk, Riga and Kaunas. Since then, December 22 has been considered the birthday of Russian ice hockey, one of the most popular and successful sports in the country.
Over the past 75 years, Soviet and Russian players won numerous awards, including 9 gold medals at the Winter Olympics and 27 World Champion titles. Domestic hockey has given the world many outstanding players, whose names are forever inscribed in history in golden letters.
The postage stamp provides images of outstanding hockey players Anatoly Firsov, Valery Kharlamov and Valery Vasiliev.
In addition to the issue of the postage stamp, JSC Marka will produce First Day Covers and a special cancel for Moscow, as well as an illustrated envelope with the postage stamp and souvenir labels depicting other famous Soviet and Russian hockey players inside.
Design Artist: I. Pinchuk.
Face value: 25 rubles.
Stamp size: 65×32.5 mm, sheet size: 150×157 mm.
Emission form: a sheet with formatted margins with 8 (2×4) stamps.
Quantity: 144 thousand stamps (18 thousand sheets).
On December 10, a postcard with a commemorative stamp dedicated to the Krasnodar Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society will go into postal circulation in the Geographic Projects of Russia series
The Krasnodar Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society was founded on December 17, 1946, on the initiative of the President of the Geographical Society of the USSR, academician L.S. Berg. The headquarters is located in Krasnodar. To this day, the Krasnodar Branch of the Russian Geographical Society is one of the largest in the country. It comprises 1,950 members. There are 15 commissions, 6 centers, 24 local branches, 2 representational offices, 26 youth clubs of the Russian Geographical Society operating in the Branch; it has a popular science lecture hall and a local history museum in Khadyzhensk.
The members of the Branch are conducting a substantial research, educational and environmental public work, they study the history and nature of the Krasnodar Region and other regions of the country; they publish books, arrange expeditions and festivals, contests and exhibitions.
The main illustration features sculptural composition 45 Parallel (Krasnodar); the commemorative stamp provides images that mirror symbolically the geographical projects.
In addition to the issue of the postcard with a commemorative stamp, JSC Marka will produce special cancels for Moscow and Krasnodar.
Design Artist: S. Kapranov.
Quantity: 6 thousand postcards.
On December 14, block of four Artists for Moscow devoted to the 875th Anniversary of Moscow will go into postal circulation
Moscow is the capital of Russia, the largest city in the country in terms of population, a hero city. With its historic buildings, streets and monuments, the city used to attract and is still attracting famous artists from around the world, who picture the city in all its beauty in their paintings.
The postage stamps provide reproductions of the following pictures:
— Kremlin. Sketch (1903) by K.A. Korovin, (Tyumen Museum-Educational Association);
— Nebozvon. Decorative Moscow (1915) by A.V. Lentulov (Yaroslavl Art Museum);
— The Red Square in Moscow (1801) by F.Ya. Alexeev (State Tretyakov Gallery);
— Moscow at Night (1999) by N.I. Borovskoy.
In addition to the issue of the block of four, JSC Marka will produce First Day Covers and a special cancel for Moscow.
Design: O. Savina.
Face value: 25 rubles.
Block of four size: 120×135 mm, stamp size in the block of four: 50×50 mm.
Quantity: 40 thousand blocks.
On December 15, a stamp dedicated to the feat of the people’s volunteer army will go into postal circulation in the On the 80th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945 series
The people's volunteer army during the Great Patriotic War consisted of military and paramilitary units of persons unliable to the time-urgent mobilization call-up; these units were intended to provide support to the Red Army.
On June 24, 1941, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a Resolution that affirmed the formation on a voluntary basis of battalions in the forward edge of battle area to protect facilities behind the lines of the Soviet troops and to fight with enemy’s sabotage and landing groups.
On the initiative of the Leningrad Party organizations and the workers of the city, the formation of divisions of the people's volunteer army began at the end of June 1941. The Central Committee of the Communist Party gave fiat to the initiative of the citizens of Leningrad and extended it to other cities. The first to respond to the call were Moscow and the Moscow Region. In July alone, Moscow numbered 12 divisions of the people's volunteer army, and by October, 4 more divisions were formed. In total, Moscow fielded 160,000 volunteers, including 20,000 from the Region. Volunteer armies began to get organized not only in the cities that found themselves in the path of enemy attacks, but also far beyond the front lines. The creation of people's volunteer units was carried out with the assistance and on the model of the Red Army units. The command positions of division and regiment commanders were filled by regular military officers, while the rest were filled by reserve commanders.
The role of the volunteer army became very important for strengthening the Red Army. The Motherland appreciated the militiamen feat, many of them were awarded orders and medals and granted the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The postage stamp provides images of militiamen from different layer of society against the Red Square in Moscow.
In addition to the issue of the postage stamp, JSC Marka will produce First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow and Perm.
Design Artist: S. Ulyanovsky.
Face value: 40 rubles.
Stamp size: 37×50 mm, sheet size: 168×177 mm.
Emission form: a sheet with formatted margins with 12 (3×4) stamps.
Quantity: 120 thousand stamps (10 thousand sheets).
On December 17, a stamp dedicated to the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs will go into postal circulation
The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) is an all-Russian organization representing the interests of business community.
The founding congress of the Scientific-Industrial Union of the USSR was held on June 16, 1990; it announced the key task of defending the interests of its members and promoting changes in the economy. After the disintegration of the USSR, the organization was transformed into an All-Russian organization, with the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) as its legal successor, whose first congress was held on December 19, 1991.
The objectives of the RSPP activities are consolidation of the efforts of industrialists and entrepreneurs of Russia aimed at improvement of the business environment, raising the status of Russian business in the country and worldwide, and promotion of modernization of the economy.
The postage stamp provides images of the logo and the building of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
In addition to the issue of the postage stamp, JSC Marka will produce First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow and Orekhovo-Zuevo of the Moscow Region.
Design Artist: A. Moskovets.
Face value: 46 rubles.
Stamp size: 50×37 mm, sheet size: 170×175 mm.
Emission form: a sheet with formatted margins with 12 (3×4) stamps.
Quantity: 120 thousand stamps (10 thousand sheets).
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