On February 5, a souvenir sheet dedicated to the 150th Anniversary of the Union of Theatre Workers of the Russian Federation will go into postal circulation
The history of the Union of Theatre Workers of the Russian Federation as a public organization uniting representatives of theatrical professions began in 1876, when the Society for Mutual Assistance of Russian Artists was founded.
According to the Charter, membership was open not only to artists and stage directors, but also to “poets, composers, playwrights, literary critics, painters, sculptors, and architects.” Among the founders, there were I. Turgenev, A. Pleshcheyev, D. Grigorovich, N. Potekhin, and V. Vereshchagin. The first chairman was actor, stage director, and playwright A. Fedotov. In 1904, it was renamed the Imperial Russian Theater Society. In 1932, the name changed for the All-Russian Theater Society (VTO), and when theaters were transferred to fixed work in 1938, local branches opened in many Russian cities. The 15th Congress of the VTO in 1986 took a decision to establish the Union of Theater Workers of the RSFSR, a full-fledged creative union. People's Artist of the USSR M. Ulyanov was elected its chairman and headed it for ten years.
Today, the Union joins up theater artists from all over Russia. Its main goals are to promote the development of the arts in all areas, provide practical assistance to Russian theaters and theater schools, help protect the social, legal, and professional interests of theater artists, and create the necessary working and living conditions for Union members.
The postage stamp provides an image of the building of the Union of Theater Workers; the margins of the souvenir sheet feature a curtain and the logo of the organization.
In addition to the issue of the souvenir sheet, JSC Marka will produce First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Design Artist: A. Yegiazaryan.
Face value: 250 rubles.
Souvenir sheet size: 80×60 mm, stamp size in the souvenir sheet: 42×30 mm.
Quantity: 16 thousand souvenir sheets.
On February 6, a postcard with a commemorative stamp dedicated to the 100th Birth Anniversary of Konstantin Feoktistov, a pilot-cosmonaut, a Hero of the Soviet Union, will go into postal circulation in the Space Exploration series
Konstantin Feoktistov (1926–2009) was a research scientist, a pilot-cosmonaut, a Hero of the Soviet Union, a Doctor of Technical Sciences, and a professor. He was a corresponding member of the International Academy of Astronautics, an engineer-designer of spacecraft and orbital stations. Feoktistov was the first civilian specialist in space.
In 1943, he entered the Faculty of Thermal and Hydraulic Machines at the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical University. After graduation from the University, he was appointed to SKB-385 in the city of Zlatoust, Chelyabinsk Region, where he held various positions from engineer to acting chief designer of the design bureau.
From 1951, he worked at Research Institute No. 4 in the village of Bolshevo (presently, a part of the city of Korolyov) in the Moscow Region. In 1957, he switched over to Special Design Bureau No. 1 (OKB-1, nowadays, RKK Energia) headed by S. Korolev, where he participated in the development of the first artificial Earth satellite, supervised the design work of the Vostok and Voskhod spacecraft, and was the leading designer of the Soyuz and Progress series of spacecraft, as well as the Salyut and Mir orbital stations. As the head of the Voskhod spacecraft design team, K. Feoktistov became one of the two persons to test in space the spacecraft he had designed. He was one of the participants (in the capacity of a research cosmonaut) in the first multi-seat manned spacecraft flight in the history of space exploration, which took place on October 12–13 of 1964, which also became the world's first flight of cosmonauts without the use of spacesuits.
Since 1990, he lectured at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University.
The commemorative stamp provides a symbolic image of a launch vehicle to be launched into space; the main illustration shows a portrait of K. Feoktistov against the backdrop of the Voskhod-1 spacecraft.
In addition to the issue of the postcard with a commemorative stamp, JSC Marka will produce special cancels for Moscow and Voronezh.
Design Artists: S. Ulyanovsky (stamp) and Kh. Betredinova (illustration).
Quantity: 5.5 thousand postcards.
On February 10, a postage stamp dedicated to the 250th Birth Anniversary of statesman Ioannis Kapodistrias will go into postal circulation in the History of Russian Diplomacy series
Ioannis Kapodistrias (1776–1831) was a count, a statesman, a Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire (1815–1822), and the first ruler of independent Greece (1827–1831).
Ioannis Kapodistrias was born on February 11 of 1776 in Greece. Having graduated from the University of Padua with a degree in philosophy and medicine, he entered the diplomatic service in his homeland. From 1799, he worked as chief physician at the Russian military hospital on the island of Corfu. In 1803, he held the post of State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Ionian Islands, and in 1807, he became head of the local police.
In 1812–1813, he was head of the diplomatic office of the commander-in-chief of the Russian Danube Army with the rank of actual state councilor. In 1814–1815, he was Russia's envoy to Switzerland. He participated in the creation of general principles of the state structure and the determination of the international neutrality status of the Swiss Confederation.
On August 30 of 1815, Ioannis Kapodistrias was appointed State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire and, until 1822, he actually administered (in liaison with Karl von Nesselrode) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On April 11 of 1827, the Third National Assembly in Troezen elected Count I. Kapodistrias as the Governor of Greece for seven years.
The postage stamp provides a portrait of Ioannis Kapodistrias.
In addition to the issue of the postage stamp, JSC Marka will produce First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Design Artists: S. Ulyanovsky and R. Komsa.
Face value: 80 rubles.
Stamp size: 37×37 mm, sheet size: 130×104 mm.
Emission form: a sheet with formatted margins with 6 (2×3) stamps.
Quantity: 42 thousand stamps (7 thousand sheets).
On February 24, a souvenir sheet dedicated to the 250th Birth Anniversary of Alexander Stupin, a painter and a tutor, will go into postal circulation
Alexander Stupin (1776–1861) was a Russian painter and art teacher, the founder and the Head of the first in the Russian Empire provincial art school. He was a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts.
In early 1800, he entered the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg as an extern, where he studied under I. Akimov’s guidance. Having graduated in 1802 with the title of first-degree artist, he returned to Arzamas and established a drawing school there - the first and, for a long time, the only one private institution of its kind in Russia. Since the tuition fees were trifling, the main source of funding for the school was commissions for painting churches and iconostases. In 1822, A. Stupin was involved in decorating the Savior Cathedral under construction on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair.
In 1834, A. Stupin was awarded the Order of St. Anne, third grade, “for outstanding services in establishing an art school in Arzamas in 1802 at his own expense”; and in 1845, he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, fourth grade, “for promotion of painting in his homeland and for the 40-year existence of his school.”
The postage stamp provides a fragment of the painting View of the City of Arzamas by A. Stupin (1826, State Russian Museum); the margins of the souvenir sheet feature a fragment of N. Alekseev's painting Portrait of the Paintert and Founder of the School of Painting in Arzamas, Alexander Vasilyevich Stupin, with His Students (1838, State Russian Museum).
In addition to the issue of the souvenir sheet, JSC Marka will produce First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod, as well as an illustrated cover with the souvenir sheet, a double-plot label and a First Day Cover with a cancel for Nizhny Novgorod inside.
Design Artist: A. Yegiazaryan.
Face value: 250 rubles.
Souvenir sheet size: 114×65 mm, stamp size in the souvenir sheet: 42×30 mm.
Quantity: 15 thousand souvenir sheets.
On February 24, a postcard with a commemorative stamp dedicated to the 75th Anniversary of the Section of Defense Issues of the Russian Ministry of Defense will go into postal circulation in the History of the Armed Forces of Russia series
The formation and development of the system for planning and organizing of the fundamental, predictive, and exploratory research in defense (FPER) started in 1951, when the Mine and Torpedo Section was instituted under the Academy of Sciences (AS) of the USSR.
In the early 1950s, the problem of protecting ships from non-contact mines became particularly acute. To address this issue, on June 21 of 1952, the Mine and Torpedo Section was transformed into the Marine Physics Section (MFS) under the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, and in 1964, it turned into the Section of Defense Issues of the Ministry of Defense under the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The scientific and organizational activities of the Section in the 1960s were related to the generation of plans for fundamental and exploratory research in the interests of national defense.
Today, the Section of Defense Issues of the Ministry of Defense under the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) is an important division dealing with issues of national defense and security. The chief areas of activity of the Section are research and development of new technologies and systems for national defense; and development and implementation of programs to enhance defense capabilities.
The commemorative stamp provides images of Russian warriors from different ages; the main illustration shows the official emblem of the Section of Defense Issues of the Russian Ministry of Defense under the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In addition to the issue of a postcard with a commemorative stamp, JSC Marka will produce a special cancel for Moscow.
Design Artists: S. Ulyanovsky (stamp) and S. Kapranov (illustration).
Quantity: 2.5 thousand postcards.
On February 25, two postage stamps dedicated to Ivanovo and Kostroma will go into postal circulation in the Cities of the Golden Ring of Russia series
The Golden Ring of Russia is a tourist route that unites ancient cities of North-Eastern Russia: Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kostroma, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Rostov Veliky, Sergiev Posad, Suzdal, Uglich, and Yaroslavl. All of them have retained unique monuments of architecture, history and culture.
Today, Ivanovo attracts travelers because of its unique Soviet avant-garde architecture, the Museum of Ivanovo Calico, and its up-to-date, well-maintained embankment.
The postage stamp features the Calico Museum, the Shchudrovskaya Tent (sites of the Burilin Ivanovo State Museum of History and Local Lore), the House-Ship, the Ivanovo Regional Art Museum, and the Transfiguration Cathedral.
Modern Kostroma brings to balance the heritage of different times. A walk through its streets provides an opportunity to see the living history of Russian urban planning — from the patterned temples of the 17th century to the strict symmetry of classicism and industrial architecture of the 20th century.
The postage stamp features a Fire Tower (Kostroma State Historical, Architectural, and Art Museum-Reserve), a monument to Ivan Susanin (sculptor N. Lavinsky), a Snow Maiden Snegurochka's Tower-House, the Holy Trinity Ipatiev Monastery, and strip malls.
In addition to the issue of the postage stamps, JSC Marka will produce First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow, Ivanovo and Kostroma, as well as maxi-cards.
Design Artist: V. Beltyukov.
Face value: 65 rubles.
Stamp size: 50×37 mm, sheet size: 172×175 mm.
Emission form: sheets with formatted margins with 12 (3×4) stamps.
Quantity: 84 thousand each stamp (7 thousand each sheet).
On February 27, four postage stamps dedicated to lizards will go into postal circulation in the Fauna of Russia series
Lizards are a large and diverse group of reptiles comprising more than 7,700 species. They are found on every continent except Antarctica and inhabit a wide variety of environments, from deserts to tropical forests.
The Crimean thin-toed gecko (Mediodactylus danilewskii) is a species of small lizards from the Gekkonidae family. It inhabits Crimea and the southwestern Black Sea region. In addition, geckos inhabit the ruins of ancient buildings (in particular, in Chersonesos), modern household and residential stone and wooden buildings, and can be found on stone fences and walls of buildings and even indoors.
The Lindholm's lizard (Darevskia lindholmi) is a species of the family Lacertidae. It is named after Russian naturalist V. Lindholm. It prefers mountainous steppe terrain, foothills, mountain forests, and can be found on the seacoast. It is endemic to Crimea. It is found only in mountainous areas and on the southern coast of the peninsula.
The toad-headed agama (Phrynocephalus mystaceus) is found in Russia in sandy massifs of the Dagestan foothills, in Kalmykia, eastern Chechnya, and in the south of the Astrakhan Region.
The steppe agama (Trapelus sanguinolentus) is a lizard from the Agamidae family. In Russia, it is widespread in the deserts and semi-deserts of the Eastern Fore-Caucasus. It inhabits sandy, clayey, and rocky deserts and semi-deserts, preferring areas with shrubby or semi-woody vegetation.
The block of four provides images of the following lizards: Crimean thin-toed gecko, Lindholm's lizard, toad-headed agama and steppe agama.
In addition to the issue of the postage stamps, JSC Marka will produce First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow, St. Petersburg, Astrakhan, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Orel, Penza, Samara and Sevastopol, as well as maxi-cards and an illustrated cover with postage stamps of the second emission type with the use of stencil varnish "with the sand effect" and a four-plot label.
Design Artist: V. Beltyukov.
Face value: 25 rubles.
Stamp size: 37×37 mm, sheet size: 94×99 mm.
Emission form: a sheet with formatted margins with 4 (2×2) stamps (a block of four).
Quantity: 45 thousand each stamp (45 thousand each sheet) (the 1-st emission type); 3.150 thousand each stamp (3.150 thousand each sheet) (the 2-nd emission type*).
* To be on sale as part of an illustrated cover.
On February 27, two stamps dedicated to the State Coat of Arms and the State Flag of the Russian Federation will go into postal circulation
The Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation is a red four-angled heraldic shield with rounded lower corners and a pointed tip, featuring a golden double-headed eagle with raised up outstretched wings. Two small crowns top the eagle’s heads, with one large crown above them. The three crowns are linked by a ribbon. The eagle holds a scepter in its right claw and an orb in its left claw. The eagle bears a red shield on its breast depicting a silver horseman in a blue cape, mounted upon a silver horse and slaying a knocked down black dragon with a silver spear and trampled by the horse.
The flag of the Russian Federation is rectangular in form and comprises three equal horizontal stripes: the upper one white, the middle one blue, and the lower one red. The flag is permanently hoisted above the buildings of federal executive authorities, the residences of the plenipotentiary representatives of the President of the Russian Federation in federal districts, as well as on the buildings of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local self-government bodies. The national flag is displayed on buildings (or raised on flagpoles) of public associations, enterprises, institutions, and organizations, as well as on residential buildings on public holidays of the Russian Federation.
In addition to the issue of the postage stamps, JSC Marka will produce First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Petrozavodsk and Pskov.
Design Artist: S. Kapranov.
Face value: 33 rubles and 76 rubles.
Stamp size: 24×34 mm; sheet size: 150×110 mm.
Emission form: sheets with formatted margins with 8 (4×2) stamps.
Quantity: 2 mln 56 thousand each stamp (257 thousand each sheet).
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