On March 25, a stamp dedicated to the training three-masted sailing ship Chersones was put into postal circulation



The Chersones training sailing ship was laid down in 1987 under the project of Polish naval architect Zygmunt Choreń and launched in 1989 in the Gdańsk Shipyard named after Lenin. Initially, it was intended to name the ship after Alexander Grin, but when the construction was completed the ship was renamed Chersones in honor of the 1000th Anniversary of Christianizing of Russia. The sailing ship was named in honor of the ancient city of Chersonese, where Prince Vladimir of Kiev was Christianized in the 10th century. The ship is built according to the prototype of sailing vessels of the early 20th century and is fully rigged with ship-type sails. The principle motion of the Chersones ship is provided by 26 sails.

In 1997, Chersones made a name for itself with becoming the last ship to circumnavigate Cape Horn under sail with the engines off. In 2015, the ship was turned over to the federal ownership of the Russian Federation and assigned to FSUE Rosmorport; efforts were taken to transfer the Chersones sailing training ship to the Russian flag. The sailing ship acquired its historic white color with a blue stripe along the side and gold and ochre decorations. In September 2016, for the first time since 2006, the Chersones ship went to sea and took part in the SCF Black Sea Tall Ships Regatta – 2016 international sailing regatta. In 2020, the symbol of the ship - galleon figure Golden Albatross, which the Chersones was awarded in 1997 for circumnavigating Cape Horn under sails – was restored on its stem bar. In August 2021, the sailing training ship changed the classic white sails for red (scarlet) sails.

Every year, the frigate takes part in various festive events and participates in the Tavrida-ART festivals with their glary point of attraction being a large art-park in the Kapsel Bay near the city of Sudak. Prominent art objects located in this area are Assol, symbolizing the strength of will and faith in the daydream, and a figure of a Man Looking out to the Sea as personification of the creator searching for a way to inspiration and self-expression.

The postage stamp provides an image of the Chersones training sailing ship and a Tavrida-ART object.

In addition to the issue of the postage stamp, JSC Marka produced First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow, Sochi of the Krasnodar Territory and Sevastopol, as well as an illustrated envelope with a postal stamp, a label and a First Day Cover with a cancel for Sevastopol inside.


Design Artist: S. Ulyanovsky.
Face value: 50 rubles.
Stamp size: 65×32.5 mm, sheet size: 150×157 mm.
Emission form: a sheet with formatted margins (2×4) with 7 stamps and a coupon.
Quantity: 105 thousand stamps (15 thousand sheets).

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