Vladimir Arseniev (1872-1930) was a famous traveler, researcher of the Far East, local historian, ethnographic collector and writer.
Arseniev was born in 1872 in St. Petersburg. He graduated from a two-year cadet school, was engaged in self-education in the field of natural and historical sciences.
Arseniev’s love for the Far East was instilled in him by one of the teachers of the cadet school, the famous traveler M. Grum-Grshimailo. From that time, excursions over the Ussuriisk Region started (Lake Khanka, river Suifun, Posyet bay) where he was engaged in archeological excavations. In 1903, Arseniev became a member of the Society for the Study of the Amur Region and cooperated with the Khabarovsk Local Lore Museum named after N. Grodekov. He was a member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (IRGS), and from 1909, he was elected its full member. Arseniev participated in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.
The explorer undertook many expeditions with the purpose of studying the territory and population of the Far East. The regional researcher's activity during these and subsequent expeditions was multifarious: meteorological observations, topographic survey, map-making, collecting ethnographic materials, information on fauna, flora, rocks, as well as ornithology, hydrology, geology, maintaining statistics; nor the museum work remained unaddressed. He visited the Tadushi and Iman Rivers, Terney Bay, and the coast of the Tatar Strait.
Vladimir Arseniev made a great contribution to various natural and historical sciences, such as geography, meteorology, climatology, natural history, the study of flora and fauna. He is also known as a writer. His most known novels are Across the Ussuri Krai and Dersu Uzala telling about expeditions in the Sikhote Alin Mountains, and about his meetings with the local population: the Nanais, Orochis and Udegeis. These books contain abundant ethnographic material, descriptions of the everyday life of hunters, shamanic sacred groves and shamanistic rituals, images of idols worshipped by natives.
The commemorative stamp provides a portrait of Vladimir Arseniev against the landscape; the main image features fragments of the route map of the traveler’s expeditions and his diary, and covers of books Dersu Uzala and In the Wilds of the Ussuri Krai.
In addition to the issue of the postcard with a commemorative stamp, JSC Marka produced special cancels for Moscow, Penza, St. Petersburg, and Vladivostok.
Design Artist: V. Khablovsky.
Quantity: 6,500 cards.
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