On January 17, an envelope with a commemorative stamp dedicated to the 125th Birth Anniversary of poet Mikhail Isakovsky was put into postal circulation

Mikhail Isakovsky (1900-1973) was a Russian Soviet poet, a songwriter, a prose writer and a translator. He was a Hero of Socialist Labor (1970) and a Winner of two Stalin Prizes of the First Class (1943, 1949).

He was born on January 7 (19), 1900, in the village of Glotovka of the Yelninsky Uyezd, in the Smolensk Province. He excelled at school, and then in a private Smolensk gymnasium. One of his apprentice poems - The Soldier's Request - was published as early as in 1914 by the Nov’ all-Russian newspaper.

In 1921-1931, he worked in Smolensk newspapers (Rabochiy Put’ and others). In 1931, he moved to Moscow. Many poems by Isakovsky were set to music. The most famous are Katyusha and Enemies Burned the Dear House Down (music by M. Blanter), In the Forest, Near the Frontline, Migratory Birds Are Flying, Lonely Accordion, Under the Stars of the Balkans, and others. In the Kuban Cossacks film, his songs As You Were, So You Remained and Oi, Tsvetet Kalina (Oh, the Viburnum Blossoms) to the music of Isaak Dunayevsky were performed.

In 1927, the first collection of poems by Mikhail Isakovsky Wires in the Straw was published. In 1930, a collection of poems The Province was issued, and in 1931, Masters of the Earth followed. The poet was appointed Editor of the Kolkhoznik (Collective Farmer) magazine.

As a result of cooperation with Vladimir Zakharov, the songs to the words by Isakovsky were introduced into the repertoire of the Pyatnitsky Choir. He devoted much time to the adaptation and rendition of old songs and fairy tales, translated poems from Ukrainian and Belarusian, as well as Serbian folk songs.

The envelope with a commemorative stamp provides a symbolic image of a girl from the Katyusha song and a photo of soldiers from the Great Patriotic War; the commemorative stamp features a portrait of poet Mikhail Isakovsky against the background of a village landscape and manuscripts.

In addition to the issue of the envelope with a commemorative stamp, JSC Marka produced special cancels for Moscow and Smolensk.


Design Artist: V. Beltyukov
Quantity: 500 thousand envelopes.

« back