On February 10, a postage stamp dedicated to the 250th Birth Anniversary of statesman Ioannis Kapodistrias was put into postal circulation in the History of Russian Diplomacy series

Ioannis Kapodistrias (1776–1831) was a count, a statesman, a Minister of 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 headed the diplomatic office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Danube Army with the rank of Actual State Councilor. In 1814-1815, 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 produced 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).

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