On April 9, a postage stamp dedicated to the achievements of the Russian space science, timed to coincide with the “Space Week” in Russia, which commemorates the 65th Anniversary of the first human spaceflight was put into postal circulation



The Cosmonautics Day is celebrated annually on April 12. In 1962, on the first Anniversary of the first human spaceflight, a government decree was signed establishing a new holiday, the Cosmonautics Day, in the USSR. Six years later, the event gained international status, and the Aviation and Cosmonautics Day was established.

On April 8 of 2011, the 65th session of the UN General Assembly gave an alternative name to the holiday: the International Human Space Flight Day.

On December 29 of 2025, President of the Russian Federation V. Putin signed Decree No. 995 On Holding Space Week in the Russian Federation that established a new annual nationwide event aimed at promoting the achievements of domestic space exploration and enhanced the prestige of professions related to space activities. According to the Decree, starting from 2026, Space Week will be held annually on April 6 to 12 - a period traditionally associated with the celebration of Cosmonautics Day and symbolizing Russia’s breakthrough in space exploration. The Space Week offers new opportunities to promote science, develop human resources and strengthen public interest in national space programs.

In 2026, the Space Week will be devoted to the 65th Anniversary of the first human spaceflight, carried out by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

The postage stamp provides a symbolic image of a cosmonaut gazing at a star cluster through the porthole of a spaceship.


In addition to the issue of the postage stamp, JSC Marka produced First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow, Volgograd, Baikonur, Yevpatoria in the Republic of Crimea, Zvyozdny and Korolyov in the Moscow Region, Engels in the Saratov Region, and Chelyabinsk.


Design Artist: S. Ulyanovsky.
Face value: 65 rubles.
Stamp size: 65×32.5 mm, sheet size: 150×170 mm.
Emission form: a sheet with formatted margins with 8 (2×4) stamps.
Quantity: 168 thousand stamps (21 thousand sheets).

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