On May 27, a postage stamp dedicated to aeronautical sports was put into postal circulation in the Sports series

Sports are forms of athletic activity that have been evolving over time and developed into distinct disciplines, such as track-and-field athletics, football, basketball, swimming, and others. Currently, there are approximately 200 different athletic disciplines worldwide.

Aeronautical sport is a sport that combines flights in various types of lighter-than-air craft (air balloons, high-altitude balloons, airships) with setting record-breaking results in distance, altitude and duration.

The founding of the Society for Aeronautics in 1874 in France is considered the beginning of aeronautical sport. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, flying clubs were established to bring together aeronautical athletes, with the Imperial All-Russian Flying Club in St. Petersburg being one of these.

In December of 1989, Balloon Federation of the USSR was established, succeeded by the Hot Air Ballooning Federation of Russia (since January of 1992, a collective member of the National Aero Club of Russia, and since February of 2001, a collective member of the Russian Air Sports Federation). It represents Russian balloonists on the Ballooning Commission of the World Air Sports Federation - the highest governing body uniting balloon pilots worldwide. Russian hot-air balloon championships are held on a regular basis, and domestic hot-air balloons of various classes are in production. Since 1993, the Russian Hot Air Ballooning Championships have been held (since 1996, in the city of Velikie Luki). The promotion and development of ballooning in Russia is supported by traditional International Ballooning Festivals held in the North Caucasus, Kaluga, and Moscow. Among the most well known Russian ballooning clubs there are Avgur, Aviatron, AeroNaTC, and Interavia-Service. A specialized pilot training center is located in Velikie Luki. In total, there are about 150 professional pilots in Russia, including four women.

The postage stamp provides an image of hot air balloons.

In addition to the issue of the postage stamp, JSC Marka produced First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Pereslavl-Zalessky in the Yaroslavl Region, Ryazan, and Feodosia of the Republic of Crimea, as well as a maxi-card.


Design Artist: S. Kapranov.
Face value: 35 rubles.
Stamp size: 37×37 mm, sheet size: 131×137 mm.
Emission form: a sheet with formatted margins with 9 (3×3) stamps.
Quantity: 85.5 thousand stamps (9.5 thousand sheets).

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