On September 29, a postage stamp dedicated to the 100th Birth Anniversary of statesman Vasily Shamshin was put into postal circulation in the Outstanding Communications Men of Russia series

Vasily Shamshin (1926–2009) was a Soviet statesman, the Minister of Communications of the USSR (1980–1989), an Academician of the International Informatization Academy and the International Academy of Communications, a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers — IEEE (USA), an honorary member of the Popov Russian Scientific and Technical Society of Radio Engineering, Electronics and Communications, a participant in numerous international conferences, an honorary radio engineer, a communications master, and the author of ten inventions and more than 100 published works.

Vasily Shamshin was born on September 12 of 1926 in the city of Essentuki of the Stavropol Territory. Having finished secondary school, he entered the Faculty of Radio Communications and Broadcasting at the Moscow Electrotechnical Institute of Communications. V. Shamshin began his career in 1949 at the Research Institute-100 of the Ministry of Communications of the USSR. He participated in research and development works on the development of a unique complex of special equipment for radio signal phasing. In the following years, he worked on improving the accuracy of radio navigation equipment and developing multi-channel radio relay communication systems. Since 1958, he worked at the Research Institute-701, where he was engaged in designing alternative (bistatic and over-the-horizon) radar systems based on the latest principles of information processing. In 1965, V. Shamshin was appointed Deputy Head of the Scientific Research Institute-100 for scientific work. He took an active part in the creation of the Orbita world's first satellite television broadcasting distribution system, for which he was granted the Order of the Badge of Honor. In 1969-1980, he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Telecommunications journal, and in 1980-1989, he was the Minister of Communications of the USSR.

V. Shamshin directly participated in the development of complex scientific and technical projects, such as increasing the efficiency of acting broadcasting facilities; developing the United Automatized State Communication Network; reconstructing backbone communication lines; systematic use of communication satellites; comprehensive industrialization of the construction of communication facilities; and increasing the survivability of networks in extreme conditions. V. Shamshin participated in the construction of the Ekran direct television broadcasting system. In the 1980s, under the direct leadership of Minister of Communications V. Shamshin, a comprehensive state telephony program was developed.

The postage stamp provides a portrait of Vasily Shamshin against the background of the Central Telegraph building, the Ostankino TV Tower, a Rubin-106 television set, and the Ekran communications satellite.

In addition to the issue of the postage stamp, JSC Marka produced First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow and Essentuki of the Stavropol Territory.


Design Artist: V. Beltyukov.
Face value: 75 rubles.
Stamp size: 42×30 mm; sheet size: 104×146 mm.
Emission form: a sheet with 8 (2×4) stamps.
Quantity: 56 thousand stamps (7 thousand sheets).

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