RUSSIA

RUSSIA / РОССИЯ.

Centenary of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Map with the route of the Trans-Siberian railway. 
Minisheet issued on 30.01.2002.
Face value: 12 Russian ruble.
Design: Aleksandr Zharov.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 200,000 copies.
Size: 92 x 72 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. BL42.
- Scott No. 6683.
- StampWorld No. 954.
- Stanley Gibbons No. MS7071,
- Yvert et Tellier No. BF255.
- Zagorsky No. BL38.

The Trans–Siberian Railway (Russian: Транссибирская магистраль) is a network of railways connecting Western Russia to the Russian Far East. It is the longest railway line in the world, with a length of over 9,289 km (5,772 mi), from Moscow to Vladivostok. Its construction began on March 9, 1891, and the line was completed and inaugurated on June 21, 1904. It has directly connected Moscow with Vladivostok since 1916. Electrification of the line, begun in 1929 and completed in 2002. In the stamp the bridge over the Kama River, near Perm, built in 1912, and a monument with the coat of arms of the Russian Empire are also represented.

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Thanks to Daniel Mathieu for his contribution (http://lettresdumonde.blogspot.com/)

SOVIET UNION

SOVIET UNION / СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ СОЦИАЛИСТИЧЕСКИХ РЕСПУБЛИК.

Landscapes.
Belukha Mountain, Altai Republic.
Seventh stamp in a set of 9, issued on 15.12.1959.
Face value: 60 Soviet kopek.
Design: S. Pomansky. 
Engraving: Ivan Sapronov.
Printing: Recess.
Print: 1,500,000 copies.
Size: 38 x 27 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 2306.
- Scott No. 2278.
- StampWorld No. 2095.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2405.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2249.
- Zagorski No. 2302.

Belukha Mountain (Russian: Белуха; Altai: Ӱч-Сӱмер; Kazakh: Мұзтау Шыңы), located in the Katun Mountains, is the highest peak of the Altai Mountains in Russia and the highest of the system of the South Siberian Mountains. It is part of the World Heritage Site entitled Golden Mountains of Altai. Located in the Altai Republic (Russian Federation), Belukha is a three-peaked mountain massif that rises along the border of Russia and Kazakhstan. There are 169 glaciers on the mountain, including Belukha and Sapozhnikov glaciers. Of the two peaks, the eastern peak (4,506 m, 14,784 ft) is higher than the western peak (4,440 m, 14,567 ft). Belukha Mountain was first climbed in 1914 by Boris and Mikhail Tronov brothers. Lake Akkem appears in the foreground of the stamp image.

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Thanks to Dragan Buškulić for his contribution (https://worldofstamp2.wordpress.com/).

SOVIET UNION

SOVIET UNION / СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ СОЦИАЛИСТИЧЕСКИХ РЕСПУБЛИК.

Active Volcanoes of Kamchatka.
Karymsky Volcano.
Second stamp in a set of 3, issued on 30.11.1965.
Face value: 12 Soviet kopek.
Design: Lev M. Sharov.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 4,000,000 copies.
Size: 24 x 52 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 3116.
- Michel No. 3139.
- Scott No. 3118.
- StampWorld No. 2938.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 3211.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 3034.
- Zagorsky No. 3190.

Karymsky (Russian: Карымская сопка) is an active stratovolcano of the eastern ridge of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Its absolute height is 1,469 m (4,820 ft), and its top is a regular truncated cone. It is a very active volcano, more than twenty eruptions have been recorded since 1852.

RUSSIA

RUSSIA / РОССИЯ.

Volcanos of Kamchatka.
Caldera of the Uzon volcano, and a small map of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Second stamp in a set of 4, issued on 20.06.2002.
Face value: 2 Russian rubles.
Design: A. Umurkulova.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 300,000 copies.
Size: 40 x 28 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 991.
- Scott No. 6704b.
- StampWorld No. 985.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 7098.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 6642.
- Zagorsky No. F 759,

Uzon (Russian: Узон) is a destroyed extinct volcano, which had an altitude of around 3,000 m (1,865 ft), located on the territory of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, east of the Kamchatka Peninsula. This is a unique area of manifestation of modern volcanism, the formation of minerals and ores, the place where the youngest oil on the planet emerges. The caldera of the Uzon volcano, formed about 40,000 years ago as a result of violent eruptions, is one of the largest in Kamchatka: it is a great depression up to 12 km (7.46 miles) in diameter in a latitudinal direction and up to 9 km (5.6 miles) heading south. It is occupied by Lake Dalny In 1854, the Estonian-German geologist Karl von Ditmar discovered mineral springs there.

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Thanks to Dragan Buškulić for his contribution (https://worldofstamp2.wordpress.com/).

SOVIET UNION

SOVIET UNION / СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ СОЦИАЛИСТИЧЕСКИХ РЕСПУБЛИК.

International Mountaineers' Camps of USSR.
Mount Elbrus (Kabardino-Balkaria, Russian Federation).
Last stamp in a set of 5, issued on 05.09.1986.
Face value: 30 Soviet kopek.
Design: I. Kozlov.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 2,350,000 copies.
Size: 58 c 26 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 5639.
- Scott No. 5485.
- StampWorld No. 5436.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 5687.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 5339.
- Zagorski No. 5691.

Mount Elbrus (Russian: Эльбрус: Karachay-Balkar: Минги тау), a dormant volcano, rises 5,642 m (18,510 ft) above sea level. It is the highest and most prominent peak in Russia and Europe. It is situated in the western part of the Caucasus Mountains, in the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria (southern Russian Federation), 100 kilometers from the Black Sea and 370 kilometers from the Caspian Sea. Elbrus is centered in the Prielbrusye National Park (Russian: Приэльбрусье национальный парк) and has two summits, both of which are dormant volcanic domes. The taller, western summit is 5,642 metres (18,510 ft); the eastern summit is 5,621 metres (18,442 ft). The eastern summit was first ascended on July 10, 1829 by Khillar Khachirov, and the western summit in 1874 by a British expedition led by Florence Crauford Grove. Mount Elbrus was formed more than 2.5 million years ago. The volcano was active in the Holocene, and according to the Global Volcanism Program, the last eruption took place about AD 50.

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Thanks to Kazimierz R. Leszczyński for his contribution (http://leszkarozdub.blogspot.com).

SOVIET UNION

SOVIET UNION / СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ СОЦИАЛИСТИЧЕСКИХ РЕСПУБЛИК.

Environmental Protection.
Lake Baikal.
Second stamp in a set of 3, issued on 05.02.1991.
Face value: 5 Soviet kopek.
Design: Yury Artsimenev (1937-2019).
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 3,000,000 copies.
Size: 40 x 28 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 6103.
- Michel No. 6170.
- Scott No. 5966.
- StampWorld No. 5969.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 6228.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 5831.
- Zagorski No. 6228.

Lake Baikal (Russian: Озеро Байкал; Buryat: Байгал нуур), of tectonic origin, is the world's largest freshwater reserve and also the deepest lake (1,642 m, 5,387 ft). It is located in the southern region of Siberia, in the Russian Federation, between Irkutsk Oblast in the northwest and Buryatia in the southeast. Its name derives from the Tatar Bai-Kul ("rich lake"). Its area is 31,722 km² (12,248 sq mi), its length is 636 km (395 mi), and its maximum width is 79 km (49 mi). It is fed by some 330 rivers, among which the Selenga, the Barguzin, the Upper Angara, the Turka, the Sarma and the Snezhnaya stand out. It drains through a single outlet, the Angara. The lake has 27 islands: the length of the largest, Olkhon, is 72 km (45 mi). Baikal's age is estimated at 25 to 30 million years, making it the oldest lake in geological history. UNESCO declared Lake Baikal a World Heritage Site in 1996.

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Thanks to Kazimierz R. Leszczyński for his contribution (http://leszkarozdub.blogspot.com). 

SOVIET UNION

SOVIET UNION / СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ СОЦИАЛИСТИЧЕСКИХ РЕСПУБЛИК.

Landscapes.
Chusovaya River, Urals.
First stamp in a set of 9, issued on 15.12.1959.
Face value: 10 Soviet kopek.
Design: S. Pomansky.
Printing: Recess.
Print: 2.500,000 copies.
Size: 38 x 27 mm.

Catalogues
- AFA No. 2290.
- Michel No. 2300.
- Scott No. 2272.
- StampWorld No. 2089.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2399.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2242.
- Zagorski No. 2296.

Chusovaya river (Чусовая река) flows through Perm Krai, Sverdlovsk Oblast and Chelyabinsk Oblast, in the Russian Federation. Its length is 592 km (368 mi) and its basin has an area of 23,000 km² (8,900 sq mi). It is a tributary of the Kama (Кама), which in turn empties into the Volga. It originates from the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains, in Asia, crosses the mountains and runs down the western slopes of European Russia. The Chusovaya has more than 150 tributaries, among which the Sylva (Сылва) River and the Kumysh (Кумыш) River stand out, which has an underground route of about 6 km (3.73 mi). It is an important river as a source of water; along its course is the 37 km² (14 sq mi) Volchikhinsky Reservoir that supplies the city of Yekaterinburg. The large rocky walls that make up part of its banks (seen in the stamp) are an important tourist attraction. Before the construction of the railway across the Urals, the river served for the transport, especially of metals and furs, from the Ural Mountains to western Russia. 

SOVIET UNION

SOVIET UNION / СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ СОЦИАЛИСТИЧЕСКИХ РЕСПУБЛИК.

Active Volcanoes of Kamchatka.
Klyuchevskoi Volcano.
First stamp in a set of 3, issued on 30.11.1965.
Face value: 4 Russian kopek.
Deseign: L. Sharov.
Stamp: 4,000,000 copies.
Size: 52 x 24 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 3138.
- Scott No. 3117.
- StampWorld No. 2937.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 3210.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 3033.
- Zagorsky No. 3189.

Klyuchevskoi (in Russian, Ключевская сопка), standing 4,835 m (15,863 ft) tall as of eruption of 2020, is a stratovolcano, the highest mountain on the Kamchatka Peninsula, in the Russian Far East, and the highest active volcano of Eurasia. Its steep, symmetrical cone towers about 60 kilometers (37 mi) from the Bering Sea. From 1996 the volcano is part of the natural Volcanoes of Kamchatka UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its first recorded eruption occurred in 1697, and it has been almost continuously active since then, as have many of its neighboring volcanoes. The most recent eruptions were recorded in the years 2002, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2020. It was first climbed in 1788 by Daniel Gauss and two other members of the Billings Expedition. No other ascents were recorded until 1931, when several climbers were killed by flying lava on the descent. The Klyuchevskoi is considered sacred by some indigenous peoples, who see it as the place where the world was created.