SOVIET UNION

SOVIET UNION / СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ СОЦИАЛИСТИЧЕСКИХ РЕСПУБЛИК.

Soviet Mountain Climbing.
Mount Khan Tengri (now in the Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and China border).
First stamp in a set of 3, issued on 28.12.1964.
Face value: 4 Soviet kopeks.
Design: N. Kruglov and E. Aniskin. 
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 4,000,000 copies.
Size: 38 x 40 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 3002.
- Scott No. 2982.
- StampWorld No. 2793.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 3077.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2899.
- Zagorski No. 3055.

Khan Tengri (Kyrgyz: Хан-Теңири; Kazakh: Хан Тәңірі; simplified Chinese: 汗腾格里峰; Uighur: خانتەڭرى) is a mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range. It is on the China—Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan tripoint, east of lake Issyk Kul. Its geologic elevation is 6,995 m (22,949 ft), but its glacial icecap rises to 7,010 m (22,999 ft). It is a massive marble pyramid, covered in snow and ice. Peter Semenov was the first European to see the Tian Shan and its peak in 1857. The first ascent of the peak was made in 1931 by Mikhail Pogrebetsky, Boris Tyurin and Franz Sauberer. In the worldview of the ancient peoples of Turkic-Mongolian origin, Tengri is the supreme deity, the organizer of the world, along with the goddess Umai.

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Antarctic Drift of "Mikhail Somov".
Antarctica map.
Souvenir sheet issued on 10.10.1986.
Face value: 50 Soviet kopek.
Design: Aleksandr Kernosov.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 800,000 copies.
Size: 70 x 90 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 
- Michel No. BL189.
- Scott No. 5498.
- StampWorld No. 5445.
- Stanley Gibbons No. MS5695.
- Yvert et Tellier No. BF188.
- Zagorski No. BL192.

The “Mikhail Somov” (‘Михаил Сомов’) is a Research/Survey Vessel of 138 m (453 ft) length, built in 1975 in Kherson Shipyard (Ukraine, Soviet Union), now sailing under the flag of Russia. It is based in Arkhangelsk. On March 15, 1985, during the supply operations of the Soviet Russkaya Antarctic Station, the ship was trapped in the ice 120 km (394 mi) from the coast, and it did not get out of that situation until July 26. The stamp commemorates that fact.

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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/).

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50th Anniversary of Barguzin Nature Reserve (Buryatia).
Map of the Reserve on the shores of Lake Baikal and fauna.
First stamp in a set of 2, issued on 25.06.1966.
Face value: 4 Soviet kopek.
Design: Aleksei Sementsov-Ogievsky.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 4,000,000 copies.
Size: 84 x 30 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 3207.
- Michel No. 3233.
- Scott No. 3218.
- StampWorld No. 3024.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 3308.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2115.
- Zagorsky Bo. 3207.

Barguzin Nature Reserve (Russian: Баргузинский заповедник) is located in Buryatia (Russian Federation) on the west slope of the Barguzin Range, including the northeast shores of the Lake Baikal and a part of the lake itself. The name of the preserve (and the range) comes from the Barguzin River. The area of the reserve is 2,482 km² (958 sq mi). It was created in December 29, 1916 to preserve and increase the numbers of Barguzin Sable (Martes zibellina). Mountainous and taiga landscapes are also being preserved. Since 1986 it has been included in the list of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. In the reserve the elk, the musk deer, the white hare, the brown bear, the shrew and the black-capped marmot are preserved among other animals; Baikal omul, sturgeon, grayling, taimen, lenok and other species of fish are found in the lake's waters. Taiga of cedar, fir and larch dominate at higher altitudes.

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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.

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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).

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Construction Projects of the 10th Five Year Plan.
Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam of the Yenisei River Power Station (Khakassia).
Third stamp in a set of 6, issued on 18.02.1981.
Face value: 4 Russian kopek.
Design: Yury Levinovsky (1933-2008).
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 4,200,000 copies.
Size: 42 x 30 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 5040.
- Scott No. 4910.
- StampWorld No. 4837.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 5095.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 4775.
- Zagoroski No. 5090.

The Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam (Russian: Саяно-Шушенская гидроэлектростанция) is located on the Yenisei River, near Sayanogorsk in Khakassia (Russian Federation). Its construction began in 1963, and its power plant was put into operation in two phases, the years 1978 and 1985. The gravity arch dam is 242 m (794 ft) high, with a crest length of 1,066 m (3,497 ft), a crest width of 25 m (82 ft), and a base width of 105.7 m (347 ft). The dam is served by a tram line that connects with the city of Cheryomushki.

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

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International Mountaineers' Camps of USSR.
Korzhenevskoi Peak, Pamir (now in Tajikistan). 
Second stamp in a set of 5, issued on 05.09.1986.
Face value: 5 Soviet kopek.
Design: I. Kozlov.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 3,970,000 copies.
Size: 58 x 26 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 5636.
- Scott No. 5482.
- StampWorld No. 5433.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 5684.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 5336.
- Zagorski No. 5688.

Korzhenevskoi Peak (tadjik: Қуллаи Корженевскӣ; russian: Пик Корженевской) is the third highest peak in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan. Su altura es de 7,105 m (23,310 ft). It is named after Evgenia Korzhenevskaya, the wife of Russian geographer Nikolai L. Korzhenevskiy, who discovered the peak in August 1910. It was first climbed in 1953 by a party led by A. Ugarov.

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

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International Geophysical Year.
Map of the Antarctica, Polar Station and King Penguin.
Second stamp in a sef of 3. issued 18.08.1959.
Face value: 40 Soviet kopeks.
Design: I. Levin.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 2,500,000 copies.
Size: 30 x 42 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 2260.
- Scott No. 2234.
- StampWorld No. 2049.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2373.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2216.
- Zagorski No. 2269.

On December 1, 1959, the twelve countries that had carried out scientific activities in and around Antarctica during the 1957-1958 International Geophysical Year signed the Antarctic Treaty in Washington. The Treaty entered into force on June 23, 1961, and has been accepted by many other nations. The Treaty recognizes, among other things, the interest of all humankind that Antarctica continue to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord. The signatory countries were: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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Thanks to Vairo Gregori for his contribution (https://ternifil.org/).

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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). 

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Soviet Expedition to Mount Everest.
Minisheet issued on 20.12.1982.
Face value: 50 Soviet kopek.
Design: Yury Levinovsky (b. 1933).
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 800,000 copies.
Size: 67 x 84 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. BL160.
- Scott No. 5106.
- StampWorld No. 5034.
- Stanley Gibbons No. MS 5291.
- Yvert et Tellier No. BF 159.
- Zagorski No. BL163.

The first unofficially known Soviet expedition to the Himalayas consisted of six mountaineers, who unsuccessfully attempted to climb Mount Everest from Tibet in October 1952: all of them died in the attempt, which was hidden from view public opinion and even assured that such an expedition had not been carried out.

The expedition commemorating the stamp, in 1982, led by Evgeni Tamm (1926-2008), was successful: on May 4, eleven Soviet climbers reached the summit of Everest by a new route on the southwest face that was recognized as the most technically difficult to date.

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

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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. 

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Save the nature in the Arctic!
Arctic landscape with reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and map of the Arctic lands.
Second stamp in a set of 3, issued on 18.01.1989.
Face value: 10 Soviet kopek.
Design: Yury Artsimenev (1937-2019).
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 4,500,000 copies.
Size: 30 x 42 (x2) mm.

Catalogues
- AFA No. 5863.
- Michel No. 5922.
- Scott No. 5748.
- StampWorld No. 5721.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 5968.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 5601.
- Zagorski No. 5974.

The Arctic is a geographic and geopolitical concept that usually includes the lands and seas north of the Arctic Circle and the ice cap centered on the North Pole. It comprises regions of eight countries: the Russian Federation, Finland. Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Canada and Alaska (in the United States), and several seas belonging to the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean (the main ones are: Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Laptev Sea, Kara Sea, Barents Sea, Norwegian Sea, Greenland Sea, Baffin Bay, Hudson Bay and Beaufort Sea). All eight Arctic nations are members of the Arctic Council, as well as organizations representing six indigenous populations. The Council operates on a consensus basis, primarily dealing with environmental treaties, and does not address boundary or resource disputes. The Arctic has been and is the subject of various territorial claims, which have led to some international conflicts.

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Thanks to Fadda Giuseppe for his contribution.

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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.

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Soviet Mountain Climbing.
Mount Kazbek (now in Georgia).
Second stamp in a set of 3, issued on 28.12.1964.
Face value: 6 kopek.
Design: N. Kruglov and E. Aniskin,
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 4,000,000 copies.
Size: 40 x 38 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 3003.
- Scott No. 2983.
- StampWorld No. 2794.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 3078.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2900.
- Zagorski No. 3056.

Mount Kazbek (or Kazbegi; in Georgian, მყინვარწვერი (Mqinvartsveri, "Glacier Peak") is a dormant stratovolcano (although potentially active) located on the Khokh Range, which runs north of the Greater Caucasus, on the border with the Republic of North Ossetia (Russian Federation). It is the third-highest peak in Georgia and the second-highest volcanic summit in the Caucasus, after Mount Elbrus. Its altitude is 5,054 m (16,581 ft). The Terek River originates on one of his glaciers. The summit was first climbed in 1868 by the Englishmen Douglas Freshfield, Adolf Moore and Charles C. Tucker. This mountain is associated in Georgian folklore with Amirani, the local version of Prometheus, who was chained on the mountain as punishment for stealing fire from the gods to give to mortals. The area around Mount Kazbek was designated a nature reserve by the Soviet government in 1979.

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Antarctic expeditions.
Map of the Antarctica and Emperor penguins.
Nineth stamp in a set of 12, issued on 22.12.1988.
Face value: 30 kopek.
Design: V. Koval.
Print: 6,500,000 copies.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 5902.
- StampWorld No. 5701.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 5948.

The first Soviet expedition to Antarctica left the Baltic port of Kaliningrad, on the Ob ship, on November 30, 1955 and lasted until 1957. 127 men participated in it led by the oceanographer and polar explorer Mikhail M. Somov (1908-1973). On February 13, 1956 they established the first Soviet base on the white continent, called Mirni, located on the coast of the Davis Sea, in the Land of Queen Mary belonging to the Australian Antarctic Territory. From then until 1991, when the USSR was dissolved, expeditions were conducted every year and other scientific bases were established.

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Europe, common home.
Visit of President Mikhail S. Gorbachev to the Federal Republic of Germany.
Simplified map of Europe.
First stamp in a set of 3, issued on 12.06.1989.
Face value: 5 kopek.
Design: L. Zaitsev.
Print: 2,300,000 copies.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 5955.
- StampWorld No. 5754.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 5637.