New Russian stamp

So this is my first post from the US.

Our post issued 2 stamps devoted to the 175th anniversary of installation Hydrometeorogical service in Russia . I myself really like stamps devoted to geography and I remember the Geography classes in schlool when we studied some parts of Hydrometeorology, it was rather interesting. Nobody can overvalue this service even if doesn't work so well ;) I was lucky to get these stamps in Russia. So here is the description:

The Federal Agency on Hydrometeorology and Environmental of Russia (ROSGYDROMET) is enforcement authority of the Russian Federation. The Federal Agency on Hydrometeorology and Environmental renders the state services in field of environment monitoring, its pollution, gives the forecast of environmental conditions on all territory of the Russian Federation. In 1834, at the initiative of Adolf Jakovlevich Kupfer, Nikolay I put basis of constant geophysical network with law «About establishment of magnetic and meteorological supervision». Stamp represents portrait of A.J. Kupfer, the academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the first head of Hydrometeorological service of Russia, and also meteorological station МК-14.

Meteorological polarly-orbital satellite Meteor-3M N1 is prepared by Russian aerospace agency together with Federal Hydrometereology and Environmental Monitoring Service under Federal Space Program of Russia. It is intended for such aims as reception of images of cloud cover, data about ocean temperature and height of the top border of cloud cover, supervision over moving of atmospheric whirlwinds, receiving data about ice conditions on water cover of planet, borders of snow cover, temperature-wind sounding of atmosphere, etc. Stamp represents satellite "Meteor-3М" and map of ground temperature forecast.

Actual news

This summer I'm working in the USA. For that reason I won't be able to upload any images (exept for Russian new stamps) and I have to stop all my exchange till September 20 (you can still send me letters certainly ^) but I can answer them only after my return).
So I wish all my visitors a great summer. Hope that all of you will have excellent vacations!
See you in September!
Alexandr

Cover from Poland

Today, on the 11-th of May fter 13 days of travelling  I got this nice cover from Poland. It's a common Polish'Israel issue devoted to the Year of Poland in Israel. I really like common issies, so this one will be a very valuable one! Dziekuje, Andrzej!


The Polish Year in Israel

Since 9 April 2008 a major event of culture and science - The Polish Year, has been celebrated in Israel in order to demonstrate the legacy of Poland, a country which is dear to many Jewish people. The rich agenda of the scheme, including film presentations, performance of well known Polish and Israeli artists, seminars, workshops and science conferences, is coordinated by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tel Aviv and the Polish Institute in Tel Aviv. The crowning of the celebrations is a joint postage stamp issue, commemorating the person of Berek Joselewicz - a hero of the Polish bids for independence.

Berek Joselewicz and his successors

Berek Joselewicz was born in 1764 in Kretynga, Lithuania. He earned a living as a horse trader. Upon the outbreak of the Tadeusz Kościuszko uprising in 1794, with the help of Józef Aronowicz he wrote an appeal in the Yiddish language calling the Polish Jews to arms. With around five hundred volunteers who responded to his call, he built a cavalry regiment. He persuaded Kościuszko to allow that the Jewish freedom fighters observe their religious customs, including wearing beards, eating kosher meals and celebrating Sabbath whenever it's possible in the circumstances. Berek Joselewicz's squadron was beaten during the battle to defend the Praga district of Warsaw, with only a few survivors remaining, including the captain. After the fall of the uprising, Berek Joselewicz emigrated to Italy, where he joined the Polish Legions of general Jan Henryk Dąbrowski as "colonel, Captain of the Polish Cavalry." He took part in numerous battles of the Napoleonic campaign, including the ones of Hohenlinden and Austerlitz. Following the constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw (Księstwo Warszawskie) in 1807, he remained in the army as squadron leader in the 5 Mounted Riflemen Regiment. In 1808 he was awarded with the Virtuti Militari Knight's Cross, and he also received the National Order of the Legion of Honour prior to that. He died during the battles of Kock in 1809. The patriotic traditions of fighting for the freedom of Poland were passed on to Berek Joselewicz's son, Józef Berkowicz (1789-1846), and his grandson Leon. Józef Berkowicz began to fight side by side with his father in the armed forces of the Duchy of Warsaw. He struggled against the Austrians near Kock, and after his father died, he fought in Napoleon Bonaparte's Russian campaign in 1812. He received multiple wounds, but his bravery in battle never withered away. Similarly to his father, his accomplishments on the battlefield earned him the National Order of the Legion of Honour (with a Golden Cross). After that, he and his son Leon fought in the November uprising, and after its failure he emigrated to France, and then to Great Britain, where he lived until his death.

Poczta Polska (the Polish Post), in cooperation with Israel Post, issued a postage stamp block in order to commemorate the Polish Year in Israel and to stress the amiable nature of the relations between both states. The stamp features a portrait of Berek Joselewicz sitting on a horse, wearing a captain's uniform, and heading a regiment formed during the battle of Kock. The image on the postage stamp is a copy of a painting made in 1893 by an outstanding Polish painter, Juliusz Kossak. The FDC features a bibliographical note on Berek Joselewicz. The issue is accompanied by an occasional date stamp, in use in Warsaw 1 Post Office.
It's worth noting that it's the second joint issue of the above postal operators. In 1993 a postage stamp with an adjoining field and a commemorative postcard were issued on account of the 50th anniversary of the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto.

Covers from the Czech Republic

On the 4-th and 5-th of May I got 2 letters with the nice stamps on them. They are devoted exactly to the topics I love: politics and the Olympiad. Let's speak about the first one.
The first stamp is devoted to the Czech entering the Shengen zone. It's a very important event to any countries since it takes away all the barriers on the free travelling which really makes people's life better. Hopefully one day Russia also will get the visa free regime with the EU and it will be the same easy to travell all around the European contenent.
The second stamp is devoted to the Czech presidency in the EU Council. Well, it wasn't that unequivocal, but still it's a very important period for the Czech Republic and I do hope that it has led to some useful consequences for that country! Undobtedly this event deserves to be signed by a stamp and it's a very valuable one for me! Dekuji, Milan!

Czech Republic will become a part of the Schengen area on 21st December 2007, when the custom controls on terrestrial borders will be abolished, and at the end of March 2008 also on international airports on flights in Schengen area.
The stamp shows the logo of Czech Republic entry to the Schengen area created by the traffic lights with three green signal lights and the Czech text “THROUGH EUROPE BY FREE WAY” placed on the background of the sky. The stamp is completed by the text “THE SCHENGEN AREA” in the Czech language.


Presidency of the Council of the European Union is held for a 6 months' term, always by one of the member countries, in a set order. The Czech Republic will hold this office from January to June 2009. The presidency has a great importance for organisation of the Council's work, especially in legislative and political decisions. The task of the presidency is to organise and chair all meetings including those of work groups, and to mediate compromises.
The Council of the European Union is the legislative body of the Union and defines political directions of the EU. Its members are heads or prime ministers of individual countries and the president of the European Commission. It exercises its legislative power on the co-decision basis together with the European Parliament. The EU Council usually meets in Brussels, at the Justus Lipsius building.
The EU Council consists of one representative of each member country at the level of ministers for different areas - finances, social affairs, agriculture, transport, etc. It meets in 9 different formations depending on the transacted agenda. E.g. the formation for foreign affairs and external relations consists of foreign ministers; the formation for justice and internal affairs of ministers of justice and home ministers. Members of the Council are politically responsible to their national parliaments. The Council holds regular public debates on significant matters affecting the interests of the EU and its citizens as well as political debates on their work programmes.

New Russian Europa stamps.

On the 5-th of May our posy issued a new Europa stamp, devoted to Astronomy. I've got no Europa 2009 stamps yet, so this will be my first one. It should reach Astrakhan in a week, so I'm looking forward to it!

In 2009 "astronomy" became a theme of traditional annual issue, organized by Association of the state post operators of Europe (PostEurope). The principal reason was that this year has been declared as the International year of astronomy (IYA2009) by the Association for the United Nations. In 1609 Italian astronomer Galileo Galiley for the first time looked in telescope, having begun modern astronomy. Nowadays the primary goals of astronomy are studying and explanation of apparent motions of heavenly bodies, finding of laws and reasons of these movements, studying of heavenly bodies structure, their physical and chemical properties, construction of models of their internal structure, solving problems of origin and development of heavenly bodies and their systems, studying of the most general properties of the Universe, construction of theory of observable part of the Universe ? Metagalaxies. Stamp represents Terskolsk observatory of the Institute of astronomy of Russian academy of science and on armillary sphere against the background with Big Dipper concellation.

Cover from Poland

On the 15-th of April after just 7 (unimaginely quickly for Russian post!) days of travelling I got these 2 letters with beautiful stamps on them. All of them devoted to the capitals of the EU countries. You can see one of the most popular sight on each stamp. I know that poczta polska is going to issue one more seria this year. I'll be looking forward to it!
dziekuje, Andrzej!

Amsterdam - Rijksmuseum
The Netherlands' capital city is a harbour town founded in the 13th century. Its name means a dam on the Amstel river. The most extensive development of the town (as well as the whole Holland) was in the 17th century during the so called Golden Age i.e. when a network of canals creating the unique atmosphere of Amsterdam was dug.The building depicted on the postage stamp is the famous Dutch national museum - Rijksmuseum, built at the end of the 19th century in a mix of Gothic and Renaissance styles. It exhibits rich collections of art of the 15th - 19th century and the greatest collection of Dutch paintings of the 17th century. The museum is especially proud of its collection of the Rembrandt masterpieces with the famous "Night Watch" of 1642 among the best ones.

Athens - the Acropolis
The origin of Athens was the Mykines fortress of the 13th century BC erected on a limestone hill, further called Acropolis (Greek: akropolis - upper city). Later a city-state (polis) developed around Acropolis which transformed into a religious centre. After being destroyed by the Persians in the 5th century BC, Athens was reborn magnificently under the rule of Pericles. As a result of conquests, under the rule of Macedonia, Rome, and since the 15th century - Turkey, the city had fallen into decay. It became the capital city of the new Greece only in 1834. The Acropolis of Athens is today a popular destination for tourists and a symbol of the Ancient Greek civilization. The Parthenon depicted on the stamp was built in 447-432 BC, in honour of Athena Parthenos, patron of the city. Phidias, the most distinguished architect of the Ancient Greece was the designer of decorative elements of this Doric temple. Inside there was a gold and ivory huge Athena's statue presumably also sculpted by Phidias.

Copenhagen - the Royal Library
A fishing village Havn (Harbour) by the Oresund strait, founded at the beginning of the 11th century developed thanks to a castle built nearby and already in the 15th century it became the Danish capital - Kobenhavn (Harbour of Merchants), important commercial centre for the northern Europe.The stamp presents a photo of the newest part of the Royal Library - one of the biggest in Europe. It contains, among others, manuscripts of Karen Blixen, Hans Christian Andersen and Soren Kierkegaard. A new building called the Black Diamond (because of a black granite and dark glass used for its construction) was open for the public in 1999.

Prague - the Charles Bridge
Famous for the beautiful architecture Czech capital was established upon the joining of two cities of the early Middle Ages: Hradčany and Vyšehrad. The representative for ages seat of the Czech rulers was handed over in the 16th century to the house of Habsburg, and at the same time to be dominated by Vienna. Only the so called Czech National Revival in the 19th century restored the city's previous character. Prague was again the capital city in 1918 upon the creation of Czechoslovakia. In 1993 after the split of Czechoslovakia, the city became the capital city of the Czech Republic.The Charles Bridge (by 2nd half of the 19 century called the Stone Bridge or the Prague Bridge) connects two districts: Malá Strana and Staré Mesto. It is 515 meters long and approximately 9.5 meters wide. It was built in the 14th century (replaced the 12th century Judith Bridge destroyed by flood), by 1741 was the only bridge on the Vltava river. Its Gothic character has been emphasised by the towers protecting the bridge. The famous 30 statues of saints were added only in the times of baroque.

Vienna - the Parliament
Founded around 500 BC Vienna was originally a Celtic settlement, and later a Roman Vindobona. It constituted a northern edge of the Empire. In the Middle Ages Vienna was a capital city of the Habsburg dynasties. In the 16th and 17th century the city stopped attacks of the Ottoman armies. In the 18th century Vienna flourished and transformed into a cultural capital of Europe. A new European era was created here during the Congress of Vienna. Vienna has been the capital city of Austria since 1918.The building of the Parliament presented on the postage stamp is a place where both houses of the Austrian Federal Assembly have their sessions. It was created in 1874-1883 based on the design of a Danish architect Theophil von Hansen. The Pallas Athena fountain highlights its Neo-classical character.

Cover from Croatia.

My first cover from Croatia! really useful one! Exactly the stamps I like: Europa 2008 - one more stamp from this seria! And the Olympic 2008 - one of my favourite topic! Thank you, Dragan!

Cover from Poland

On the 16-th of April after 12 days of travalling I got this cover, devoted to the 200 anniversary of bith of a person who really made life of people better - Louis Braille. It's hard to overvalue his contribution for humanity - the possible of communication, of reading for blind people - the important things which he brought to them. I know that a stamp in his honour was issued in many countries, but unfortunately, not in Russia.

*I'm also happy because of the fact that I'm finally able to get the description to Polish sttamps*

200th anniversary of the birthday of Louis Braille

In January 2009 two hundred years had passed since the birth of one of the greatest benefactors of mankind, Louis Braille - father of the system used by blind people to read and write, commonly referred to as the "Braille". Braille's system opened up a whole spectrum of new opportunities for the visually impaired, such as the possibility to independently communicate with the world through, among others, reading press and literature, the possibility to receive education and to find employment. In appreciation of this memorable invention, the European Blind Union (EBU) announced 2009 the year of Louis Braille. The Polish Post is one of numerous European institutions that are participating in these celebrations.

Reading the world with touch

The writing system taught at school, devised by Valentin Haüy - the founder of the institution, was inconvenient (it comprised Latin characters inscribed with convex ribbon lines). Between 1824 and 1840 Louis Braille worked on his own system of writing for the blind. Pursuing this task, he followed the model of the twelve dot system of convex symbols (translated into appropriate sounds) used in the French army to communicate orders in darkness. Braille's writing was simpler - it was based on a six dot convex mark, known as the cell, arranged symmetrically in three rows and two columns. The dots in the left column have been numbered from 1 to 3, and in the right one - from 4 to 6. The cell is constructed in such a way that it might be felt with a single touch of the finger tip. As a result of numerous combinations, Braille's alphabet consists of 63 marks, including also digits, as well as punctuation marks and mathematical, musical and chemical notation. Braille may be used to inscribe anything.

New stamp and First Day Cover (FDC)

In order to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birthday, on 4 January the Polish Post introduced a postage stamp with an adjoining field. The stamp itself features a portrait of Louis Braille, and the field includes his full name inscribed in Braille. A First Day Cover was introduced on the day of the stamp's release, featuring an illustration presenting Braille's alphabet. The FDC is accompanied by an occasional date stamp, in use in Warsaw 1 Post Office.

Dziekuje, Andrzej!