COVER N. 276 - RUSSIA

Postmark: ПОЧТА РОССИИ - УCОПО КАЛУГА  248097 (Russian Post - Kaluga Post Office 248097) 04.06.2023 

Posted on the 4th June; Received on the 5th July 2023

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Russian aicraft....but these do not drop bombs on defenseless civilians, mere pictures they are. 

If only the other, whizzing over the skies of Ukraine, could also be but pictures...images of mechanical beauty, a reminder of man's ability to defy physics, not Man himself...

A cover with a picture of  aircraft on it....nothing more, nothing less. Sent, I'm sure,  with the best intentions, since the sender knows I do like aircraft and always tries very hard to take that into consideration.

And yet it  disquiets me to look at that particular picture on the envelope - such is the power of images - knowing what those beautiful Sukhoi aircraft are being used nowadays for...

This notwithstanding, thanks a lot Julia! For this letter and for all your care in always trying to surprise me with a beautiful cover that matches my particular interests.

Stamps left to right

- Hugo Chavez (1954-2013), was President of Venezuela from 1999 until his last days.

A controversial personality, he is seen as a champion of the poor by some and a populist tyrant by others.

To his credit he does have  a strong decrease in the levels of poverty in the country during his mandates, but at the cost of individual liberties and democratic values, it is argued.

In spite of this, the positive effects of his measures have long faded  and even if poverty has decreased from 62,5% of the population in 2021 to 50.5% in 2022, Venezuela is still one of the most inequal countries in Latin America, due to a number of factors, including the fact that the economy was deeply rooted in the oil industry - thus exposed to oil prices fluctuation - international isolacionism,  corruption, it being argued that the Chavez' policies, continued by Nicolas Maduro, led to this sad state of affairs...

In all, another sad episode in the proverbial South American saga of social and political unrest fuelled by unjust and totally assimetric wealth distribution and geopolitics that ever so often leads to disasterous consequences to those who suffer the most and have access to the littlest. 

As a side note, I have to say I am a little afraid of having this stamp of Hugo Chavez on my blog so close to the Juan Carlos stamps on the previous post, lest a repetition of the famous "por qué no te callas?" incident at the XVII Ibero-American Conference ensues... 😀

On the occasion of the first anniversary of Hugo Chavez death, Russia post issued, on 28Jul2014, the 15 Ruble stamp seen on the cover.

- The Ilyushin Il14, was meant as a substitute and an improvemenf over the Lisunov Li-2, the Soviet version of the ubiquituos DC3/C47.

In itself a revised and improved Il-12, the Il-14 first flew in 1950 and entered service eith Aeroflot in 1954.

With a crew of 4, in the passenger transport version it could accomodate a maximum of 32 passengers.

The Il-14 had an empty weight of 12,600 kg and a Maximum Take Off Weight of 18,000 kg, and was equipped with two Shvetsov ASH 82T engines,  each delivering 1,909 hp.

On the 23rd October 2019, Russia Post issued a mimi sheet comprising five 50 Rubles stamps and a vignette, aknowledging the 125th anniversary of the death of Sergei Ilyushin. The stamps are all illustrated with images of Ilyushin designed aicraft while the Vignette contaibs a portrait of Sergei Ilyushin himself.

The Postmark indicates the cover was mailed from the city of Kaluga.