COVER N. 491 - RUSSIA

Postmark: ПОЧТА РОССИИ - УCОПО КАЛУГА  248097 (Russian Post - Kaluga Post Office 248097) 23.05.2024

Posted on the 23rd May; Received on the 23rd July 2024

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Seems that mail to and from Russia is taking longer than it used to, no doubt as a consequence of the unfortunate situation that was created with the unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine. The war keeps dragging on  and, as in all wars, all that has been achieved is destruction, pain and suffering, wounds that will take generations, if ever, to heal. Compared to this, delays in mail are not worth mentioning, but they are a sign of  abnormality, of disruption... just like it was the case with the Covid-19  epidemic, when letters that normally would take a week would take months or could not be sent at all...

Small steps seem to have been taken, and more and more news of diplomatic efforts start to surface (and I am not talking here about the recent  distasteful and reproachable conduct of an European PM). Maybe this is a good sign. I sincerely hope this brutal and totally unjustified war ends for once and for all. Enormous damage has already been done and its nasty effects will linger, like an infectious disease whose vector will always be looking for the smallest opportunity to wreak havoc again. Just like some years ago, an urgent vaccine is needed. If only humanity could find it fast...

I have just received another of Julia's great cover/postcard combos. Postcrossing and cover exchanging is also a way to contribute for mutual understanding, for creating the bonds that bombs are so eager to destroy. Albeit small, I think it is a valid contribution for the discovery of the vaccine I mentioned above.

Большое спасибо, Юля! (I hope "deepl" got it right... :-))!

Julia informs me that the rocket whose image adorns the envelope is the Angara A-5, a three stage heavy duty launch vehicle. 

The rocket measures 55.4 m and is capable of putting a payload of 24,500 kg into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or 5,400-7,500 kg into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). It is powered by four boosters which together generate a total thrust of 7,680 kN. (863 ton-force)

On the 11th April 2024, on its fourth flight and the first from Vostochny Cosmodrome, it placed on orbit a  cubesat designated as "Gagarinets", for Russian company Avant Space, which claims that a constellation of such satellites can be put in orbit to project images such as QR codes or advertisements, visible in the night sky from locations on the surface of the Earth.

- The 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment is the  honour guard regiment of the Russian Armed Forces and it is common to see its members on TV during the official commemorative parades that take place on the Red Square. 

It was formed in December 1979 and takes its designation from the original Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, which was a unit of the Imperial Russian Army, effective between 1683 and 1917, having been disbanded just before the October Revolution.

On 20DEC2023, Russian Post issued a four x 29 rubles stamp set in the history of the Russian Uniform series, dedicated to the 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment. The stamp on the cover is illustrated with the image of mebers of a banner group of the regiment in current uniforms.

- Luna 25 was the heir to the Luna Soviet Space Programme of lunar exploration by robotic vehicles, which ran from 1959 to 1976.

The vehicle was sent on its mission on the 10th August 2023, atop a Soyus-2 rocket, with the aim of landing  (mooning would be more appropriat , but its place in semantics has long been captured by another not so science oriented meaning, as it is well known…) in the vicinity of the Moon's south pole. Unfortunately, due to an unsuccessful orbital manoeuvre, the vehicle ended up crashing itself onto the lunar surface, thus failing its intended objective.

Luna 25 is also the subject of the nice postcard, which I take would have been issued by Russian Post in connection with the stamp, that Julia kindly sent me inside the cover. Again, bol'shoye spasibo, Julia!