COVER N. 497 - RUSSIA

Postmark: Illegible

Posted on the 24th July; Received on the 14th August 2024

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Another of Julia's interesting covers. I really appreciate the care Julia puts in all of her  postcard sendings, always dispatched inside a very nice envelope which itself tells a story about something or someone, as it is the case, embellished with some nice stamps.  большое спасибо, Юлия.

This time, the pre-paid Tarif "A" envelope, included in the series “Benefactors of Russia”   is dedicated to earl Pyotr Borisovich Sheremetev (1713–1788), who Wikipedia informs was the second most rich man in Russia of his time, the first, of course, being Tzar Peter the Great.

The first elected Marshal of the Nobility for the Moscow Province, a top hierarchical function in the corporative administration of nobility and its interaction with the crown, which  he assumed in 1780, Pyotr Sherementev  would also become famous as a patron and collector of art. 

Being very fond of dramatic art,  he founded his own serf theatre  and serf orchestra, which would undoubtedely enlighten the receptions at the lavish estate of his family in Kuskovo, close to Moscow.

The grotto Pavilion, one of several existing in the estate,is also shown as an illustration in the envelope.

If Sheremetev was a theatre lover, Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold was an actor, director and producer and a spirit free enough to have become a victim of Stalin's infamous purges, having been shot in 1940, accused of spying for the British and the Japanese...

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his birth, Russian Post issued, on 26JAN2024, the 50 ruble stamp on the cover, illustrated with his portrait over the subdued image of a stage with actors performing.

The Hero of the Soviet Union Title and decoration, which was awarded in conjunction with the order of Lenin, was the highest distinction that  the Soviet Union bestowed upon its citizens or organizations during its existence as a state until its desegregation  in 1991. It was  last awarded in December of that same year to  a diver of the Soviet Armed Forces, Captain Leonid Mikhailovich Solodkov, for his participation in several extreme depth diving experiments.

On the ocasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the title and decoration,  the 9 ruble stamp featuring the golden star with a red ribbon decoration over a blue background was issued, on 29OCT2009.

As usual, Julia enclosed a very interesting postcard in the envelope, dedicated to the 165 years of the Russian stamp.

Central to the image is the imperforated 10 kopek stamp issued in 1857 as the first stamp of was then the Russian Empire, with several other Russian stamps orbiting alongside it. On the background there's a passageway linking two buildings with a sign, which I presume should translate as Post Office?

The postcard which has a printing run of 350 has a QR code on its back that supposedly takes you to a video, but unfortunately my cell phone is not compatible with it.

Thanks again, Julia for such a great postcard.

Although the postmark is illegible, I suspect that the letter was mailed from Kaluga, as usual with Julia's sendings.