COVER N. 704 - RUSSIA

Postmark: Pochta Rossii Russian Flora Premier jour Moscow 101000 31.03.2026  

Posted on the 31st March;  Received on the 24th April 2026

_________________________________________________________________________________

Pochta Rossii, the Russian postal operator has been issuing lovely flora sets of self-adhesive stamps, each set comprising 4 same denomination stamps, since 2013.

I recently received the a First day Cover with the 2026 issue, courtesy of Vadim, who also helped me get a very nice Russian federation "National" cover for my National Covers collection, which I will post one of these days.

So большое спасибо, Vadim, for the cover and also for the ncie postcard inside.

The flowers depicted on this year's flora issue, which comprises the four stamps to the left of the first one, which was used to complete postage and is part of the 2024 issue, are, from left to right:

- Lonicera tatarica, an asian species of honeysuckle, a member of the Caprifoliaceae family, whose shrubs can reach up to 3 metres in height and produce white to rose and deep rose inflorescences.

- Prunus tenella, (dwarf Russian almond) a dwarf edible almond producing deciduous shrub, native to steppes of Eastern Europe and Western Siberia, as well as dry open sites of Caucasus, Western and Central Asia.

- Philadelphus coronarius Elbrus is what I believe to be a Philadelphus coronarius (sweet mock orange) cultivar, the original being a species of deciduous flowering plant shrub in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to the Caucasus and northeastern Turkey, which can grow up to 3 metres high.

- Berberis vulgaris (common barberry)  is a It is a deciduous shrub growing up to 4 metres. Being native to the old world it produces edible but sharply acidic berries

- the flowers on the 2024 issue stamp are those of the Rhododendron caucasicum, or the Georgian snow rose, a species of flowering plant in the genus Rhododendron native to the Transcaucasus and Anatolia.

The first day postmark was applied at Moscow.