Aleksandr Vakulenko, Vyacheslav Ruksha, and Ilya Gurov at the stamp cancellation ceremony, the “Neva-2025” international exhibition and conference. Photo: Expoforum press service
The stamp cancellation ceremony dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) took place at the «Neva-2025» international shipbuilding exhibition, which ends today in St. Petersburg. Ilya Gurov, First Deputy Executive Director of the Russian Geographical Society, took part in the event.
The anniversary release is an original round-shaped miniature sheet. The stamp depicts a wind rose, and in the margins of the sheet against the background of a map are famous navigators and polar explorers: Semyon Dezhnev, Vitus Bering, Boris Vilkitsky, Otto Schmidt, Ivan Papanin, Artur Chilingarov, as well as the icebreakers «Taimyr», «Lenin», the «Mir-1» scientific research apparatus, and animals inhabiting the northern seas.
The nominal value of the stamp is 350 rubles; the total circulation is 19,000 copies. Additionally, «Russian Post» issued first-day covers and produced special postmarks for Moscow, St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, and Murmansk. State postage stamps in Russia are issued by AO «Marka», a subsidiary of «Russian Post».
A stamp dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the Northern Sea Route, the “Neva-2025” international exhibition and conference. Photo: Expoforum press service
At the official cancellation ceremony, the special postmark was stamped by Aleksandr Vakulenko, Director of the North-West macro-region of «Russian Post»; Vyacheslav Ruksha, Deputy General Director and Director of the Directorate of the Northern Sea Route of «Rosatom» state corporation; and Ilya Gurov, First Deputy Executive Director of the RGS.
The Northern Sea Route is a shipping route with a length of more than 5,600 km. It runs along the northern shores of Russia along the seas of the Arctic and partly Pacific Oceans, connects European and Far Eastern ports, as well as the mouths of navigable Siberian rivers into a single transport system. Today, the NSR is the shortest sea route from Europe to North America.
«In the future, the Northern Sea Route will become a real transarctic corridor that will successfully provide new opportunities to Russian cargo owners. We can talk about an international transport artery,» Vyacheslav Ruksha said.
Aleksandr Vakulenko, a representative of «Russian Post», expressed hope that the new stamp would be an occasion for schoolchildren to learn more about the Northern Sea Route and those explorers who made an invaluable contribution to its discovery.
Ilya Gurov, in turn, reminded that the result of many years of cooperation between the RGS and «Russian Post» was a series of stamps and postcards dedicated to the geographical achievements of Russian scientists and travelers. He stressed that each such stamp is a reminder of our country’s leadership in the development of the Arctic and its contribution to the development of the Far East.
On March 10, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Russia’s development of the Northern Sea Route. The Russian Geographical Society traditionally pays great attention to the formation of historical memory about the stages of exploration and development of the NSR.