On April 5, 2019, a postage stamp dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Russia’s national .RU domain was issued. The stamp features the .RU domain against the backdrop of HTML codes. In addition to the stamp, a first day cover and a special postmark for Moscow were issued.
The stamp marks the 25th anniversary of Russia’s national .RU domain. The stamp-cancellation ceremony will be held on April 8, 2019, within the framework of the 10th Russian Internet Governance Forum (RIGF) 2019.
The anniversary stamp has a face value of 32 rubles. Every stamp sheet consists of 9 (3×3) 37×37 mm stamps. A total of 135,000 stamps (15,000 sheets) were produced. The stamp was designed at Marka JSC.
The stamps are now available for purchase at Russian post offices for sending mail both within the country and around the globe.
“Today, postage stamps are not just currency used for postage, but also a piece of art,” said Director of the Coordination Center for .RU/.РФ Andrey Vorobyev. “For us, the stamp commemorating the .RU domain’s anniversary symbolizes, first of all, the fact that internet communications continue bringing people from different cities, countries and continents together the way post, phones and telegraphs used to and continue to do. We never forget that modern technologies are the result of the work of thousands of people, many of which contributed to the launch of the .RU domain back in 1994, and continue promoting our industry and Russia’s digital economy today. Which is why today we are talking about continuity, traditions and professionalism, and we thank everyone who has been helping the .RU domain grow and develop for the past 25 years. Happy birthday, .RU domain!”
Notes:
A commemorative postage stamp (French comme – as, memoria – memory) is a postage stamp issued to mark a significant event, date or anniversary of a memorable person or event. The first commemorative stamp was issued in Peru in 1871 to mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Lima – Callao railway. The first Russian commemorative stamp was issued in the early 20th century: in 1909, the Poltava Uyezd post issued a total of seven stamps dedicated to the 200th anniversary of defeating the Swedish forces in the Battle of Poltava.
A stamp-cancellation ceremony is organized by the postal system to commemorate a memorable event or date. A special cancel, often artistic, is applied to the stamp. The special postmark is available at head post offices or at certain post offices in one or several cities at a strictly limited time (most often for one or several days). A first day cover is a special unmarked envelope with affixed postage stamps th
at are to be cancelled on the day they are first issued. A first day cover is considered to be postal stationary and a collectible item (philatelic cover). The practice of issuing first day covers dates back to 1851 in the USA.
