№ 461-465. Russia. Regions.

The Murmansk Region. The region, washed by the Barents and the White Seas, is situated in the North-West of European Part of Russia, bordering Norway and Finland. The centre of the Region is Murmansk (founded in 1916). The stamp features the view over the Kolsky Bay of the Barents Sea, on the eastern shore of which lies Murmansk. The centre of the stamp shows the world first civil nuclear ice boat LENIN built in 1959. On the right there is a detail of the monument to ERMAK ice boat, an anchor from this famous ship which was built in 1898; a monument to port workers who died during the Great Patriotic War (1967, by G.A.Glukhih), and buildings of the Murmansk Port.

The Republic of Karelia. Karelia is situated in the North-West of the European Part of the Russian Federaion, bordering Finland, and is washed by the White sea, Ladoga Lake and Onega Lake. The centre of the region is Petrozavodsk (founded in 1703). The stamp features the Kivach waterfall on the river Suna. The water falls in cascades from the hight of 11 m. The waterfall and the surrounding area are part of the Kivach National Reserve which was created in 1931. On the background of the waterfall there is an illustration to Kalevala, Karelo-Finnich epos. The epos consists of folk songs, runes. It was published in 1835 and 1849. The picture shows Vainjameynen, the hero of Kalevala, the creator of kantele, the traditional Karelian musical instrument.

The Khabarovsk region. The region is situated in the Asian East of the Russian Federation. The Jewish Autonomous Area is part of this Region. The region borders China in the South-West, and is washed by the Okhotskoye and Japanese Seas. The centre of the region is Khabarovsk (founded in 1858). The stamp features the view over the right bank of the river Amur, the Amur Rock of Khabarovsk with its Central Park and observation sites. In the left part of the stamp there is a monument to E.P.Khabarov (1958, bronze and stone, by Y.P.Milchin).

The Republic of Buryatia. The Republic is situated in the south of the Eastern Siberia in the Asian part of the Russian Federation, to the south and to the east of Baikal Lake, which belongs to the Republic. The centre of the Republic, which borders Mongolia, is Ulan-Ude (founded in 1783). The stamp features Baikal Lake, a fresh water lake which is situated at the height of 456 m. The square of the lake is 31.500 sq.m, length is 636 km, average width 48 km, water volume is 23,000 cubic meters, which is 1/5 of the world's total fresh water reserves (not counting glaciers). Baikal is the deepest lake on earth, with the depth of 1620 m. The upper left part of the stamp features the portrait of Abay Gesegabator, the hero of Geser, the Buryatian heroic epos, which preserved many characteristic features of original literature of the Central Asia.

The Prymorsky Region. The region is situated in the east of the Asian part of the Russian Federation and borders China and the People Republic of Korea. The region is washed by the Japanese sea. The centre of the region is Vladivostok (founded in 1860). The stamp features the view over the bay of Peter the Great in the south coast of the Region. The right part of the stamp shows a detail of the rostral column built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the city's foundation (1960, by V.L.Zverev and O.A.Ikonnikov). It is also a monument to the crew "Manchjuria", a Russian war ship, which founded Vladivostok in 1860.