A MARK OF THE COUNTRY'S SOVEREIGNTY

"The appearance of the stamp is a logical stage in the development of all human culture… It took many centuries to create the political and socio-economic prerequisites, written language, skills, paper and transport before the postage stamp appeared." These words belong to the prominent Soviet polar explorer and keen philatelist, Ernst Teodorovich Krenkel. Communication with people who are engaged not only in philately, but also in the production of postage stamps, serves only to convince us that these words are right.

Special painting

9 October marks World Post Day - the establishment of the Universal Postal Union which marked its 134th anniversary this year. It is a good reason to visit the state company Azarmarka of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology whose staff have been engaged in creating one of the symbols of Azerbaijani statehood since 1992 - the postage stamp, the proof of payment for postal services. Azarmarka has a pleasant and captivating aura, creativity, research and love for work. Here the editorial council, led by company president, Intiqam Bagirli, develops and approves every year a thematic plan for the number of stamps that Azerbaijan is planning to release. They take a scientific approach to all illustrations here. The postage stamp shows Azerbaijan in pictures - a small representation of our country somewhere in the world. If a used stamp falls into the hands of an inveterate foreign collector, he will definitely include it in his vast collection. The Azerbaijani stamp will probably take its worthy place among a thousand stamps from the world of philately. This should invoke many feelings in our hearts, including one of pride. However, before the postage stamp finds its final addressee, it will go through a thorough process of development at Azarmarka. Painters skilfully draw the main subjects of postage stamps - important state dates, anniversaries of prominent figures of Azerbaijan and endangered species of flora and fauna.

Among the more than 700 forms of collecting, philately is incomparably more popular and common than any other. Invented as a way of paying for postal services, the stamp became everyone's favourite and a hobby for millions of people. For this reason, designing postage stamps is an important, interesting and difficult job. "Our role is not just utilitarian, i.e. we are always aware that we draw for collectors. In order to depict endangered species of flora and fauna, it is necessary to study specific types of plants and animals and their specific features. For this issue, we consulted scientists of the Institute for Zoology and Botany at the Azerbaijani Academy of Sciences. Sometimes we have to work in the archives for a long time in order to find a description of a specific historic event. When producing postage stamps, you have to be thoroughly accurate and, at the same time, concise in showing the particular subject. Brevity, as it were, is the soul of wit. But this brevity should be beautiful, accurate and clear, giving full information 'in the coarse language of the poster'. Stamps are usually made in countries that produce banknotes for various other countries," said one of the creators of Azerbaijani stamps and a painter with the company, Xasay Mirzayev, who has been engaged in designing postage stamps since 1999.

While creating a picture for a stamp, the painter must make sure that the detail in the picture does not get shaded or lost as the picture is reduced many times. This is the main difficulty in the process of developing a postage stamp. The whole composition should be clear, expressive and beautiful. Once the picture is ready, it is scanned and then the stamp is designed to include the picture and other elements of print graphics, decorative components and colours. "A stamp is a small work of art. This is the most wonderful and basic thing that attracts collectors. A stamp is an immense world which can fit easily into a collector's album. This is why it is so popular," Mirzayev said.

The first Azerbaijani stamps, as an attribute of the country's sovereignty, were released by the government of the ADR from 1919-1921. For example, in the fully illustrated catalogue "Azerbaijani Postage Stamps of 1919-1923 and 1992-2005", stamp No 1 is illustrated by painter Z. X. Alizada. It depicts a soldier holding a rifle in his right hand and the Azerbaijani state tricolour in his left. This stamp, in 18.5x28.5mm format, is black, red and green and was released on thin paper without perforations, and with a lithographic stamp, with inscriptions in Azerbaijani and French. In this period, more than 10 types of stamps were released. After the establishment of Soviet rule, the first postage stamps of original paintings were released in 1921-1922 on high quality grey print paper without perforations and with inscriptions in Azerbaijani and Russian. In October 1921, charity postage stamps for the famine-stricken population of the Volga region, as well as standard stamps of original paintings with the inscription "the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic" in Russian and Azerbaijani were put into circulation. Stamps were revalued in 1922-1923 and, in 1923, Russian stamps with the inscription "ZSFSR" in the form of a star were put into circulation. They were designed for the whole of the Transcaucasia, but were used only in Soviet Azerbaijan. Postage stamps of modern Azerbaijan have been in use since the country regained its independence in 1992. Thus, from 1992 to 2008, the country has released 838 stamps with original themes. For example, the main event of 2008, in the world of Azerbaijani postage stamps, was the release of a new stamp dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the ADR. It depicts a documentary photograph of the first session of the ADR government against a background of the country painted in the tricolour of its national flag and coat of arms. The whole composition is completed by a memorable inscription. Many stamps are dedicated to the national leader of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev.

Important subject

The main subject of Azerbaijani stamps is that of Karabakh, because Armenia constantly misappropriates the property of the Azerbaijani people and has released stamps depicting the historical sights of Azerbaijan at different times. One example was the attempt of Armenia and the unrecognized "NKR" to release a series of postage stamps, "The Karabakh Horse", the so-called "Artsakh racer". "The separatists claim that, until the 19th century, Karabakh was famed for horse breeding and helped create the Artsakh breed of racers, famous for their endurance and rare chestnut colour, with tints of gold and lemon yellow. The philatelists of Armenia and the "NKR" released 20 such commemorative stamps. Azarmarka has repeatedly informed the Universal Postal Union, of which our country is a member, that, "the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic" cannot release postage stamps and they will have no legal force. It must be noted that Azarmarka released a series of postage stamps depicting the Karabakh racers in 1992 - much earlier than Yerevan. As for "NKR" stamps, the Universal Postal Union has banned their circulation, they have no legal force and are regarded by philatelists as souvenirs. The company and the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry sent a letter to the UPU, after which this organization sent a circular to all postal organizations in the world, cautioning them that "NKR" stamps are invalid. These stamps cannot be used in postal operations, and the attempts of the "NKR" to release officially-recognized stamps are related to the desire of representatives of the self-styled entity to pass it off as a truly independent state," says the editor-in-chief of the Azarmarka company, Riyad Alakbarov.

Thus Karabakh is represented on a vast array of Azerbaijani stamps - flora and fauna, architectural buildings, cultural monuments and the arts. "When creating postage stamps dedicated to the Karabakh racers, we consulted Azerbaijani horse breeders engaged in continuing the Karabakh gene pool. Apart from the picture, value and other accompanying inscriptions, every stamp carried the name of one of the racers - Zaman, Saran and Gar-Gar. Azarmarka also releases post cards on the subject of Karabakh and on all thematic holidays, as well as envelopes. All this goes to show that postage stamps are an attribute of a sovereign state, glued to letters and travelling around the world."

Alakbarov stressed that, compared with the stamps of other CIS countries, Azerbaijani stamps attract more attention. "Among such philatelic powers as Britain, France and Germany, Azerbaijan takes 41st place, leaving Russia behind. The criteria for postage stamps and their catalogue value are defined by demand for them. At the same time, a stamp does not have to be old, for example dating from the 19th century. A postage stamp may have been released in the 20th century, but it may be highly valued because the release of every postage stamp may be related to a certain story, which, let's say, "pushes up" its price. Stamps in a small print run, as is the case in Armenia, may not be much in demand either. They release stamps episodically because our Armenian colleagues do not always have enough money. For example, in 2008 Azarmarka released a large number of stamps to mark various events, while Armenia did not release a single one. They can release 20 at a time, because the production of stamps is probably paid for by the diaspora. Apparently, our neighbours save money and then release small print runs. However, this does not mean that Armenian stamps are in demand in the world. The point is that they have few and limited topics, while Azerbaijan tries to cover all events, which may not be related to our country. Recently, we released a stamp dedicated to the well-known Soviet physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Lev Davidovich Landau, who was born in Baku. Azerbaijan has always been, and will be, famous for its scientists. Thank God, we have plenty of well-known personalities," said the Azarmarka editor-in-chief.

According to Riyad Alakbarov, the world knows the Azerbaijani stamp not only because you stick it to an envelope and pay for it, after which it starts a journey. Azerbaijani stamps are sent to famous world catalogues and foreign magazines. They are represented in such leading philatelic catalogues as Scott in the USA, Michel in Germany, Yvert & Tellier in France, Gibbons in Britain and so on. In order to popularize the country and its stamps, Azarmarka often participates in prestigious international exhibitions. "Well-known collectors often ask us to help them buy an Azerbaijani stamp. We maintain correspondence with them. Baku has always been called a cradle of philately because its history in Azerbaijan began in 1923. Many Bakuvians are well-known in the world of philately. What is interesting is that almost every country releases a considerable number of stamps with the initial aim of selling them to collectors, which brings in significant revenues to the state which are not directly related to the postal services. Such states and territories as Lichtenstein, Trinidad & Tobago, Jersey and many others regard the means of paying for postal dispatches (stamps, envelopes and post cards) as a contributor to budget revenues. As you can see, the stamp is not just an attribute of a country's sovereignty."

The postage stamp is captivating. The more you scrutinize its detail, the more you want to study it. And suddenly you realize that, despite all the sophisticated modern technology and the Internet, the post will live forever, not least because the postage stamp - a small transmitter of another country's culture, artists' skills and the magic that covers almost all its pictures - will always live.