Azerbaijan
Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals on stamps and postmarks of Azerbaijan
Contents:
Azerbaijan
officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental country in
the Caucasus region, situated at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
It is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east,
Russia to
the north,
Georgia to the northwest,
Armenia to
the west and
Iran to the south.
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic proclaimed its independence in 1918 and became the first
Muslim-majority democratic and secular republic.
It was also the first Muslim-majority country after Egypt to have operas, theaters and modern universities.
The country was incorporated into the
Soviet Union in 1920 as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.
Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991.
The majority of the population (over 90%) is composed of Azeris, who share a culture very similar to Turkey.
History, with Russian and Persian influence, has left the Azeris of Azerbaijan and Iran with some moderate differences.
[R1]
The first stamp of modern Azerbaijan was issued on 26 March 1992 to mark its independence.
Unlike most other ex-Soviet republics, Azerbaijan did not overprint Soviet stamps to meet their postal needs after independence.
The national postal service Azərpoçt was founded in 1992, which was restructured in 1999 and which became the national postal operator in 2004.
The national postage stamp company Azermarka began functioning in 1992 and is responsible for the production and sale of all Azerbaijani postage stamps.
On 1 April 1993, Azerbaijan became a member of the Universal Postal Union.
[R2]
Official stamps of Azerbaijan related to Paleontology: dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals
Some personalized stamps of Azerbaijan related to Paleontology: dinosaurs
Notes:
[SP1] Personalized stamps issued by Stamperija, it is actually the first personalized
dinosaur stamps issued by the company who is famous for production of thousands thematic stamps
for approximately two dozen countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
Fossils of none of the dinosaurs depicting on the stamps are found in Azerbaijan.
Commemoraive postmark of Azerbaijan related to Paleontology: dinosaurs
Legend is here
References:
- [R1] Azerbaijan:
Wikipedia,
WikiTravel,
FlagCounter.
- [R2] Postal History and Philately of Azerbaijan:
Wikipedia,
Links to official website of the Post Authority, stamp catalog and a list of new stamps of Azerbaijan are here.
Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to
Dr.
Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University,
for reviewing the draft page and his very valuable comments.