Belarus
Paleontologist on stamp of Belarus

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Contents:
The country of Belarus is in Eastern Europe. It has borders with Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
Originally part of Kievan Rus, Belarus was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until the Polish Partitions in the 18th century. After over a hundred years of Russian rule followed by seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. However, the economy of the country is completely dependent on Russia, to date. [R1]

Belarus used the postage stamps of the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1991.
The first stamps of independent Belarus were issued in 1992. [R2]
To date 2021, there is only a single stamp of Belarus that directly relates to Paleontology - Russian Empire paleontologist Jan (Ivan) Chersky, who was born in Belarus in 1845.



Official stamps of Belarus related to Paleontology: paleontologist Jan (Ivan) Chersky

15.05.1995 "Ivan Chersky (1845-1892)" [1]
Ivan Chersky Geographer and Paleontologist on stamp of Belarus 1995

Notes:
[1] Ivan (Jan) Chersky (1845-1892), was a paleontologist, osteologist, geologist, geographer and explorer of Siberia. He was born into a Polish noble family, who lived in the Vitebsk Governorate of the Russian Empire, which is now the Vitebsk region of Belarus. [R3]
Jan Chersky was also depicted on stamp of Poland in 2002, this time with fossilized skeleton of Coelodonta on the background.
Coelodonta (from the Greek "hollow tooth", in reference to the deep grooves of their molars) is an extinct genus of wooly rhinoceros that lived in Eurasia between 3.7 million years to 10,000 years before the present, in the Pliocene and the Pleistocene epochs.
During his expeditions in Siberia, he collected and cataloged over 2,500 fossils, publishing in 1888 a large work on Quaternary Period mammals followed by an even larger work on the Siberian mammals relics in 1891. [R4]


Other stamps to consider: amber

22.11.2000 "Minerals" [O1]
Amber and other minerals on stamp of Belarus 2000

Notes:
[O1] Amber (fossilized tree resin) is depicted on one of the stamps



Some postal stationeries to consider: contributors to Paleontology

12.09.2002 "200th anniversary of Ignacy Domeyko" [PSO1]
Ignacy Domeyko on postal stationery of Belarus 2002

Notes:
[PSO1] In September 2002, the Post of Belarus issued the postal stationery and a commemorative postmark, to celebrate "200th anniversary of Ignacy Domeyko".
The cachet of the postal stationery shows the house where Domeyko was born,
Ignacy Domeyko (31 July 1802, Belarus – 23 January 1889, Chile), was a Polish geologist, mineralogist and educator, who born in Belarus.
Domeyko was not particularly interested in paleontology but found fossils during his work. He occasionally sent these fossils to French Naturalists for study.
For details please go here.




Some postmarks to consider: contributors to Paleontology

12.09.2002 "200th anniversary of Ignacy Domeyko" [PSO1]
Ignacy Domeyko on postal stationery of Belarus 2002



References:


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.
  • Fellow collector Mr. Maxim Romashchenko from Canada for his help finding some missing philatelic items.



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