0043 UKRAINE (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast) - A pleasure tram in the ballistic missile city

For me, as inhabitant of Ploieşti, Dnipropetrovsk has a special significance, because this city of Ukraine, administrative center of the province with the same name, is one of sister cities of Ploieşti, the others being Berat (Albania), Harbin (China), Hînceşti (Moldova), Lefkada (Greece), Maracaibo (Venezuela), Oral (Kazakhstan), Osijek (Croatia) and Radom (Poland). I will try to add to my collection at least one postcard from each of these cities, thing that proves to be more difficult than I thought initially when I had the idea.

This postcard from Dnipropetrovsk is the first of this "series", which therefore will contains at least 9 postcards. You can see all the postcards that I received from these cities on the topic Sister cities of Ploieşti. Dnipropetrovsk, located upon the banks of the Dnieper River, is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants and until the mid-90s was a closed city (with travel and residency restrictions), because of the nuclear, arms (ballistic missile), and space industries.

Until to receive the present name, the city has changed no less than three others, which isn't something unusual for ex-tsarist and ex-Soviet area: Yekaterinoslav (1776–1797, 1802-1917, 1918-1926), Novorossiysk (1797–1802) şi Sicheslav (1917–1918). Located in an highly disputed area over the Middle Ages by the Tatars, Poles, Cossacks, Ottomans and Russians, city was occupied by the last in the second half of the XVIIIth century, taking an exquisite momentum under the rule of Prince Grigory Potemkin.

The 20th century was a very restless one for Dnipropetrovsk, which never stayed outside the events: after Russian defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1905) there took place an anti-Tsarist rebellion, after the revolution of 1917 it was occupied by German and Austro-Hungarian armies, because in the end to falling into the hands of the anarchists of Nestor Makhno, in WWII the Germans made it generalbezirke and have applied the final solution to the very end (only 15 from almost 80,000 Jews survived the war), and in the late 40 thousands of German war prisoners have rebuilt the city industry.

Furthermore Leonid Brezhnev was born in surroundings, and also here was formed Dnipropetrovsk Faction, an influential informal political group who have ruled the Soviet Union until the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev. In nowadays things seem to be seated, entering on a smoother path, the tranquillity suggested by the postcard depicting this thing. The choice of the postcard belonged to Olga and I thank her for inspiration.

We don't see any important building in the postcard, any monument or any industrial objectiv, but only a pleasure tram (replica of one from 1900) slowly moving through the crossroad full of green of Karl Marx Avenue with Serova Street. The red is completely missing and this enjoy me. As specifies Olga, "the building with spire is an usual apartment block", in which she dreams to live. I would like also to live in such a building, with such surroundings.

About the stamps

The first stamp on the left is part of the Ukraine - Traditional Costumes set, issued on December 25, 2008. In fact the set itself contains several series of 3 or 6 stamps with the same denomination (20, 45, 50, 60, 70 k and 1.00 UAH), issued in different years and depicting folk costumes from different areas of Ukraine. The series issued on 2008, that of 1.00 UAH, designed by Mykola Kochubei, contain the following stamps:

• The Crimea - Holiday of the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ

• The Crimea - Christening

• The Land of Dnipropetrovsk - Wedding Ceremony

• The Land of Dnipropetrovsk - Harvest Festival

• The Land of Luhansk - Cyril and Methodius Day

• The Land of Luhansk - Spyrydon the Wonder - Worker - it’s on the postcard

The second stamp, issued on March 25, 2009, and designed by Natalia Fandikova, belongs of a series of definitive stamps issued starting with 2001. I found on the Internet the following denomination:

• animal figurine (5k)

• red vase (10k)

• pipe (30k)
• ancient spinning wheel (50k) - it’s on other postcard

• pitcher (1.00 UAH)

• rider and a trident (1.50 UAH) - it’s on the postcard

• ceramic vessel (2.00 UAH) - it’s on other postcard

• three candles (N) - it's on other postcard

• quill and ink bottle (Є) - it’s on other postcard

Sender: Olga Denisyuk (direct swap)

Sent from Dnipropetrovsk (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast / Ukraine) on 08.11.2011