3446 RUSSIA (Saint Petersburg) - Postcrossing Meetup, Saint Petersburg, 19 February 2020

This postcard was made on the occasion of the postcrossing meeting that took place on February 19, 2020 in Saint Petersburg. The organizers chose as image the Water Supply Tower, one of the oldest constructions on the SPbPU (Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University), built in 1905, three years after the opening of Polytechnic Institute. Its bizarre architectural look with fragmented forms and lines clearly contrasts with the other buildings on the campus; it is a kind of a hi-rise dominant of the entire complex of the two- and four-storey buildings.

It is 46 meters high, and until 1953, it had been used as an engineering construction to provide for the operation of the water supply system. During the World War II and the Siege of Leningrad, the Tower served as an air defense observational post. Right since its construction, it became one of the education-support buildings of the Institute. In its annex, a hydraulics laboratory designed by I.G. Esman, was opened in 1905. He supervised the construction works and was the first director of the laboratory. Presently, the annex is home for the laboratory the Voznesensky Chair of hydraulic machinery construction.

About the stamps

The first stamp is part of a series of definitives stamps, Eagles, designed by A. Moskovets and V. Nikonov and issued on August 7, 2019. It depict the emblem of organizations of the federal postal service of the Russian Federation in an ornamental design.
• 10 RUB - It's on the postcard 3446
• 25 RUB - It's on the postcard 3456

The second stamp is part of the serie Russian Flora - Bellflower, designed by O. Savina and issued on June 28, 2019. All four stamps of the series has the same face value, 45 RUB.
• Campanula bononiensis
• Campanula persicifolia
• Campanula ciliata
• Campanula pendula - It's on the postcard 3446

References
Building the Institute - SPbPU official website

Sender:  Diana / Dianarch and the Russian postcrossers who participated to the Postcrossing Meetup which held in Saint Petersburg on February 19, 2020 (postcrossing) RU-7822709
Sent from Saint Petersburg (Saint Petersburg / Russia) on 20.02.2020