How to Send a Postcard to Crimea

Postcard UA-574523 from Ukraine in 2013 shows the Foros Church, Crimea, Ukraine, overlooking the Black Sea from a 400-meter cliff. However, as a result of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and subsequent annexation of Crimea by Russia, the sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula is currently disputed between Ukraine and Russia.

According to Wikipedia, "on March 11, 2014, Supreme Council of Crimea and Sevastopol City Council adopted the Declaration of independence of Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. Following contested referendum in which an overwhelming majority indicated a desire to join the Russian Federation, Russia signed a treaty of accession with the self-declared independent Republic of Crimea, absorbing it into the Russian Federation."

Although Ukraine and it's allies refuse to recognize the annexation, the Crimean Peninsula is now de facto controlled by the Russian Federation. The situation caused confusions how to send mails including postcards to Crimea. An item from the Ukrainian State Enterprise of Posts website "UKRPOSHTA" indicated that the transportation of postal items and periodicals destined to and from AR Crimea and Sevastopol city has been renewed as of March 18, 2014, while another article dated September 10, 2014 warned that the Crimean Post refused to accept postal items, especially periodicals, from continental Ukraine. As of March 15, 2015, USPS states on it's service alerts web page that delivery services for international mail addressed to Crimea (postal codes in the range 95000–99999) are still suspended.

Politics aside, mails to residents of Crimea have been reported to be routed through Russia with "Russia" as receiving country and Russia's new zipcode for the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, adding number "2" to the original Ukrainian zipcode. For example, for an Ukrainian zipcode in Simferopol "95000", the new Russian zipcode is "295000"; for an Ukrainian zipcode in Sevastopol "99000", the new Russian zipcode is "299000". Postcard US-3238647 reached Crimea in this practical manner in 26 days.

Remnants of Turkish Fortress in Anapa, Russia

Postcard RU-3004438 from Russia shows remnants of Turkish Fortress in Anapa, a Russian resort town with a population of 58,990 as of 2010 on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. It is 333 kilometers from Sochi, another resort city along the Black Sea coast and the site of the XXII Olympic Winter Games in 2014.

Anapa was once a Turkish city and subject to the constant battles with Russia. Ottomans started to built a fortress in 1783 to defend against the Russian threat and completed it in 1791, consisting of seven bastions that were connected by a 8-meter-tall 3200-meter-long high wall with three gates. When Anapa was handed over to Russia under the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829, the fortress had undergone repeated attacks by Russia and was all but destroyed during its last siege. The commemorative plate on the wall reads "Gate remnants of the Turkish Fortress, built in 1783, named in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Russian liberation from the Turkish control of Anapa in 1828."

Druzhba Sanatorium, Yalta, Ukraine

Postcard RU-1999185, arrived yesterday from Russia, was titled Yalta: The Students' Hostel "Druzhba". I had immediate suspicion that it was a little more than a hostel just from its appearance. With some research, it turns out to be one of the strangest buildings in the world.

Druzhba is a Slavic word for friendship. Druzhba Sanatorium (Friendship Spa), or Druzhba Holiday Center, was a joint venture between the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia in the 1980s, overlooking a popular Black Sea beach 8 km from the then exclusive Soviet resort town of Yalta. The cylindrical shaped complex supported by giant cement legs, was built between 1983 to 1985 by Ukrainian architect Igor Vasilevsky and engineer Yurij Stefanchuk. It was space themed to commemorate the first cosmonaut Vladimír Remek from Czech on board the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 28, launched on March 2, 1978, and the first Czechoslovak satellite Magion 1, launched as a Soviet scientific S/C hitchhiker on October 24, 1978. Not surprisingly as in the Cold War, its odd shaped, earthquake-resistant construction draw attentions from Turkey across the Black Sea as well as the United States, who suspected that the structure could be some sort of rocket launcher or missile silo. 

You can find out more from an article at Architectuul.com with a gallery of 14 photos and drawings. Sebastian Waack from Waack.org also wrote a fascinating story about it. For current availability and pricing, you can visit their reservation web site online.

  

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