(Claudio Ernesto Manzati)  In my previous article, I was highlighting that, no postal documents reaching us from the first three Soviet North Pole floating stations, (NP1-NP2-NP3) since the bases were not equipped with Post Office.

 

 

Only from the mission North Pole 4, radio communications officer, was appointed responsible of Post Office with accountability for mails distribution arrived to the base with technical support flights as well as delivering mails for service reasons and wrote by staff members to the family; using the return flights to the continent for delivering it.

 

 

The base was served with stamps and stationery, mails were regularly franked and stamps cancelled with a round Güller, with lunettes and date at the center and containing CCCP indication into a Soviet star symbol on the top. The design it was always the same for all missions, differentiated only by the sequence of the base number by NP4 to NP21.

 

 

From NP22 forward, stamp used for cancellation was personalized for each new mission with a specific drawing, the table below show the most significant postal information for all mission carry out so far.

 

 

For scholars and collectors of postal history of North Pole Russian bases, the absence of postal correspondence with specific signs related at the first three missions, is a critical and systematic issue, because does not allow to document the events of first bases as well as to organize a comprehensive chronological study.

 

 

I met these fascinating and adventurous historical postal period about twenty years ago, I had to struggle quite bit to be able to place one after the other original documents relating to the first ten bases except for PN1 and NP2, whose missions, as were made under extreme conditions, protected by state secrecy and under the control of the KGB secret services. Retrieve a postal document of these missions was something unthinkable, but ...

 

 

In June of 2007 was to take place in St. Petersburg a world philatelic exhibition and my dear and lovable friend Giovanni Riggi di Numana had expressed since long time a desire to participate at such event, having sent his collection "The secrecy of the correspondence" in competition. The collection, which was focusing on the closure of old letters was getting finally a Large Gold medal.

 

 

Even if not organized it happened that we were on the same flight and at the same hotel, with our spouses, and even more fortunate chance that at Malpensa airport we did found another philatelist’s friend, Constantino Gironi President of AIDA, also accompanied by his spouse and booked of the same hotel as well.

 

 

It was therefore natural to agree spending together the four-day stay in St. Petersburg, sharing the guide that Riggi had contacted earlier. The journey began nicely and it went so great, over every expectations not only for its cultural part.

 

 

It was Giovanni Riggi, during one of his famous "Philately at fireplace” of CIFO in Turin, introducing to me Franco Giardini, Polar explorer and President of Great Northern Association. Meet Giardini was decisive, because through his friendships with the AARI’s people, the Institute for Research in the Arctic and Antarctic in Saint Petersburg, allowed me to start collecting the first postal documents of Soviet floating station in the glacial artic ocean. It was further the publication of the book "Drifting ice island" by Giardini, Garrou and Masnari has allow me to systematically organize the material collected.

 

 

The world exhibition "Russia 2007" was held in one of the historical buildings of late XIX century, which recalled the splendor of czarist when St. Petersburg was a European capital of culture and art.

 

 

The event was highly interesting in terms of collections showed, but it was really disappointing from the philatelic trading point of view. Not more than fifteen traders were present there, with very few items of Italian Kingdom and Republic.

 

 

So I was with Giovanni Riggi walking among the exhibited collections, thanks at my English speaking and my tendency to be a “social animal” I met by chance an American collector. Chatting as usual among collectors about our interest that soon I stated my interest about Postal History of Russian North Pole floating stations.

 

 

The American guy, pointed out to me a third person, not far from us, that soon after, on my request he showed me two telegrams sent by NP1 and signed the first by Ivan Papanin and the second by Krenkel!

 

 

After twenty years, I had on my hands two of the most important documents of twentieth century about North Pole conquest.

 

The dealing take long time and it was a little bit exhausting, but at the end of the day I do believe with satisfaction for both; the seller who probably get much more of foreseen and for me that I had finally found the missing document for my collection.

The telegram was sent by Papanin, Head of Mission, at Krenkel’s wife to Radio Moscow, with the following text: "Dear Natalia Petrovna (Krenkel) are certainly grateful that you always remember us. Even we do not ever forget you, embrace you strong. Papanin ".

 

 

The page on NP1 was finally completed with appropriate documentation: and what about NP2? The second mission took place 12 years after the first one over the cold war time?

 

 

This is another story ... I will tell you the next time. (continued)

SOVIET NORTH POLE FLOATTING STATIONS

Description                Open             Closure           Post Office     Stamp

NP 1                        21.05.1937           19.02.1938        No                No

NP 2                        02.04.1950           11.04.1951        No                No

NP 3                        09.04.1954           19.04.1955        No                No

NP 4                        08.04.1954           19.04.1957        Yes          Guller I e II

NP 5                        21.04.1955           08.10.1956        Yes          Guller I e II

NP 6                        15.04.1956           14.09.1959        Yes          Guller I e II

NP 7                        23.04.1957           11.04.1959        Yes          Guller I e II

NP 8                        19.04.1959           19.03.1962        Yes          Guller I-III e II

NP 9                        21.04.1960           21.03.1961        Yes          Guller I e II

NP10                       17.10.1961           29.04.1964        Yes          Guller I e II

NP11                       12.04.1962           20.04.1963        Yes          Guller I e II

NP12                       30.04.1963           25.04.1965        Yes          Guller I e II

NP13                       22.04.1964           17.04.1967        Yes          Guller I e II

NP14                       01.04.1965           12.02.1956        Yes          Guller I e II

NP15                       29.03.1966           21.03.1968        Yes          Guller I e II

NP16                       09.04.1968           21.03.1972        Yes          Guller I e II

NP17                       20.04.1968           16.10.1969        Yes          Guller I e II

NP18                       09.09.1968           24.10.1971        Yes          Guller unique

NP19                       07.11.1969           14.04.1973        Yes          Guller unique

NP20                       11.04.1970           10.05.1972        Yes          Guller unique

NP21                       01.05.1972           25.05.1974        Yes          Guller unique

NP22                       13.09.1973           08.04.1972        Yes            Illustrated

NP23                       05.12.1975           16.11.1978        Yes            Illustrated

NP24                       20.06.1978           19.11.1980        Yes            Illustrated

NP25                       16.05.1981           20.04.1984        Yes            Illustrated

NP26                       21.05.1983           09.04.1986        Yes            Illustrated

NP27                       02.06.1984           20.05.1987        Yes            Illustrated

NP28                       21.05.1986           21.01.1989        Yes            Illustrated

NP29                       10.06.1987           19.08.1988        Yes            Illustrated

NP30                       09.10.1987           04.04.1991        Yes            Illustrated

NP31                       22.10.1988           25.07.1991        Yes            Illustrated

NP32                       28.04.2003           06.03.2004        Yes            Illustrated

NP33                       09.09.2004           04.03.2005        Yes            Illustrated

NP34                       21.09.2005           18.07.2006        Yes            Illustrated

NP35                       29.08.2007           15.07.2008        Yes            Illustrated

NP36                       07.09.2008           still ongoing        Yes            Illustrated