№ 2591-2592. 200th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Antarctic Continent and navigators Faddei Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev

The honor of the Antarctic Continent discovery belongs to the Russian Antarctic expedition of 1819−1821 on the Vostok and Mirnyi sloops commanded by Faddei Bellingshausen (1778−1852) and Mikhail Lazarev (1788−1851). On July 16, 1819, the expedition went to sea. The Antarctic coast was actually discovered on January 28, 1820.

The results of the round-the-world expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev were considered among the most considerable events in the history of the global geographical explorations.

The stamps of the postal block provide the portraits of F. Bellingshausen and M. Lazarev; the margins of the block show a group of sailors against the Antarctic scenery.