Friday, May 24, 2024 - 18:29 (UTC -5)
Hello, All!
I receive cards from Russia all the time.
I’d like to be able to send to Russia, “officially” and “unofficially” again.
I’ve been thinking about this but haven’t completely figured it out. But I have some ideas that I’d like to run by everyone and maybe we can figure this out together. And get an “official” Postcrossing solution that Paulo can approve of and get us all moving again.
Leave aside anything related to the war. Here in Postcrossing, at the individual human person level, NOT all our governments, I say we’re about Peace, Love, and the Brotherhood of Man (love those 1960s?). Sending a postcard to Russia doesn’t mean you approve of anything their government is doing or not doing. Sending a postcard to the USA doesn’t mean you approve of anything our government is doing or not doing. Likewise for any other country you can name. At the human being level, sending a postcard is not a political act in support of or disapproval of any government’s policies.
I’m here in the USA, one of many countries that the Postal Monitor shows as not sending to Russia now.
To all our Russian Postcrossers: Vnimaniye, Baby! (That’s Achtung, Baby! for the rest of us - ha!) We may need your help most of all for your language and local knowledge skills. Thanks in advance.
First, somebody needs to find out if mailing a letter to a Russian Embassy is verboten from all the countries on the Postal Monitor Russia Reject List.
Why think about this? Well, generally, embassies are considered the sovereign territory of the “mission” country, NOT the host country. Effectively, it’s part of Russia. So maybe the postal services of the no-send list will also not send to their embassies. Or maybe they will. The addresses of the embassies are in the local countries.
Check this out => https://turkey.mid.ru/en/
I’m hoping that the only thing the postal services (both people and machines) are going to notice is the destination COUNTRY. If that’s the case, then we’re starting to cook with gas (sorry for the idiomatic expressions, but that’s what you get with a native American English speaker!).
I did some checking today about non-stop flights to and from Moscow. Yeah, I know. Russia is a large country. But once we could get a postcard or letter to Moscow, they’ll get it everywhere else.
There are regular non-stop flights to Moscow from Istanbul, Doha, Dubai, and Beijing. I’m thinking we should consider the cities closer to Moscow.
Now, Russia has money. Think oil and natural gas. Russia also has lots of oligarchs.
We need to get a congenial Russian Embassy (preferably) or Russian Consulate General in Ankara/Istanbul, Doha, or Dubai to appoint/assign someone there to be their Postcrossing Liaison Officer or some other nice-sounding diplomatic title.
Postcrossing would then allow Russian addresses to be drawn in those countries not now allowed. We (Senders) would fill out the postcards as always BUT NOT PUT ANY POSTAGE STAMPS ON THE POSTCARDS AT ALL.
Instead, we would mail the postcard IN AN ENVELOPE to the Postcrossing Liaison Officer, Russian Embassy, Ankara, Türkiye. When it arrives there, the Postcrossing Liaison Officer will affix international Turkish postcard postage to the postcard and mail it in the regular outgoing mail of the embassy.
Who will pay for the postage? The Russian Government will be happy to do it. Somebody want to send an email to Foreign Minister Lavrov for us? If not, maybe Aleksandr Oligarko. (!) Or whoever. It’s a public relations coup to facilitate this. If the Russian Government won’t do it, maybe some oligarch or Russian charitable foundation or media network will pay for it (a storefront office/mail drop, a part-time staffer, postage). Small change to these guys.
By asking for help from an embassy in a capital city with frequent non-stop flights to Moscow, our mail will get into the capital and then routed throughout the country directly.
Why should Russian Postcrossers have all the fun? If I get another postcard “From Russia With Love” that I can’t reply “To Russia With Love”, I’m going to smash my balalaika over my samovar while singing songs from “West Side Story” in a high falsetto with tears streaming down my cheeks (“Somewhere, there’s a plaaace for us!)”. How do you spell “International Diplomatic Incident”?
А пока до свидания, товарищ Посткроссер.
A poka do svidaniya, tovarishch Postkrosser.
Goodbye for now, Comrade Postcrosser.
Michael