USSR, 1944, 60 kop. 12 (1/2) and Imperf. blue

Catalogues:
CFA "Souzpechat": 935, 940
Michel: 934
Scott: 954
Stanley Gibbons: 1084
Yvert et Tellier: 940

«Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire» (also known as: «Cossacks of Saporog Are Drafting a Manifesto») is a famous painting by the Russian artist Ilya Repin (1878—1891). It is a historical tableau, set in 1676, exploiting the legend of the reply that the Cossacks sent the Sultan of Ottoman Empire. The Cossacks of the Zaporozhian Host, inhabiting the lands around the lower Dnieper River, had defeated Ottoman Turkish forces in battle. However, the Sultan of Ottoman Empire demanded that the Cossacks submit to Turkish rule. The Cossacks, led by Ivan Sirko, replied in an uncharacteristic manner: they wrote a letter, replete with insults and profanities. The canvas has been exhibited in the State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg.

Artists: Repin Ilya

Plots: Gilyarovsky Vladimir,  Gogol Nikolay,  Mamin-Sibiryak Dmitri,  Yavornytsky Dmytro