Mongolia and Russia Joint Issue 2021

This post features a Mongolia and Russia joint issue featuring musical instruments. Joint stamp issues are fairly rare and fall into a broader category of stamps with diplomatic purposes. Of course, it is even rarer to find musical topics that are about diplomacy, though there are some. There are even a few articles about such topics on this blog. For example, this article about a meeting of Communist postal ministers. Or, there are Irish stamps (with an Irish harp) that celebrate the constitution of the United States. In addition, there is the US stamp featuring Ignacy Paderweski, a Polish pianist and politician.

Finally, my friend and guest blogger Ted Tyszka wrote about a joint stamp issue by the United States and France in 2012. In this issue, both countries depicted two legendary musical artists the American Miles Davis and French national Édith Piaf. Both of these musicians were popular in both countries and celebrate the long friendship between the French and American governments and people.

Morin Khuur

While the US / France joint issue of 2012 depicts musicians. The key to understanding the 2021 joint issue by Mongolia and Russia, is to understand how instruments can be national symbols. For example, the harp in Ireland, or the saùng-gauk in Myanmar. In this issue, there are two instruments on each stamp, representing the two countries. Both stamps feature the morin khuur of Mongolia and the balalaika of Russia. The two stamps were issued on May 11th, 2021.

Traditionally, the morin khuur has associations with the all-important horse. The classical name actually means “fiddle with a horse head.” Indeed, most instruments have a carving of a horse head on the finial at the top of the instrument. The morrin khuur has a hollow trapezoidal box for a body. It has two strings that pass from pegs in the pegbox, down the fingerboard and body, and over a wooden bridge, to attach to a tailpiece. The strings are of horsehair, or on modern instruments, nylon. The bow also has horse hair and is held in an underhand technique. While originally the morin khuur would play to accompany epic songs and dances, in contemporary Mongolia it has many other musical uses. It can even play western classical music written for the violin.

The morin khuur has become a national symbol of Mongolia and its people. It appears along with a bow on both the Mongolian and Russian stamp in the joint issue of stamps.

Balalaika

Representing Russia on both stamps is the balalaika. It appears larger on the beautiful Russian stamp that is the design of M. Bodrova, though the same instrument is on both stamps. The balalaika has a hollow, triangular body with three strings. Unlike the morin khuur, the balalaika has frets that make playing individual notes easier. The instrument appears in a variety of sizes from high piccolo instruments to large bass and contrabass varieties. Together, these various sizes can play in large ensembles, or orchestras.

The instrument can also play solos, especially the size known as the prima. Importantly, the balalaika often pays Russian folk songs, accompanying singing and dancing. Players pluck the balalaika strings with their fingers, or with plectrum (which are louder). The instrument may date to the seventeenth century, but it was at the end of the nineteenth that it became immensely popular. Today, the balalaika represents the Russian people and can be found both in the country of Russia and in diasporic communities across the globe.