Finland - Lapland

This is another nice picture post card featuring a scene in Lapland. This nice card was sent to me by Esa.

Vladivostok.

Vladivostok is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. It is situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay, not far from Russia's border with China and North Korea. It is the home port of the Russian Pacific Fleet.
Stepan Osipovich Makarov (January 8 1849— April 13 1904) was a famous Russian vice-admiral, a highly accomplished and decorated commander of the Imperial Russian Navy, and a distinguished oceanographer, awarded by the Russian Academy of Sciences, and author of several books. According to his honour, "Shiritoru", where was a town in Sakhalin island, was renamed as Makarov in 1946. Makarov was highly decorated for his service as a captain of the Russian torpedo boat tender Velikiy Knyaz Konstantin in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. He was one of the first adopters of the idea of torpedo boats and he himself went to action in torpedo boats. On January 16, 1877 he was first in the world to launch torpedoes from a boat (which itself was launched from a tender) against a Turkish armed ship Intibah.
This is a monument in honour of that Great Russian Admiral . It overlooks the sea at the far Eastern Russian port of Vladivostok. I was fortunate to be a resident of this wonderful city for two winters. This pretty card was sent to me by my friend Elena.