The size is 6 ¼" x 4 ½", postally unused, published by the Ministry of Communications of the USSR, circulation unknown. The pre-printed postal stamp and the special-issue commemorative stamp are canceled with the First Day stamp, issued by the Baikonur Cosmodrome and dated 2 October 1991, the date when the Soyuz TM-12 returned to Earth after a spell docked to the Mir orbital station. It was piloted by three cosmonauts: A. Artsebarskiy (USSR), T. Aubakirov (USSR), and Franz Viehbock (Austria). While they were in space, Artsebarskiy and Aubakirov "lost their country" due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The First Day stamp on the cover, which, of course, had been made earlier in the USSR, became factually inaccurate, considering the date on it. A small juicy tidbit in evidence of a huge geopolitical event. The artwork in the left panel of the obverse depicts the monument to Sergey Korolev, Soviet chief spacecraft designer.

In excellent condition.