Fyodor Aleksandrovich Bredikhin (1831–1904) was a Russian astronomer best-known for his work on the structure of comet tails; his surname is also written as Bredichin, and his first name as Theodor. He was director of Pulkovo Observatory, near St Petersburg, from 1890 to 1895. Fittingly, this stamp, issued on the 125th anniversary of his birth, shows a comet hovering over the domes of Pulkovo Observatory. Incidentally, the stamp really was printed on brown paper – the colour is not due to ageing. 

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