Swedish Baltic Sea Water Award 2009 Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), Finland HELCOM works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution through intergovernmental co-operation between Denmark, Estonia, the European Community, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden. HELCOM is governing the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area" (the Helsinki Convention) and has shown exemplary commitment to improving the Baltic Sea through the adoption of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. 2008 Prof. Krzysztof Edward Skóra, Hel Marine Station at the University of Gdańsk, Poland Professor Skóra received the award for his research which
Postage stamps and postal history of Latvia Postal Service routes in Finland. In 1685 the Duke of Courland Friedrich Casimir initiated his own postal service and asked the Swedish authorities to cease their postal operations within his territory, but King Charles XI of Sweden ignored his request and stood for his rights in Courland. On 5 July 1710, Russian troops under the command of Tsar Peter I of Russia took over Riga and made it a part of the Russian Empire. During World War I, Latvia was occupied by Germany, and used German stamps overprinted by the Ober Ost. In 1919, German stamps were handstamped "LIBAU", but