Finland has been an independent member of the Universal Postal Union since 1918. On February 12, 1856, by decree signed by Russian Emperor Alexander II, the Grand Duchy of Finland was authorized to issue postage stamps for both domestic and international correspondence. The first series of stamps was released on March 3 of the same year. At the same time, for the first issue, the design of the stamps and the technique of its execution, used when printing stamped envelopes, were preserved. The matrices were manufactured by K. Mellgrem.