Scott #714, indigo and red
Some collectors love
Russia’s stamps, others love to hate them. Whether you love or hate them likely
depends on your views about Russia’s philatelic politics and propaganda.
In the 1920s, The Soviet
government began aggressively selling stamps abroad, both to wrangle hard
currency from collectors and to show off Russian progress – i.e., communist
propaganda. The practice accelerated through the 1940s and 50s. High priced
stamps were printed chiefly for the philatelic market and were rarely used for
postage. Russian “cancelled-to-order” stamps (CTOs), philately’s strange label
for stamps cancelled by governments and then sold at a discount to collectors,
abound in most albums. Like many youthful collectors, I was seduced into
thinking Russian CTOs were genuinely used stamps. Some of the CTOs scanned for
this post have remained in my collection, with their tell-tale corner postmarks,
since the late 1940s.
Scott #s 712,
dark blue, and 724, rose red
If you revel in Soviet
history or brutalist architecture and if you find these questionable practices
unobjectionable, you’re probably among the lovers of Russian stamps. If not,
you lean toward those who hate them. Maybe you resent the propaganda. Maybe you
feel cheated by the Russian postal authorities. They issued too many stamps,
not for legitimate postal use, but to rob our pockets.
Even TikTok posts opinions about Russian stamps (1).
I strongly suspect
that most collectors fall into one extreme or the other. Early on, I was a
plain-spoken hater. Yet, over the years, I’ve become more restrained. Whether
sham or legit, Soviet stamps merit more than scorn; they deserve at least minimal
respect if not appreciation.
As Carlos Shoetzer
points out in his small 1953 monograph (2), most stamps carry some sort of
propaganda. Often it’s obscure. Stamps have a symbolic message intended to
influence citizen’s and/or foreigner’s opinions. As official government
documents, stamps parade great history, big accomplishments, and beautiful
landscapes exactly as the government wants them to be seen. Wide dissemination
of these tiny documents makes them ideal propaganda vehicles.
Shoetzer goes on to say the Russian stamps issued during the reign of
Romanov tzars (until 1917) “could well be considered ‘dynastic propaganda’, as
well as historic nationalist propaganda, because they symbolize the development
and expansion of [pre-Bolshevik] Russian might”– think of the noble coats of
arms and images of important historical persons. (3)
Scott # 54, black
and yellow
These royalist
themes extended, naturally, to the overprinted stamps for Russian foreign
offices and satellite territories. Big blue has spaces for some of these.
Offices in
China, Scott #s 4-6, red violet, dark blue, blue
During the
revolution, the emerging Bolshevists revolutionaries and their various
opponents – Army of the North, etc. – began issuing stamps with very different
propaganda. Waring groups wanted to proclaim their messages and establish their
legitimacy.
Soviet Federated Socialist Republic
Scott #s 149, blue. and 150, brown
Sword severing Tsarist bondage chains.
Army of the
North, anti-Bolshevik
Once the communists were in firm control, two additional sorts of stamp propaganda emerged: one that celebrates workers, peasants and victorious Red soldiers. These are featured in the first Soviet definitives (1923) and reminded Russian citizens of their new reality. These were reissued through the 1920’s and 30s..
Scott #s 238-240
Red, brown, blue
Soldier,
worker, peasant – beneficiaries of the revolution
Shortly thereafter, the onslaught of stamps meant for foreigner’s collections began. Designs exult revolutionary triumphs, Bolshevist flag-waving parades, agricultural and architectural ability, athletic talent, and the everyday prosperity of ordinary folk – all intended to persuade collectors abroad that a dynamic Russia was leading to world into a new and better age. Dealers and collectors bought these stamps in mass, but there is little evidence that the propagandists succeeded in their intent. They didn’t give up, though. For decades, they persisted “in record breaking speed” (4).
Some years ago, I
decided to replace the CTOs in my collection with mint examples. It quickly
turned into an expensive venture. So, most of my original CTOs have stayed in
my albums. And I’ve come to think of them as an amusing part of the story. On
many Russian stamps, to be sure, the artwork is curiously attractive, exotic. But,
be wary of hidden agendas.
Scott #s 343-344 and 302-303, black violet, dark green, red brow, and
indigo
Vladimir Lenin,
founder of Soviet government
Of course, Russia is not alone in using stamps as propaganda. All countries,
including the United States, use stamps for tourist propaganda, economic
propaganda – cultural, religious, nationalist, political, wartime, charitable,
Eurocentric, colonial, royalist, and/or national boundary claim propaganda. Our
albums are filled with miniature propaganda posters. Russia, and its stamp
producing Soviet Bloc friends, differ from other countries only in their
extensive efforts to influence (and profit from) outsiders.
Census: 617 in Big
Blue pages, 20 tip-ins, 272 on supplement pages.
(1) See also: https://www.tiktok.com/@stampporn/video/7266882917740104966. Stampporn currently has 146 “followers.”
(2)
The
University of Connecticut copy of Carlos Shoetzer’s monograph Postage Stamps
as Propaganda is available online at: http://davidsaks.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/propaganda.pdf
Carlos
Shoetzer, Postage Stamps as Propaganda. Washington, D,C.: Public Affairs
Press, (1953).
(3)
Ibid., p.9.
(4) Ibid.
Russia, like the U.S. or China, is a world to itself, and one could spend a lifetime studying the philatelic output. I should have 3-4 blog posts devoted to the stamps of Russia, but I will reluctantly have only one. So with the WW classical collector in mind, I will mostly focus on the trickier earlier Russian Empire issues.
For the last part, we will look at some forgeries of the 1919 Army of the North issues. (If interested, click on the link below.)
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