The first Soviet stamps

A History of Russian Philately. Part 3

25 October 1917J (= 7 November 1917G)

With the support of the armed forces, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin seized power in Petrograd. Elections a couple of weeks later showed them to be in a minority position, and the country rapidly fell into civil war for the next several years, with various alternate groups fighting against the Bolsheviks. Continue reading

Russian Empire #1. 1857 year

A History of Russian Philately. Part 2

1 January 1858

Russia officially adopts its first stamp – an imperforate 10 kopek stamp, good for the postage of a letter weighing up to 1 “lot”. A “lot” is a measure of weight, approximately equal to just under half an ounce (0.45oz) or 12.8grams. Continue reading

The first known Russian postmark. It takes the form of a single line with the word ST.PETERSBOVRG

A History of Russian Philately. Part 1

Ninth Century

Twelve hundred years ago. Way back then, the earliest known Russian writings referred to messages being sent from person to person, between one town and another. We don’t really know how these were sent, but the one thing that we do know for sure is that the “mail” in some form or another dates back a very long way! Continue reading