Soviet stamps

Thank you Steve, is there a specific topic I need to share photos or is this ok to share in this thread?

A nice non-postage stamp (part of a sheet). This one actually belongs to the pre-Soviet era... 

akommar ,

Please consider adding descriptions to your posts so that viewers can get a sense of what it is that you're showing them (i.e., something more than the thread's subject).

A very nice set in blocks of four, October 1960, Soviet Automobile Manufacturing.

Blocks of four stamps, full set (one block is a duplicate with a color variety), March 1946, Soviet Aircrafts in the WWII

This thread isn't very popular, I know Still, I built a naive website to share my collection. No idea why I am doing this but kind of having fun. You might want to take a look stampalbum.website

Actually, I first researched this colnect idea but I didn't find it attractive, as I understood I can build collection picking up out of the already available items and moreover, I need to prepare excel and send it over to the topic supervisor. I didn't have time for following this process. It's a good resource however but probably not for me. I didn't find any other web app to build my collection and share it with the world

tomiseksj, In the Michel catalog it is mentioned that these stamps have "Rautenformiger Kreideaufdruck" = “Diamond shaped chalk print” or not.



It is quite difficult to see (when the stamp is tilted in natural light) and I hope you can see it in my pictures.





It is worth checking with your stamp if it exists because the value of the stamp increases if it is not.




akommar, a site like yours was a great help to me in my beginnings as a collector, when I used "google search"
It would be good if the word "Russian" or "Soviet" appeared in the title of the site, which would help those interested in this field and who use "google search"

The occasion of issue was the 1st anniversary of the Bolshevik October Revolution. So far, so good (apart from the interesting distinction for specialized collectors whether the stamps have a chalk underprint or not or show further varieties like perforated or imperforate).

However, on closer inspection of these issues, something stands out: namely, the way "Russia" was written in the Cyrillic alphabet: РОССІЯ.

At least this is noticeable to those who know that the new Bolshevik government (Council of People's Commissars) had enacted a reform of the Russian alphabet by decree on October 10, 1918. This reform had already been prepared since 1904 by a special commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences and had been decided in May 1917 (i.e. after the February Revolution of 1917, in which the Imperial Empire had been overthrown). But the subsequent revolutionary turmoil and the impact of WW I on Russia leading up to the Bolshevik October Revolution and the the beginning civil war had meant that this reform could not initially be put into effect.

In connection with the stamps discussed here, it should be pointed out that the former Russian letter "I" (same as in the Latin alphabet) had been abolished during the reform of the alphabet. Instead of it, the "и" (already existing, much more frequently used and to be pronounced in the same way) was now to be used. (A small additional note: Since the reform, it is no longer possible to tell from the spelling "мир" whether it means earth or peace. Before the spelling reform, both were spelled differently: "міръ" for earth and "миръ" for peace. Since the USSR considered itself very peace-loving, or at least presented itself that way, the word "мир" appeared very often on stamps of the USSR...).

In other words, the first "Bolshevik" stamp, celebrating the 1st anniversary of the October Revolution, still used the old alphabet, which the Bolsheviks had just abolished! Yet this reform of the alphabet had immense political significance for the Bolsheviks, since for them the old alphabet had been a symbol of the overcome feudal tsarist regime (although this reform had already been started in the tsarist era, but who would care at that revolutionary time...).

The explanation for this remarkable fact is that this stamp issue was decided and prepared at a time when the old alphabet was still in use: Shortly after the Februrar Revolution, a competition for the design of a new stamp had been launched by the new provisional government. As a result of which the design with chain and sword by Rihards Zariņš  (his initals in Cyrillic Р and З can be found on these stamps) was chosen. According to current knowledge, the printing order for 60 million pieces of "Sword Breaking Chain" stamps at 35 kopecks was placed on September 6, 1917, and for 15 million stamps at 70 kopecks on October 14, 1917 (i.e. for both before the October Revolution, which is named according to the Julian calendar, according to that the revolution took place on October 25, 1917; Gregorian calendar: November 7, 1917).

The 1st anniversary of the October Revolution was thus celebrated by the Bolshevik government in 1918 with stamps prepared by the previous government overthrown by this revolution! Sailing under false flag was common already then....

Some more se-tenants that I recently acquired and have now added to my USSR collection:

Maybe someone can give me a hint:

The colour missing is gold,  has a fairly dodgy history of collectors removing gold chemically  (ex : Australia)
Possibly prove fake under UV?

rednaxela
Quote
Specifically about this case:

Here is no stamp to be separated out individually that could be used to frank a postal item.The value indication of 1 ruble is printed on the "souvenir sheet" itself. The image of the cosmonauts remains imperforated on three sides even in the perforated version of the "souvenir sheet". Only as a whole piece this "souvenir sheet" can be used for franking.

Thus, at least in my estimation, it is actually not a souvenir sheet, but a somewhat large single stamp!

Understand where you are coming from,
My opinion would be a "Mixed Perf Souvenir sheet"

Reasoning : In Australia, IIRC,  we have fully perforated stamps in Souvenir sheets,
however to maintain validity, as the Soviets, only the entire sheet must be attached,
separating the stamps voids their postal prepayment.

It is, as you say, still a "stamp" , but for me, the "Souvenir sheet" remains so,
if, for no other reason, to be in concordance, with all my  image naming formats.
I would wish it, to be amongst all the other Souvenir sheets that pop up, when I do a Soviet SS search.

Perforating a single line, in a sheet, begs curiosity.

Aha!   I see, yes, that is a different thing altogether.
Thank you.

I have kept an image of the singelton stamp, as a member of my "perforation varieties"  folder.

Where is the single stamp in this case?