RVG


A Look Through the Judas Hole, by David M Skipton, Posted: 2008-06-08 view this Exhibit
The Imperial Russian prison-and-exile system exerted a profound influence on the empire's development, culture, politics, social and natural sciences. Russia's history cannot be properly understood without taking prison and exile into consideration. The tsarist penal regime was a reflection of the greater struggle outside the walls, and for many of the early leaders of the Soviet Union, prison had been their university. The intentional horrors of the GULAG were based on what they had learned while "in class," but magnified a thousand-fold. This field of study is also an important one from the sociological standpoint. Russian language, art, literature, mannerisms, music, and demography have all been profoundly influenced by the penal system.

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, by John Macco, Posted: 2014-01-12 view this Exhibit
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) was a culmination of thirteen years of talks between the Soviet Union and the United States. ASTP was formally provided for in the agreement concerning Cooperation in Exploration and Use of Outer Space signed by President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet Premier Alexi Kosygin in Moscow on May 24, 1972. Although used unofficially after the May Summit, ASTP did not become the official designation for the joint flight until June 30, 1972. Many milestones needed to be accomplished such as crew selection, language training, docking module and launch vehicle testing, tracking and timeline simulations to name a few before launch.

Carpatho-Ukraine 1944-1945, by Jay Carrigan, Posted: 2011-10-10 view this Exhibit
To show the many provisional issues of Carpatho-Ukraine from late 1944 to the end of 1945. These issues are not listed in Scott, but there have been preliminary discussions with the editor concerning the possible eventual inclusion of at least some of these issues. This is a traditional exhibit, covering the issues listed in Michel under Karpaten-Ukraine. (See Michel Europa-Katalog, volume for Osteuropa, as well as Michel Ganzsachen-Katalog Europa bis 1960 or Michel Ganzsachen-Katalog Europa Ost).

Censorship of Foreign Printed Matter, by Meer Kossoy, Posted: 2018-03-28 view this Exhibit
In this exhibit, all known types of St. Petersburg censorship marks and stamps on postal correspondence are shown. All of them are scarce and known in single digits and some are very rare, having only been recorded with one or two examples.

Czaristic Registered Mail, by Thomas Berger, Posted: 2008-12-07 view this Exhibit
This collection gives at the beginning a survey of the registration within Russia and abroad up to 1898. In a third part one can find the diversity of marks and labels which were used since 1899 to characterize registered mail. The situation during the first world war with its increasing tariffs is described in part 4. At the end related items like acknowledgments of receipt, money letters, and cash on delivery are presumed.

For the Red Air Fleet - Soviet Russia's Air Fleet Semi-Official Stamps/Labels, by G. Adolph Ackerman, PhD Posted: 2009-12-31 view this Exhibit
This exhibit represents a comprehensive presentation of the Soviet Air Fleet/Osoaviakhim semi-official charity stamps and postal cards of the 1920s and early 1930s. These stamps are virtually unknown, even to ardent aerophiltelists today. They are not listed in philatelic catalogs. The actual number of these stamps/labels issued by various Air Fleet (O.D.V.F.)/Osoaviakhim districts is unknown.

From Russia with Love, Foreign Visitors Send Home Picture Postcards, 1896-1949, by Alexander Kolchinskiy, PhD Posted: 2009-07-29 view this Exhibit
Although this is a picture postcard exhibit, it incorporates a considerable amount of social philately and postal history. It traces the history of PPC use in Russia from its very beginnings up to shortly after WWII, the people who sent them and the various reasons for which the cards were sent. It specifically excludes exchange-club correspondence, as well as cards with messages in Russian and Esperanto.

Georgia Postal History, 1924 - 1950, by Peter Michalove, PhD Posted: 2008-01-30 view this Exhibit
In modern times, a briefly independent Georgia was invaded by Soviet troops in 1921, and incorporated into a Transcaucasion Soviet Republic in 1922. This exhibit traces the postal history of the Georgian Republic from the introduction of Soviet franking in February 1924 through the early years after the Second World War.

History of Russian Empire Postmarks 1782-1917, by Vladimir Tyukov, Posted: 2009-01-04 view this Exhibit
The history of Russian postmarks began from the mid-1760's when they appeared in St. Petersburg. From 1782 postmarks were officially introduced in all Russian post offices, so as to mark letters as a proof that postage rates had been collected. After 1830 dated postmarks began to be used. With the introduction of postage stamps to Russia came the need to cancel them. The shapes and designs of postmarks changed with the development of postal service. Specific designs of postmarks were used for different types of post offices.

Military Censorship In Imperial Russia, 1904-1917, by David M Skipton, Posted: 2008-01-30 view this Exhibit
The study of Russian military censorship has been mostly limited to cataloguing the censor marks themselves, and where possible, equating them to a location or a military outfit. Over 2,000 markings have been recorded as of 2005, but many more must exist. Working back from that information plus the postcards and letters themselves, researchers have attacked the problem empirically, but that only goes so far and the assumptions they reach can be wrong.

Muscovy's Mayflies - Imperial Russia's Temporary Post Offices, 1858 - 1917, by David M Skipton, Posted: 2009-12-31 view this Exhibit
To demonstrate the maturation and spread of Imperial Russia's postal system over the last 45 years of its existence from the sole viewpoint of temporary post office services (the "last piece of the puzzle"), the development of various types of "tempos" following economic, social or military lines, and provide a survey of such offices following a clockwise rotation around the Empire, starting from the Baltic area and proceeding through Moscow, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Ukraine and "Little Russia" (present-day Belarus).

Odessa: Clandestine Mail Surveillance, 1920 - 1940, by Steve Volis, Posted: 2009-07-04 view this Exhibit
This exhibit is part postal history and part censorship study, involving a considerable amount of detective work. Some of the points made in this exhibit are discoveries appearing for the first time. Most of the material shown here served as the basis for the article Clandestine Surveillance of Mail in Odessa from 1921 to World War II in the Rossica Journal, and incorporates subsequent discoveries.

Ostarbeiter Mail in World War II - History and Postal Regulations, by George G Werbizky, Posted: 2008-09-07 view this Exhibit
In order to sustain its war machine in World War II, Germany forcibly deported workers from occupied areas of the Soviet Union to toil in industry and agriculture. These workers were officially called 'Ostarbeiter' or eastern workers. In the occupied areas of the Soviet Union the local population was not permitted to use postal, telephone, or telegraph services. The curtailment of these services was unique among German occupied countries. At the time, Germany had three postal systems: The Reichpost, the Feldpost, and the Dienstpost. It was not until 22 June 1942 that the German High Command allowed letters from Ostarbeiters to be mailed. This exhibit details the history of Ostarbeiter mail and how it was regulated.

Postal History of Kazan and Kazan Gubernia 1779-1917, by Tagir Mukhutdinov, Posted: 2018-11-30 view this Exhibit
The exhibit is the first attempt to summarize the postal history of Kazan and Kazan province from the pre-adhesive period and to 10/25/1917. This region, with the exception of a few small notes, was not actually studied before. Here are presented, both characteristic for the Russian Empire, and local features of postal services and markings. A number of postmarks, information about post- telegraph establishments and their functioning are presented for the first time.

Prisoners of the Great War Send Home Picture Postcards, by Alexander Kolchinskiy, PhD Posted: 2015-08-24 view this Exhibit
This exhibit explores an unusual phenomenon: relatively abundant picture postcards (PPCs) in the mail of the prisoners of the Great War (1914 - 1918). The imagery of these postcards conveyed additional meanings to the correspondence of POWs and provides important primary evidence of human conditions of the prisoners in warring countries.

Railway Postmarks of the Russian Empire from 1852 - 1917, by Valentin Levandovskiy, Posted: 2012-07-15 view this Exhibit
This postal history exhibit, as defined on the title page, offers the viewer a chronological overview of the postal evolution of mail sent by way of the trans-Siberian rail network between 1899 until 1945, not in-depth studies of the historical events. Included is only postal history having 'via Siberia' and variation markings on mail in support of the chronological storyline. The exhibitor knows of NO other similar exhibit in North America, Australia or Europe covering this subject in breath and depth as this one. There are, however, other exhibits which include small portions of the 'story' of 'via Siberia' integrated in other known exhibits.

Rossica's Vignettes 1938 - 2008, by David M Skipton, Posted: 2009-01-04 view this Exhibit
In 1938, the Rossika Society was only nine years old, and its centers of gravity were in Yugoslavia (its birthplace) and the Baltic States. Yet a group of emigres, none of them wealthy, came together to host a Russian philatelic exhibition at the New York YMCA, the first of its kind in the United States. Held on 10 April 1938 (as close to the Society's 14 April birthday as was possible), it was organized by one of the giants of Russian philately in the West, Sergey Vasil'evich Prigara. It is thought that the 1938 vignette was also Prigara's work, but we cannot be certain. The vignettes were printed in sheets of 10, perforation 12, with five stamps inverted, thus producing a possibility of three tete-beche pairs per sheet.

Rossicapex 2009 Show Program, by The Rossica Society, Posted: 2009-07-05 view this Exhibit
This show was the second solo Rossica Society show in this country (the first having been held in 1938 at the New York YMCA), and counting the one in Belgium organized by A.M. Rosselevich in 1954, it is only the third ever for our Society, now over half a century later. ROSSICAPEX 2009 presents a glorious array of material that demonstrates what makes collecting in these fields so challenging and rewarding: the incredible depth, breadth and detail to be found in our corner of the hobby.

Russia and Persia, by Bjorn Sohrne, Posted: 2010-01-02 view this Exhibit
Almost 30 years of collecting and research have gone into this postal history exhibit, including several visits to Iran since 2001 and three longer visits to the National Archives in India (New Delhi, Calcutta and Bombay) between 2004 and 2006. The interests of two Great Powers - Russia and England - collided in Persia, and from the early 1860s to the early 1920s the situation was often very unsettled (political and social chaos from 1901 to 1906, the division of Persia into zones of influence, WWI and German intrusion followed by famine and an extension of the Russian Civil War). All of this combines to make collecting in this area extremely challenging.

Russian Disinfection of Mail, by Dennis Vandervelde, Posted: 2009-07-29 view this Exhibit
Russian Disinfection of Mail, 1897-1914 was presented by Denis Vandervelde during the Rossica 2009 Annual General Membership Meeting at ROSSICAPEX in Santa Clara, California.

Russian Imperial Air Units in World War I, by G. Adolph Ackerman, PhD Posted: 2008-09-07 view this Exhibit
Correspondence bearing Russian Imperial aviation, aeronautic and aviation school free franks that have survived the ravages of war and time are rare. In fact, such historic items are far more scarce than surviving fieldpost correspondence from soldiers of the Russian army, from POWs in Russia and later, mail from Allied Intervention Forces in Russia. Nearly all air-related free-frank items in this frame are the only examples from an individual air unit (e.g., fortress, squadron, detachment) reported in the literature or in auction catalogs.

Russian Mute Cancels and Registration in WWI. Fragment of the Research Collection, by Arnold Levin, Posted: 2014-03-10 view this Exhibit
The mute cancels and mute registration used at the beginning of World War I are one of the least known and studied areas of Russian philately. Just as the war started, unusual postmarks began to appear on mail originating from many Russian cities and towns. They were unusual in that they contained no indication of the originating post office, nor did they show a date; this led to their being called "mute" cancels. Registration labels and markings that failed to show the originating post offices also appeared during that period; they are termed "mute" registrations. This exhibit will show mute cancels and mute registration from many locations, describe the characteristics of the mail, and note the dates of dispatch and receipt in order to establish the duration of use. It will also demonstrate the factors used to identify their points of origin, employing standard datestamps, registration labels (or handstamps) and types thereof, the texts of the messages, censor marks and return addresses. It shows that mute cancels were used at several post offices for only one and a half months and standard datestamps were re-introduced from the 1Oth to the 15th of September, 1914 (Vindava-11; Warsaw-12; Riga-14; Kiev-15).

Russian Rural Posts (Zemstvo) Use of Bisected Stamps, by George G Werbizky, Posted: 2008-07-30 view this Exhibit
This exhibit shows examples from all of the zemstvos known to have used partial stamps - mostly bisects - to frank mail. The use of partial stamps was dictated by the available supply of a given denomination. When stamps the zemstvos had ordered failed to be delivered on time, or when the basic rate would change and no stamps of that denomination were on hand, then stamps that could be divided to achieve the proper postage were used.

Russian Stamps: Look Beyond Filling Spaces, by Greg Mirsky, PhD Posted: 2009-12-31 view this Exhibit
Russian Stamps: Look beyond filling spaces was presented by Dr. Greg Mirsky during the Rossica 2009 Annual General Membership Meeting at ROSSICAPEX in Santa Clara, California.

Soviet Antarctica 1955-1959. Preparation for and Participation in 3rd International Geophysical Year, by Ross Marshall, MD Posted: 2010-01-01 view this Exhibit
This Antarctic Exhibit tells its story using a wide variety of philatelic and supporting materials: covers from to and from participants; Soviet and foreign collector mail; souvenir covers; official stationery envelopes; telegrams; raiograms; letters; postcards; post office issued stamped and illustrated envelopes; datestamp markings; QSL cards, tractor traverse journeys; flights; and selected photographs. None of the material shown is common with much regarded as rare with many unique items.

Soviet Censorship During the Great Patriotic War, by Per-Christian Wallén, Posted: 2018-10-14 view this Exhibit
The German attack at the USSR the 22nd of June 1941 was the start of history's biggest and bloodiest conflict. The exhibit will show the postal censorship that was introduced as a result of the war after the attack the 22nd of June 1941 until the end of 1945 when normal situation was re-established. It neither shows the censorship that irregularly appears in the Baltic countries in 1940/41, nor the censorship of field post until 1953 or prisoner of war mail.

Soviet Clandestine Mail Surveillance 1917-1941, by David M Skipton, Posted: 2017-11-05 view this Exhibit
The history of clandestine (and not so clandestine) mail surveillance in Russia is a long one, extending from 1690 under Peter the Great, when all letters going abroad were opened at Smolensk, up to the present day. Perlustration under the communists was used, among other things, to exert political control, hunt for foreign spies communicating through the mail, serve as a polling device to find out what the populace was thinking, gauge public reaction to the government's actions or inactions, assess the effectiveness of its propaganda, and point out individuals who should be arrested or who could be coerced into working for the secret police. It was in essence an intensive war of espionage waged by the Soviet government against its own people. The Soviet practice of guaranteeing the sanctity of private correspondence and then violating that guarantee on a vast and systematic basis has exerted a profound influence on the development of Russian political and social history.

Soviet Union Postage Stamp Advertising Labels 1923-1927, by Paul Ortega, PhD Posted: 2010-01-01 view this Exhibit
Special labels advertising various Soviet commercial, trading and banking enterprises to be used with affixed postage stamps on mail were introduced in 1923. This was part of the New Economic Policy based on a gold standard of currency to overcome the financial disaster of runaway inflation following the 1917 Russian Revolution and the five-year civil war throughout the territory of Russia.

Stalin on Stamps, by Alexander Kolchinskiy, PhD Posted: 2013-12-30 view this Exhibit
This exhibit was completely revamped from the original 2009 exhibit. There are four additional frames for a total of 10. Winner of two Nation gold medals, this thematic exhibit on "Stalin" shows how the dictator's portrayal on the stamps, covers, FDCs, postcards and patriotic covers of the Soviet Union and other countries changed according to ideology and the politics of the moment.

The Emperor's Mail, by David M Skipton, Posted: 2009-01-04 view this Exhibit
This exhibit demonstrates how Imperial Russia's postal system handled the mail for the extended Imperial family (and some of its servants), and gradually expanded its service to members of the Imperial Court and Cabinet, a few ministers and foreign diplomats. It also includes examples of mail to and from the private offices of Imperial family members, which mail was handled through normal postal channels due to the large-scale correspondence they conducted (such as petitions and requests for charity from the people).

The Evolution of 'via-Siberia' Mail. 1897 - 1945, by Jerry Miller, Posted: 2016-12-16 view this Exhibit
Updated December 2016! This exhibit offers the viewer a chronological overview of the postal evolution of mail sent by way of the trans-Siberian rail network between 1897 and 1945.

The Poezd and Pochta Postmarks of the "Little Railroads" of St. Petersburg, by Edward Laveroni, Posted: 2014-04-23 view this Exhibit
The Tsarskoe Selo, Warsaw, and Baltic railroads are known to have Poezd (train) and Pochta (post) marks between 1872-1904, and it was thought that they were used as sorting marks for specific trains. They are not TPO (Traveling Post Office) marks, because they were not applied on the train. It is thought that the black marks were for the trains traveling toward St. Petersburg and the traveling from St Petersburg. Thanks to the works of Manfred Dobin and Ian Baillie, the chart for these is shown in this exhibit. The exhibit will follow closely Mr. Baillie's classification chart which slightly altered the original chart of Mr. Dobin.

The Rossica Society, by David M Skipton, Posted: 2009-01-04 view this Exhibit
The Rossica Society was born in Igalo, Yugoslavia on 14 April 1929. The brainchild of Eugene Arkhangelsky, a prominent aero-philatelist and philatelic author, its early adherents were mostly emigre White Russians who fled their country after the October 1917 coup and scattered to the four corners of the globe. The political, economic and military upheavals of the 20th century chased Rossica's center of gravity from Yugoslavia to the Baltic States and then to Shanghai, where the war in the Pacific prevented it from distributing its journal, and WWII wiped out much of its membership. The Society collapsed in early 1942 and took a decade to reconstitute itself, this time in the U.S., where it remains based to this day.

The Small Heads of the First Definitive Set of the U.S.S.R. 1923-1928, by Richard Weinberg, Posted: 2014-05-25 view this Exhibit
The exhibit chronologically follows the development of these adhesives from their introduction in 1923 thru 1928. Changes in the method of printing, paper, watermark and perforation are illustrated along with an assortment of varieties. Only the basic designs remained unchanged. Essays, proofs and specimens along with issued mint and used stamps are interwoven into a fabric which illustrates the evolution of this series. Throughout the exhibit covers, both commercial and philatelic, demonstrate the postal usage of this series and give a glimpse of Soviet life as well as some objectives of the new emerging government. A point of interest is the association of these stamps and their usage with a group of advertising labels issued during the same period and used exclusively in conjunction with this definitive set. The exhibit ends with an introduction to these advertising labels.

Unrecognized and Overlooked Zemstvo Mail, by George G Werbizky, Posted: 2013-08-11 view this Exhibit
The development of mail service in Russia paralleled the development of that service in many other countries. Transport of mail began along ancient routes and later by mail. Stamped envelopes were introduced in 1845 in St. Petersburg and a year later in Moscow. Russia No. 1 stamp was issues in 1858. However, this development was too slow for the needs of rural area that were beyond the reach of trade routes and railroad lines. To provide mail service in these remote areas county administrators called "zemstvo", i.e. rural, took it upon themselves to establish mail service and connect it with the mail service of the central government. This exhibit shows stampless zemstvo mail in six categories, each category labeled by a different print color, arranged according to the Russian alphabet, while the description of the exhibit on each page remains black.

Via the Red Skies - The Russian Air Network 1922 - 1941, by G. Adolph Ackerman, PhD Posted: 2008-12-08 view this Exhibit
The Soviet air mail covers presented provide the viewer with a tour-de-force of the early development of the Soviet civil air mail service (1922 - 1941). Many of the covers are extremely rare especially early flights in a given route and those from more obscure routes in regions east of the Urals, e.g., Siberia, the Far East, the Far North and North-Central Asia. The exhibit has won several grand awards and international golds.

Vignettes As Historical Artifacts of Russia's Ethnic Diaspora, by Nikolai Sorokin, Posted: 2012-10-28 view this Exhibit
In 1922, as a result of a bloody civil war, a large number of Russians who opposed Communism found themselves living in exile. As political refugees cut off from their homeland, many remained defiant, convinced in the justice of their cause, and determined to persevere. This comprehensive eleven-frame exhibit tells the history of ethnic Russian émigrés during the seven decades of Communist rule in their homeland. It includes propaganda, scouting, and charity labels issued by Russians in many of the countries where they found refuge. Among its highlights are some of the earliest issues of the 1920s White Army veteran charity vignettes, local post stamps of post-World War II DP camps, the propaganda issues of "Free Russia" and the National Alliance of Russian Solidarists, Orthodox church labels, vignettes of philatelic societies and youth organizations, and much more.

Watchmen at the Gates, by David M Skipton, Posted: 2012-08-05 view this Exhibit
The title "Watchmen at the Gates" derives in part from the book by Mariana Tax Choldin, "A Fence Around the Empire." Even though there was indeed a fence, there remained ways in and out - the gates - and people who had to guard them. Purpose of the exhibit 1) To show the three legs of the Imperial Russian foreign-books-and-periodicals censorship tripod (Customs, the Foreign Censorship Committee and the Postal Censorship) and the kinds of literature imports against which they were targeted; 2) demonstrate the sweep and pervasiveness of the censorship by providing examples of the individuals and institutions that were subjected to such scrutiny; 3) examine the quirks and foibles that reduced the effectiveness of this censorship and put the government at odds with its citizenry and foreigners in the country, and 4) present a large, nearly comprehensive selection of censor marks and notations.

Zek, by David M Skipton, Posted: 2007-10-23 view this Exhibit
No sociological, historical, demographic or cultural history of Russia can be attempted without taking into account the profound influence the slave-labor camps and prisons have had on her development. Russia was called "the prison house of nations" during the Imperial period; it became even more so during the Soviet period, a development Solzhenitsyn called the GULAG Archipelago. Much of the Soviet north, Siberia, the Far East and Central Asia was "settled" and exploited using slave labor and mass deportations. Zeks were compelled to build a large number of major construction projects with far-reaching consequences: the Belomor and Moscow-Volga Canals, the Baikal-Amur (BAM) Railroad, the double-tracking of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, the cities of Noril'sk and Magadan, and on and on.