ESTONIA IN THE SOVIET PERIOD



On 24 September 1939 the Soviet Union starts with the 'mutual defence' of Estonia and get military bases in Estonia. The Soviet Union invaded Estonia on 16 June 1940 and 17 June the government capitulated. The occupation was completed on 21 June 1940. As Estonian SSR Estonia is incorporated into the USSR on 9 August 1940.
On 22 June 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union and on 7 July the German Army reached the Estonian border.On 17 Augus is Narva occupied by the Germans and 28 August Tallinn.
Autumn 1944 The Soviet Army is back in Estonia and a long Soviet period starts.
After the 'singing revolution' in 1989 follows on 20 August 1991 the declaration of independence, recognation by the Soviet Union on 6 September 1991.



POSTAL STATIONERY : PICTURE POSTCARDS

In the Soviet period, many postcards as postal stationary are issued. Also many cards have an image from the Baltic. These postcards are part of our collection area.

MGK (Michel Ganzsachen-Katalog) has for the postal stationeries as a main heading: The 8th series permanent franking stamps (1948-1960). For the postcards with imprinted stamp of this period are used three stamps:

  • P212-P225: the stamp with the Spasskitower of the Kremlin in Moscow (Mi. 1336)
  • P226 and P228: stamp with flag and state coat of arms (Mi. 1335)
  • P235-P243: a later group of cards -1958/1960- the stamp with the miner is used (Mi. 1331, value 25 kopeken)

Original print size of this image: 15,121 x 10,727 cm (is something more as the postal item)

This picture and all pictures below on this page, if not mentioned otherwise: scanned about 300 dpi. Then set right and cut out - noted the actual print size-, resized 25 % of this image and saved as jpg.


This card is an old card, the oldest, with a Estonian motif.
The card is issued 6/I 1955.
See: list of these cards in the book of Harald Vogt and Max Kromm (literature, below)





The imprinted stamp exist in more types: on the mausoleum 1 or two lines: Lenin or Lenin and Stalin. On the stamp here you see >>> two lines, the indication for Lenin and Stalin.

There is also a difference in printing: Type I: Typography, only vertical lines in the tower (inscription on the mausoleum 1 line: Lenin).
Type II: Typography, only vertical lines in the tower (inscription on the mausoleum 2 lines: Lenin and Stalin).
Type III: Offset: vertical and horizontal lines in the tower (only inscription with 2 lines, Lenin and Stalin)
So this stamp is type III: offset.




The description of the picture - the Theatre in Tallinn- is only in Russian. Later cards have also a description in Estonian.



Ш 00011 is the publication-number. On older cards this number start with A, in 1954 with Ш. In the sixties i becomes again A, after 1971it becomes Л.

ЗАК is short for ЗАКАЗ, 'order'. The order-numbers are unique for a printing office. Here we see also the abbreviation for the printing office: МОСКОВСКОЙ [MOSKOVSKOI] ПЕЧАТНОЙ [PECHATNOI] ФАБРИКЕ [FABRIKE] ГОЗНАКА [GOZNAKA] , the Moscow printing office Gosnak.



The coat of arms has a total of 16 ribbons and text in one line as points: so type IVC (in the Michel Ganzsachen-Katalog).

The coat of arms: has left and right ribbobs and 1 ribbon at the bottom, with a text or a text only by dots indicated text.
Type IV: 16 ribbons (1946), the number of union republics
IVA with two line text
IVB also two-line, but points
IVC single line: points
TYPE V: 15 ribbons (1956), the Karelo-Finnish SSR in 1956 incorporated into the Russian SFSR VA with two line text
VB also two-line, but points
VC single line: points
The text: "Proletarians of all countries unite".




In the Michel Ganzsachen-Katalog (MGK) the postal stationery cards are classified according the series permanent postage stamps. In the 8th serie permanent postage stamps (1948-1960) are three stamps used for the postal stationery cards: the Spasskitower (mi. 1336), the coat of arms (mi. 1335) with and the miner (mi. 1331).

For cataloguing we need also the coat of arms types, mentioned above:
Postal stationery cards with the Spasskitower
Stamp and type Address and
sender
Other Coat of
arms type
Printer MGK Sub Year
Spasskitower I No lines only two pictures IV A ---- P212 ---- 1952
Spasskitower II ---- IV A ---- P213 a, b 1952/ 53
---- IV B ---- P214 a, b
Spasskitower III printing address side: blue IV C ---- P215 I, II, III
printing address side: green ---- P216 I, II
Spasskitower III Address 7 lines,
sender 2 lines
printing address side: blue IV A МОСК. ПЕЧ. Ф-КА
ГОЗНАКА
P217 IA, IB, IIA, IIB 1952/ 53
printing address side: blue IV C P218 I, II 1954
printing address side: green IV C P219A I, II, IV, V, VI 1953/ 56
milled border (from booklet) P219B I, II
Spasskitower II ---- IV B P220 I, II 1954/ 56
Spasskitower III 1 picture (1954 and 1956) IV B М Т ИМ В. М. Г... P221 ----
Spasskitower III Address 7 lines,
sender 2 lines
---- V B, green МОСК. ПЕЧ. Ф-КА
ГОЗНАКА
P222A ---- ---
milled border V B, green P222B ---- ----
Spasskitower II ---- V B, green P223 ---- ----
Spasskitower III ---- V B, red P224 ---- ----
VI World Youth and students.. logo ---- P225 I, II, III 1957


The card above has lines for address and sender, coat of arms IV C and printed in green, is not from a booklet: must be P219 A.
The sub-division:
I: Publication-number: A...
II: Publication-number: Ш.... and a.white to 'vivid grey-yellow' b. vivid brown cardboard
IV: Publication-number Ш......, with date and issue-year 1954.
V: Publication-number A...., with date and issue-year 1954
VI: Publication-number Ш, with date and issue-year 1955

The card above has as publication-number Ш 00011, with date 6/I and issue-year 1955: P219A, VI.

MGK (Michel Ganzsachen-Katalog) mention under P219A, subdivision IIa cards with picture. Here also the interesting card 'Lenin-Stalin-Mausoleum (5/VIII 1954)'. The picture of this card has above the mausoleum clearly indicated Lenin and Stalin.
More about this: another page