THE SOVIET PERIOD


POSTAL STATIONERY 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) 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.
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.
Original print size of this image: 14,867 x 10,575 cm (is something more as the postal item)
According MGK these type cards are 150 x 105 mm.

The imprinted stap, resized 50%.

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.









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".

This coat of arms: 16 ribbons, text in one line as dots: type IV C







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: 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 is mentioned as picture 'Lenin-Stalin-Mausoleum(5/VIII 1954)' in MGK: P219A, IIa.


The first mausoleum on the Red Square in Moscow for Lenin (1870-1924) was a wooden building. Lenin died on January 21, 1924, and some days later, 27 January, a temporary mausoleum was opened. Short after that, two months later, the construction started of a new mausoleum, also made of wood.
With the first anniversary of the dead of Lenin and on the occasion of the completion of the mausoleum a series postmarks is issued (Mi. 292-295 A/B , perforated and non-perforated). On the postage stamp het (Mi. 294A) you see the wooden version of the Lenin-mausoleum.



Between 1920 and 1930 the present stone mausoleum is build. The architects were Aleksej Sjtsoesjev, I.A. Frantsuz, G.K. Yakovlev.
The darkred granite and black labradorite symbolise 'the grief of the people and the power of the eternal wisdom of Lenin'. With the 10th anniversary of the dead of Lenin a series postage stamps is issued (mi. 467-471, March 1934) with the picture of the new Lenin-mausoleum. Here you see Mi. 467 perforated, but the stamps are also issued non-perforated (Mi. 467U-471U). The first non-perforated stamps (467U-468U) are not postally used, but direct sold to the traders.








Mi. 1086, issued 1947.

On Mi. 1085-1086 -issued 1947- you see a picture of the mausoleum with very clear the name of Lenin. This is changing with the dead of Stalin. Stalin died -officially- March 5, 1953. On March 6 his dead is announced to the people and his body is placed in the Great Column-hall, near the Red Square. Millions of visitors say goodbay and hundreds of people die in the crowd.
On March 9 the body goes to the mausoleum of Lenin and in november 1953 the mausoleum is opened again: now with the indication of Lenin and Stalin on the mausoleum, as we see on postal stationery card above.





Mi. 2668, issued in 1962: here only the indication of Lenin on the mausoleum.

On the 20th Congress of the Communist Party Nikita Chroetsjov made a speech about Stalin: the start of the de-Stalinsation.
A decree of Chroetsjov on the 22th Congress of the Party decided that Stalin must be removed from the mausoleum.
On October 31, 1961 Stalin is removed from the mausoleum and re-burried at the wall of the Kremlin.