Postage stamps to aid the starving in the first half of the 20th century

Postage stamps to aid the starving in the first half of the 20th century

What can be common in the history of the Ukrainian people today and 100 years ago? Human suffering in the south and east. But if today Ukrainians are suffering from the pain of bullets and shells of the russian government, in the 20s of the last century this crime was carried out by the soviet government. Curiously, until 1923. The Ukrainian People's Republic was independent of Soviet Russia until 1923, but this did not prevent the Red Army from intervening.

The Bolsheviks exterminated Ukrainian peasants in a no less humane way: by starvation. As a result, there were human casualties in Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, and Odesa regions.

A historical sketch of the famine tragedy

With the arrival of the Soviets on Ukrainian lands and the formation of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic, the then authorities could no longer resist the new government. This resulted in a policy of forcible grain confiscation, including against the backdrop of the drought and crop failure of 1920-1921. Grain was removed from Ukrainian provinces by means of punitive and repressive measures under the supervision of food detachments and regular troops.

This policy of overestimating grain procurement plans and removing grain led to famine, which caused deaths and a humanitarian catastrophe. The authorities tried to hide the fact of the famine in every possible way. But when this became impossible, the main reason for this was called drought. At the same time, measures were introduced under the guise of work to overcome the disaster.

As a result of the criminal actions of the Soviet government, the Ukrainian people lost more than one million people. To this day, the exact number is unknown, and according to various estimates, the figures are from 2 million people or more. But nothing goes unnoticed, and all the crimes committed by the authorities cannot be completely concealed. After all, there will always be people who care and stand for truth and justice.

Coverage of the tragedy through philately in Soviet times

In addition to the political decisions of the time, there was a real drought that led to a decrease in yields. As you know, philately covers all significant events of any nature in its stamps. But this is not always possible due to the publicity of such actions and strict political moderation. Therefore, the path to issuing stamps that do not meet the requirements of political correction is quite thorny or even impossible.

Stamps issued by the RSFSR

At that time, the natural disaster affected not only the southern part of the Ukrainian lands, but also the Kuban and the Volga region. The government cited this as the main cause of the famine and couldn't sit idle. Therefore, as part of their concern, they created the Central Commission to Combat Famine under the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

Among the actions taken to combat it was the idea of issuing special postage stamps with a higher price, the proceeds from which were to go to help the hungry. As a result, a series of stamps with a face value of 2,250 rubles was issued, depicting barges with bread floating on the Volga River. Stamps were issued in three colors (green, dark red, and brown). The series also included a stamp featuring probably a soldier feeding a peasant. Also, for charitable purposes, the stamp "Russia" was issued with an overprint of "starving", which depicts a sword in his hand. The stamps were issued in the following periods:

December 1921 "Helping the starving of the Volga region";

February 1922 "R. S. F. S. R. to the starving";

November 1922 "R. S. F. S. R. to the Starving".

Also in February 1922, a separate series of 4 stamps was issued, which were in circulation only in the format of local issues in Rostov, Novocherkassk, and Millerovo. The stamps were titled "Southeast for the Starving". They were issued with images of peasants in triangular and rectangular formats in denominations of 2,000, 4,000, and 6,000.

Stamps issued by the USSR

As part of its expansion, the Soviet government's main goal was to use Ukraine exclusively as a source of natural resources, and the USSR was the last republic to issue stamps.

The reason for this was Moscow's constant refusal to approve the printing. Nevertheless, the stamps were printed abroad in Berlin in a million copies. It took a while to get permission to sell them, and only in large cities for 20 days. These cities included Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Poltava, and Chernihiv. After that, the remains were to be destroyed. In April 1923, the authorities declared that the famine was over and that there was no longer any need to help the starving.

In total, the USSR Post Office issued four variants of the charity stamps "Help for the Starving":

- The 10+10 karb denomination depicts a woman in the center of the stamp embodying Ukraine. She protects a child by warding off hunger.

- The 20+20 karb denomination features a portrait of Taras Shevchenko in the center of the stamp, with an ear of wheat surrounding it. This stamp is the first in the world to depict the writer.

- Face value 90+30 - the stamp depicts a peasant taking a scythe from a skeleton. The image most likely represents the farmers' struggle against death.

- 150+50 karb denomination - in the center is a woman in national costume who represents Ukraine. In one hand she holds a loaf of bread, which she gives to a peasant woman and her child. In the other, she holds a sheaf of wheat.

The fact that Moscow prevented the stamps from being issued became known only after the collapse of the USSR. This is yet another confirmation of the signs of ethnic cleansing of the Ukrainian people.

Speculation on stamps dedicated to famine

There is a series called "Odesa issue of famine relief". It dates from 1919-1922 and consists of 7 different stamps. The series is classified as non-postal, and the stamps were never put into circulation. They were printed and released for sale by the Association of Italian Philately (Venice). There is no information about the customer, distribution options, or the results of the proceeds from their sale in favor of hunger relief.

It is difficult to say whether they are a fake or just an artistic fantasy. There is also a story that they were made by an Italian businessman, Marco Fontano, to deceive collectors. There is also information that the Pomgol public organization could have been a possible customer.

Coverage of famine on stamps of other countries

In 1920-1921, in addition to the problem of famine in the Ukrainian lands, this problem also occurred in Northern China. Charity stamps were also used to counteract these circumstances. The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of China issued a series "Assistance to Famine Victims in China," which consisted of 8 stamps of different denominations.

There were also issues of non-postage stamps for sale in the United States. Such series were issued periodically within the framework of established funds to help the hungry. There are at least three known sales campaigns to raise funds. The last of them took place in 1929, after which the program was completely discontinued. Such stamps were especially popular during the New Year holidays.