The
Far Eastern Republic, sometimes called the Chita Republic, existed from April 1920 to November 1922 in the easternmost part of
Siberia. It was formed from the
Amur,
Transbaikal,
Kamchatka,
Sakhalin, and Primorye regions. In theory, it extended from
Lake Baikal to
Vladivostok but, in May 1921, the Priamur and
Maritime Provinces
The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% o ...
seceded.
[Gibbons, p.954.] Although nominally independent, it was largely controlled by the
RSFSR and its main purpose was to be a democratic
buffer state
A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between ...
between the RSFSR and the territories occupied by
Japan during the
Russian Civil War
, date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
to avoid war with Japan. Initially, its capital was
Verkhneudinsk
Ulan-Ude (; bua, Улаан-Үдэ, , ; russian: Улан-Удэ, p=ʊˈlan ʊˈdɛ; mn, Улаан-Үд, , ) is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence wi ...
(now Ulan-Ude), but from October 1920 it was
Chita. On 15 November 1922, after the war ended and the Japanese withdrew from
Vladivostok, the Far Eastern Republic was annexed by
Soviet Russia.
[Rossiter & Flower, p.108.]
Postage stamps
Coalition Government
In 1920 the RSFSR, by agreement with the communists, social revolutionists and social democrats, formed a three-party coalition government called the "Far Eastern Republic" (F.E.R.).
The first Chairman of the F.E.R. was
Alexander Krasnochekoff.
In September 1920 this government ordered its Central Postal Administration to collect all stocks of the remaining tsarist postage stamps from all post offices in the area of the F.E.R. Large supplies of the
Imperial Russian 1909-1917 'Arms' issue were on hand at the main post office of
Khabarovsk and also at
Vladivostok.
At first mail was franked with these 'Arms' stamps and the still-current
Kolchak (Siberia) overprinted stamps.
This introduced the danger of revenue loss due to imported 'Arms' stamps. The decision was hence made to overprint all the 'Arms' stamps with the Russian initials 'DBP' meaning "Far Eastern Republic" ( ru , Дальне-Восточная Республика , translit = Dalne-Vostochnaya Respublika), and to accept only overprinted stamps for franking within the F.E.R. The exact issue date remains uncertain; sources mention November 23 as well as December 12, 1920.
After the 'DBP' or DVR overprinted stamps were exhausted, four different new stamps modelled on the Tsarist 'Arms' type of 1909-1917 were printed in 1921 in Vladivostok. The exact issue date is unknown; estimates of production numbers range from 600,000 to 1,000,000.
Priamur Provisional Government, Merkulov
In May 1921 a
White movement coup d'état took place in Vladivostok. The new authorities there declared the abolition of the F.E.R. government and formed the
Priamur Provisional Government ( ru , Временное Приамурское Правительство , translit = Vremennoye Priamurskoye Pravitel'stvo; VPP).
[
]
headed by the brothers and . On May 22, 1922 an overprint was applied by the Vladivostok State Bank to four of the 1921 definitive issues consisting of an oval and '26.V.1921-1922'. It commemorated the first anniversary of the Merkulov government. The stamps were to be used in the Southern Primorsk Oblast.
Issue numbers were low, about 2,000.
In addition to these overprints a representative of the Merkulov government had the Tsarist 'Arms' type of 1909-1917 overprinted in 1921 at
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur (russian: Никола́евск-на-Аму́ре, translit=Nikoláyevsk-na-Amúrye) is a town in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia located on the Amur River close to its liman in the Pacific Ocean. Population:
Geography
The town i ...
. The overprint bears the letters 'N na A/PVP', and the new gold-kopeck values. It was done by handstamp since all the printing works in Nikolayevsk-on-Amur had been destroyed.
File:StampsRussia1908ThreePearls.jpg, Russia 1908 Tsarist 'Arms' issue
File:Russia Kolchak Government 1919 Sc4.jpg, Kolchak 1919 overprint issue
File:Russia Far eastern 1920 Sc8.jpg, F.E.R. 1920 DVR overprint issue
File:Russia 1921 Far East 2kop.jpg, F.E.R. 1921 Vladivostok 'Arms' issue
File:Commemorative stamps PPG1922.jpg, Merkulov 1922 issue
File:Stamp of Nikolaevk-na-Amure.jpg, Nikolayevsk-on-Amur 1921 issue
Priamur Rural Area Government, Diterikhs
The local population administered by the rural assembly ('Zemskoe Sobranie') was discontented with the Merkulov government. The rural assembly appointed General
Mikhail Konstantinovich Diterikhs (russian: Михаи́л Константи́нович Ди́терихс) as Governor and military commander of the rural armed forces (''
Zemskaya Rat The Zemskaya Rat or Zemstvo Host (russian: Земская рать) were the White armed forces in the Amur region, formed from the White Guard troops in Primorye, which existed between July and October 1922.
History
The Zemskaya Rat was formed o ...
'') of the Priamur Zemstvo territory. Shortly after his appointment, Diterikhs overthrew the Merkulov government, and renamed the area 'Priamurskii Zemskii Krai' (Priamur Rural Area). Diterikhs did not recognize the F.E.R. and had the 'DVR', the 1921 regular issues and Imperial Russian 1909-1917 'Arms' issue overprinted 'Priamurskii Zemskii Krai'. The stamps were overprinted by the Vladivostok State Bank between August and September 1922, and used in the Southern Primorsk Oblast between September and December 1922.
Military Revolutionary Committee
In October 1922 the Japanese evacuated the Maritime Province and Diterikhs, defeated by the F.E.R. army on 14 October 1922, fled abroad. The Bolsheviks took Vladivostok on 25 October 1922 and set up a
Military Revolutionary Committee
The Military Revolutionary Committee (russian: Военно-революционный комитет, ) was the name for military organs created by the Bolsheviks under the soviets in preparation for the October Revolution (October 1917 – Marc ...
. 10,000 Sets
definitive stamps of the F.E.R. were overprinted '1917.7.XI.1922', commemorating the fifth anniversary of the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
, and issued on November 7, 1922. These stamps were used until early 1923.
The F.E.R. ceased to exist as an independent state on November 15, 1922. During 1923 and early 1924 various Siberian stamp issues remained in circulation, mostly the Chita issues.
File:Stamp of PZK1922.jpg, Diterikhs 1922 issue
File:FER Air Post 1923 Vladivostok surcharges.jpg, Vladivostok 1923 air post issues
Postal stationery
In 1920 the Coalition Government had
Postal stationery produced by overprinting Tsarist Russian
postal card
Postal cards are postal stationery with an imprinted stamp or indicium signifying the prepayment of postage. They are sold by postal authorities. On January 26, 1869, Dr. Emanuel Herrmann of Austria described the advantages of a ''Corresp ...
s and
newspaper wrappers which already had different designs of
impressed stamp applied to show that postage had been pre-paid. Similar to the stamps the overprint consisted of the Russian initials 'DBP' meaning Far Eastern Republic (Dalne-Vostochnaya Respublika), and was placed horizontally on the imprinted stamp.
Four different postal cards were used. Postal cards of 3 kopeks (1909), 4 kopeks (Romanov card of 1913) 5 kopeks brown (
Kerensky card of 1917) and 5 kopeks reply card (
Kerensky card of 1917) were overprinted.
Tsarist wrappers of 1890 and 1891, the 1 kopek orange and 2 kopek green were used. Four different wrappers can be distinguished although some catalogues subdivide each 2 kopek wrapper into two types with differences in size, making a total of six different wrappers.
[Michel Ganzsachen-Katalog Europa Ost 2001, p.535.]
Collecting stamps and postal stationery of the Republic of the Far East
Several of the above stamps were produced in large numbers, and are readily available today, while others are very rare. Genuine usages on
cover
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of copy ...
are seldom seen for some issues, and are somewhat scarce for most. Some alleged stamp issues of the Far Eastern Republic should be treated with caution, as there is no evidence they were ever postally used. These include the so-called
Nikolaevsk-on-Amur
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur (russian: Никола́евск-на-Аму́ре, translit=Nikoláyevsk-na-Amúrye) is a town in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia located on the Amur River close to its liman in the Pacific Ocean. Population:
Geography
The town ...
issue and the 1923 Vladivostok Airmail issue. Fantasy issues also exist, such as the "Pribaikal" overprints.
The stamps and postal stationery of the Russian civil war period are a complex topic giving an advanced collector a great philatelic challenge.
Stamp societies
* ArGe Russland/UdSSR
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Russland/UdSSR e.V. is a German-based Russian philatelic society
* BSRP
British Society of Russian Philately is a British-based Russian philatelic society
*
The Rossica Society of Russian Philately is a US-based Russian philatelic society
See also
;Russian Civil War:
*
Provisional Priamurye Government
The Provisional Priamurye Government or Provisional Priamur Government (russian: Приамурский земский край) existed in the region of Priamurye of the Russian Far East between May 27, 1921 and June 16, 1923. It was the las ...
*
Siberian Intervention
The Siberian intervention or Siberian expedition of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by the western powers, Japan, and China to support White Russian fo ...
*
White movement
*
Russian Civil War
, date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
;Postage stamps and postal history:
*
Postage stamps and postal history of Russia
A Russian Empire postman.
This a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the modern Russian Federation.
Postal history
Early history
Records mention a system of messengers in the 10th ...
*
Compendium of postage stamp issuers, Russian Civil War
;Catalogues:
*
Michel catalog
The Michel catalog (''MICHEL-Briefmarken-Katalog'') is the largest and best-known stamp catalog in the German-speaking world. First published in 1910, it has become an important reference work for philately, with information not available in ...
*
Scott
Scott may refer to:
Places Canada
* Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec
* Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380
* Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sask ...
*
Stanley Gibbons
*
Yvert
References
Further reading
*
*
Stanley Gibbons Ltd, ''Europe and Colonies 1970'', Stanley Gibbons Ltd, 1969
*
Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986.
External links
AskPhil – Glossary of Stamp Collecting TermsForum of the Rossica Society of Russian Philately{{PostalhistoryAsia
History of the Russian Far East
Far Eastern Republic
Far Eastern Republic
Far Eastern Republic