Russian Post in China is a postal service organized by the government of the Russian Empire on the territory of China and functioning between 1870 and 1920 .
| Russian Post in China † | |
|---|---|
 Stamp Russian Post in China , 1910, 35 kopecks ( Yt # 30a; Sc # 38) [^] | |
| Mail History | |
| Organized by | March 23, 1870 |
| Closed | 1920 |
| First brands | |
| Standard | 1899 |
| Latest issue | 1920 |
| Total released | 80 [1] |
History
According to the opinion of the State Council [2] , which was highly approved on March 23 ( April 4 ), 1870 , Russian post in China was established as a private enterprise, which was under the auspices of the Russian government and received from it a subsidy of 17,600 rubles per year. Russian mail was kept between Kyakhta and Tianjin , and four Russian post offices were established along this route - in Urga , Kalgan [3] , Beijing and Tianjin. In these offices all kinds of correspondence were received and sent to all places in Russia and abroad [4] .
During the month, eight Russian mails passed through Chinese territory (with the exception of relay races ) - three so-called light mails and one heavy mail in each direction. Light mail was delivered between Kyakhta, Urga and Kalgan on two riding horses , with one coachman - a Mongol ; further from Kalgan to Beijing and Tianjin they were delivered by the Chinese on mules or donkeys . With light mail, only registered and simple correspondence, official simple packages and periodicals were sent; with heavy mail - all kinds of correspondence and parcels . Heavy mail followed in Mongolia on camels and packs, and in China - on mules, packs or carts [4] .
Between Beijing and Tianjin, at the opening of navigation (from Tongzhou ), heavy mail was delivered by boat along the Baie River. In addition to the coachmen, heavy mail was accompanied all the way by two Cossacks [4] .
Delivery time by light mail under existing contracts was calculated between Kyakhta and Kalgan for summertime at eight, in winter time - 9.5 days, for heavy mail - in summer at 21 days, and in winter - at 23. Between Kalgan and Beijing light mail went like in summer and winter two days, and heavy - four days; light mail between Beijing and Tianjin - one day, heavy - two. The monthly mail delivery fee was: in Mongolia - 750 rubles in silver , in China - 156 rubles in silver [4] .
In general, the movement of Russian mail in China, with the exception of the flood period, was quite normal during the tsarist era, although it was often late in Mongolia, sometimes for up to five days [4] .
Subsequently, post offices were opened in Shanghai (1897), Yantai (1897), Hankou (1897), Port Arthur (1899-1904]) and Dalian (1899-1904) [5] [6] . In total, 40 Russian post offices were organized in China.
In the fall of 1920, all Russian post offices in China stopped their work and were closed [7] .
Postage stamps
Initially, stamps of the Russian Empire were used to pay for Russian postal services in China. In 1899, the Russian postal institutions in China were transformed into foreign offices, special stamps and integral items were issued. Since at that time the rates of Chinese and Russian currencies were approximately equal, denominations of brands were indicated in rubles and kopecks . When selling stamps, post offices accepted payment in Chinese currency at the rate of 1 Chinese cent for 1 Russian penny. Since the end of 1916, due to the depreciation of the ruble, stamps with overprints in Chinese currency have been issued. Moreover, they were imprinted in Russia and delivered to China.
Issue of stamps began in 1899 when diagonal typographic overprints in Russian “CHINA” of blue, red or black color were produced on Russian stamps ( Sc # 1-40, 42-45, 47) .
In September 1916, the Russian Ministry of the Interior decided to print instead of the word “China” the value in local currency - cents and dollars . Since 1917, the issue with black typographic diagonal overprint in English of new denominations was received at Russian post offices in China ( Sc # 50–66, 68, 70) and was supplemented in 1920 ( Sc # 72–80) [≡] . It was used along with brands of previous issues.
In October 1920, due to the fact that it was not possible to replenish supplies of small denominations with supplies from the center, the last issue of Russian post stamps in China was carried out. Typographic horizontal overprints of a new denomination of red and black were made in the cellars of St. Sophia Cathedral in the city of Harbin (hence its name "Harbin Edition" ). Along with postage stamps of central manufacture, these stamps were intended for use in all then functioning Russian post offices in China ( Sc # 72-80) [≡] .
The Directory Directory of Domestic Postal Payment Marks (1990) [≡] identifies a total of seven issues of Russian postage stamps in China, which are listed in the table below.
| Issue Number [8] | Date of issue | Release Description |
|---|---|---|
| one | 1899-1904 | The first issue of Russian postage stamps in China . printing diagonal overprint "CHINA" of dark blue and red colors on stamps of Russia of the 12th and 11th issues |
| 2 | 1904-1908 | Printing diagonal overprint " CHINA" in dark blue and red on Russian stamps of the 13th and 15th issues |
| 3 | 1907 | Printing diagonal overprint "CHINA" of dark blue and red colors on stamps of Russia of the 16th issue |
| four | 1908 | Printing diagonal overprint "CHINA" of dark blue and red colors on stamps of Russia of the 14th issue |
| five | 1910-1916 | Printing diagonal overprint "CHINA" of dark blue, black and red colors on stamps of Russia of the 17th and 19th issues [≡] |
| 6 | 1917 | Typographic diagonal overprint of the denomination in Chinese black currency on Russian stamps of the 13th, 16th, 17th and 19th issues [≡] |
| 7 | 1920 | " Harbin issue." Typographic horizontal overprint of the denomination in Chinese currency of black and red colors on Russian stamps of the 17th, 20th and 21st issues [≡] |
According to L. L. Lepeshinsky (1967) [9] , a total of 35 postage stamps of Russian mail were issued in China. In the Scott catalog there are 80 brands listed, not counting the varieties [1] [≡] .
See also
- British Post in China
- German Post in China
- History of China Post and Stamps
- Russian Post History
- Russian post in Mongolia
- Russian post abroad
- French post in China
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Scott 2007. Standard Postage Stamp Catalog. - New York, NY, USA: Scott, 2006. [Eng.] [ See scanned catalog page [≡] .]
- ↑ 1870. March 23. The highest approved opinion of the Council of State. - On the final arrangement of the temporary existing postal service between Kyakhta and Tien-Jing // Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire . The second meeting. 1825-1881 (in 55 volumes + volumes of additions and indexes) - St. Petersburg. : Type of. II Branch of His Own Imperial Majesty Chancellery, 1830–1885 . - T. XLV. - Part 1. - S. 307-308. - No. 48168.
- ↑ L. B. Zhang-chia-kou // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Mail // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- ↑ China (Russian Post Offices ) . A — Z of postal authorities. Encyclopaedia of Postal History . Stampsite: The Encyclopaedia of Postal Authorities. - Information about the brands of Russian mail in China in the database “Encyclopedia of the history of mail. Encyclopedia of Post Offices. " Date of treatment December 2, 2010. Archived January 13, 2008.
- ↑ According to other sources (see the English article Russian post offices in China ), the opening of Russian mail in these cities occurred in November 1886.
- ↑ Russia. Russian Post in China // Large Philatelic Dictionary / N. I. Vladinets, L. I. Ilyichev, I. Ya. Levitas, P. F. Mazur, I. N. Merkulov, I. A. Morosanov, Yu. K. Myakota, S. A. Panasyan, Yu. M. Rudnikov, M. B. Slutsky, V. A. Jacobs; under the general. ed. N.I. Vladinets and V.A. Jacobs. - M .: Radio and communications, 1988 .-- 320 p. - 40,000 copies. - ISBN 5-256-00175-2 . (Retrieved December 2, 2010)
- ↑ The numbering of the issues is given according to the “Directory-Directory of Domestic Signs of Postal Payment” (1990) [≡] .
- ↑ China (People's Republic of China) // Philatelic geography (foreign countries): Reference book / L. L. Lepeshinsky. - M .: Communication, 1967. - S. 160-176. - 480 p.
Literature
- Directory of domestic signs of postage: Sat. in 3 vols. - M. , 1990. - T. 1. - S. 90-99. - (Appendix to the journal “Philately of the USSR” and “Philately” ) [^] .
- Tyukov V. M. Russian stamps and signs of postage. Big Encyclopedia. - M .: EKSMO , Our word, 2011 .-- S. 61–66. - ISBN 978-5-699-47412-7 .
- Prigara SV The Russian Post in the Empire, Turkey, China, and the Post in the Kingdom of Poland. - New York, NY, USA: , 1981. - 196 p. (Eng.) (Retrieved September 10, 2015) Archived September 10, 2015.
- Wellsted R., Rossiter S. , Fowler J. The Stamp Atlas. - New York, NY, USA: Facts on File Publications, 1986. - P. 258. - ISBN 0-8160-1346-2 . (eng.)
Links
- Vladinets N.I. Post Offices Abroad . Russian Post . fmus.ru; Philatelic Museum and Library. - EBook. Date of treatment December 2, 2010. Archived on February 15, 2012.
- Rossiter S., Fowler J., Wellsted R. China . Stamp Collecting Resources: Stamp Atlas . Knutsford, UK: Sandafayre Stamp Auctions; Sandafayre (Holdings) Ltd. Date of treatment April 4, 2016. Archived April 18, 2013.