Signs of voluntary fees

The graphic design of the signs of voluntary collections ranges from extremely simple stamp-receipts and vignettes in one or two lines of typographic text to artistic graphic works. The level of decision depends on the capabilities of the organization conducting the collection, and the timing of its implementation ^[1] .

Organizationally voluntary gatherings are carried out by three main methods ^[1] :

• distribution of stamps on which the face value is indicated,
• subscription sheets and
• collection in sealed containers.

In the first method, the donor is given stamp receipts for the amount of the donation, one or more. In the second and third methods, the donor is sometimes given a vignette - a memo of the donation ^[1] .

In 1910-1932, during the period of widespread voluntary collection in Russia , and then in the USSR , among the collectors of vignettes were called ZKS - "signs of circle collection" ^[1] .

According to their economic content, signs of voluntary fees are divided into five main groups, each of which includes signs of the most diverse nature ^[1] :

1. stamps and vignettes of target fees,
2. membership marks of voluntary societies, foundations, unions and parties,
3. cooperative brands
4. trade union brands
5. club brands.

Membership, cooperative and club non-mail stamps constitute a separate section. In terms of their economic content, they are closest to the signs of voluntary fees, although they differ from the ZDS in the participation of only party members, unions, societies or clubs.

Depending on the direction of collection, stamps and vignettes of target collections are divided into seven subgroups ^[1] :

1. charity
2. military
3. international assistance and cooperation,
4. assistance and assistance to state and public authorities,
5. assistance to religious organizations,
6. assistance to political parties and organizations,
7. assistance to small peoples, national minorities and their organizations.

The most numerous signs of the first two groups. Their mass release usually coincides with periods of military and social upheaval ^[1] .

Charity Stamps and Vignettes

The first group of charitable gatherings is voluntary social assistance gatherings for orphans, the disabled, the blind and the deaf, the unemployed, those affected by natural disasters, including those starving. In periods of peaceful life, social assistance is the main activity of charitable organizations. Funds are raised by distributing stamps, such as the stamp of the Imperial philanthropic society, gathering in circles, organizing charity events, for example, Moscow willow bazaars. The funds raised are spent on the purchase of things for the poor, needy, widows and orphans, etc. Sometimes help is expressed in the distribution of food stamps and stamps, coupons for various services; for example, before 1918 and for some time after the October Revolution, food stamps were issued in Voronezh. In some countries, support for the poor is provided by voluntary winter assistance organizations, which also issue stamps ^[1] .

A large group consists of signs of voluntary assistance to victims of natural disasters: earthquakes, fires, floods, droughts and others. such fees sometimes become global, for example, in 1908, fundraising was provided to help victims of the earthquake in Calabria and Sicily (Italy), and to help the starving Volga region in 1922, including expressively issued issues of Kazan and the Chita brand ^[1] .

Military

Signs of voluntary fees related to wars and armed forces are combined into a group called "Militaria." Depending on the purpose of the donations, the “Militaria” includes the signs of fees of the following categories:

• to strengthen the country's defense in peacetime and wartime (assistance to the armed forces, their development, military training)
• assistance to soldiers fighting the enemy (fees for medical equipment and sanitary services, gifts, uniforms, education)
• assistance to war victims (wounded, disabled, orphans, warrior families, refugees, prisoners of war, deported, interned)

International Assistance and Cooperation Fees

Fees for assistance to other countries, or international assistance, make up a special group. This group includes, for example, collections of assistance to victims of the earthquake that occurred in 1908 in southern Italy and Sicily. A significant scale of the organization of public international assistance falls on the period of the First World War. Public organizations of non-belligerent countries held collections to help the population of the fighting countries. The collections of assistance to the victims of the civil war in Russia in 1918-1922 were of an international character; a crop failure of 1921 in the Volga region, ZDS were issued, for example, in Germany and Switzerland; Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939; ZDS were issued in Czechoslovakia, Sweden. Voluntary assistance collections continued during the Second World War and for some time after its end. Almost all major catastrophes of international life of the post-war period, fraught with serious consequences for the peoples, are reflected in the issues of the ZDS.

Assistance and Assistance Fees to Government and Public Authorities

A small group of signs of voluntary collection of funds intended for the national economy. The initiator of such fees was most often the executive branch.

In the early 1930s, one of the state tasks in the USSR was the creation of an airship fleet. An organized propaganda campaign accompanied the massive fundraising during which issued ZDS, for example in Tashkent. On local initiative, there were also campaigns for financial assistance to the village. Already since 1915, "Peasant Days" and "Peasant Weeks" were held and issued ZDS, in particular in Kiev. Assistance fees to the village were held after the October Revolution, and during the period of collectivization, Stamps of voluntary fees to help the village were issued in Moscow, Kerch, Kirovograd and other cities. One of the experiments was an attempt to make farmers the Jewish population of the border regions of Ukraine and Belarus, who lived in overpopulated urban areas. The Society for Land Management of Working Jews (OZET) was organized, funds were raised for the resettlement of future farmers, for whom villages were built in the Crimea, in the southern regions of Ukraine, in the Far East, on the lands of the former Amur Cossack army. ZDS for the needs of immigrants were issued, for example, in Kamenetz-Podolsky.

The main motive for holding mass voluntary gatherings was to increase the country's military power. In addition to the issues of the Military group, fundraising was carried out under the slogan "Transport is the brother of the Red Army" to strengthen the railway (Nikolaev), water (Ukraine) and air transport (Gudauta). Also, fees for the development of radio communications (Sukhumi) were organized. In parallel with national campaigns, local ones were also held. For example, in Zaporozhye raised funds for the construction of a city airport. Previously, voluntary fees for the development of river and sea transport were timed by the Imperial Society to promote Russian merchant shipping to the "Anchor Days" (St. Petersburg).

After World War I, hyperinflation began in Poland. There were no funds in the treasury to secure money issued by the state. The Polish Treasury issued voluntary collection stamps for the purchase of precious metals - gold and silver. The funds raised helped restore normal money circulation in the country. During World War II, Warsaw was almost completely destroyed. The whole country participated in raising funds for the restoration of the capital of Poland. A memo to this are the stamps of voluntary fees, both national and local.

Fees for Religious Organizations

Voluntary fees in favor of religious organizations are widespread in foreign countries. So, for example, stamps were issued in Poland, the proceeds from the sale of which went to the construction of a university chapel in Lublin. In the United States, the American Bible Society published vignettes to support missionary work in colonial countries. Charges for the construction and maintenance of churches were common in Russia, but ZDS for these cases was issued very rarely. There are well-known brands issued in Nikolaev in favor of the St. Alekseyevsky Church and the Kaspersky Prayer House; Slavgorod to the temple of God.

In February 2006, the Board of Trustees for the construction of the Church of St. Nicholas in the city of Rtishchevo issued vignettes, the proceeds from the sale of which went to the construction of the church. The vignette, nicknamed the “brick” by the people, consists of two parts: the vignette itself with the image of the future church and the coupon on which the name of the donor is written and it is separated from the vignette. The author of the vignette was Dmitry Selivanov, head of the Rtishchevsky district council of the Saratov regional branch of VOOPIK , it was printed by New Image LLC. Rtishchevo ". The first capsule with coupons with the names of donors in 2007 was laid in the foundation of the temple under construction. As of mid-January 2009, the amount of funds received from the sale of “bricks” amounted to 298 thousand 350 rubles ^[2] .

Stamps and vignettes of fees in favor of public organizations and parties

In the Russian state, the peak of such fees falls between the February and October revolutions of 1917. Vignettes issued by the RSDLP, in particular in Kiev and Moscow, and by the party of socialist revolutionaries - Socialist-Revolutionaries in Moscow, Saratov, Simbirsk, have survived to our days. The Tsaritsyno organization of the RSDLP, which did not have the means for the printing of the ZDS, used red squares as a vignette on which was placed a red print on the seal of the party’s organizing committee.

Voluntary gatherings were made at that time and in favor of the councils, for example, in Moscow, as well as the ubiquitous national organizations of various kinds: political, cultural, educational, charitable, religious (Kiev, Simbirsk, Kharkov). The purpose of the gatherings conducted by public organizations often was to finance congresses, forums, rallies, etc. The vignette published for the Second Congress of the Comintern, which was considered an important stage in the preparation of the coming world revolution in 1920, is known.

There were stamps of fundraising for the World Forum of Solidarity of Youth and Students in the struggle for national independence and liberation, for peace, held in Moscow in 1964. The face value of the brand is 10 kopecks. printed on its back. There is also a vignette for the gathering for the X World Trade Union Congress, organized by the World Federation of Trade Unions in 1982 in Havana.

The group of cooperative brands includes non-mail signs issued by mass collective associations operating in the field in the field of production and exchange - consumer, supply and household, credit and production cooperatives , societies and artels.

• Turchinsky Yu. “Terra Incognita” or Conversations on Non-Postage Stamps // Philately. - 1994. - No. 7. - S. 25-26.
• Turchinsky Yu. “Terra Incognita” or Conversations on Non-Postage Stamps // Philately. - 1994. - No. 12. - S. 22-23.
• Turchinsky Yu. “Terra Incognita” or Conversations on Non-Postage Stamps // Philately. - 1995. - No. 6. - S. 13-14.