Stalin on Stamps and other Philatelic Materials: Design, Propaganda, Politics

Authors

  • Alexander Kolchinsky Independent researcher

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/cbp.2013.184

Abstract

Stamps, postcards, and illustrated covers present a valuable and underappreciated resource in historical research, particularly when they deal—directly or indirectly—with images of national leaders. Th eir content and design refl ect and sometimes even anticipate political developments. Th e case of Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953, is especially complex due to his extraordinary national and international infl uence. Th is work analyzes the usage of Joseph Stalin’s likeness and name on stamps and other postal items in the context of contemporaneous political circumstances and the needs of domestic and international propaganda. Th e study examines philatelic items issued not only in the Soviet Union and other communist countries, but also in Western Europe and the United States.

Author Biography

Alexander Kolchinsky, Independent researcher

Alexander Kolchinsky received his Ph. D. in molecular biology in Moscow, Russia. During his career in experimental science in the former USSR and later in the USA, he published more than 40 research papers, reviews, and book chapters. After his retirement, he became an avid collector and scholar of philately and postal history. In his articles published both in Russia and in the USA, he uses philatelic material to document the major historical events of the past century. Dr. Kolchinsky lives in Champaign, Illinois, and is currently the Secretary of the Rossica Society of Russian Philately.

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Published

2013-09-06