In the center is a projectile car taking off from the Earth and heading towards the Moon. In the book From the Earth to the Moon, he is described as follows:

“The shell turned out to be a miracle of metallurgy and did honor to the industrial genius of the Americans. Never before has such a huge amount of aluminum been mined at once, and this alone could be considered an extraordinary achievement in technology. The precious projectile sparkled brightly in the sun. The conical top gave it a resemblance to the massive guard turrets with which medieval architects used to decorate the corners of the fortress walls in the old days; only narrow loopholes and a weather vane on the roof were missing. [...] The projectile was nine feet wide and twelve feet high. [...] This metal tower was penetrated through a hatch in its conical top, resembling a hole in a steam boiler. It was hermetically sealed with an aluminum cover attached from the inside with powerful bolts. [...] ... four porthole windows made of thick lenticular glass were placed under the leather cover - two on the sides of the projectile, the third in its bottom, the fourth in the conical top.

The Israeli artist departed from the text of the book: the projectile is made of metal foxes fastened with rivets (Jules Verne has a completely different manufacturing technology: "The casting was successfully made on November 2" ), three triangular stabilizers and a nozzle appeared.

Monaco, 1955 (Michel No. 522)

In passing, I note that the stabilizers on the 1955 Julverne stamp of Monaco (Michel No. 522) misled many people. For example, in the German philatelic catalog "Michel" it is explained that the stamp depicts a rocket "Nike" (meaning the rocket of the American anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) "Nike - Ajax"). But this is not so – the spaceship of the future is depicted on the right side of the Monaco stamp. Its shape is significantly different from the shape of the American SAM missile. The fact that this is a spaceship is confirmed by the surrounding stars and the porthole in the central part of the ship. This is the very first image on a postage stamp of a fantastic spaceship.

The Polish writer Edward Karlovich in his book "500 Philatelic Riddles" (translated into Russian - 1978) explains the drawing of a spaceship in a completely different way:

“The first artificial satellite of the Earth went into orbit in October 1957, however... the spaceship on the stamp of the Principality of Monaco appeared earlier. In a series released in 1955 on the 50th anniversary of the death of Jules Verne, illustrations for his most popular works were reproduced. The only aviation stamp in this series with a face value of 200 francs (a great rarity!) illustrates the famous story of this writer "From the Earth to the Moon" and represents the spacecraft at the moment of launch on Earth and on the way to the Moon against the background of the starry sky.

But on the right side of the picture, of course, there is no Julvernian projectile car - it is enough to compare the shape of this spacecraft with the projectile on the left side of the picture.

France, 1961 (Michel No. 1338)

Jules Verne's book had a huge impact on world fiction. For example, the very first science fiction film, "Journey to the Moon" (Le Voyage dans la Lune (1902)) by the Frenchman Georges Méliès, was a parody of the book by J. Verne and the novel by G. Wells "The First Men on the Moon". Shown above is a 1961 French stamp dedicated to Millier. On the right, on the screen - a cannon aimed at the moon, people climbing into the lunar projectile. Below the screen is an inscription in French: "Journey to the Moon."

Probably, the artist drew from memory or from the words of people who watched the film - compare the drawing of the stamp with a frame from the film.

On the left side of the stamp is a man in a fiery chariot.

Most fantasy fans will decide: “This is Phaeton, who asked his father for permission to drive the sun chariot! From inept management, the horses approached the earth, it caught fire, and Zeus defeated Phaethon.

Hungary, 1978 (Michel No. 3268A)

And they will also recall that, according to one of the long-standing assumptions, the asteroid belt was formed after the destruction of the hypothetical planet Phaethon. Perhaps the fantastic research ships on the stamp of Hungary in 1978 just test this assumption.

But the Israeli stamp does not depict Phaethon, here the traditions of European fiction give way to Jewish specificity. This is not the inexperienced Phaethon, but the prophet Eiliyau (Elijah) who has seen life. Here is how it is described in the Tanakh:

“And it came to pass, as they were walking, and as they were talking, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared, and they separated one from the other; and Eiliyau ascended like a whirlwind into the sky"(Tanakh, Melachim II, 2:11).

The same event in another translation in 2 Kings:

“When they were walking and talking along the way, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared, and separated them both, and Elijah rushed into heaven in a whirlwind”(Fourth Book of Kings, 2:11).

Russia, 2002 (Michel No. 1028)

Russia, 2002 (Michel No. 1029)

Artist Avi Katz added dramatic details to the description of Eiliyau's ascension: the prophet turned around and extended his left hand towards the receding earth. On his face, either anger or disgust - it is difficult to determine from the drawings of the stamp, but it is clear that Eiliyau is not cheerful. And it is not clear: whether he is grieving that he has to leave the earth, or cursing the people who remained on it.

On the taba is a portrait of Jules Verne, composed of stars.

Portraits of the writer are not uncommon on stamps, but the postage miniature of the Central African Republic (Michel No. 118) is special, featuring Jules Verne pressing the start button. On stamps, you don't often see a writer in the world he invented.

This design was repeated on a postage stamp (Michel No. 5).

On the left side of the postal miniature is a lunar lander, one that brought American astronauts to the surface of the moon.

Yemen, 1965 (Michel No. 191A)

Ajman, 1972 (Michel No. 1298 A)

On postage stamps, you can find not only real-life landers, but also their prototypes. For example, on the stamps of Yemen in 1965 (Michel No. 191) and Ajman in 1972 (Michel No. 1298).

In philately, space technology and books by Jules Verne often coexist with each other. For example, on the stamps of Mali in 1970 (Michel No. 224–226), dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of the famous writer.

The first stamp depicts the Saturn V launch vehicle with the Apollo spacecraft (left), the portrait of the writer (center), the factory (bottom) and the projectile that went to the moon (right). The figure juxtaposes the fantastic and the real – the Julvernine shell car and the Saturn V.

The artist who designed the Mali stamps undoubtedly saw illustrations from the first edition of From the Earth to the Moon (1865).

The second stamp depicts the undocked command and lunar modules (left), a portrait of the writer (center) and a projectile with a dog corpse accompanying it (left).

The drawing on the right side of the stamp refers to the book "Around the Moon":

“According to the instructions of Barbicane, the whole procedure of the funeral required extreme promptness in order to prevent the loss of air, which, due to its elasticity, could quickly evaporate into the world space. The bolts of the right window, about thirty centimeters wide, were carefully unscrewed, and Michel, picking up the corpse of Satellite, prepared to throw it out the window. With the help of a powerful lever, which made it possible to overcome the pressure of internal air on the walls of the projectile, the glass quickly turned on its hinges, and the Satellite was thrown out ... At the most, a few molecules of air escaped from the projectile, and the whole operation was carried out so successfully that subsequently the Barbicane was not afraid to get rid of any rubbish that cluttered up their car in the same manner.

The artist very boldly compared the command and lunar modules with a shell car and a dead dog.

The design on the stamp is based on illustrations from the first edition of Around the Moon (above).

The third stamp shows the landing of the crew compartment of the lunar expedition (left), the portrait of Jules Verne (center) and the rescue of the crew of the Jules Verne projectile (right).

A month and a half later, these postage stamps were overprinted with the text in French: "Apollo XIII - Space Epic - April 11-17, 1970" (Michel No. 230-231).

And nine years later, the image of one of the Julverne stamps of 1970 (Michel No. 226) appeared on a stamp dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the Apollo 11 flight (Michel No. 724).

I note that the colorful and memorable stamps of Israel are not the only ones dedicated to the popular type of literature. Two years before their appearance, in 1998, a large series called The Age of Science Fiction was released in San Marino. 16 stamps show a hundred-year history of science fiction - from Jules Verne's book "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" in 1869, to F. Dick's book "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" 1968.

USSR, 1982 Marked envelope

Science fiction can be found not only on postage stamps. For example, in the USSR and its main legal successor, Russia, several whole things were released dedicated to domestic classics of science fiction: I. Efremov (USSR 1982, stamped envelope), A. Strugatsky (Russia 2005, card with original stamp), A. Belyaev ( Russia 2009, envelope with original stamp). On each single item are the names of science fiction books (on the envelope of Efremov, this is a drawing of the M-31 nebula, which directly points to the novel "The Andromeda Nebula").

The Polish aphorist Leszek Kumor once suggested: "Let's learn from the mistakes of others - our own repertoire is too monotonous." I will not undertake to judge the mistakes of everyday life and human nature - let psychologists and others like them deal with this. But as for the errors on domestic stamps and other signs of postage, here, of course, we put the wise pan to shame! The repertoire of our mistakes is so diverse that it would be ... a mistake to refer to the "experience" of other countries. As proof - "vinaigrette" from a wide variety of home-grown oversights.

One of the famous curiosities of our mail is a postal miniature with a portrait of the pilot Sigismund Levanevsky. This 10-kopeck stamp was issued in the series "Rescue of the Chelyuskinites" and was drawn by the classic of the genre Vasily Zavyalov. Collectors are well aware of the series that presented the heroes of the epic rescue of the Chelyuskin steamer, which was crushed by ice on February 13, 1934. It was in connection with the feat of rescuers in the USSR that the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was established on April 16 of the same year. On the stamps of the series, published in 1935, there are portraits of the first Heroes M. Vodopyanov, I. Doronin, N. Kamanin, S. Levanevsky, A. Lyapidevsky, V. Molokov, M. Slepnev, as well as the leader of the polar expedition O. Schmidt and the captain steamer "Chelyuskin" V. Voronin.

Immediately after the receipt of the stamps in the postal circulation, philatelists noticed a strange thing: all the portraits of pilots and polar explorers are drawn in a frame of laurel branches, from which, as is known, a wreath was made to the winner in ancient times. And only the portrait of Sigismund Levanevsky is decorated with both laurel and palm branches... The people, even in the then USSR, were fully educated in the arts. Collectors remembered the paintings of the old masters, in which an angel presents a palm branch to the Virgin Mary, announcing her imminent death, and the Virgin Mary herself, on her deathbed, passes this branch to John the Evangelist ... So what? Only a little over two years have passed since the creation of the brand - and the pilot Levanevsky died.

It was then that they started talking about the mystical nature of the 10-kopeck miniature, they began to torture (fortunately, not literally) its author. But Vasily Zavyalov firmly held the line, arguing that he painted the palm branch “accidentally”, remembering that in secular themes of painting, the goddess of Victory is always depicted with a palm branch. There was no, say, mourning overtones at all. Perhaps now, and not in 1937, when the pilot died, the artist would have told differently. But we will never know this. How can we not find out how, after (for sure!) Dozens of checks and rechecks, ridiculous typos appeared on Soviet stamps. Even the three-year-olds remember that the great Russian writer Dobrolyubov was called Nikolai Alexandrovich. But here's a surprise: on the stamp issued for the 100th anniversary of the critic, publicist, poet, prose writer in 1936 in black on white, or rather, given the color of the stamp, in brown on gray, it is printed: “A.N. Dobrolyubov". Maybe the publishers were confused by the presence in Russian literature of another Dobrolyubov - the poet Alexander Mikhailovich? But, as the unforgettable comrade Sukhov used to say, “this is hardly” ... Firstly, the “second” Dobrolyubov has a “lower pipe and thinner smoke”, and secondly, I generally doubt that in 1936 he (still alive and healthy!) someone would dare to remember, because this poet was "part-time" the founder of the religious sect "dobrolyubovtsev" or "brothers" (not to be confused with the current brothers!).

In those same years, another blunder - and also at the level of the secondary school program. In 1943, a series of two miniatures of one drawing was published for the 125th anniversary of the birth of I.S. Turgenev. No, no, the initials are all right here. But with the rest of the text ... In general, the artist G. Echeistov decided to slightly "correct" the classic - and really, why stand on ceremony there ?! Remember from school times the famous Turgenev poem in prose about the Russian language: “In the days of doubt, in the days of painful thoughts about the fate of my homeland - you are my only support and support, O great, powerful, truthful and free Russian language!” However, another text appeared on the stamp: “great, mighty, fair and free Russian language”... The stamps were withdrawn from circulation and, presumably, in those harsh war years, the poor artist and editor of the issue got nuts.

I judge by the fact that the name of the artist G. Echeistov completely disappeared from the list of authors of subsequent Soviet postal issues. But the stamp dedicated in 1990 to the Estonian epic Kalevipoeg still makes me smile. Remember this time, so to speak, of “pre-independence”, when all the Soviet people learned, watching the weather map on TV or reading the train schedule, to pronounce the impossible for the “great and mighty” - Tallinn ... You know, the authors of the aforementioned brand coolly “relearned” how to pronounce this is the most “nn”, since in the text on its coupon we read with surprise: “the struggle against forces hostile to the people”. For quite a long time there was a grammatical error in the stamp imprints of the franking machines of the post offices of St. Petersburg. As you can see in the illustration, the name of the city sounded unusual there: "S-PETERSBURG".

I remember the excitement at the Moscow post office in November 1971, when it was discovered that on the stamp in honor of the 90th anniversary of the birth of the leader of the international labor movement, William Foster, there was an error in the date of death. "1964" was printed instead of the correct "1961". The stamp was very quickly withdrawn from circulation, and those of the regulars of the post office who bought it in large quantities on the first day, as they would say now, “made money”. In general, whoever dared - he ate! .. In December 1971, the stamp came out with the correct date. The mistake of artists - authors of airmail stamps is quite common. They stubbornly forgot to draw a crutch under the tail of the aircraft, without which a normal landing is almost impossible. There are more than a dozen such "lame" aircraft in the domestic philately, and hundreds in the issues of other countries of the world. There are errors on the miniatures of 1961 (to the 40th anniversary of the Soviet postage stamp) and 1968 (dedicated to the Day of the Postage Stamp and the Collector): they depict the 1921 stamp "Freed Proletarian" with teeth, although in fact it was only non-perforated .

A printing defect was made on a 1961 miniature by Lieutenant General of the Engineering Troops D.M. Karbyshev as Colonel General (an extra asterisk on the left in the buttonhole). The “transparent” Moon appeared on the stamp of the Russian Federation in 1993: an asterisk shines through the lunar disk. And in 1995, the Russian mail "lost" in the fields and meadows. A stamp was issued with the caption "Meadow cornflower (Centaurea jacea)", but blue cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) was painted. Meadow cornflower has flowers of a distinctly purple color, and it does not grow in fields among rye crops, like blue cornflower, but in meadows, glades, on roadsides.

No luck (and not once!) on our stamps flags of foreign states. In 1958, a postal miniature had to be reissued in honor of the meeting of ministers in charge of communications in the socialist countries. They offended the flag of Czechoslovakia by turning it over. It is drawn on the stamp by Vasily Zavyalov to the left of the stylized shield with text. The correct location is the white stripe at the top and the red stripe at the bottom. In 1983, the flag of Romania, depicted on the block on the occasion of Cosmonautics Day, was damaged. But I don't think the artist is to blame here. Most likely, the domestic printing industry failed, and instead of the blue stripe, as expected, a green one was printed on the flag in the emblem of the international space flight. The error went almost unnoticed - in any case, they did not fix it.

They also did not begin to correct the mistake on the stamp of 1961, drawn by V. Zavyalov. The issue is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the death of T.G. Shevchenko, and the 6-kopeck postage mark represents, among other plot elements, the title page of the first edition of Shevchenko's Kobzar. The title of the book is reproduced on the stamp without the soft sign. This is how this word is now written in Ukrainian - just look at the 1994 stamp of Ukraine with a portrait of Shevchenko and the cover of an immortal book. But in 1840, when the first edition of the Kobzar appeared, it was impossible to do without a soft sign. This is how it is depicted in the illustration of the Soviet envelope of 1990 based on the drawing of the artist B. Ilyukhin. But with a stamp of 1933 from the large series "Peoples of the USSR" worth 1 kopeck. - everything is fine. The fact is that the Kazakhs are depicted in the miniature. But in recent decades, many young philatelists are surprised to see typical representatives of Central Asia on the stamp and read the signature: “Cossacks”. How so? Yes, everything is simple - in the thirties it was written exactly like that .., You, dear readers, of course, will laugh, but I drew this stamp ... Well, as they say, guess three times! ..

However, other Soviet artists do not lag behind V. Zavyalov in terms of the number of hits on the curious rating list. Take a look at the artistic stamped envelopes with the monument to A.S. Pushkin in Pushkinskie Gory. Those whole things that were published in 1976 (artist V. Martynov) and in 1986 (artist L. Kuryerova) represent a bronze Pushkin with his right hand raised high. But on the envelope of 1981 (artist V. Beilin), the monument lowered the right hand much lower than the left - which is clearly visible when comparing the envelopes.

Museums section publications

Small Form Graphics, or Postal Miniature

The most replicated works of art that fly around the world along with the envelope. The postage stamp was invented by the British in 1840. The Russian post offices received a new sign of payment for correspondence in artistic performance in 1857 and became a new type of creativity for Russian painters. More about miniaturists and their creations - Natalia Letnikova.

Philatelists or art historians?

"Inverted Jenny". 1918 U.S. airmail stamp with Curtiss JN-4 reversed

"Tiflis Unique" ("Tiflis Mark"). A very rare postage stamp issued in the Russian Empire (on the territory of modern Georgia) for the mail of Tiflis (Tbilisi) and Kojori in 1857

"Fast Jenny". 1918 U.S. airmail stamp showing a Curtiss JN-4 aircraft shifted to the left side, overlaying the frame of the stamp

Artists who create images for stamps balance between the laws of art and the criteria of philately. Initially, the evaluation of a postage stamp is the business of the mail itself. Philatelists, on the other hand, appreciate stamps that are rare, issued in small numbers and non-standard: with typos and errors, like “Inverted Jenny”. An image of an airplane printed upside down costs about three million dollars.

"Tiflis Unique", issued in 1857 for the city post of Tiflis, is considered by specialists to be one of the most expensive domestic brands. Initially, it cost 6 kopecks - at an auction in 2008, one of the three surviving copies was valued at 700 thousand dollars.

For the benefit of society

One of the first postage stamps in Russia "In favor of the orphans of the soldiers of the active army." 1904

Postage stamp from the series dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. Peter I (from a portrait by Godfrey Neller, 1698). 1913

Postage stamp from the series dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. Alexander II (based on an engraving by academician Lavrenty Seryakov from a portrait of Georg Botman, 1873). 1913

Postage stamp from the series dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. Nicholas II (from engraving by Fyodor Lundin, artist Richard Zarinsh). 1913

To carry ideas to the masses, to be the mouthpiece of bright and significant events. Almost immediately after their appearance, the brands "stepped in" at the service of the public interest. In 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War, by order of the Imperial Women's Patriotic Society, a series of stamps was issued with a surcharge of 3 kopecks for the needs of orphans in the army. With the help of stamps, they raised funds for the First World War - for the wounded and the families of the dead. These stamps depicted recognizable views and monuments of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

A special issue marked the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. The first and only series of commemorative stamps of the Russian Empire was issued in 1913. More often than others in this series there is a portrait of the then ruling Nicholas II - on stamps in denominations of 7, 10 kopecks and 5 rubles. Sketches for stamps from famous royal portraits were made by the artists Ivan Bilibin, Evgeny Lansere and Richard Zarinsh.

New power - new brands

"Hand with a sword that cuts the chain." The first postage stamp of Soviet Russia, designed by Richard Zarins. 1918

"Aspidka" ("Aspid-blue airship"). Rare postage stamp of the USSR from the Airship Building series. 1931

USSR stamp from the series "Fifth Anniversary of the October Revolution". Artist Ivan Dubasov. 1922

Four years later, it was the artist Zarinsh who became the first author of stamps in Soviet Russia. A hand with a sword cutting a chain. Such a picture began to be printed almost immediately after the February Revolution. Since then, every event has been a new illustration in philately.

In the Soviet Union, images on stamps became a kind of chronicle of the political life in the country. For example, the stamp for the fifth anniversary of the October Revolution is the work of the famous artist Ivan Dubasov. A worker carves the dates of the first revolutionary five-year plan on a stone slab. Of particular importance is the color scheme, accents, font - even more catchy and readable than on the poster, because the brand is many times smaller.

Industrialization and airships, portraits of leaders and milestones in the development of statehood - like the adoption of the Constitution of the country. Artists often worked on a common theme with entire creative teams. The philatelic series gained particular popularity: “Airshipbuilding”, “Philately for Children”, “Peoples of the USSR”… In the war years, stamps were dedicated to military units and war heroes, in peaceful times, themes sounded very different: from Nordic combined to the flavored series “Gifts of Nature” .

The art of graphic miniature

Postage stamp from the series "History of the Russian Navy". Battleship Potemkin. 1972

Postage stamp "10 years of MOPR", created according to the sketch of Fyodor Fedorovsky. 1932

Postage stamp dedicated to the birthday of composer Dmitri Shostakovich. 1976

"History of the Russian Fleet" is one of the most famous series in a postal miniature. The author Vasily Zavyalov made his first drawing for the stamp at the age of 19, in 1925. In total, the artist became the author of more than 600 postage signs. The famous graphic artist believed that “a steady hand, a sharp eye and fidelity to nature” are necessary for creative success. The qualities are especially relevant when working on such a small picture.

Created postage stamps and Fedor Fedorovsky. One of the miniature works of the chief artist of the Bolshoi Theater and the author of the project of ruby ​​stars on the Kremlin towers is the project of the postage stamp "10 years of the MOPR" (International Organization for Assistance to the Fighters of the Revolution).

Creating a brand is like a kind of test for professionalism. Graphic artist Vladislav Koval, while studying at the Moscow Polygraphic Institute, decided to write home in Dhaudjikau and send a letter ... with a self-portrait stamp drawn with his own hand. The mail missed the envelope, and two years later the enterprising artist was drawing a jubilee stamp for his birthday

BBK76.106 M18

Malov Yu. G., Malov V. Yu.

M18 Annals of the Great Patriotic War in philately. - M.: Radio and communication, 1985. - 88s., ill. (B-ka young philatelist. Vol. 16)

It tells about philatelic materials dedicated to the heroic struggle of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders in 1941-1945, which were produced in our country both during the Great Patriotic War and in the post-war period.

Contains tips for collecting and preparing exhibition items on this topic.

For young philatelists.

4403020000-YuO 046 (01)-85

without ads.

BBK 76.106 379.45

Reviewer A. A. Osyatinsky

Editorial Board of Literature on Economics, Postal Communication and Philately

© Publishing House "Radio and Communication", 1985.

INTRODUCTION

On May 9, 1945, volleys of solemn salute in the capital of our Motherland, Moscow, announced to the whole world about the victory of the Soviet people over fascism in the Great Patriotic War.

In a deadly battle with a cruel enemy, the Soviet people bravely went through severe trials and accomplished a feat that has no equal in the history of mankind. At the call of the Communist Party and the Soviet government, our people rose up to defend the Motherland. The slogan "Everything for the front, everything for victory!" became the combat program of every Soviet person.

All means of political propaganda and agitation were also mobilized, including postal issues. Envelopes, stamps, postcards, secrets not only carried greetings from native hearts, but were also sharp political posters, calling for battle, instilling confidence in victory over the enemy. Along with works of literature, fine arts, cinematography of those years, postal materials with patriotic subjects became a chronicle of the Great Patriotic War.

Many Soviet people carefully collect and store documents - evidence of the unparalleled feat of the Soviet people over fascism. From year to year, the movement under the slogan "No one is forgotten and nothing is forgotten" is expanding in our country. Philatelists who collect postal materials about the Great Patriotic War became active participants in the search. It is no coincidence that today it is impossible, perhaps, to name a single philatelic exhibition at which exhibits on this topic would not be presented. The study and collection of mute witnesses of the feat of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War make it possible, as it were, to throw a bridge into the heroic past, strengthen the continuity of the glorious traditions of the Soviet people and its Armed Forces, and also contribute to the patriotic education of the working people of our country.

The proposed book provides a description of philatelic issues dedicated to the Great Patriotic War. The catalog numbers of postal issues are not given in the book: in our opinion, their search in the corresponding catalogs is not difficult.

POSTAL MATERIALS,

DEDICATED TO THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

The heroism of the Soviet people, who defended the honor and independence of the Motherland in 1941-1945, was widely reflected in postal issues. Postage stamps and blocks issued in those years, postcards and secret letters tell about the heroism of our people at the front and in the rear, reproduce portraits of the Heroes of the Soviet Union, resurrect scenes from front-line life and the heroic past of our country. In the postwar years, this topic has found its further development.

Flipping through the pages of albums with stamps and postcards today, sorting through the front-line letters yellowed from time to time, we seem to be transported again to the years of the heroic past of our people, who defended their country and saved the whole world from the “brown plague”.

Philatelic information about postage stamps and blocks, special cancellations, marked one-sided cards of the war years, as well as about post-war postcards and envelopes, necessary for the collector, can be found in the corresponding catalogs of the Central Philatelic Agency (CFA) "Soyuzpechat" of the USSR Ministry of Communications. At the same time, it is an extremely difficult task to systematize the forms of postal correspondence issued during the war years - postcards and secret letters, since during the war years there was practically no accounting for the release of these materials.

The classification of postal materials dedicated to the Great Patriotic War (except for postage stamps and blocks) can be represented as follows.

POSTAL ENVELOPES

Artistic unmarked envelopes During the war years they were produced in small numbers. The drawing was located either on the left or at the top of the envelope.

Artistic stamped envelopes(in the book they are called "postal envelopes"). On the front side, along with address lines, there is a drawing (for example, a portrait of a Hero of the Soviet Union or a monument) dedicated to the events of the Great Patriotic War.

Artistic envelopes of the first day. Dedicated to the issue of a postage stamp. The illustration on the envelope completely or partially coincides with the subject of the postage stamp or is related to it thematically. The stamp is canceled either with a special stamp, the decoration of which is also associated with its plot, or with the usual “first day” stamp.

Artistic stamped envelopes with original stamp, i.e. with a stamp that is not put into circulation separately from the envelope.

POST CARDS

Preprinted illustrated one-sided postcards(postcards). In 1941-1945, sixteen such cards of nine stories were issued. The plot of three of them repeats the plot of the postage stamps of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 series, issued in 1942.

Marked and unmarked standard postcards - the most common type of forms for postal correspondence between the front and rear and intra-rear.

Of these, the most interesting are the cards issued by the People's Commissariat of Communications at the beginning of the war for shipments with an "open" address to the army from the rear and from the army to the rear. These are, as a rule, unmarked cards (with the inscription "Sent without a stamp"); in the address lines of the cards it is printed: “It is obligatory to indicate: the number of the regiment, company, platoon, name of the institution. It is forbidden to indicate: the number of the brigade, division, corps, army, the name of the front, region, city, town. In the future, in order to preserve the secrecy of the deployment of troops, only a place for the field mail number was preserved in the address part.

Unmarked illustrated one-sided postcards. They were intended mainly for shipments from the army to the rear. Sometimes there was no image of the coat of arms of the USSR on the front side; instead of "Postcard" was "Military"; at the top of the postcard was the text: "Death to the German occupiers!".

The words "Return address" were followed by the inscription "Field mail" and lines to indicate the return address. Half of the front side was left for the drawing, so the drawings were concise, poster-like, with a short expressive text.

Unmarked double-sided illustrated postcards. The front side was intended for the address part of the letter and a summary of the plot of the drawing, placed on the reverse side. During the war years - one of the most popular forms for postal correspondence. Many famous artists took part in their design. The postcards depicted paintings and graphics, poems, slogans, songs, photographic sketches, etc.

Preprinted one-sided illustrated postcards with original stamp. Such cards have been in circulation in our country since 1971. The postage stamp depicted on the card is not issued separately from it.

Labeled double-sided illustrated postcards. They became widespread in the post-war period. They often depict monuments dedicated to the events of the Great Patriotic War.

SECRETS AND HOMEMADE TRIANGLES

Secret letters were a lined sheet of paper, which was folded in half and sealed with a special rubberized valve. Address lines were drawn on one of the outer sides and an illustration of a patriotic plot was reproduced. Sometimes the address lines occupied the entire field, and the illustration was placed on the other half of the sheet or on both outer sides, as well as on the inside of the secret. Unillustrated leaflets were also issued.

And finally, the most common type of letter - homemade triangles. They were folded from any paper that was at hand, up to newsprint.

SOME ADVICE TO THE COLLECTOR

When selecting postal materials for exhibition work on the Great Patriotic War, the following must be remembered. Postage stamps and blocks for exposure can be taken both clean and canceled, but it is better to use one type. Clean and canceled stamps and blocks should not be mixed on the same exhibition sheet. It is desirable to show postage stamps of 1941-1945 on envelopes and postcards that have passed the mail: they are very rare in this form (the vast majority of postal correspondence during the war years was exempted from franking).

Of great value to the exposition are field mail letters from 1941-1945, especially letters with an "open" address. Using these addresses, you can restore the time and place of events in which the sender or recipient of the letter participated.

Since the war, a small number of blank (not mailed) postcards and "secrets", including illustrated ones, have been preserved. For philatelic exposition, only those blank forms are considered suitable, which indicate that they were issued by order of the Office of Military Field Posts (UVPP) or the Central Office of Military Postal Communications (TsU VPS), as well as marked postcards.

Other postal materials from the war times can also be used for the exhibition exposition: telegrams, postal notices for the delivery of money orders, parcels, parcels, postal receipts.

Postage stamps, blocks, letters from the field mail of the enemy and his satellites should not be included in the exhibit. They can be used in the collection only if there are explanatory texts that reveal the misanthropic, bestial essence of fascism. In this sense, the collections of letters from fascist concentration camps, from camps for forced laborers, letters from heroes of the Resistance, etc., are especially impressive.

A large place in the philatelic collections about the Great Patriotic War is occupied by artistic envelopes issued after the war. In our opinion, envelopes that have been mailed look better on exhibition sheets than clean ones. Such envelopes, franked with a standard postage stamp, sometimes need to be "reinforced" with an additional stamp and an appropriate postmark. For example, an envelope with the image of the monument to A. Matrosov in Dnepropetrovsk can be additionally franked with a postage stamp with a portrait of the hero, canceled with a calendar stamp on February 23, 1983 - the fortieth anniversary of the feat he accomplished.

The use of modern double-sided postcards should be limited. Made, as a rule, in intense colors, they violate the integrity of the overall impression of the collection, diverting attention to themselves.

Postmarks from 1941-1945 play an important role in the exhibit. Often it is the postmark that attracts the attention of the collector and determines the place of the whole or whole thing in the exhibit. There are many interesting works containing in-depth studies of field mail stamps, field post stations (FPS), field mail bases (FPB), sea mail stamps, military censorship, hospital mail, evacuation centers, stamps on labels or directly on letters indicating the impossibility of delivery letters to the addressee in connection with his departure (transfer to another unit, hospitalization or death in battle), etc. Stamps with calendar dates corresponding to the most important events in the history of the war are of great philatelic value: June 22, 1941 (the beginning of the war) , December 5-6, 1941 (the beginning of the Soviet counteroffensive near Moscow), February 2, 1943 (the end of the Battle of Stalingrad), May 9, 1945 (Victory Day), etc.

In the post-war years stamps of special cancellations dedicated to the anniversaries of the significant events of the Great Patriotic War became widespread.

Useful information for an exhibition item is contained in calendar stamps (as well as rectangular stamps of registered letters) of settlements named after prominent military figures (for example, the cities of Chernyakhovsk, Vatutino, Tolbukhin, the village of Rotmistrovka). The same applies equally to the postmarks of settlements in which important events took place during the war years (for example, the city of Lyutezh, the village of Maly Bukrin, where in September 1943, during the crossing of the Dnieper, the Lyutezhsky and Bukrinsky bridgeheads were captured).

The basis of a philatelic exhibit is postage stamps and blocks, so you should not "overload" the collection with whole and whole things, especially of the post-war period, with the exception of specialized collections of letters or envelopes (for example, letters from the field mail of 1941-1945, postal envelopes depicting monuments of the Great Patriotic War wars, etc.).

CHRONICLE

THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR IN PHILATELY

THE BEGINNING OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

At dawn on June 22, 1941, without a declaration of war, the troops of Nazi Germany invaded our Motherland. In the plans of the Nazi command, 30 minutes were allotted for the destruction of the Soviet border outposts. However, the Nazis miscalculated.

The Soviet border guards courageously met the enemy, as a series of stamped envelopes with portraits of Heroes of the Soviet Union, commanders of border outposts, reminds of.

Among them is a portrait of Lieutenant V. F. Morin. Under his command, the border guards of the 17th frontier post of the Rava-Russky district, with the approach of the enemy, took up a circular defense. Under heavy fire, they repulsed five attacks of the pressing fascists. Ten border guards who survived, the lieutenant raised to the attack. “... This is our last one! ... ”- with the singing of the“ Internationale ”they rushed into the last hand-to-hand fight.

Lieutenant A.V. Lopatin - commander of the 13th frontier post of the 90th Vladimir-Volynsky border detachment. He showed courage and heroism, repelling the onslaught of the enemy in the early days of the Great Patriotic War. He managed to organize a circular defense, which allowed a handful of border guards for 11 days to repel attacks of an enemy many times superior in strength. The heroes died, but did not retreat.

On the banks of the Western Bug there is a monument to the Komsomol border guard, deputy political instructor of the 7th outpost of the 91st border detachment V.V. Petrov. He, with his machine-gun crew, for six hours did not give the Nazis the opportunity to cross the river and invade the territory of our country. When the enemies surrounded the wounded border guard, he exclaimed: “The Dzerzhinsky people do not give up!” - with the last grenade, he blew himself up and his enemies.

Near Grodno there is an outpost, now bearing the name of V. Usov. The brave lieutenant, the commander of the border outpost with 32 Red Army soldiers, fought off the continuous attacks of the brutalized enemy for ten hours. A street and a school in his native Nikopol are named after V. Usov.

The defense of the Brest Fortress has remained in our memory as a symbol of courage and steadfastness. For 32 days, the territory of the fortress, defended by a handful of heroes, remained an island of Soviet land in the deep enemy rear. Without ammunition, food, water, exhausted by endless battles, they fought to the last breath. In 1961, in a series dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War, a postage stamp was issued about the heroic defense of the Brest Fortress. In the post-war years, a monument to the heroes-defenders of the fortress was erected in Brest, which is depicted on a postal envelope and a stamp issued in the Hero Cities series (1965). In subsequent years, the USSR Ministry of Communications issued envelopes depicting the fortress walls and fragments of the memorial complex created by the outstanding Soviet sculptor A.P. Kibalnikov. A postcard with an original stamp, issued in 1975 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Victory, is also devoted to the same topic. In the post office of the hero-fortress, during the days of defense anniversaries, special cancellations were made with stamps in Russian and Belarusian.

Despite the heroism of the Soviet border guards, it was not possible to stop the enemy. To direct military operations by the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was created, which included I. V. Stalin, S. K. Timoshenko, S. M. Budyonny, K. E. Voroshilov, G K. Zhukov (their portraits are depicted on postage stamps, envelopes and postcards). It is difficult to overestimate the exceptionally important role that the Headquarters played from the first to the last day of the war. To guide the military units and formations operating on the fronts, three strategic directions were created: North-West (commander-in-chief - Marshal of the Soviet Union K. E. Voroshilov), Western (commander-in-chief - Marshal of the Soviet Union S. K. Timoshenko) and South-West (Commander-in-Chief - Marshal of the Soviet Union S. M. Budyonny).

From the first days of hostilities, mobilization was announced. Volunteers besieged military registration and enlistment offices, insisted on their departure to the front. People's militias were created in the front line. Selfless devotion to the Fatherland made it possible in a short time to form only in the capital of our Motherland 12 divisions of the people's militia, later included in the regular units of the Red Army.

The theme of defending the Fatherland, courage, resilience and heroism has become the main theme in the work of our artists, writers, poets, journalists, filmmakers. The poster becomes the sharpest means of propaganda and agitation. At the beginning of the war, the poster of the artist V. B. Koretsky "Be a hero!", Reproduced on the first postage stamp of the Great Patriotic War (August 1941), was very popular. A mother hugs her son before sending him to the front. She does not know if he will return home victorious or die in battle, but she believes that he will fight like a hero.

No less expressive is the poster by the artist I. Toidze “The Motherland is Calling!”, Depicted on a postal miniature issued in the series “20th Anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet People in the Great Patriotic War” (1965), and on a postage sign dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the people's militia (1966).

From the first hours of the war, Soviet soldiers put up stubborn resistance to the enemy, so the Nazi hordes, despite the element of surprise of the attack, did not meet the deadlines for moving eastward, prescribed by the headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the German Armed Forces. The fascist plan for the conquest of the country of the Soviets, codenamed "Barbarossa", developed to the smallest detail, did not take into account the great moral strength and fiery patriotism of the Soviet people, who were able to sacrifice everything for the sake of saving the Motherland.

On the fourth day of the war, the whole world was told about the heroic deed of the squadron commander of the 207th air regiment of the 42nd air division, Captain N.F. Gastello. He directed his burning aircraft into a cluster of enemy tanks and gas tanks. The day before, addressing the pilots of the squadron at a rally, he said: “Whatever awaits us ahead, we will pass everything, we will endure everything. No storm can break us, no force can hold us back! The feat of N. F. Gastello formed the basis of the plot of a postage stamp issued in November 1942 in the series “Heroes of the Soviet Union who fell in the Great Patriotic War”, as well as several envelopes and postcards. The feat of N. Gastello during the war years was repeated by dozens of Soviet pilots.

Hitler's strategists attached special importance to air supremacy. The Nazis experienced the force of Soviet air strikes in the skies of Spain, when our pilots came to the aid of the freedom-loving Spanish people in the fight against the rebels of General Franco.

At dawn on June 22, 1941, the Nazis bombed our military airfields. The Nazis boastfully declared that our country would not be able to restore the air force. However, one after another, red-star machines soared into the sky, boldly engaging in single combat with enemies.

In August 1941, the inhabitants of the German capital were woken up in the middle of the night by air raid signals and bomb explosions. These powerful bombing strikes on the enemy capital and important targets deep behind enemy lines were carried out by a regiment of long-range bomber aviation under the command of the Soviet polar pilot M. V. Vodopyanov, whose portrait is placed on a stamp published in 1935 in the series “Saving the Chelyuskinites”.

Here is a postcard with a portrait of pilot Nikolai Grachev, who in August 1941 had 11 sorties and 9 enemy aircraft shot down, for which he was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The author of the portrait - the artist N. A. Yar-Kravchenko - during the war years was a gunner-radio operator, fought in the sky of besieged Leningrad. During the hours of rest, he did not part with a pencil: he painted portraits of fellow pilots, scenes of military everyday life. In 1942, a series of postcards based on his drawings was issued in Sverdlovsk. In the post-war years, People's Artist of the RSFSR, State Prize laureate N. A. Yar-Kravchenko remained faithful to the military theme: he designed many stamped postal envelopes with portraits of the Heroes of the Soviet Union.

On the second day of the war, the pilot from the North Sea B. F. Safonov shot down his first plane, in memory of which a postage stamp was issued in 1944.

The first weeks and months of the war were extremely difficult for our country. The superiority of the enemy in manpower and equipment, especially in tanks and aircraft, was too great, the advantage of a surprise attack by a mobilized, trained and armed to the teeth armada on the people engaged in peaceful labor was too great.

On June 22, the aggressor troops approached Liepaja, hoping to capture the city on the move. But they met the stubborn resistance of the garrison, consisting of military units of the 67th Infantry Division, sailors of the naval base and detachments of armed workers. The garrison fought heroically for four days, holding back the advance of the enemy to the east. In 1971, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the defense of Liepaja, the USSR Ministry of Communications issued a postage stamp and an envelope depicting a monument to the defenders of the city and the Wall of Glory.

After the fall of the city, the surviving defenders went to the partisans. Among them was the secretary of the city committee of the Liepaja Komsomol, I. Ya. Sudmalis, who became one of the organizers of the underground struggle in Latvia. His portrait is placed on a postage stamp issued in 1966 in the series “Partisans of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. - Heroes of the Soviet Union.

A threatening situation was created for the capital of Soviet Latvia - Riga, in the port of which the ships of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet were based. The city was not prepared for land defense, so the warships were urgently relocated to Tallinn. When it became clear that Tallinn could not be held, the command of the North-Western direction and the command of the Baltic Fleet made the only correct decision: the fleet would break through to Kronstadt. The cruiser "Kirov" was the flagship at the crossing, among the ships was the battleship "October Revolution". One of the leaders of the bold transition was Vice-Admiral V.P. Drozd (his portrait is depicted on the postal envelope). The ships moved through minefields under constant fire. Explosions followed one after another, and now and then sailors had to be rescued from sinking ships. Indeed, death breathed into everyone's face! The destroyer "Proud" was commanded by E. B. Efet. At night, the ship hit a mine. Refusing to leave the destroyer, E. B. Efet, together with the team, managed to eliminate the leak and brought the damaged ship to Kronstadt. After the war, the ship "E. B. Efet ”, and the USSR Ministry of Communications issued an envelope with his image.

The salvaged ships of the Baltic Fleet later played an important role in the defense of Leningrad. In 1973 and 1982, postage stamps were dedicated to the Red Banner ships, and in 1982, postal envelopes.

On July 10, the Battle of Smolensk began, which lasted two long months. Hitler's "blitzkrieg" plan was bursting at the seams. Near Smolensk, the fascists were stopped for the first time and in many areas were forced to go on the defensive. In the fire of the Smolensk battle, the myth of the power of the Nazi Wehrmacht was dispelled. Troops under the command of Generals K.K. Rokossovsky and I.S. Konev distinguished themselves in battles, whose portraits we see on the postal issues of 1976 and 1977.

Here, in the battles near Yelnya, the Soviet guard was born. The first guards called the people of the soldiers of the 100th, 127th, 153rd and 161st rifle divisions, which, by Order of the People's Commissar of Defense No. 308 of September 18, 1941, were transformed into the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th guards divisions.

And on the tunics faded from the hot sun, the badges “Guards” shone. During the war years, a secret was issued with the image of the guards sign against the background of a red banner, and in 1945 - a postage stamp with the image of the guards sign. By the 40th anniversary of these events, a monument to the First Guards was unveiled in Yelnya, depicted on a postal envelope. And near the city of Rudnya, Smolensk region, the Katyusha froze on a granite pedestal (during the days of the Smolensk battle, the Nazis first experienced the power of the new Soviet weapons). Soviet rocket launchers "Katyusha" are depicted on many postage stamps and envelopes.

In early July, the heroic defense of the capital of Soviet Ukraine, Kiev, began. On the outskirts of the city, barriers were created with the help of militias and residents of the city. The defense was based on long-term fortifications built in the 1930s on the initiative of the outstanding Soviet commander I.E. Yakir, at that time the commander of the Ukrainian military district. We can see his portrait on a 1966 postage stamp.

The battles for Kyiv were exceptionally fierce. The soldiers of the parachute division of General A. M. Rodimtsev distinguished themselves here, holding the defense in the Goloseevsky forest. Pilots fought bravely in the sky, led by a participant in the Finnish campaign, Hero of the Soviet Union, Major P. M. Petrov. The commander himself (his portrait is depicted on a postal envelope) in the sky of Kyiv boldly entered into battle with six Messerschmidts. Many participants in the battles for Kyiv were awarded the medal "For the Defense of Kyiv", depicted on a 1963 stamp. The hero-city of Kyiv is also dedicated to a miniature from the Hero Cities series (1965) and a postcard with an original stamp issued for the 30th anniversary of the Victory.

After a 72-day heroic defense, Kyiv had to be abandoned. The enemies managed to close the ring in the rear of the troops of the Southwestern Front. Many warriors were surrounded and forced to fight their way to their own with fierce battles. When leaving the encirclement, the front commander, General M.P. Kirponos, was mortally wounded. After the war, his remains were transported to Kiev, to the Park of Eternal Glory, where a monument to MP Kirponos now stands. The Ministry of Communications of the USSR issued postal envelopes with portraits of the Heroes of the Soviet Union A. I. Rodimtsev and M. P. Kirponos. Many of the envelopes feature the spire of the Eternal Glory Monument.

In mid-August, fierce fighting began on the outskirts of Dnepropetrovsk. The Hitlerites hoped to capture Dnepropetrovsk, and then easily take possession of the coal heart of the country - the Donbass. However, here the enemy met exceptionally stubborn resistance. A crushing blow to the enemy columns was dealt by the 8th Panzer Division under the command of General E. G. Pushkin. More than 50 tanks and 200 vehicles with infantry left the enemy on the battlefield. For this battle, General E. G. Pushkin was awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union; a monument was erected to him in the center of Dnepropetrovsk. In the post-war years, it was possible to find front-line letters from the brave general.

Enemy columns crossed the Dnieper in several places, but they could not dislodge our troops from the left-bank part of the city. The offensive of the Nazi troops bogged down: the formed 6th Army under the command of General R. Ya. Malinovsky became an insurmountable force in the path of the enemy.

The cadets of the Dnepropetrovsk Artillery School, staffed by students from the universities of Dnepropetrovsk, bravely fought the enemy.

For three weeks, the enemy unsuccessfully tried to make a breach in the defensive orders of the defenders of the left bank of Dnepropetrovsk. For the courage and steadfastness shown during the days of the defense of their native city, the Dnepropetrovsk Artillery School was the first of the military educational institutions during the war years to be awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and its head, brigade commander MO Petrov, was awarded the Order of Lenin. Time has preserved for us the letters of the fearless brigade commander. On the territory of the Dnepropetrovsk Institute of Railway Transport Engineers named after M. I. Kalinin, a monument was erected to students participating in the defense of the city, imprinted on a stamped envelope issued by the USSR Ministry of Communications.

DEFENSE OF ODESSA

On August 8, Nazi and Romanian troops began the siege of Odessa. The city was defended by soldiers of the Separate Primorsky Army, sailors of the Black Sea Fleet. Residents of the city actively participated in the construction of defensive lines, helped to repair military equipment. Warships "Krasny Kavkaz", "Krasny Krym", "Boiky" supported the defenders with the fire of their guns, delivered ammunition and food. Detachments of sailors from warships joined the ranks of the city's defenders. These days are reminiscent of the silhouettes of formidable ships reproduced on postage stamps.

The shells of the artillerymen of the regiment N.V. Bogdanov fell on the enemy with high accuracy. With amazing speed, the heavy guns of this unit appeared in the right area, in any of the three defense sectors. The pilots of the 69th aviation regiment reliably covered our soldiers from the air. In this regiment, glorious falcons began their combat path - the future Hero of the Soviet Union L. L. Shestakov and the future twice Hero of the Soviet Union participant in the Battle of Stalingrad A. V. Alelyukhin.

During the war years, a postcard with a portrait of A. V. Alelyuhin was issued, and after the war, envelopes with portraits of N. V. Bogdanov and L. L. Shestakov were issued.

Enemy attacks became more and more stubborn, new reserves were brought into battle. At the walls of Odessa, the fascist and Romanian troops lost about 160 thousand soldiers, but they could not take the city either by storm or by a long siege. And only on October 16, by decision of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, our troops left the city: they were needed in the Crimea, where the Nazis broke through our fortifications at Perekop.

The courage and steadfastness of unconquered Odessa became legendary. For the mass heroism shown by the defenders of the city, Odessa was awarded the title of Hero City. The medals "Gold Star" and "For the Defense of Odessa" are depicted on postage stamps issued in 1944, 1961, 1965, and on several envelopes there is a majestic monument to the sailors-heroes of the defense of Odessa. This monument is one of many in the Belt of Glory, erected by the inhabitants of the sunny city in memory of the heroic defense, and on the granite embankment of Odessa in the park named after. T. G. Shevchenko - a monument to the Unknown Sailor. A postcard with an original stamp, issued in the year of the 30th anniversary of the Victory, is also dedicated to the heroic Odessa.

DEFENSE OF SEVASTOPOL

In October 1941, stubborn battles broke out for the Crimea. Without mastering this peninsula, the Nazi command could not launch an offensive in the North Caucasus with the aim of capturing the oil-bearing regions of the Caspian, which were essential for the entire military campaign.

Having overcome the resistance of our troops in the northern part of the Crimea, the army of General Manstein rushed to the south with a forced march, hoping to capture the main naval base of the Black Sea Fleet - Sevastopol on the move. On October 30, the enemy was stopped at the distant approaches to the city. From the soldiers of the Separate Primorsky Army, transferred here from Odessa, coastal defense units, the Sevastopol garrison, specially allocated ships and air units of the Black Sea Fleet, the Sevastopol defensive region was created, which was directly subordinate to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

The fascist German command succeeded in blockading the city from land and laying mines on sea lanes from the air and sea. The city was supplied with ammunition and food by sea, so it was urgent to find a way to deal with especially dangerous magnetic mines. A group of scientists from the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology headed by IV Kurchatov was sent to Sevastopol. After several months of hard work, the task of protecting ships from magnetic mines was successfully solved. In 1963, a postage stamp with a portrait of I. V. Kurchatov was issued.

In early November, having created a significant superiority in manpower and military equipment, constantly exposing the city to powerful artillery shelling and bombing, the Nazi troops launched an offensive. It took a huge effort of the defenders of the city to keep the pressing enemy. In the intervals between battles, commanders and political workers resurrected in the memory of the soldiers pictures of the heroic defense of Sevastopol during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, spoke about the courage of the head of the defense, Admiral P. S. Nakhimov, the legendary sailor P. Koshka, defense heroes F. Zaiki, L. Eliseev and others. A series of postage stamps issued in 1954 for the 100th anniversary of the legendary defense is dedicated to the heroes of the Crimean War. The majestic panorama "Defense of Sevastopol", the building of which is depicted on postal envelopes, also tells about these glorious days.

November 7, 1941, on the day of the 24th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, near the village. Duvanka, four brave fighters of the 18th Marine Battalion, led by communist political instructor N. D. Filchenkov, stopped the enemy tank column. The whole day lasted a cruel unequal battle. One after another, the enemy vehicles burst into flames. When the ammunition ran out, Filchenkov and the surviving sailors, tied with the last grenades, rushed under the tanks. Courageous Black Sea people knocked out 10 enemy tanks. For this feat, all five were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The postage stamp issued in 1969 in the series "Heroes of the Great Patriotic War enlisted forever in the lists of military units" has preserved for us the image of the courageous political instructor N. Filchenkov.

On November 10, the Nazis struck in the direction of Balaklava in the hope of capturing this stronghold. But the enemies miscalculated. Balaklava was defended by the 456th separate border regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel G. A. Rubtsov. Repulsing attacks of enemy troops one after another, often turning into counterattacks, the soldiers in green caps created an impregnable defense.

The detachment of Lieutenant Colonel Rubtsov covered the evacuation of Sevastopol. Already surrounded, the border guards fought to the last bullet. Their commander was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (his portrait is imprinted on the envelope).

The enemy continuously bombed and shelled the port. During one of the artillery attacks, a patrol boat caught fire, on which the senior sailor, Komsomol member I. N. Golubets, served. There were 30 depth charges on the deck of the boat, the fire was already approaching them. If the bombs start to explode, all nearby ships will die. Instantly assessing the situation, the brave Red Navy began to drop bombs overboard one after another. At the cost of his life, he managed to save the ships. Senior sailor I. N. Golubets was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, his portrait is imprinted on a postal envelope.

The fighting was especially fierce in the Mackenzie Mountains, in the valley of the Belbek River. The enemy considered this direction to be the main one, since only two kilometers remained from here to the city limits. The artillerymen of the artillery regiment fought heroically under the command of the hero of the defense of Odessa, Colonel N. S. Bogdanov. An experienced master of artillery fire, Bogdanov managed to organize the defense in such a way that the lines of our troops were reliably covered by dense artillery fire. The regiment was the first among the combat units of the Separate Primorsky Army to be awarded the Order of the Red Banner. And in May 1942, he was the first to receive the rank of guards. The chest of the regiment commander was adorned with the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

At the same line of defense, a fearless girl, sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko, who was also awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, destroyed enemy soldiers with well-aimed fire. 309 fascists were left lying in Russian soil after her accurate shots! The Ministry of Communications of the USSR dedicated an envelope with a portrait and a postage stamp (1976) to the master of well-aimed fire. In the postwar years, a majestic monument to the soldiers of the Separate Primorsky Army was erected on Sapun Mountain, depicted on a postal envelope.

On December 17, 1941, the enemy launched a second assault on Sevastopol, which, like the first, was repelled by the city's defenders.

In June 1942, having drawn to Sevastopol all the troops available in the Crimea, a large number of artillery, including long-range artillery, and having transferred an additional aviation corps, the enemy launched a third assault. Five days lasted uninterrupted, unprecedented power artillery preparation, five days 250 enemy aircraft brought down their deadly load on the defenders of the city. On the sixth day, enemy chains approached the positions of the Soviet troops. The Nazi command was sure that the completely destroyed city was dead. However, from the trenches shrouded in smoke, brave Sevastopol residents rose to meet them.

The enemy was driven back this time! But the forces were unequal, the number of defenders was dwindling. Air supremacy of enemy aircraft led to the impossibility of supplying the city. On June 30, the Headquarters decided to evacuate the garrison.

The legendary 250-day heroic defense of Sevastopol was of great importance for deterring the enemy in his quest for Soviet oil, to reach the Volga banks. The impregnable Sevastopol was awarded the title of Hero City. Postage stamps issued in 1944, 1962 and 1965 are dedicated to him, many envelopes and a postcard with the original stamp for the 30th anniversary of the Victory. The images of the heroic defenders of Sevastopol inspired the outstanding Soviet artist A. Deineka to create a bright canvas "Defense of Sevastopol". Its fragment is reproduced on postage stamps of 1962 and 1968.

DEFENSE OF LENINGRAD

The history of wars does not know a feat equal to the feat of the defenders of Leningrad, the cradle of the Great October Socialist Revolution. The Nazis planned on July 21, 1941 to capture Leningrad and wipe it off the face of the earth. But the unparalleled courage and unprecedented stamina of the defenders of Leningrad thwarted the criminal plans of Hitler and his clique. For 900 days, the blockaded, cold and hungry city resisted endless assaults, shelling and bombing.

The courage and heroism of the defenders of the city on the Neva are widely reflected in philately. Their unswerving determination is expressively shown on a postage stamp of 1942 and a stamped postcard of 1943: hand-to-hand, in a single formation, a sailor, a soldier, and militias rose up. A banner proudly flies over them with the call: "Death to the German occupiers!". Their attack is supported by ship guns, the spire of the Peter and Paul Fortress is visible in the background. Yes, it was they - the soldiers of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, sailors and marines of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, fighters of the people's militia, residents of the city - who did not let the enemy into the sacred streets of Leningrad.

On the distant approaches to the city, while trying to encircle and destroy the Pskov grouping of our troops, enemy tank columns were detained near the Velikaya River.

The bridge across the river, along with enemy tanks, was blown up by junior lieutenant S. G. Baykov, he died at a combat post. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and his portrait is depicted on a postage stamp issued in 1968 in the series "Heroes of the Great Patriotic War enrolled forever in the lists of military units." Together with the regular units of the Red Army, detachments of workers from the Kirovsky, Izhorsky, and Krasny Vyborzhets factories fought courageously against the enemies. Postage stamps of different years are dedicated to these plants.

The headquarters of the defense of the city, as in the days of October, was Smolny. We see his image on many postage stamps. The Military Council of the Leningrad Front gathered here, which was attended by the Secretary of the Central Committee and the Leningrad Regional Committee and the City Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks A.A. Zhdanov, Marshal of the Soviet Union K.E. Voroshilov, General G.K. Zhukov, commander of the Leningrad Front, General L.A. Govorov, commander of the Volkhov Front, General K.A. Meretskov, Admiral I.S. Isakov, General Headquarters representative N.N. Voronov. Postage stamps and envelopes are dedicated to all of them.

The enemy tried to destroy the city with artillery shelling and air raids. Outstanding commanders N.N. Voronov and L.A. Govorov, with limited reserves of artillery, managed to organize such a system of counter-battery fire that did not allow enemy artillery to shell Leningrad and its defense lines with impunity. The rate of the Nazi command on the demoralization of the heroic defenders of the cradle of October - the city of Leningrad was frustrated.

Air defense fighters made a great contribution to the defense. Leningraders, having passed a special short course of training, were on round-the-clock duty, extinguished incendiary bombs, and patrolled the city. Of interest are the forms of postal correspondence of besieged Leningrad, on which, in the form of impressions of special stamps, the rules for the behavior of the population during shelling and air raids were given.

The remarkable Soviet composer D.D. actively participated in the work of the air defense squads. Shostakovich, who created in the difficult days of the blockade his wonderful Seventh Symphony, dedicated to the all-conquering courage, the greatness of our people, its heroism. The performance of this wonderful work in winter in the cold hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic in front of spectators in sheepskin coats and overcoats was a true triumph of good, its victory over evil. In 1976, on the occasion of the composer's 70th birthday, a postage stamp was issued with his portrait, as well as a fragment of the musical notation of the Seventh Symphony against the backdrop of the Peter and Paul Fortress and the disturbing sky of besieged Leningrad, illuminated by searchlights.

The Baltic sky was reliably defended by the pilots of the Air Force of the Leningrad Front, General G.P. Kravchenko - a participant in air battles in China and at Khalkhin Gol, one of the first twice Heroes of the Soviet Union. A postage stamp issued in 1966 is dedicated to him.

In the battles near Leningrad, the remarkable pilot Timur Frunze, the son of the famous Soviet commander, died heroically. On a colorfully designed postage stamp issued in 1960, there is a portrait of the hero and an episode of air combat.

The remarkable Soviet ace Nelson Stepanyan masterfully owned the “flying tank” (as the IL-2 attack aircraft was called during the war). In the battles for the city of Lenin, he personally destroyed 80 fascist tanks and was awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. The second Gold Star medal Nelson Stepanyan was awarded posthumously in March 1945. His portrait is imprinted on postal envelopes.

On a postal miniature (1972) and a postcard (1942) - portraits of young Komsomol pilots S.A. Kosinova, I.S. Chernykha, N.P. Gubima. A low-burning red-star plane that crashed into a column of fascist troops. The news of the feat of the heroic crew of a dive bomber, who repeated the feat of Nikolai Gastello in the sky of Leningrad, spread around all the defenders of the city.

The blockade ring created unprecedented difficulties for the inhabitants of the city. It was especially hard with food: the norm of issue was reduced several times. Heating and plumbing did not work. Only at the end of November 1941, 11 thousand people died from diseases. The only thread connecting the city with the "Great Land" was the "road of life", laid on the ice of Lake Ladoga. The situation required extreme exertion of all forces from motorists: ammunition and food were brought there, to the wounded city, and the wounded, sick, and dystrophic children were brought back. On a postage stamp issued in 1967, we see a driver leaning over the steering wheel. The routes of the two routes (Lavrovo-Leningrad and Kabona-Leningrad) are depicted on the postal envelope along with the Broken Ring monument erected in the post-war years.

The working life did not stop even for a minute. Factories and plants operated, libraries and educational institutions functioned, scientific research was carried out and dissertations were defended. The military commander A. Fadeev regularly sent his correspondence to Pravda (in 1971, a postage stamp was issued on the occasion of the writer's 70th birthday). There was even a meeting of snipers of the Leningrad Front, in which A.A. took part. Zhdanov.

The rally welcomed the founders of the sniper movement, among whom was F. Sgiolyachkov. In just 900 days of blockade, he destroyed 125 Nazis. An envelope of the Ministry of Communications of the USSR is dedicated to the master of marksmanship.

On January 12, 1943, the blockade of Leningrad was broken. The joint operation of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts ended with the defeat of the enemy siege grouping: over 13 thousand invaders, 250 guns and 100 aircraft were destroyed in seven days of fighting. A corridor several kilometers wide was recaptured from the Nazis, along which a railway was laid. On February 7, at the Finland Station, Leningraders met the first echelon with food. But it took another year of stubborn fighting to finally lift the blockade. This joyful event was marked by the release in 1944 of a postage block with the following text: “27/1-1944. The city of Leningrad is completely liberated from the enemy blockade. On the block - four stamps from the Hero Cities series (1944). On the stamps there is a medal "For the Defense of Leningrad" and ship guns against the background of the Admiralty building.

Today, in places of fierce fighting, Leningraders have created a Belt of Glory, consisting of monuments and monuments. Some of them, as well as the memorial complex of the Piskarevsky cemetery, are depicted on postage stamps and envelopes. In 1965, in the Hero Cities series, a postage stamp was issued with the image of the Gold Star medal, which Leningrad was awarded for unprecedented courage and steadfastness, and in 1975 a postcard with the original stamp was issued.

PARTISAN MOVEMENT AND HEROIC LABOR IN THE REAR

The Nazis hoped that they would be able to easily establish a “new order” in the occupied territory, that the population would greet them as “liberators”, that the industry and agriculture of the occupied regions would work for the German war machine. They were deeply mistaken.

The Communist Party, which educated the Soviet people in the spirit of selfless love for their Motherland, became the organizer of the heroic struggle behind enemy lines. It is no coincidence that the commanders of many partisan detachments were Soviet and party workers. The secretaries of the regional party committee A.F. Fedorov and N.N. Popudrenko, led the partisan struggle in the Chernihiv region; Chairman of the Putivl City Executive Committee S.A. Kovpak, who fought back in the years of the civil war, became the commander of one of the largest partisan formations in Ukraine; secretary of the underground regional party committee N.I. Stashkov led the fight behind enemy lines in the Dnepropetrovsk region; in Belarus, the secretary of the regional committee V.I. Kozlov, and in the Polessky region organized a partisan detachment of T.P. Bumazhkov. Secretaries of district committees of the Komsomol V.3 became fearless underground workers. Khoruzhaya and E.I. Chaikin. In the Baltic republics, the secretary of the city committee of the Komsomol I.Ya. led the fight against the invaders. Sudmalis. There were many such examples.

Today, the portraits of the brave sons of the Communist Party are reproduced on numerous postage stamps and envelopes.

Komsomol members became loyal assistants to the party in the development of partisan struggle. The tasks of the party and Komsomol organizations were clearly defined in the directives and resolutions of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. The names of Z. Kosmodemyanskaya, A. Chekalin, O. Koshevoy and his associates in the underground organization Young Guard, Z. Portnova, L. Ubiyvovk, brave Lithuanian Komsomol members Y. Aleksonis, G. Boris, A. Cheponis, became symbols of unbending courage, V. Kurylenko, E. Kolesova and many others. The exploits of Komsomol heroes, partisans and underground fighters served as plots for many philatelic issues.

Even children helped to smash the hated enemy. Brave pioneers during the war proved their devotion to the Motherland, the Communist Party, the bright ideals of our society.

The postage stamp, issued in 1962 for the 40th anniversary of the Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization, depicts portraits of partisan pioneers Leni Golikov and Valya Kotik, who were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. A young intelligence officer of the 67th partisan detachment, operating as part of the 4th Leningrad partisan brigade, Lenya Golikov took part in bold operations along with his senior comrades. He was called Eaglet in the detachment in memory of a partisan boy during the Civil War. Up to a hundred killed Nazis, blown up railway bridges and burned cars on account of the brave pioneer. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for stealing documents of special importance from the enemy. In January 1943, a fascist bullet ended the life of a brave teenager. We see Leni's portrait on a postal envelope. Remember, guys, his bright smile. The monument to L. Golikov was erected in his homeland in Novgorod. This monument is also reproduced on the postal envelope. Lenya also participated in a daring operation to deliver a wagon train with food to besieged Leningrad; the operation was led by the detachment commander M. S. Kharchenko. In 1967, a postage stamp was issued with a portrait of the detachment commander.

As a twelve-year-old boy, the pioneer Valya Kotik joined the underground struggle. In Shepetivka, the city of the youth of Nikolai Ostrovsky, the author of the immortal novel "How the Steel Was Tempered", the fascist invaders had no rest day or night. The guys, together with the underground workers, collected weapons, put up leaflets, and participated in acts of sabotage.

In August 1943, Valya was accepted into a partisan detachment. There was no limit to children's joy when the commander attached a medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" to his shirt. This medal is featured on a postage stamp issued in 1946. Valya died in February 1944 during the liberation of the city of Izyaslav. He was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, I degree (the image of the order was first shown on a postage stamp issued in 1943 in the series "To the 25th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution"). In 1958, Valya was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. His portrait and monument in Shepetovka were displayed on postal envelopes.

In Kerch there is a square named after Volodya Dubinin, a brave scout of the Kerch partisans who hid in the quarries during the occupation. There is a monument in the middle of the square. The young partisan froze, ready to throw a grenade into the thick of the enemy. Many glorious deeds were accomplished by Volodya Dubinin. He saved the lives of 90 partisans, whom the invaders decided to flood in the quarries. Volodya waited for the bright day of liberation, the meeting of the soldiers of the Red Army, but died while clearing the streets, helping the sappers. He was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The monument to the hero, erected in the city of Kerch, is depicted on a postal envelope. Soviet philately dedicated a number of issues of postal envelopes to the pioneer heroes Marat Kazei, Viktor Novitsky, Larisa Mikheenko, Borya Tsarikov.

The partisans of the Great Patriotic War, with their bold actions in the rear of enemy troops, on communications, inflicted enormous damage on the fascist invaders. And when the Red Army drove the fascists to the west, the partisans provided great assistance in forcing water barriers, disorganizing defenses in the directions of our troops' attacks, and providing valuable information about the enemy's deployment. The partisans provided great assistance to the fighting detachments of the fraternal countries. In the summer of 1944, several partisan detachments crossed the border of Czechoslovakia and joined the detachments and formations of the Slovak partisans. The names of partisan commissar S.V. Rudnev, partisan commanders P.P. Vershigory, F.E. Sagittarius, K.S. Zaslonova, M.F. Shmyreva, D.N. Medvedev, K.P. Orlovsky and fearless scout N.I. Kuznetsov, whose feats served as plots for the creation of postage stamps and envelopes. After the war, it was possible to find letters from the head of the Dnepropetrovsk underground, N.I. Stashkov.

Heroism, courage and steadfastness were shown by those who forged weapons of victory in the deep rear, did everything so that our soldiers on the front line did not know the lack of anything: neither in ammunition, nor in food.

On the postal envelope, issued in 1982 for the 50th anniversary of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, a sculptural group is depicted against the background of factory pipes: a worker passes a sword he forged to a soldier. Here is the most expressive symbol of the unity of the rear and the front: "Everything for the front, everything for victory!" This slogan is also inscribed on several stamps issued in 1942 in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 series. The stamps from the series “On the 25th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution” (1943) are consonant with them. The slogan "Rear to Front" united four stamps of the series issued in 1945.

A great contribution to the cause of the Victory was made by our remarkable scientists: academicians A.N. Krylov, E.O. Paton, S.I. Vavilov, A.E. Fersman, A.A. Baikov, V.L. Komarov, N.D. Zelinsky, outstanding Soviet doctors N.N. Burdenko and A.V. Vishnevsky, designers N.N. Polikarpov, A.N. Tupolev, V.A. Degtyarev. Their portraits are reproduced on postage stamps and envelopes of different years.

Komsomol members and pioneers actively joined in helping the front. Collecting scrap metal, caring for the wounded in hospitals, helping with harvesting, restoring cities and villages destroyed during the years of occupation - this is an incomplete list of the glorious deeds of Soviet guys. During the war years, the movement of Timur pioneers to provide assistance to the families of front-line soldiers was widely developed. Favorite children's writer of the pre-war years A.P. Gaidar (the stamps of the 1962 and 1964 issues and the postal envelope are dedicated to him) suggested to the children this wonderful form of social activity. And how many gifts for the front were collected by children's hands!

The enemy did not pass. The victory over fascism was won by the joint efforts of the entire Soviet people: heroic deeds at the front and heroic labor in the rear. In 1945 and 1946, a series of postage stamps were issued under the title "Soviet Aircraft in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945". Various postage stamps and envelopes depict tanks, artillery pieces, Katyushas, ​​mortars, warships and other examples of Soviet military equipment that smashed the enemy during the days of fierce battle.

BATTLE FOR MOSCOW

By capturing the capital of the Soviet Union, the Nazis hoped to maintain the greatly shattered reputation of the "invincibility" of the German army, to bring the end of the protracted military campaign closer - after all, all the deadlines outlined by the predatory plan "Barbarossa" had long since passed!

Having created superiority in manpower and equipment, on September 30 the Nazis launched an attack on Moscow. This operation was called "Typhoon"; The Nazi command was so sure of its success that it even scheduled a parade of its troops on Red Square for November 7, 1941. The troops were given front uniforms in advance, and granite was brought to the Moscow region for the construction of a monument in honor of the winners in conquered Moscow.

Thanks to the exceptional courage and steadfastness of the Soviet soldiers, Operation Typhoon was thwarted.

On the outskirts of Moscow, several fortified defensive lines were built, a powerful air defense system was created, and the formation of strategic reserves began. Three fronts were created on the main directions: Western (commander - General I.S. Konev), Reserve (commander - Marshal of the Soviet Union S.M. Budyonny) and Bryansk (commander - General A.I. Eremenko). On October 10, General G.K. was appointed commander of the Western Front. Zhukov, and from the Western Front, by decision of the Headquarters, an army group was allocated, which formed the Kalinin Front (commander - General I.S. Konev). Later, the troops of the Southwestern Front under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. joined the fighting. Timoshenko. Portraits of prominent military leaders are reproduced on many postage stamps, envelopes and postcards.

The first period of the offensive of the Nazi troops was extremely unsuccessful for the Red Army. The enemy, using their superiority, pressed our battle formations. Guderian's tank army, developing an offensive in the southwestern direction, captured Orel and rushed to Tula. But here the enemy met stubborn resistance from the Red Army units and the work detachments formed at the enterprises of the city. Tula was not captured by the enemy. A monument now stands in the center of the city - bronze sculptures of a soldier and a worker who blocked the path of a tank armada (the monument is depicted on postal envelopes and postcards).

In mid-October, fierce battles broke out near Mozhaisk and Maloyaroslavets. On October 19, the capital was declared under a state of siege.

The postal stamped card issued during the war years is expressive: against the backdrop of the Kremlin towers, a Soviet soldier crushes the invader and the text: “We will not give up the conquests of October!”. The postal miniatures issued in 1945 from the series "On the 3rd Anniversary of the Defeat of the Nazi Troops near Moscow" accurately convey the image of military Moscow. One of them shows air combat in the night sky. Perhaps it is the Komsomol member V. Talalikhin who is ramming the enemy aircraft? He was the first in the history of aviation to make a night ram and for this feat (depicted on a postage stamp issued in 1942) he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Many feats were accomplished in the skies of Moscow these days: Captain A. G. Rogov repeated the feat of N. Gastello; Komsomol pilot N.G. Leskonozhenko rammed two enemy planes in one battle. Both pilots were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, their portraits are depicted on postal envelopes.

The glorious deeds of the 150th Bomber Aviation Regiment are reminiscent of a postal miniature issued in 1965 with a portrait of its commander, in the future twice Hero of the Soviet Union I.S. Polbina.

On one of the stamps, a militia patrol walks along the street of quiet, austere Moscow. We see anti-tank hedgehogs. We see the same fence (only much larger) today at the memorial complex on the 23rd kilometer of the Leningradskoye Highway. A fragment of the complex is depicted on a postal envelope.

To replenish the thinned ranks of the defenders of Moscow these days, three more divisions of the people's militia were formed from volunteers, proudly called communist. From the ranks of the Moscow militias came the future brave paratrooper Ts.L. Kunikov, hero of Malaya Zemlya; brave snipers who gave their lives for the freedom of their native capital, M. Polivanova and N. Kovshova, the future commander of the famous "battalion of glory" B.N. Emelyanov. Their portraits are reproduced on postage stamps and envelopes. On the same days, the formation of women's aviation regiments began in Moscow, the command of which was entrusted to the famous Soviet pilots, Heroes of the Soviet Union V. Grizodubova and M. Raskova. Postal miniatures dedicated to them were issued in 1939 in memory of their non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East. The main core of the regiments were Komsomol girls. Everyone who could hold a weapon came to the defense of the capital.

And the enemy troops were getting closer and closer to Moscow. In early November, they were only 70 kilometers from the city limits. Hitler's propaganda assured the whole world that the days of the Soviet capital were numbered.

The 24th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution was approaching. Earlier that day, troops marched along Red Square, elegant columns of demonstrators marched ... And now? At the initiative of the Chairman of the State Defense Committee. Supreme Commander I.V. Stalin, supported by the Central Committee of the CPSU (b), the parade took place. The day before, on November 6, a solemn meeting was held in the hall of the Mayakovskaya metro station (this hall is reproduced on postage stamps). And in the morning of the next day, the parade crew battalions froze on Red Square, powdered with early snow. The parade was hosted by Marshal S. M. Budyonny. I. V. Stalin addressed the soldiers with a short speech from the podium of the Mausoleum. He urged the fighters and commanders to be worthy of the memory of our ancestors, who more than once expelled foreign invaders from our land. The troops went straight from Red Square to the front.

Soon the Supreme Soviet of the USSR established the orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Alexander Nevsky, Nakhimov and Ushakov, which are reproduced on postage stamps of 1944. During the war years, cards and "secrets" with portraits of Russian commanders were widely used. The parade on Red Square on November 7, 1941 served as the subject for many postal miniatures.

As the enemy approached Moscow, the pace of his advance became progressively slower. Everywhere he met the unprecedented perseverance and steadfastness of the soldiers of the Red Army, ready at any moment to go on a feat, to sacrifice themselves in the name of saving the Motherland. On November 16, the Nazi command launched a second assault on Moscow. The most formidable days for the capital have come. The enemy, sparing no effort, rushed forward. On the very first day of the assault, he expected to break into the city along the Volokolamsk highway. Here, the 16th Army of General K.K. Rokossovsky took over the blow of the tank columns. At the Dubosekovo junction, 28 fighters from the 316th Infantry Division of General I.V. entered into an unprecedented combat with 50 enemy tanks. Panfilov. Leading a group of soldiers, political instructor V.G. Klochkov (Diev), being wounded, at a critical moment rushed with a bunch of grenades under an enemy tank. His words: “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat - Moscow is behind!” - flew around the entire front and became the battle motto of the defenders of the capital. The Panfilovites did not retreat.

10 armored monsters flared with fiery torches, the rest cowardly turned back. Almost none of the Panfilov heroes survived, and the brave political instructor also died. All of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Soviet philately celebrated the immortal feat in its own way: in 1942 a postage stamp depicting this battle was issued, later with the same plot - a postcard with a reproduction of a painting by the artist V. Yakovlev.

In 1967, a portrait of V.G. Klochkov was reproduced on a postage stamp dedicated to him.

On November 17, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the 316th division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, on November 18, the Red Banner Division was renamed the 8th Guards, and on November 19, in a battle near the village of Gusenevo I.V. Panfilov was killed. In memory of him during the war years, a postcard with his portrait was issued, and in 1963, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the birth of IV Panfilov, a postage stamp and an envelope with his portrait were issued.

Also courageously Soviet soldiers defended the capital in other sectors of the front. The German plan for a "blitzkrieg" was thwarted. The defenders of the capital began to prepare for a counteroffensive.

On December 5, the troops of the Kalinin Front delivered the first blow to the Nazis. On December 6, the main blow was delivered by the troops of the Western and Southwestern fronts. The Soviet Supreme High Command determined the time of the counteroffensive so precisely that the enemy was unable to put up significant resistance anywhere. The retreat of the Nazi troops in some areas turned into a stampede. So it was near Tula, where the vaunted army of Guderian hastily retreated under the blows of the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps of General P.A. Belova (in the post-war years, an envelope with his portrait was issued). On December 13, the soldiers of the 5th Army of General L.A. Govorov broke through the enemy defenses. Cavalry corps were introduced into the gap, one of which was commanded by General L.M. Dovator. The swift blows of the cavalry sowed terror and panic in the enemy's rear, ensuring the advance of our troops. But on December 19, an enemy bullet overtook the fearless commander. On the postal miniature (1942) and the envelope (1966) we see the courageous face of the Hero of the Soviet Union L.M. Dovator.

In February 1942, during a raid on enemy rear lines of the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps and the shock group of the 33rd Army, who were trying to liberate the city of Vyazma, the commander of the 33rd Army, a talented Soviet military leader, General M.G., died. Efremov. In the city of Vyazma, a monument was erected to him, imprinted on a postal envelope.

During the counteroffensive during December 1941 - January 1942, more than 11 thousand settlements were liberated from the Nazi invaders, including the cities of Kalinin, Klin, Volokolamsk, Kaluga. In a series of postage stamps issued in 1945, there are such miniatures: "Forward to the assault!" and "Hello liberators!".

Hitler's troops suffered catastrophic losses. 38 divisions were completely destroyed, a huge amount of military equipment was destroyed or taken as trophies.

The famous Soviet artist E. Lansere painted the painting "Fighters at captured guns". This painting was reproduced on a postage stamp from the series "Soviet Painting" (1975).

Assessing the significance of the defeat of the Nazi troops near Moscow, one can quote the words from the “History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945”: “The Red Army wrested the initiative of offensive operations from the enemy and forced him to switch to strategic defense on the entire Soviet-German front. This marked the beginning of a decisive turn in the course of the war in favor of the Soviet Union.

Today, where the hot battle was in full swing, the Belt of Glory has been erected by grateful descendants. The T-34 tank stood proudly on the Volokolamsk highway - a monument to tank soldiers. In Yakhroma, there is a monument to the heroes of the battle for Moscow - the 71st Marine Rifle Brigade, which arrived from the Pacific Fleet, distinguished itself here. On the monument to the defenders of Moscow, erected on the 41st kilometer of the Leningrad highway, it is inscribed: “1941. Here, the defenders of Moscow, who died in the battles for their homeland, remained forever immortal. All these monuments are depicted on postal envelopes.

The motherland highly appreciated the feat of arms of the defenders of the capital: over 1 million fighters, commanders, militias, residents of the city were awarded the medal "For the Defense of Moscow", the image of which we see on postage stamps (1946); 36 thousand soldiers were awarded orders and medals, 110 of them were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the capital of our Motherland, Moscow, was awarded the title of Hero City.

FIGHTING IN THE NORTH

During the Great Patriotic War, a fierce struggle broke out for the northern sea lanes. In this struggle, the North Sea sailors showed exceptional courage and stamina. The brigade of submariners, commanded by Captain I Rank I.A., inflicted great damage on the enemy. Kolyshkin.

The portrait of I. A. Kolyshkin is reproduced on the postal envelope. Another envelope is dedicated to the legendary submarine S-56, which in 1943 made a combat transition from Vladivostok to Polyarny. Submarine heroes destroyed 14 enemy ships and transports. After the war, the submarine returned to Vladivostok.

The postal miniature, issued in 1962, depicts the only battle in the history of naval battles between a surface submarine and enemy ships. Forced to surface, the submarine of Captain II rank M.I. Hajiyeva took the fight, sank two enemy ships, and put the third to flight. Portrait of the Hero of the Soviet Union M.I. Hajiyev is also depicted on this postage stamp.

The Red Navy sailor I.M. is forever listed in the list of the military unit. Sivko, who during the landing of the amphibious assault, covering the retreat of his comrades, blew himself up and the enemies with the last grenade. We see his portrait on a postage stamp issued in 1965.

Many heroic deeds on account of the pilots of the Northern Fleet. We already wrote about twice Hero of the Soviet Union B.F. Safonov, whose name terrified the Nazi pilots. In the name of the Hero of the Soviet Union fighter pilot I.V. Bochkov named a street in Murmansk, and his bust is installed at the Moscow instrumental plant "Caliber". On the combat account of the hero, whose portrait is imprinted on the postal envelope, seven enemy aircraft were shot down, about 50 air battles. The feat of N. Gastello was repeated by the pilot I. Katunin, who brought down a burning torpedo bomber on enemy transport. The postal envelope is also dedicated to the Hero of the Soviet Union I. Katunin.

BATTLE FOR THE CAUCASUS

In July 1942, enemy motorized columns began an operation between the Don and Kuban rivers, where it was planned to encircle and destroy Soviet troops, who, under the onslaught of superior enemy forces, retreated deep into the Stavropol Territory.

The enemy managed to capture the Taman Peninsula, reach the main Caucasian ridge, and occupy some passes. Stubborn battles began near Novorossiysk, which was a stronghold on the way to the cities of the Black Sea coast. At the very beginning of the battle for the Caucasus, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command took important measures to strengthen our troops. From the formations that were part of the Southern and Transcaucasian fronts, the North Caucasian Front was formed. Marshal S.M. was appointed commander. Budyonny, his deputy and at the same time commander of the Don Operational Group of Forces - General R.Ya. Malinovsky.

Fierce, bloody battles in the North Caucasus continued from July 1942 to October 1943, when the troops of the Southern Front under the command of General A.I. Eremenko, after the defeat of the Nazi troops near Stalingrad, came to the aid of the soldiers of the North Caucasian Front. Sailors of the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov military flotilla attacked from the sea of ​​the enemy. Here again the guard ships "Red Caucasus" and "Savvy" distinguished themselves. In memory of the glorious deeds of the Black Sea sailors, a torpedo boat was installed on a high pedestal on the shore of the Tsemesskaya Bay near the Western Mole of Novorossiysk (depicted on several postal envelopes).

The fighting in the Novorossiysk region unfolded as early as September 1942. Our troops were forced to leave the city, but the eastern shore of the Tsemess Bay was ours. In February 1943, Soviet troops began fighting for the liberation of the city. On the night of February 4, an amphibious assault was landed on the coast in the Myskhako area (a suburb of Novorossiysk) under the command of Major Ts.L. Kunikova. The Marines of the Assault Squad captured a piece of land, which they called "Little Land", and held it under hurricane fire for 225 days. Their unparalleled feat went down in the history of the Great Patriotic War as evidence of the unbending will and unparalleled courage of Soviet people.

In the battles on Malaya Zemlya, Ts. L. Kunikov died, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. On the postal envelope we see a memorial erected by Ts.L. Kunikov on Malaya Zemlya.

On September 16, the shock group of the 18th Army, together with the paratroopers and ships of the Black Sea Fleet, liberated Novorossiysk. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi troops in the North Caucasus, Novorossiysk was awarded the honorary title of "Hero City". The Ministry of Communications of the USSR devoted several envelopes and a postcard with the image of the monument to the Unknown Sailor and the Fire of Eternal Glory to the soldiers who died during the liberation of the city to this event. On the days of the anniversary, a special commemorative cancellation was held.

The final stage of the battle for the Caucasus was the liberation of the Taman Peninsula. The pilots of the 46th Guards Regiment of Night Bombers distinguished themselves here, who were awarded the title of Tamansky for the successful conduct of battles. For the 40th anniversary of this regiment, the first commander of which was Hero of the Soviet Union M. Raskova, a postal envelope was issued. The crew of the night bombers T. Makarova and V. Velik participated in the battles in the North Caucasus, to whom the postal envelope is also dedicated. The battles near Anapa were especially heavy. Here, senior sergeant U.M. repeated the feat of A. Matrosov. Avetisyan. During the assault on the Dolgay height, he covered the embrasure of the enemy bunker with his chest. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1963, a postage stamp was issued depicting a portrait of the hero and the feat he accomplished. In the battles near Anapa, the enemy managed to surround the reconnaissance detachment of Black Sea sailors under the command of Captain D.S. Kalinin.

The sailors fought to the last bullet, but there were fewer and fewer of them. And now the commander was left alone. With the last grenade in his hand, he met the enemies who ran up and pulled out the pin ... Even the vicious and cruel fascists were struck by such fortitude. A German officer ordered the sailor to be buried with military honors. In memory of the Hero of the Soviet Union D.S. Kalinin is dedicated to the postal envelope.

Another envelope with a portrait of the Hero of the Soviet Union P. Guzhvin recalls the courage of the border guard junior lieutenant, who repeated the feat of A. Matrosov in the battles for the city of Alagir.

The defeat of the Nazi troops in the Caucasus was of decisive importance for the course of further operations in the southern theater of operations. The participants in the battle were awarded the medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus", the image of which we see on a postage stamp issued in 1946. Monuments to Soviet soldiers in Stavropol, Ordzhonikidze, Sukhumi are reproduced on postal envelopes.

BATTLE OF STALINGRAD

In July 1942, our troops with difficulty held back the onslaught of the enemy on a huge bridgehead in the big bend of the Don and in the interfluve of the Don and Volga. The exit to the Volga and the capture of Stalingrad - this important strategic point - the Nazis considered almost the final victorious operation of the war. It was necessary to block the path of the German troops to the Volga. To help the defending troops, the Headquarters created the Stalingrad Front, the command of which was first entrusted to Marshal of the Soviet Union S. K. Timoshenko, and then to General A. I. Eremenko.

On July 17, the battle began in the Stalingrad direction. Overcoming the stubborn resistance of our troops, the enemy was slowly approaching Stalingrad. In the battles for the village of Kletskaya, deputy political instructor P.L. Gutchenko accomplished a feat similar to the feat of A. Matrosov - he closed the embrasure of the enemy bunker with his body. However, the enemies managed to throw off the body of the hero and continue the fire again. Then fellow soldier Gutchenko Lieutenant A.A. Pokalchuk repeated the feat of his comrade. Both of them were posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin, their names are forever entered in the lists of the military unit; we see portraits of heroes on postage stamps issued in 1968.

On August 23, the enemy reached the Volga, and on September 13, having captured the nearest approaches to Stalingrad, began an assault on the city. The main blow was inflicted in the direction of Mamaev Kurgan and the station. Here the enemy went to the Volga, but was driven back by a counterattack of the 13th Rifle Guards Division of General A.I. Rodimtsev. The city turned into an arena of bloody battles that lasted about two months. In the shops of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant there was a stubborn struggle with the enemy, almost the entire plant was destroyed. This area was defended by soldiers of the 62nd and 64th armies. During the stubborn assault, which the Nazis undertook on September 14 and 15, the battle formations of the 62nd Army were cut in two. But the enemy could not surround and destroy the isolated groups.

On the high bank of the Volga, Pavlov's House still stands proudly today, depicted on a postage stamp issued in 1950 in the "Restoration of Stalingrad" series, and on postal envelopes. This house went down in the history of the Battle of Stalingrad as a symbol of the unbending stamina and courage of the defenders of Stalingrad. A total of 22 soldiers led by Sergeant Y. Pavlov held this house for 58 days, destroying hundreds of Nazis who stormed it.

On the postal miniature, issued in 1966, you see the foreman N.Ya. Ilyin. Many enemies died from well-aimed sniper fire. Only in the battles for Stalingrad, he destroyed 258 Nazis.

The steadfastness of the defenders largely depended on the uninterrupted supply of troops from the left bank of the Volga, which, under continuous shelling and bombing, was provided by the ships of the Volga flotilla. For the courage and heroism shown by the personnel, the gunboats Chapaev and Usyskin were awarded the Orders of the Red Banner. Brave sailors did not drop the glory of the hero of the civil war V.I. Chapaev and the fearless Soviet stratonaut I. D. Usyskin, whose portraits are depicted on postage stamps in several issues.

For one hundred and twenty-five days, the whole world watched with trepidation the outcome of a battle unprecedented in the history of wars. The courage of the Soviet soldiers-defenders of the city made it possible to carry out a covert regrouping, to prepare and transfer significant reserves, to carry out a grandiose plan to defeat the Nazi troops near Stalingrad. This plan was developed by the Supreme High Command, the General Staff and the Headquarters with the direct participation of Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K., Zhukov and General A.M. Vasilevsky, who were entrusted with coordinating the actions of the fronts.

The postage stamp, issued in 1944, shows a map of the encirclement and liquidation of the enemy grouping. In terms of the depth of the strategic plan, this plan, called "Uranus", has no analogues in the history of military art.

On November 19, 1942, offensive operations began on three fronts: Stalingrad (commander - General A.I. Eremenko), South-Western (commander - General N.F. Vatutin) and the newly created Donskoy (commander - General K.K. Rokossovsky). The counteroffensive was preceded by an artillery preparation unprecedented in strength and density of fire. From this day on, every year on November 19, a holiday is celebrated in our country - the Day of Artillery, and since 1964 - the Day of Rocket Forces and Artillery, to which postage stamps of different years are dedicated.

November 23 at the village. The Soviet giant "pincers" closed - the troops of the Southwestern and Stalingrad fronts joined. The third blow - to the rear of the surrounded grouping - was inflicted by the Don Front. There were about 330,000 Nazis in the huge "bag". In order to tighten the “bag” more tightly and prevent the encircled troops from being released from the outside, a powerful outer ring was created simultaneously with the inner encirclement ring. This ring was not able to break through the strike group of armies "Don", urgently thrown by Hitler to the rescue of the 6th Army of General Paulus. Tankers of the 55th separate tank regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A.A. distinguished themselves in battles. Aslanova: on 17 combat vehicles they entered into combat with 50 enemy tanks, set fire to 20 vehicles and put the enemy to flight. (The portrait of General Aslanov is placed on the postal envelope.)

The pilots of the 8th Air Army of General T.T. reliably covered the ground forces. Khryukin, participant in air battles in Spain, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. For the battles near Stalingrad, 17 pilots of this army were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In the sky of Stalingrad, the remarkable masters of air combat L.L. Shestakov, A.V. Alelyuhin, I.S. Polbin, V.S. Efremov, A.T. Prudnikov, who repeated the feat of N. Gastello, and others. Postal envelopes are dedicated to all of them, and twice Hero of the Soviet Union I.S. Polbin - postage stamp.

On January 8, 1943, the Soviet command issued an ultimatum to the encircled Paulus army to surrender. The ultimatum was rejected, and then the troops of the Don Front, General K.K. Rokossovsky began to liquidate the encircled group. Finally, the senseless resistance was stopped. On January 31, Field Marshal Paulus and his staff were taken prisoner; on February 2, the remnants of the encircled troops capitulated.

About 200 thousand killed, wounded, 91 thousand prisoners, a huge amount of military equipment was left by the Nazis in the Don and Volga steppes. National mourning has been declared throughout Germany! And the Soviet people joyfully greeted the victors who defended the city on the Volga, won a major victory that radically changed the entire course of the war in favor of the Soviet Union. In December 1942, the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad" was established, which was awarded to more than 700 thousand soldiers, 112 defenders of the city received the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union, about 180 units and formations began to be called guards. For the massive heroism of the defenders, the city was awarded the title of Hero City.

For the second anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, a postage series was issued, consisting of two stamps and a block, and in the postwar years - postage series for the 20th and 30th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, miniatures in the series dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Armed Forces of the USSR and the 35th anniversary of Victory, as well as in the Hero Cities series (1965). Many postage stamps and envelopes are dedicated to the remarkable monument-ensemble erected on Mamaev Kurgan by the outstanding Soviet sculptor E.V. Vuchetich.

WINTER OFFENSIVE OF 1943

Thanks to the great success achieved by the Red Army at Stalingrad, the situation on the Soviet-German front changed radically. The fascist German troops suffered heavy losses in manpower and equipment. The Red Army was given the opportunity to launch a general offensive on the entire front - from the Baltic to the Black Seas.

A major operation was carried out on the North-Western Front to lift the blockade from Leningrad. In February 1943, the troops of the North-Western Front began offensive operations to eliminate the Demyansk bridgehead. Here, in the battles near the village of Chernushki, on February 23, 1943, Komsomol member Alexander Matrosov accomplished an immortal feat, covering the embrasure of an enemy bunker with his chest.

The day before, speaking at a Komsomol meeting, Alexander Matrosov said: “I will fight the Nazis as long as my hands hold weapons, as long as my heart beats. I swear that I will fight the fascists as befits a Komsomol member, despising death, in the name of our Motherland!

He kept his vow. A. Matrosov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The regiment in which he served is named after him. About 300 soldiers of the Red Army repeated this feat during the war years, which is reflected in the postal miniatures issued in 1944 and 1963. Monuments to A. Matrosov in Velikiye Luki, the Ivanovo orphanage in the Ulyanovsk region, Leningrad and Dnepropetrovsk, museums of Komsomol glory named after. A. Matrosov in Velikiye Luki and Dnepropetrovsk are depicted on postal envelopes and postcards.

A powerful offensive by our troops also unfolded on the Southern Front. Fierce fighting ensued on the outskirts of Kharkov. Here, at the railway crossing near the village of Taranovka, 25 soldiers of the 8th company of the 78th guards regiment under the command of Lieutenant P.N. Shironin. The unequal battle of the guardsmen with the enemy tank columns lasted five days. 20 fighters died a heroic death, but the Nazis paid dearly for their death: 30 enemy tanks, armored vehicles and self-propelled guns, mountains of corpses remained on the battlefield. Enemies did not break through the crossing. All 25 fighters were awarded the title of Heroes of the Soviet Union, and the Taranovka railway station is now called the "Station named after 25 Shirontsy Heroes."

The courageous lieutenant, whose portrait we see on the postal envelope, survived after severe wounds and met the bright day of Victory.

BATTLE OF KURSK

In the summer of 1943, the German command decided to take revenge for the unprecedented defeat at Stalingrad and turn the course of the war in their favor. Considering the favorable position of their troops, the Nazis chose the Kursk ledge for the general battle. Here, our troops penetrated deeply into the German defenses, which, according to the Nazis, created the possibility of cutting off and destroying the entire grouping of our troops.

They made a big bet on new models of tanks: "tigers" - heavy tanks with impenetrable (according to German military experts) frontal armor, "panthers" - light maneuverable tanks and "Ferdinands" - large-caliber self-propelled guns.

Our Supreme High Command was able to unravel the enemy's plan, and intelligence reported the approximate time for the start of the offensive - 3 o'clock in the morning on July 5. By this day, the Soviet troops, having organized a heavily echeloned, heavily fortified defense in the directions of enemy strikes, were ready to meet enemy columns with "Russian hospitality."

On the morning of July 5, at 2:20, having outstripped the enemy artillery by 40 minutes, a flurry of artillery fire of unprecedented force fell upon the enemy troops prepared for the offensive. Taking into account Hitler's stake on tank strikes, our command paid special attention to artillery weapons. The number of artillery regiments in this operation was one and a half times more than rifle regiments. The enemy offensive began belatedly, but he unleashed powerful tank strikes on the positions of the Central and Voronezh fronts. It took tremendous perseverance and courage to resist. Our soldiers had these qualities!

On July 6, the crew of the tank guard lieutenant V.S. Shalandina destroyed in battle five enemy tanks (including two "tigers"), three guns, more than 50 soldiers and officers. The episode of this battle and the portrait of the Hero of the Soviet Union V.S. Shalandin, awarded this title posthumously, we see on a postal miniature issued in 1962.

On the same day, the enemy tried to break through our defenses near the village. Yakovlevo. The path of the tank column was blocked by an artillery regiment under the command of Major M.N. Uglovsky. The enemy did not pass. In this battle, the commander himself stood up to the gun instead of the dead soldier and destroyed three tanks with accurate fire.

Today, at the site of the fighting near the village. Yakovleve rises a memorial in honor of the heroes of the Battle of Kursk, depicted on a postal envelope. The 122nd artillery regiment of Major Uglovsky during the days of the Battle of Kursk brought its combat score to 100 burned tanks, 100 vehicles with ammunition and more than 5 thousand destroyed Nazis. Portrait of the Hero of the Soviet Union M.N. Uglovsky is also depicted on the postal envelope.

Baptism of fire in the days of the Battle of Kursk was taken by a separate anti-tank brigade of the guards of Colonel V.B. Borsoev, who was later awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. We see his portrait on a postal miniature issued in 1970.

Postal envelopes are dedicated to the brave tankers, participants in the tank battles near Ponyri and Prokhorovka, Heroes of the Soviet Union S.F. Shutov and A.A. Golovachev.

The air armies reliably covered the blows of our troops. The commander of the 1st Air Army was the famous participant in the non-stop flight over the North Pole to America M.M. Gromov, who was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1937. The pilots from the 8th Air Army of General T.T. did not disappoint either. Khryukin. An unprecedented feat was accomplished these days by the pilot of the 2nd Air Army, Senior Lieutenant A.K. Gorovets:. July 6 in the battle over the village. Olkhovatka, having entered into single combat with a detachment of bombers, he shot down nine enemy vehicles! No one has accomplished such a feat. The glorious falcon, whose portrait is depicted on the postal envelope, died in this battle, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Portraits of M.M. Gromova and T.T. Khryukin is also depicted on postage stamps and an envelope.

Having exhausted the enemy in defensive battles, the troops of the Central, Voronezh and Steppe Fronts, which was in reserve, with the support of the Western and South-Western Fronts, launched a counteroffensive on July 12 and utterly defeated the enemy grouping.

In offensive battles, the 3rd Army of General A.V. Gorbatov, to whom the postal envelope is dedicated. The general coordination of the actions of the fronts was carried out by representatives of the Stavka Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov and Chief of the General Staff, General A.M. Vasilevsky.

The enemy was rapidly retreating to the west. On August 5, 1943, Orel and Belgorod were liberated, and in the evening, the inhabitants of Moscow for the first time saw bright fireworks in the night sky - this was the Motherland saluting the liberators of these cities. In honor of the victorious warriors in Orel and Kursk, monuments were erected, depicted on postal envelopes. Postage stamps and envelopes are also dedicated to the Battle of Kursk.

THE BATTLE FOR THE DNEPR AND THE LIBERATION OF UKRAINE

In order to defeat the Nazi troops in the Kyiv region and liberate the capital of Ukraine, the Kyiv offensive operation was carried out.

On the high right bank of the Dnieper, the fascist invaders created a powerful defensive zone.

On September 21, 1943, the soldiers of the 3rd Guards Tank Army of General P.S. were among the first to approach the Dnieper. Rybalko (his portrait is on a postal envelope). “We drink the water of our native Dnieper, we will drink from the Prut, Neman and Bug!” - we read on the postcard of the war years the words of the Soviet soldier depicted on it, who scooped up the Dnieper water with a helmet. At the same time, the troops of the Voronezh, Steppe and South-Western Fronts, commanded by Generals N.F. Vatutin, I.S. Konev and R.Ya. Malinovsky. Under continuous artillery fire and with the active action of enemy aircraft, the Dnieper was forced at once in 23 places.

The warriors of Captain M.A. fought courageously against the enemy. Samarin, Colonel L.M. Dudka, Guards Senior Lieutenant A.M. Stepanov - the youngest son, the last of the nine sons of a simple Russian woman, Epistinia Stepanova, who gave her most precious thing to her Motherland - her children. In the battle on the bridgehead in the Verkhnedneprovsky district of the Dnepropetrovsk region, having destroyed five enemy vehicles, the tank commander V.M. Chkhaidze. The portraits of these heroes are imprinted on postal envelopes. Separate episodes of the crossing of the Dnieper were reflected in a series of "secrets" released during the war years.

A considerable burden fell on the shoulders of the engineering troops, who provided the assault detachments with watercraft and prepared the paths of attack. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union in the battle for the Dnieper was awarded to the company commander of a separate battalion, Captain S.V. Egorov and the commander of the platoon of sappers, junior lieutenant A. A. Krivoshchekov. Their portraits are also depicted on postal envelopes.

With great impatience, the entire Soviet people waited for the liberation of the capital of Ukraine. On the morning of November 6, 1943, on the eve of the national holiday - the 25th anniversary of the Great October Revolution - the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, General N.F. Vatutin was liberated by storm in Kiev. In the center of the Ukrainian capital, a monument to the famous commander was erected, depicted on a postal envelope and postcard. In the battles on the Lyutezhsky bridgehead and during the liberation of Kyiv, the division of guards mortars of the guards of Lieutenant E.K. Lyutikov, whose portrait is depicted on the postal envelope. I.S. fought bravely in the sky near Kyiv. Polbin, future twice Heroes of the Soviet Union A. Sultan-Khan and N.I. Semeyko, whose portraits are also reproduced on postal envelopes.

The offensive actions of tanks and infantry were reliably covered by the 5th assault corps under the command of a famous polar pilot, a participant in the rescue of the Chelyuskinites, one of the first Heroes of the Soviet Union, later a mentor of Soviet cosmonauts - N.P. Kamanina. His portrait adorns the stamp in the 1935 issue series. Under his command, a young pilot, the future cosmonaut G.T., fought in the 4th assault division. Beregovoy, who in 1944 received the first Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union as an award (a postal miniature of the 1968 issue is dedicated to him). And the commander of this division was another illustrious pilot - G.F. Baydukov, Hero of the Soviet Union, participant in the famous Chkalovsky flight over the North Pole to America (his portrait is depicted on a postal miniature issued in 1938).

Hitler's general staff was extremely alarmed by the loss of Kiev and, having knocked together a powerful armored fist in the Zhytomyr region, threw it into a counteroffensive. The guardsmen of the 4th tank corps stood in the way of the enemy. The crew of the T-34 tank, Junior Lieutenant V.A., performed a heroic deed in these battles. Ermolaev and Sergeant A.A. Timofeev. For the young tankers who arrived with the replenishment, this was the first battle. They destroyed six enemy "tigers", and rammed the seventh with their padded, on fire car. They were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, their portraits are reproduced on a postal envelope.

Fierce battles unfolded during the crossing of the Dnieper in the region of Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Nikopol, Krivoy Rog. Hero of the Soviet Union I.N. Sytov, he is depicted on the postal envelope. During the liberation of Zaporozhye, Soviet soldiers managed to save the pride of the first five-year plans - Dneproges - from the explosion. Hitler's barbarians filled the dam and the engine room building with dozens of tons of explosives. But our soldiers were more agile. We see the handsome Dneproges on many postal miniatures.

The people cherish the memory of the heroes of the battle for the Dnieper. Monuments of Kyiv, Smolensk, Kherson, Cherkasy and other cities, reproduced on postal envelopes, remind us of this. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the city of Kyiv was awarded the title of "hero city". The Star of the Hero is depicted on a postal miniature of 1965 and a postcard with an original stamp issued for the 30th anniversary of the Victory.

1944 is the year of the widespread offensive of our troops, the liberation of the Soviet land from the Nazis. At the end of January, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of General N.F. Vatutin and the 2nd Ukrainian Front under the command of General I.S. Konev near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky was “pinched” by a group of enemy troops, consisting of 10 divisions and one brigade. It took less than a month to liquidate it. On the site of hot battles, the Museum of the History of the Battle of Korsun-Shevchenko was erected, depicted on postal envelopes. Pursuing the retreating enemy, on March 26, 1944, our troops reached the border with Romania. It was a great joy for the entire Soviet people.

On the same days, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front under the command of General R. Ya Malinovsky, developing an offensive on the right bank of the Southern Bug River, approached the city of Nikolaev. To help the advancing troops on March 28, a landing force of 68 Black Sea sailors was landed, led by Senior Lieutenant K.F. Olshansky. Neither the continuous attacks of the enemy, nor the artillery shelling could break the stamina of the brave paratroopers. Almost all of them, including the commander, gave their lives in this battle.

On the aft superstructure of the large ship "Savvy" - the heir and successor of the military glory of the Red Banner destroyer glorified during the war - a memorial plaque was installed: "Komsomol Hero V.V. Khodyrev is forever enrolled in the lists of the ship's crew. Senior sailor Khodyrev, a member of Olshansky's landing, bleeding, rushed under an enemy tank with grenades in his hands. A postage stamp issued in 1967 is dedicated to him.

On the high beauty of the embankment of the city of Nikolaev, a sculptural group froze facing the water surface of the estuary. It seems that the heroes-sailors are about to attack... This monument is depicted on a postage stamp issued on the 25th anniversary of the liberation of the city of Nikolaev from the Nazis, and on a postal envelope. The village was named after the commander of the landing. Olshanskoye in the Nikolaev region.

Strategically, our Supreme High Command considered the speedy liberation of Crimea to be extremely important. In November 1943, after the liberation of the Taman Peninsula, troops landed in the Kerch region. For many days and nights, at the cost of countless victims, the paratroopers held their bridgehead, which they called "Fire Land". Here the Ukrainian writer and journalist S.A. Borzenko replaced the fallen commander in battle and raised the paratroopers to attack. For this feat, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. His portrait is reproduced on a postal envelope.

In memory of the heroism of the defenders of the "Land of Fire" on Mount Mithridates, towering over Kerch, a monument is erected, depicted on several stamped envelopes and on a postcard with an original stamp dedicated to the hero city of Kerch.

In April 1944, soldiers of the 51st Army of General Ya.G. came to the aid of the paratroopers. Kreizer (we see his portrait on the postal envelope).

In mid-April, the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front under the command of General F.I. Tolbukhin and the Separate Primorsky Army reached the defensive structures of Sevastopol, the key position of the enemy defense - Sapun Mountain - our troops stormed for nine hours. By the evening of May 7, 1944, the Red Banner was hoisted on top of the mountain. This moment is captured on a postcard with an original stamp issued for the 30th anniversary of the liberation of Sevastopol. Many envelopes depict the building of the diorama of the assault on Sapun Mountain. Our troops entered Sevastopol on May 9. It took only five days for the Soviet troops to break the enemy defenses, while in 1942 it took General Manstein 250 days to solve the same problem! Here it is, the strength of the spirit of the Soviet warrior! Not without reason, on the pedestal of the monument to the heroes of the Komsomol in Sevastopol (its image is placed on the postal envelope) is inscribed: "To courage, steadfastness, loyalty to the Komsomol."

On April 10, our troops liberated sunny Odessa from the enemy. Take a look at the envelope issued for the 20th anniversary of the city's liberation. On it we see a photograph taken on the day of liberation: the joyful faces of soldiers against the background of the majestic building of the opera house. A postal miniature issued in 1964 is dedicated to the same date.

LIBERATION OF BELARUS

Hitler's strategists least of all expected that the Soviet troops would strike their main blow in the summer campaign of 1944 through the forests, marshes and swamps of Belarus. That is why the Headquarters instructed the General Staff to develop a plan for a crushing blow against the grouping of enemy troops in Belarus by the forces of the 1st Baltic and 1st, 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts. The plan for this grandiose operation was named "Bagration" in memory of the outstanding commander, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812. A postage stamp with his portrait was issued in 1962 for the 150th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812. A schematic plan of the operation is depicted on a postal miniature issued on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus (in 1969). The general leadership of the actions of the fronts was carried out by marshals G.K. Zhukov and A.M. Vasilevsky. Cutting through the enemy grouping with offensive actions, overcoming swamps and impassability, the Soviet troops stubbornly advanced to the west and on August 29, 1944 reached the border of East Prussia.

In the Belarusian operation, the soldiers of the Red Army showed miracles of heroism. A postal miniature issued in 1964 shows a rounded youthful face. Only 19 years old was Yuri Smirnov, a private guard, when, wounded, he fell into the clutches of fascist monsters. No torture could break the will of the young man - he kept a military secret. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Private P.T. blew himself up and the enemies surrounding him. Ponomarev, also awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. His portrait is depicted on a postal envelope. In the battles near Vitebsk, Private A.E. entered into single combat with enemy tanks. Uglovsky, awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. At the cost of his life, the brave armor-piercer alone stopped the enemy's tank attack. His portrait is on a postage stamp, peeled in 1966. As part of the Guards Minsk Red Banner Tank Brigade, Hero of the Soviet Union B.N. participated in tank attacks. Dmitrievsky, whose portrait against the background of the Red Banner is depicted on a postal envelope. In the battles for the liberation of Belarus, the Soviet-Polish brotherhood in arms was born. In the battle at Lenino, Mogilev region, on October 25, 1943, the 1st Polish division, formed on Soviet soil, received its baptism of fire. This day has become a national holiday of the Polish people - the birthday of the Polish Army. The postal miniature of the 1955 issue shows the Brotherhood in Arms monument erected in Warsaw.

In the post-war years, a majestic obelisk was erected in Minsk on Victory Square, the image of which we see on postage stamps dedicated to the anniversaries of the liberation of the republic. On another postage stamp and envelope (1969) there is an image of the Mound of Glory, poured by the hands of the inhabitants of Belarus in memory of the expulsion of the hated enemy from their native land. By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Minsk was awarded the title of "Hero City". This event is dedicated to the postcard with the original stamp, issued for the 30th anniversary of the Victory.

LIBERATION MISSION OF THE RED ARMY

Having completed the liberation of the entire territory of the Soviet Union from Nazi invaders in 1944, our troops came to the aid of the peoples of Europe, who were still languishing in fascist captivity.

The Soviet soldier extended a hand of fraternal help to Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia.

The battles on the territory of long-suffering Poland were fierce and bloody, where the enemy created seven fortified defensive lines. In the Vistula-Oder operation, the group of Nazi troops was defeated. On Polish soil, they became Heroes of the Soviet Union, battalion commander V.N. Emelyanov, gunners N.I. Grigoriev, V.I. Peshekhonov, whose portraits we find on stamps and envelopes.

The pride of the Hungarian capital is the proud monument crowning Mount Gellert. This monument to Soviet soldiers who liberated the country from Nazi invaders is depicted on Soviet and Hungarian postage stamps.

In the last days of the war, the tank armies of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Ukrainian fronts, having made a swift throw, came to the aid of the insurgent Prague. "Brotherhood" - this is the name of the symbolic sculptural group erected in Prague in memory of the brotherhood of the two peoples, born in the battles against fascism. This monument is depicted on a Soviet stamp issued in 1960. Other postal miniatures from the Czechoslovak Republic series (1951) depict monuments to Soviet soldiers in Prague and Ostrava.

The Soviet soldier was greeted everywhere as a liberator, a welcome guest. The scene of a joyful meeting is depicted on a postage stamp issued in 1951 in the series "People's Republic of Bulgaria"; on another postal miniature of this series - a monument to Soviet soldiers-liberators in Kolarovgrad.

A postage badge issued in 1964 depicts Soviet and Yugoslav soldiers with weapons in their hands. In the struggle for the liberation of Yugoslavia, a strong friendship was born between the Red Army and the National Liberation Army of Yugoslavia.

Many postage stamps and other philatelic materials have been issued in our country in memory of the brotherhood with the peoples saved from fascist slavery.

WE WON!

In the spring of 1945, Soviet troops crossed the German border. The final stage of the war has come. Our troops were approaching Berlin.

The former 62nd, now the 8th Guards Army of General V.I. also participated in the final battle. Chuikov, who has traveled a glorious path from the banks of the Volga to Berlin.

On the morning of April 30, battles broke out for the Reichstag building, and on the night of May 1, a red flag, the Banner of Victory, hoisted over the riddled dome. It was hoisted by scouts of the 756th regiment of the 3rd shock army M.A. Egorov and M.V. Kantaria. This moment is healed in many philatelic issues.

It is difficult to describe the joy and triumph of the winners. Soldiers and officers hurried to leave their autographs on the walls and columns of the smoking building. Such a scene is depicted on a postal envelope issued for the 35th anniversary of the Victory. On May 8, an act of unconditional surrender of fascist Germany was signed, and on May 9, our entire country, all freedom-loving humanity celebrated the long-awaited holiday - Victory Day. An expressive postage stamp depicting the Order of Victory, decorated with an overprint: “Victory Holiday. May 9, 1945". In the post-war years, many postage stamps, envelopes, postcards and special cancellations were dedicated to this national holiday.

The monument-ensemble to the soldiers of the Soviet Army who fell in battles against fascism, erected in Treptow Park in Berlin according to the project of the remarkable Soviet sculptor E. Vuchetich, became a symbol of the Victory of the Soviet people over Nazi Germany. The majestic statue of the Liberator Warrior, made in the best traditions of classical sculpture, is reflected in many philatelic issues.

On June 24, Moscow's Red Square hosted the Victory Parade depicted on postage stamps issued in February 1946. The winners marched across the square in a solemn march. To the foot of the mausoleum of V.I. Lenin, military banners and standards of the defeated Nazi troops were thrown.

In Moscow, near the Kremlin wall, a monument to the Unknown Soldier has been erected - to all those who gave their lives in the struggle for the freedom and independence of their beloved Motherland.

“From the fiery frontiers of the forty-first year, That the banners of glory are still making noise. Loyal to the Motherland, the son of the working people, You returned to Moscow, Unknown Soldier, ”wrote the Soviet poet Alexei Surkov.

This monument, depicted on a postage stamp, sort of completes the chronicle of the Great Patriotic War in Soviet philately. However, it is impossible to close it like a read book: the philatelic chronicle will be replenished with new materials from year to year. Lovingly preserving its pages is the noble task of young philatelists.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Glorious path of the Lenin Komsomol. - M.: Young Guard, 1978.

2. Kissin B.M. Pages of history on postage stamps. - M: Enlightenment, 1980.

3. Chernyshev A.A. Salute, pioneer! - M: Radio and communication, 1982 (BYUF, issue 13).

4. Levitas I. Ya. Philately for schoolchildren. - M.: Radio and communication, 1984.

Yuri Grigorievich Malov, Vitaly Yurievich Malov

CHRONICLE OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

IN PHILATELY

Special editor N. K. Spivak

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Corrector G. G. Kazakova

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G. Bakalinsky. Writers are fighters for peace. Philately of the USSR. 1976. No. 12. Page 5-7

In September 1932, the fortieth anniversary of the creative and socio-political activities of Alexei Maksimovich Gorky was widely celebrated. To commemorate the anniversary, the USSR Ministry of Communications issued a series of postage stamps No. 392-393 With a portrait and a facsimile of the writer.

Gorky's books are read by all progressive mankind. The proletarian writer boldly invaded various spheres of human activity, denounced lies and injustice, exposed the bestial essence of fascism and called for a merciless fight against it in order to preserve the gains of October. Gorky was not alone in this struggle. Many cultural figures abroad immediately recognized the world's first state of workers and peasants. The outstanding French writer Romain Rolland (stamp No. 3311, stamped envelope No. 4070) wrote in 1935 “... that the only true world progress is inseparably linked with the fate of the USSR, that the USSR is a fiery center of proletarian internationalism, which all mankind must become and will be ".

Gorky and Rolland were actively engaged in the preparation of the anti-war congress, which took place in 1932 in Amsterdam. However, Aleksey Maksimovich did not have to be a participant: the Dutch government refused part of the Soviet delegation entry visas.

Subsequently, issues of postage stamps, stamped envelopes, postcards were dedicated to Gorky not only in the Soviet Union, but also in Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Vietnam and India.

Many postal miniatures are dedicated to writers who fought in the difficult years of the war against Nazi Germany. On postage stamp No. 4067, issued on the occasion of the seventieth birthday of Alexander Fadeev, it is very correctly said: "Fighter, writer, communist." During the years of the civil war in the Far East, he fought in a partisan detachment, from the first days of the Great Patriotic War, his correspondence from different sectors of the front was published in the press. The fiery words of the tribune inspired the fighters, instilled in them confidence in victory.

In 1944, Fadeev's book "Leningrad in the days of the blockade" was published with front-line essays and articles about the heroic deed of the soldiers of the Leningrad Front and the inhabitants of the city, who defended the cradle of the revolution from the fascist invaders. Fadeev was the first to talk about the Komsomol members of the Young Guard of Krasnodon, and subsequently wrote the wonderful novel The Young Guard. We see the heroes of Krasnodon on stamp No. 887. After the war, the writer participates in the peace movement, conferences, congresses and sessions of the World Peace Council, of which he was a member for many years.

A bright trace in Soviet literature was left by the popular children's writer Arkady Gaidar. The first postage stamp No. 2785 dedicated to him was issued in 1962, the second one (No. 3032) marked the writer's sixtieth birthday.

Arkady Gaidar created many interesting works for children. After the publication of the story "Timur and his team", the Timur movement arose in the country. In the village of "Gaidar" of the Atbassar district of the Kazakh SSR, the Timurovites even created a real pioneer mail with their stamp and served the entire population of the village. The stamped envelopes No. 6158, 9087 depict the Gaidar Museum-Library in the city of Kanev, Cherkasy region.

A heroic page in the annals of the Great Patriotic War was written by the famous Tatar poet Musa Jalil, whose portrait is depicted on stamp No. 2334. Once in a Nazi prisoner of war camp, he creates an underground group, writes poetry and, with his fiery word, helps his comrades courageously endure Nazi captivity.

In 1956, Musa Jalil was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the Lenin Prize was awarded for the collection of poems "Moabit Notebook" written in captivity. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the poet's birth, a postage stamp No. 3321 and a stamped envelope No. 4107 were issued, which were canceled with a special stamp in Kazan on February 15, 1966.

A great contribution to the cause of peace was made by the writer I. G. Ehrenburg, twice winner of the State Prize of the USSR. In the most difficult time for our Fatherland - the war years, Soviet people read his fiery articles, essays, pamphlets, which expressed ardent love for the Motherland, confidence in victory and burning hatred for fascism. “Ehrenburg is engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Germans, he strikes right and left. This is a hot attack ... ”So M.I. Kalinin characterized the writer's publicistic speeches. His collection of essays Enemies, published at the end of 1941, enjoyed wide popularity. Evaluation of the great and fruitful work was the award to Ehrenburg in 1952 of the Lenin Prize "For the strengthening of peace between peoples." Two commemorative miniatures published in France are dedicated to him. They depict a friendly conversation between Ilya Grigorievich Ehrenburg and the French writer Jean Richard-Bloc, a great friend of the Soviet Union.

Speaking of writers - fighters for peace and friendship between peoples, to whom postal miniatures are dedicated, one cannot fail to mention such masters of the pen as A. Tolstoy (No. 2117), A. Serafimovich (No. 2807), F. Gladkov (No. 2812), V Ivanov (No. 3219), D. Gulia (No. 3034), whose works live among the people, educate people and fight together with them for the brightest thing on earth - peace.