Zemstvo stamp

[1] In 1870 a law was passed formalising the arrangements and which stated that "The Rural post is authorised to carry ordinary correspondence, also journals, circulars, remittances, registered letters, and other mail from the post town, to all more or less distant portions of the district as may be deprived of postal communications.

[3] According to Chuchin's catalogue, at least 3000 different Zemstvo stamps were issued, however, records are incomplete and it is likely that there are many still to be discovered.

High value of unused Zemstvo stamps was due to the fact that they had not been collected by philatelists in the 1860s.

The book Description of the Russian Zemstvo Stamps, Envelopes and Parcels by D. Chudovsky was issued in Kiev in 1888 and was also very popular.

[4] A number of catalogues were produced in Germany and Russia before the revolution but some are incomplete and other were published before the cessation of the service and therefore do not give a full history of the stamps.