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Ahto Tanner sent me a
copy of his 57 page A4 Handbook. It’s very clearly written and presented. It
feels easy to use and I think the author is to be congratulated. To obtain a
copy, contact Ahto at
https://shop.postiajalugu.ee/
https://shop.postiajalugu.ee/
I was very interested by
the short account (pages 12-13) of the Estonian Venemaalt [ From Russia] markings of 1920 – 21. When Bolshevik
Russia re-introduced a foreign mail service in June 1920, the new Foreign
Tariff schedule provided for Free Post on unregistered mail going abroad.
Registered mail had to be franked. This arrangement was identical to that
applied to domestic letters. However, the new schedule was replaced by a new
foreign Tariff on 30 September 1920 which required all mail going abroad to be franked.
So there was a three
month period when unfranked ordinary mail leaving Russia would not attract any
internal Postage Due marking because there were no charges due. But nor were
there any payments scheduled to the postal administrations of foreign
countries. Ah.
The Estonian
authorities did not really want to deliver Russian mail for free. But rather
than charge the usual x 2 the postage
deficiency, they decided to apply the ordinary inland Estonian rate to incoming Russian mail. This is the origin
of the Venemaalt markings. Ahto Tanner illustrates a very nice item at page 12.
In the early period
June – September 1920 it’s likely that anyone in Russia who could afford to
register mail would do so. Unfranked foreign mail is now very hard to find – no
doubt also because people were more likely to throw away cards and letters without
stamps.
After the external free
post tariff ended, there were people who did not realise that things had
changed or who had no money to frank mail anyway. They continued to send mail unfranked,
which explains why the Estonian Venemaalt
markings continue in use until 1921.
Most of the research on
this topic is due to Alexander Epstein.
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