White Russia~byelorussian National Republic

An independent Byelorussian state was pronounced in March 1918 by an administration in Minsk
known as Rada, but it existed only for nine months until the establishment of the Byelorussian
Soviet Republic. The military administration of Rada, known as BNR (Byelorussian National
Republic) [This is the inscription at the foot of the stamp] lasted for several decades. The
short-lived Rada government in Minsk issued three stamps in 1918 The special section (Asobny-Atrad) [This is the inscription at the top of No.1]
issued five stamps in Riga in 1920 for use by troops under the command of General
Bulakh-Balakhovic in the region of Dzvinsk. Although these stamps were regarded for a long time
as private speculations, there is evidence that they were postally used through the assistance of other
administrations, including Latvia, which recognized the republic. During the 1971 British postal
strike the Association of Byelorussians in Great Britain organized a private postal service and issued
its own stamps. It also used some of the 1920 BNR stamps, surcharged ZBVB POST and the value,
10p.

"White Russia". In 1940 they were listed in Stanley Gibbons' catalogue as follows:
WHITE RUSSIA
Type 1. Designed by R. Sarinsch and printed at the Latvian State Printing Office, Riga.
1920. Type 1. (a) Imperf. 1) 5k. green; 2) 10k. scarlet; 3) 15k. violet; 4) 50k. blue; 5) 1r. brown.
(b) Perf. 11 1/2. 6) 5k. green; 7) 10k. scarlet; 8) 15k. violet; 9) 50k. blue; 10) 1r. brown.
The 15k. varies in many details from the design of Type 1. It is doubtful if these stamps were ever
used for postal purposes.
(Stanley Gibbons priced mint stamps 1 or 2 pence each).


By 1974, Stanley Gibbons' position had changed, thus:
WHITE RUSSIA
Stamps in the above type, 5, 10, 15, 50k and 1r., both imperf. and perf. were prepared for use by a
force raised by Gen. Bulak-Balakhovitch in 1920. We have never seen genuinely used copies and
have no evidence of their issue.

Nice one rod222!

I've always liked this set.

One intriguing thing about these is that although at first glance the stamps designs all look the same, the 15 kopeck is actually different in lots of small ways.

There are four types of forgery and most of them miss this fact, so it's a good first test to see if a set shows these differences.

Some examples of the differences:

1. The serif on the D of "ATRAD" in the 15 kopeck is detached, on the others it isn't.

2. The vertical stroke of the T in "ATRAD" is thin on the 15 kopeck and fat on the other values.

3. The angle of the man's hand is different on the 15 kopeck.

Thanks Nigel,
I wasn't aware of that fact, until I made this post.
the 15 kopek was illusive, I bought it at my last club meet. (10c)
thanks for pointing out the differences
Nice design, well worth a genuine issue status.

Upon close scrutiny of the 15 K and the others, the differences are almost too numerous to list.

Does anyone know why the 15 is so different. Was it issued separately from the other values?

This is the best site I have ever found Rohumpy,
Let us know if you find anything.
http://www.belarus-misc.org/bnr-stamps.htm

Thanks a lot. I plowed through at least 30 pages, until my vision was impaired. No discussion of the stamps in question except what we already have.

I found a long discussion on this issue in Dr Ceresa's The Postage Stamps of Russia, 1917-1923.

Ceresa reports that the designer is believed to be Richard Zarrins and that his design was subsequently copied by another artist to create the 15 kopeck value.

Zarrins designed many stamps including the Russian chain breaker stamps of 1918.

Here's more information and a picture of the man (and with his name in its Latvian spelling):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rihard...%C5%86%C5%A1

Fantastic Nigel,
I am always on the lookout for the designers / engravers,
this is magic info.
Those Russian issues are immediately recognisable.

well done you.

Magic, indeed. It goes without saying that I never paid close-enough attention to see the differences in the 15k, and without this thread, I never would have. I'm sure that I would be interested to see what The Postage Stamps of Russia, 1917-1923 has to say, but it is not likely that I'll ever own it. This is the kind of information that makes the stamp world go 'round.

So, thanks to all for sharing.

Collin

What do members suggest I mount and list my white russian,
under "White Russia" or Byelorussia"
what is the more proper? or.....?

Also this "break chain" issue,
where does this fellow belong in the scheme of things?

Thanks.

IMHO, I would mount/list them under the same name that appears in your catalog.

You reminded me that several years ago, I had a student from Belarus. She was one of the nicest people I ever met. Smart, funny, and an excellent work ethic.

Here's a link to info about their government, if anyone is interested
http://www.belarus.by/en/government

KirkS

Excellent thread

Why not just "Belarus"? Short and simple.

Thanks for the suggestions,
with due respect to both, I think
I'll go for the catalogue regime,
my Belarus collection is somewhat seperate with
the reemergence of modern issues.

So I guess no one is familiar with the break chain issue?

Your chainbreaker is likely a bogus issue printed in Italy in 1919, according to Chapier's Les Timbres de Fantaisie. Etude historique et descriptive des émissions apocryphes et de fantaisie The 50k is the only value.

Does anyone know what it says on the top of the chain breaker stamp?

Update: I thought the language was Russian, but it is actually Belarussian.

The second word seems to translate to "Exemption", while the last is "Russia". The fist first word makes no sense to me.