States With Limited Recognition - Abkhazia

North Korea, independent since 1948, is not recognised by two UN members: Japan and South Korea.



Swordfish and trawler

South Korea

National flag

Does anyone know what the postal situation is in Abkhazia today?

Do they use Abkhazian stamps?

Or do they use Russian stamps?

I'm sure they'll no longer be using Georgian stamps.

AbkhaziaStamps have been produced purporting to be from the Republic of Abkhazia, an area in western Georgia that is recognised as a sovereign state by few countries. Most stamps of Abkhazia are believed to be bogus, produced in foreign countries solely for sale to collectors, but more recently Abkhazia has produced stamps that may have legitimate use locally within the borders of the disputed area. They are not recognised by the UPU.

Nothing really concrete.

Here is an image of a "stamp" depicting an attractive young couple, printed by lithogravure, and purportedly issued by "White Russia" in 1920. This stamp is not listed in the current edition of the Scott Standard catalogue. In 1965, Scott stated: "Stamps of this design were not put in use and were probably propaganda labels." This stamp was originally listed in the Stanley Gibbons catalogue, but in its 1965 edition, SG stated: "Stamps in the above type 5, 10, and 50 k., and 1 r. both imperf. and perf. were prepared for use by a force raised by Gen. Bulak-Balakhovitch. They are no longer listed as we have never seen genuinely used copies and we have no evidence of their issue." This one may not be exactly on topic, but I believe it's interesting enough to post here nevertheless.

- nethryk

This one is from Abkhazia

Very nice Fifia. I believe that is a genuine Abkhazia sheet.

Nethryk, that lovely White Russia set was covered nicely here too:

https://goscf.com/t/8428#8428

I am very interested in the topic of countries with limited recognition. Here is a list of most of the entities that I have been able to determine that have issued stamps or presently issue stamps and could be considered in this category. Many could also be considered de facto countries (countries in fact) instead of de jure countries (countries by law). The stamps of most of these countries are/were good only within their territories and mail to the outside world has/had to go through a friendly neighboring country.

Rhenish Republic 1923-24 Tried to break away from Germany with French support

South Moluccas 1950 Tried to break away from Indonesia

Ciskei 1981-1994 A South African homeland recognized as independent by only South Africa

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic 1976-present Claims Western Sahara which is mostly occupied by Morocco. Has a lot of recognition but little territory and government is based in Algeria

Biafra 1967-1970 Tried to break away from Nigeria

Neutral Moresnet since 1920 part of Belgium, local company tried in 1886 to issue stamps but declared illegal

Gaza Strip 2010-present Hamas government has issued stamps

Somaliland 1991-present The former British colony declared independence from Somalia and reportedly has issued stamps

Viet Cong (National Liberation Front of South Vietnam) to 1975 Issued stamps during Vietnamese War

Pathet Lao issued stamps in Laos civil war in early 1970s

Tamil Eelam issued stamps in civil war in Sri Lanka that ended recently

Ili Republic 1945-1949 Breakaway state in northwest China

Serbian Krajina 1991-1995 Breakaway state in Croatia

Mosquito Coast to 1894 A British protectorate that was incorporated into Nicaragua

Upper Yafa 1967 A sultanate that may have had short period of independence before becoming part of South Yemen after South Arabia was abandoned by Britain

South Kasai 1960-61 Breakaway state from the now Democratic Republic of the Congo

Bophuthatswana 1977-1994 Another South African homeland

Croatian Bosnia 1991-1994 Breakaway state in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Transkei 1976-1994 Another South African homeland

Turkish Cyprus 1983-present The northern part of the island; the rest has a Greek government, except for 2 areas where Britain retains sovereignty

Mirdite Republic 1921 Breakaway state in Albania (generally accepted that stamps were issued after the country was reintegrated into Albania)

Mahra 1967 Another sultanate in South Arabia, now part of Yemen

Confederate States of America 1861-1865 Breakaway part of the United States

Sovereign Military Order of Malta issues stamps since 1966 - Has diplomatic relations with much of world but only territory is a couple of buildings it owns in Rome, Italy

Italian Social Republic 1943-1945 The fascist part of northern Italy after the Allies invaded Italy in World War II and king surrendered

Nagorno-Karabakh 1991-present Part of Azerbaijan that wants to be Armenian

Abkhazia 1999-present Breakaway state in Georgia

Taiwan 1949-present Most of world considers the island to belong to People's Republic of China and it has little diplomatic recognition

Shan States Issued stamps as an independent part of Burma (Myanmar) under Japanese occupation in World War II

Venda 1979-1994 Another South African homeland

Transnistria 1990-present Breakaway state in Moldova

South Ossetia 1990-present Breakaway state in Georgia

Anguilla 1969 Island in Caribbean unilaterally declared independence but was soon returned to status of British overseas territory

Rhodesia 1965-1979 Unilaterally declared independence from Britain, as a colony it was called Southern Rhodesia, but then returned to British rule before becoming Zimbabwe

Western Bosnia 1993-1995 Breakaway state in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Eastern Slavonia 1995-1998 Breakaway state in Croatia, formerly part of Serbian Krajina

Chechnya 1991-2000 Independent for short time before recaptured by Russia

Nakhichevan 1990s Declared independence before Azerbaijan or Armenia from Soviet Union, presently an autonomous region in Azerbaijan but surrounded by Armenia

Katanga 1960-1963 A breakaway state from the now Democratic Republic of the Congo

Korytza 1917-1918 Established in Albania under French occupation

Central Albania 1915-1916 Controlled by a warlord during unsettled times

Northern Epirus 1914 Republic established by Greeks in southern Albania

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs 1918 Unrecognized state that merged with Serbia to form Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became Yugoslavia

Bosnian Serb Republic 1992 to present State within Bosnia and Herzegovina

I managed to acquire some Abkhazia covers, here are some bird stamps on one of them (dated Jan. 1993).

Katanga province seceded from Congo (ex-Belgian) Republic in 1960. Although its government was not recognized and it was never a member of the UPU, Katanga stamps were tolerated in international mails until the secession ended in September 1961. Here is an image of a stamp depicting a Katangan wood carving of a group of people preparing a meal, printed by photogravure (Courvoisier, S.A.), and issued by Katanga on March 1, 1961, Scott No. 61.

- nethryk

Here you go you Abkhazia-philes. I've got a couple of these to give away.

No Interest?

I'd accept them, if no one else replies, oldguy.
Post to Australia?

A Page of Katanga
Steiner Page 5

" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">

South Kasai
Steiner Page

" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">

I suppose you could mount an argument that virtually all the Indian States belong in this category, since with the odd exception, their stamps were only recognised within their own borders.

This is an example of the use of a Kashmir stamp to Rawalpindi, then in British India, now of course in Pakistan:



Note the use of both the Kashmir stamp (SG 97) and the British Indian stamps for postage beyond the borders of Jammu & Kashmir.