Twenty-first nationwide charity issue. Line perforation 12 1/2.
Postage-charity stamps in aid of soldiers and their families. Artist Rikhard Germanovich Zarrin (Zarrinsh) is the designer of almost all Russian banknotes of the early 20th century and the first Soviet postage stamp.
On September 2, 1914, the head of the Main Directorate of Posts and Telegraphs, V. Pokhvisnev, submitted a report to the Minister of the Interior, in which he noted that the Imperial Women's Patriotic Society had already issued during the war with Japan "patriotic postage stamps, the proceeds from which went to the benefit of orphans of the active army." After listing the conditions under which they had been issued and certain changes of the day, the head of the Directorate concluded: "...taking into account that the right to issue patriotic stamps had already once been granted to the Imperial Women's Patriotic Society, I would consider it proper... to authorize the issue of the said stamps, granting the Society that right again now as well." Minister N. Maklakov agreed with this proposal.
The stamp designs were developed with the participation of EZGB.
On September 18, 1914, the Main Directorate of Posts and Telegraphs notified in advance the postal and postal-telegraph offices of the empire about the issue of "patriotic" stamps in denominations of 1, 3, 7, and 10 kopeks, and reported that:
- the sale price of the stamps is set with a surcharge over the face value of 1 kopek for each stamp;
- postal and telegraph fees which, under the rules in force, are paid with stamps may be paid with patriotic stamps, and their face value, not the sale price, is to be taken into account;
- the purchase of patriotic stamps and the payment of postal items with them are not mandatory for anyone and are left to the discretion of senders.
The stamps of the Imperial Women's Patriotic Society were officially used as postage stamps during 1914-1917. During this period, they could be used to pay for all types of postal correspondence.
The sale of patriotic stamps was ordered to cease on November 19, 1917 (order of the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs No. 62338 of August 19, 1917).
However, these stamps remained in postal circulation for quite a long time.