A significant number of provisionals are associated with the Civil War of 1918–1922. At that time, there was no stable central authority across most of the country; many regions became independent, and due to devastation and war there was substantial inflation. Frequent changes in postal rates and the inability to supply the postal network with stamps of the required denominations led to periodic revaluations of existing stocks in accordance with instructions from the People’s Commissariat of Posts and Telegraphs of the RSFSR, which did not provide for any overprints. However, in the field, some post offices nevertheless applied overprints to the revalued stamps offered for sale, or simply added handwritten inscriptions. All these stamps are characterized by an extremely simple overprinting technique.
Overprint 5 rub on 1 Kopeck 1918.
Provisional Overprint.
