1st edition.
On September 26, 1904, the Zemstvo Assembly approved new postal Regulations, under which “correspondence received by the Zemstvo post is paid for in favor of the Zemstvo by a postal fee, by means of special Zemstvo postage stamps prepared by the Zemstvo Board in four denominations: 1, 2, 4, and 5 kopecks.”
It was decided to introduce the Regulations from January 1, 1905. The new 5-kopeck stamps were intended to pay for registered letters, whose forwarding fee had previously been 4 kopecks. The Board’s report for 1904 states: “For printing Zemstvo postage stamps: 1 kopeck — 20,400 pcs., 2 kopecks — 52,200 pcs., 4 kopecks — 11,500 pcs., 5 kopecks — 19,000 pcs., total 103,100 pcs.; paid 96 rubles 06 kopecks, and for dispatch 1 ruble 85 kopecks.”