Monuments Series. The first commemorative issue of zemstvo stamps was released in Poltava Uyezd in 1909. It was dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the defeat of the Swedes at Poltava and consisted of 7 stamps.
The stamps were printed at one of the best printing houses of the time, Golike and Vilborg in St. Petersburg, and enjoyed great success. Their shape, the subject of the design, and the design itself were unusual for that era.
Five of them, set in a picturesque frame, depict several monuments erected in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava. The 1- and 2-kopeck stamps show monuments installed on the battlefield in 1909. The third stamp (3 kopecks) features an image of the “Monument of Glory” located in Poltava; the fourth (5 kopecks) reproduces a monument in honor of the commandant of the Poltava garrison. The 6-kopeck stamp depicts a monument erected in 1849 at the place where Peter I rested after the battle. The 10-kopeck stamp shows the burial site of Russian soldiers who died in the Battle of Poltava. The last stamp of the series (15 kopecks) bears a portrait of Peter I.
On March 1, 1903, the zemstvo post of Poltava Uyezd (Poltava Governorate) was opened. Mail was dispatched twice a week from the uyezd center, the city of Poltava, to 17 volosts of the uyezd. Zemstvo postage stamps were used to pay for private correspondence: ordinary letters were paid with 3-kopeck stamps, and registered letters with 6-kopeck stamps. They are highly diverse in printing method and purpose (official, for ordinary and registered wrappers, money correspondence, etc.).
Many issues depict the uyezd coat of arms. The stamps were printed in private printing houses; from 1905, at EZGB.
Imperforate stamps were of unofficial origin and were intended for collectors. The stamps were canceled with circular, oval, and rectangular postmarks.