A receipt-book stub with a frame size of 52 × 31 mm. Two-color printing on paper of various colors and thicknesses. Irregular left-side perforation. In a rectangular frame, the denomination is in the center. At the top are a red cross and the letters “Z.S.” At the bottom, text in two lines: “For the maintenance of shelters for disabled soldiers.” In the upper-right corner is a number. On the front side there is a fragment of a lilac impression of a round control stamp of the Union.
The Zemstvo Union (the All-Russian Zemstvo Union for Aid to Sick and Wounded Soldiers) was one of the largest public organizations engaged in providing medical assistance, arranging aid for refugees, and supplying the army with medicines, dressing materials, and other necessities during World War I. It was founded on July 30, 1914, by provincial zemstvos at the All-Russian congress of their representatives in Moscow. It operated under the patronage of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. The Zemstvo Union was part of the Russian Red Cross Society, while retaining independence in financial and internal affairs.
In Voronezh, on the initiative of Governor G. B. Petkevich, a meeting was convened on July 25, 1914, to establish a charitable society to aid soldiers and their families. The Governor’s wife, V. I. Petkevich—who was a relative of the head of the Russian government, I. L. Goremykin—was unanimously elected chairwoman of the Committee. An Executive Council was also elected, which included many well-known Voronezh ladies. On October 1, 1914, at the General Meeting it was decided to help the “soldier in the trenches” with items that were in short supply at the front. Such items included warm underwear, smoking supplies, and nourishing foodstuffs (tea, sugar, lard, salt, wine). In the local periodical press, the ladies launched a strong advertising campaign calling for practical help and donations to procure underwear for the army.