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USSR Stamps

Commemoratives of 1935-1936


The commemorative USSR stamps of 1935 are dominated by the set of 10 diamond-oriented stamps celebrating the upcoming International Spartacist Games, an event that never actually took place!

The number of commemorative stamps issued in 1936 is truly astonishing!  The USSR would eventually become famous with stamp collectors for issuing TOO MANY stamps each year!  During 1936, only seven stamps were issued, in celebration of two events!



The ten diamond-orientation USSR stamps shown above were issued on April 22, 1935 to publicize the International Spartacist Games.

Each of the designs features a different sporting event.

The catalog attributes and descriptions are as follows:

  • 01 K.  (Sc. #559) - Running.
  • 02 K.  (Sc. #560) - Diving.
  • 03 K.  (Sc. #561) - Rowing.
  • 04 K.  (Sc. #562) - Soccer.
  • 05 K.  (Sc. #563) - Skiing.
  • 10 K.  (Sc. #564) - Bicycling.
  • 15 K.  (Sc. #565) - Tennis.
  • 20 K.  (Sc. #566) - Skating.
  • 35 K.  (Sc. #567) - Hurdling.
  • 40 K.  (Sc. #568) - Parade of Athletes.

The Spartacist Games or Spartakiad was a Summer and Winter sporting event sponsored by the USSR.  Five international Spartakiads were held from 1928 to 1937.  Subsequent Spartakiads were organized as national sporting events of the Eastern bloc countries. 

The games were named after Spartacus (111-71 B.C.), a former Thracian slave and gladiator who was a leader in the Third Servile War (73-71 B.C.) against the Roman Republic.  This was interpreted by the Communists as being a struggle by the oppressed against the aristocratic imperialists.

The first games were organized both to oppose and to supplement the World Olympic Games. The first Winter Spartakiad was held in Oslo in 1928, and the first Summer Spartakiad was held in Moscow in 1928.

The 1936 Summer Spartakiad, called the People's Olympiad, was organized by Spain and the USSR as a protest event to the 1936 Olympic Games, being hosted by Nazi Germany.  The Spartakiad of 1936, which had overwhelming international support, was to have taken place in Barcelona, but due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the event had to be canceled.



The four pictorial USSR stamps shown above were issued on September 10, 1935 for the Third International Exposition of Persian Art, held in Leningrad September 12-18, 1935.

The common design features a silver plate of the Sassanian Dynasty (224-651).

The catalog attributes are as follows:

  • 05 K.  (1935 - Sc. #569) - Orange Red.
  • 10 K.  (1935 - Sc. #570) - Dark Yellow Green.
  • 15 K.  (1935 - Sc. #571) - Dark Violet.
  • 35 K.  (1935 - Sc. #572) - Black Brown.



The four pictorial USSR stamps shown above were issued on November 20, 1935 for the 60th Anniversary of the Birth of Mikhail Kalinin, the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR.

The catalog attributes and descriptions are as follows:

  • 03 K.  (Sc. #573) - Kalinin as a worker.
  • 05 K.  (Sc. #574) - Kalinin as a farmer.
  • 10 K.  (Sc. #575) - Kalinin as an orator.
  • 20 K.  (Sc. #576) - Portrait of Mikhail Kalinin (1875-1946).



The three pictorial stamps shown above were issued in November 1935 to commemorate the Deaths of Three Revolutionary Heroes.

The catalog attributes, of stamps that are perforated 11, and their descriptions are as follows:

  • 02 K.  (Sc. #580) - Mikhail V. Frunze (1885-1925).
  • 04 K.  (Sc. #581) - N. E. Bauman (1873-1905).
  • 40 K.  (Sc. #582) - Sergei M. Kirov (1886-1934).

The catalog attributes, of stamps that are perforated 14, and their descriptions are as follows:

  • 02 K.  (Sc. #580a) - Mikhail V. Frunze (1885-1925).
  • 04 K.  (Sc. #581a) - N. E. Bauman (1873-1905).
  • 40 K.  (Sc. #582a) - Sergei M. Kirov (1886-1934).



The three commemorative USSR stamps shown above were issued in November and December 1935 to observe the 25th Anniversary of the Death of Count Leo N. Tolstoy .

The designs feature various portraits of Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), the famous Russian author who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time.

The catalog attributes, of stamps that are perforated 14, are as follows:

  • 03 K.  (Sc. #577) - Olive Black & Violet.
  • 10 K.  (Sc. #578) - Violet Black & Black Brown.
  • 20 K.  (Sc. #579) - Dark Green & Black Brown.

The catalog attributes, of stamps that are perforated 11, are as follows:

  • 03 K.  (Sc. #577a) - Olive Black & Violet.
  • 10 K.  (Sc. #578a) - Violet Black & Black Brown.
  • 20 K.  (Sc. #579a) - Dark Green & Black Brown.



The six pictorial USSR stamps shown above were issued in April 1936 to honor the children of the Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization.

The catalog attributes, of stamps that are perforated 14, and their descriptions are as follows:

  • 01 K.  (Sc. #583) - Pioneers preventing theft from a mailbox.
  • 02 K.  (Sc. #584) - Pioneers preventing theft from a mailbox.
  • 03 K.  (Sc. #585) - Pioneers preventing destruction of property.
  • 05 K.  (Sc. #586) - Pioneers preventing destruction of property.
  • 10 K.  (Sc. #587) - Pioneers helping to recover a kite.
  • 15 K.  (Sc. #588) - Girl Pioneer saluting.

The catalog attributes, of stamps that are perforated 11, and their descriptions are as follows:

  • 01 K.  (Sc. #583a) - Pioneers preventing theft from a mailbox.
  • 02 K.  (Sc. #584a) - Pioneers preventing theft from a mailbox.
  • 03 K.  (Sc. #585a) - Pioneers preventing destruction of property.
  • 05 K.  (Sc. #586a) - Pioneers preventing destruction of property.
  • 10 K.  (Sc. #587a) - Pioneers helping to recover a kite.
  • 15 K.  (Sc. #588a) - Girl Pioneer saluting.





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USSR Stamps - Commemoratives of 1935-1936






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The 10 Kopeck denomination USSR stamp shown above was issued on August 13, 1936 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Nikolai A. Dobrolyubov (1836-1861), the renown Russian writer and critic.

This commemorative stamp exists both perforated 11 1/2 (Sc. #589) and perforated 14 (Sc. #589a).