FOCUS ON PHILATELY (03/07/99)

FOCUS ON PHILATELY

by Ingert Kuzych

The Vienna Issue: Ukraine's first pictorial set

The Vienna pictorial set of 1920 remains the best representation of the Ukrainian national character ever produced.

In its 14 scenes are expressed the symbols of the newly independent nation: the trident (tryzub) emblem, the blue-yellow flag, the national musical instrument the bandura and the Parliament building. In addition, there are portraits of some of the great men who helped shape the Ukrainian nation during the 1,000 years since its emergence as a European power in the 10th century to its re-establishment in the 20th century. Other stamps show aspects of the Kozak heritage so instrumental in forging the Ukrainian love of freedom, while several depict scenes of the rural life so typical of Ukraine during the early part of this century. To complete the truly national effect, each stamp is bordered by a traditional Ukrainian folk design (either embroidery or weave).

Background

By early 1920, the Ukrainian National Republic (UNR) - which had declared its independence only two years before, on January 22, 1918 - was in desperate straits. Large areas of Ukraine were occupied by Russian Bolshevik armies while Ukrainian forces were being pushed steadily westward. On April 22, 1920, an alliance was formed between the UNR and the newly established Polish government. The aim of the agreement was to restore Ukrainian sovereignty with Polish assistance. A joint Ukrainian-Polish military campaign was launched and by June of 1920 the regions of Podillia and Volyn were recaptured, as were parts of Kherson and the Kyiv region.

It was under these confusing and fast-moving conditions that the UNR government, meeting in the Polish city of Tarnow, resolved to replace all postage stamps then in use on Ukrainian territories. The decision to issue new stamps - made on August 27, 1920 - was conveyed to the Ukrainian Trade Mission in Vienna for implementation.

The designs for the stamps were prepared with unusual speed by the famous Ukrainian artist Mykola Ivasiuk. He agreed to undertake the project without pay, provided that he receive a certain percentage of the finished stamps. Over a period of about three months, 14 excellent designs - ranging in value from 1 hryvnia to 200 hryvni - were painstakingly drawn. Stamp production was carried out at the Military Geographic Institute of Vienna in late 1920. The completed set is known today as the Vienna Issue.

Description of the stamps

One hrv, olive-gray: A large trident (tryzub), the emblem of Ukraine. Tridents have been found on Ukrainian territories among archeological finds dating back to the first century A.D. Grand Prince Volodymyr (who ruled in 980-1015) adopted the trident as his heraldic device; this symbol was officially confirmed as Ukraine's emblem on March 22, 1918, by Ukraine's Parliament (and readopted on February 19, 1992, by newly independent Ukraine's new legislature). At least one trident is incorporated into every stamp design of the Vienna Issue.
Two hrv, slate lilac: An allegorical figure of Ukraine in the form of a young woman dressed in an embroidered costume holding a Ukrainian flag.
Three hrv, yellow-orange: A Ukrainian "khata," or peasant cottage with garden. These homes were constructed of clay bricks strengthened with chaff or straw admixtures; the roofs were of thatch.
Five hrv, dull green: A "chumak" (salt trader) with a yoke of oxen, a familiar sight in the Ukrainian countryside from the 17th to the mid-19th centuries.
Ten hrv, red: Bohdan Khmelnytsky (ca. 1593-1657) who as hetman (leader) of the Zaporozhian Kozaks led them to a series of brilliant victories that drove the Poles out of large areas of Ukraine and led to the establishment of the Hetman State (1648-1782).
15 hrv, brown: Ivan Mazepa (ca. 1639-1709). Proclaimed hetman in 1687, he did much to improve the social conditions in Ukraine, allocating large sums of money for religious, educational and cultural purposes.
20 hrv, steel blue: Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861). One of the founders of modern Ukrainian literature both as a poet of remarkable genius and a writer of stirring prose. Shevchenko was also a playwright, artist and outspoken critic of social and national oppression. His writings and particularly his collection of poetry "Kobzar" (1840) made an enormous contribution toward awakening Ukrainian self-identification.
30 hrv, olive-brown: Pavlo Polubotok (ca. 1660-1724). Becoming hetman in 1722, Polubotok was a vigorous defender of Ukrainian autonomy. He was arrested by Tsar Peter I in 1723 and is shown in chains in the St. Petersburg fortress where he died.
40 hrv, claret: Symon Petliura (1879-1926), who headed the Directory of the UNR at the time the Vienna Issue stamps were produced.
50 hrv, olive-green: A Kozak sitting on the steppe playing a bandura, the Ukrainian national instrument.
60 hrv, chestnut and dull purple: The building in Kyiv where the Central Rada (Parliament) held its sessions: it was formerly the Pedagogical Museum.
80 hrv, greenish blue and brown: Zaporozhian Kozaks in "chaiky" (swift maneuverable boats) on the Black Sea. The standing figure carries a Kozak flag, while the others row. Some large chaiky could hold 50 to 70 men and carry up to four small cannons. By means of these craft, Kozaks were able to make numerous daring forays against Turkish sailing vessels, as well as against Turkish towns along the Black Sea coast. These expeditions not only netted great booty, but also freed thousands of Christian slaves.
100 hrv, blackish green and blue-green: The monument of St. Volodymyr the Great, baptizer of Rus, on the Right Bank of the Dnipro River in Kyiv. The statue overlooks that part of the river, where, according to records, the pagan townspeople of Kyiv were baptized en masse in 988. The 66-foot-high (20.4 meter) bronze monument was unveiled in 1853.
200 hrv, olive-grey and carmine-red: A bucolic scene with grain fields and a windmill.

Lamentably, of all the stamp issues authorized by the three Ukrainian governments of 1918-1920, it is the superb Vienna Issue that was never released. By the close of 1920, when the stamps became available, UNR forces had been defeated and driven from Ukrainian lands. Nevertheless, virtually all stamp catalogues list the Vienna Issue - the last stamps produced by an independent Ukrainian government until 1992.

In the mid-1980s most of the original artwork of the Vienna Issue was discovered at a philatelic shop in Vienna. I was fortunate to purchase these materials a few years ago from the collector who discovered them. Not only are they splendid pieces of artwork, but they provide fascinating insights into the stamp design and production process used during the early part of this century.

But that is another story, which I'll save for a future article.

Dr. Ingert Kuzych may be contacted at: P.O. Box 3, Springfield, VA, 22150.

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