Communist Iconography & Symbolism -- Stamps of the USSR III

Today we continue with our look at the stamps of the Soviet Union.

I have always been fascinated by stamps as what often amount to miniature works of art. They are posters on a very small scale.

While many countries have or had interesting stamps, the stamps of the former USSR are fascinating for their themes and their artistic style which ran along a couple of different lines.

Recently I came across a large collection of Soviet stamps from the 60s and 70s. Over the next few weeks we will take a look at some of the best of these. We already looked at a remarkable set of stamps related to the Soviet space program as well as a set dedicated to Marx, Engels, Lenin & Internationalism.

Here we are going to look at a set involving various iconography and symbols of the Soviet Union and communism more generally. It includes a stamp celebrating the memory of the Paris Commune on its 100th anniversary, a beautiful stamp of The Motherland Calls (the dramatic memorial on Mamayev Kurgan in honour of those who died at Stalingrad), some others with military themes, and many centered around the hammer and sickle symbol.

(Click on images to enlarge)

See also: Marx, Engels, Lenin & Internationalism -- Stamps of the USSR II

See also: Communists in Space! -- Stamps of the USSR I