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Fedyk, George D., and Kuzych, Ingert J. Handbook of Modern Ukrainian
Philately: A Catalog of Stamps, Stationery, and Cancellations 1991-2000.
Springfield, Virginia: Ukrainian Philatelic Resources, 2002. v + 227 pp.
There are certain reference books that are more than just convenient
repositories of information. They themselves function as certificates of
maturity. For instance, when Mykhailo Hrushevsky began publishing his
multivolume history of Ukraine, this meant much more than a summary of the
facts of the past: it also implied that the Ukrainian nation had reached
that stage in its existence when it could reflect on itself and codify
itself in relation to the past. It meant that the nation had an
infrastructure that produced professional history and professional
historians and could undertake a massive publishing project.
Similarly, when the late Volodymyr Kubijovyc launched the encyclopedia of
Ukraine, first in Ukrainian and then in English, this was not just a matter
of collecting a mass of information on Ukraine into an accessible format
(although this was an incredible accomplishment). He also meant to
demonstrate that Ukrainians had the intellectual resources to produce and a
complex enough vision of who they were to warrant the publication of this
reference book of references.
In its own way, this Handbook belongs to the same category as the works
mentioned above. It is both a testament to the maturation of Ukrainian stamp
collecting as a hobby and an indication of the progress of Ukrainian
statebuilding. It is a full, illustrated listing of all the stamps and
related philatelic material issued by the Ukrainian postal authorities since
independence and through the year 2000.
Let's first consider what transpired to allow such a fundamental work of
philately to appear. What are the foundations, in other words, upon which
this particular edifice is erected? To begin with, it reflects the fact that
Ukrainian philately now has a distinguished pedigree in the English-speaking
world.
The Ukrainian Philatelic and Numismatic Society, based in North
America, has over 50 years of existence under its belt. Both co-authors of
the Handbook are associated with it. Ingert Kuzych is currently president of
the UPNS and George Fedyk is the vice-president for Australia. Kuzych was
long the editor of the UPNS journal Ukrainian Philatelist (1985-96), and now
Fedyk holds that position. Fedyk was also a founding member of the Ukrainian
Collectibles Society, based in Australia, and long the editor of its
excellent journal The Southern Collector (1995-99). In short: Ukrainian
stamp collecting has produced cadres with years of accumulated
organizational and editorial experience.
Turning to the "Select Bibliography" at the end of the volume, where the
authors list the sources on which they drew for information, one sees an
impressive array of other publications and catalogs that paved the way for
the arrival of the Handbook.
Of course, most publishing on Ukrainian philately is now done in Ukraine,
and the authors used extensively the announcements and studies in the
Ukrainian philatelic press. The Ukrainian post office itself issues a
philatelic journal, which has improved considerably since the first issue
appeared in 1995 (called Poshta i filateliia Ukrainy until 2000, when it
changed its format and its name to Filateliia Ukrainy).
The Association of Philatelists of Ukraine publishes a small, but very
useful newsletter. And Roman Byshkevych in Lviv has a largely one-man
operation, the journal Halfilvisnyk, which collectors find quite
informative.
(Missing from the bibliography is the oldest running philatelic journal in
Ukraine, Ukrains'kyi filatelistychnyi visnyk, which began to appear in
1989 under the editorship of Viktor Mohyl'nyi, later joined by Viacheslav
Anholenko. Since this journal has a historical focus and is little concerned
with the official issues of Ukraine today, the omission is a sensible one.)
The bibliography also generously lists the other major catalogs in
existence. Two of these are particularly noteworthy. One is the series of
Ukrainian-language catalogs published in Ukraine by Ukraine Post and Marka
Ukrainy, at first edited by Volodymyr Bekhtir, but now published without
attribution to an editor. These have about as much information as our
Handbook, but omit the former Soviet stamps overprinted with tridents in
1992.
Their illustrations are in color (the Handbook, which does not have
the same kind of financial backing, makes do with black and white). The
Ukrainian series is a bit inconvenient to use, because it is spread over
five volumes, while the Handbook puts everything together. Obviously, the
Ukrainian series can only bring information about Ukrainian stamps to a
Ukrainophone audience.
The other major catalog is on the internet, Bohdan Hrynyshyn's Ukrainian
Electronic Stamp Album (http://www.ukrainian-philately.info/). This is a
major achievement. It has some bugs (the illustrations, in color, are often
distorted) and is not quite as authoritative as the Handbook, but every
collector of Ukraine who can connect with the web makes use of it. One of
the most popular worldwide stamp catalogs, Scott Standard Postage Catalogue
of the United States, keeps a bookmark on this site.
In sum, if one looks behind this Handbook, one sees a large infrastructure
supporting it, the result of years of effort by many enthusiasts. This in
itself is a fact of significance. Much of the history of modern Ukraine has
been the story of completing a long checklist of desiderata: Ukrainians
wanted their own codified history, their own encyclopedia, their own
symphonies, their own theatre, their own upper classes, their own state. The
basics now are taken care of, and the details, like the hobby of stamp
collecting, are falling into place.
For many, though, the main point of interest of the Handbook, will not be
its relation to the hobby, but its scrupulous codification of information on
Ukrainian postage stamps and related items such as pre-stamped envelopes and
postal cards.
Postage stamps are an attribute of statehood. They reflect the progress of
that state. Leafing through the Handbook with that perspective in mind is an
illuminating exercise.
The Handbook opens with a stamp it numbers as "0." This is a stamp of the
Soviet Union commemorating the declaration of Ukrainian sovereignty of 16
July 1990, the prelude to independence. This was the first in what was
expected to be a regular series of stamps with Ukrainian themes and in the
Ukrainian language issued as Soviet stamps. But the Soviet Union collapsed
before another stamp could come out in the series. With a stamp
commemorating the 500th anniversary of Cossackdom, issued on 1 March 1992,
number 1 of the Handbook, independent Ukraine began to issue its own stamps.
Where the stamps were printed tells quite a story. In the first year of
independence the stamps of Ukraine were printed partly in Moscow and partly
in Canada. From December 1992 until the fall of 1993 all Ukrainian stamps
except one were printed in Austria (the exception was printed in Hungary).
After not particularly positive experiences with expensive printers in the
West, Ukraine relied primarily on Moscow again to print its stamps. As of
1995, though, most stamps began to be printed in Ukraine.
The last postage stamp Ukraine printed abroad was one honoring the
Kharkiv zoo; it was printed in Moscow on 23 March 1996. It's the story
of modern Ukraine in a nutshell: the struggle for self-sufficiency, the
wavering orientation between Russia and the West.
Another eloquent story is told in the face value of stamps for domestic
usage. The first Ukrainian stamps, issued 1 March 1992, had a face value of
15 kopiiky. A year later stamps had a face value of 15 karbovantsi (100
times as much). In the winter of 1994 the stamps bore a face value of 200
karbovantsi. Most stamps had a 20,000 - 50,000 karbovantsi face value by the
summer and fall of 1995.
Things finally settled down with the stamp honoring
Ukrainian strongman Ivan Piddubnyi issued on 16 November 1996. This was the
first stamp to reflect the successful currency reform that made the switch
from karbovantsi to hryvni and ended the rampant inflation of the first
years of independence. Implied in the story of these leaping face values is
the runaway inflation that turned families' life savings into an amount
sufficient to buy a box of matches. In this period was generated much of the
social discontent that still dogs the independent Ukrainian state.
The themes of the stamps make a fascinating story that cannot even be
outlined here for lack of space. In a few words: the predominance of safe
Cossack themes, concessions early on to the Soviet version of Ukrainian
history, no concessions to the Nationalist (OUN-UPA) version of history,
Hrushevsky but not Petliura, increasing religious themes over time, also
with time issues more savvily geared to the world philatelic market, many
sports themes (another "common ground" topic). One could write an
interesting study just on this aspect of the stamps. The envelopes and
postal cards with stamps already printed on them have a wider thematic
spectrum than stamps, and commemorative postmarks (also covered in the
Handbook) an even wider one.
There's a lot in this Handbook, and it deserves a place on the shelf not
only of all collectors of Ukrainian stamps, but of all who seriously follow
current Ukrainian affairs. Authors George Fedyk and Ingert Kuzych have done
a marvelous job.
A HANDBOOK OF MODERN UKRAINIAN PHILATELY
A Catalog of Stamps, Stationery, and Cancellations, 1991-2000
Catalog By George D. Fedyk and Ingert J. Kuzych
Ukrainian Philatelic Resources
Published 2002
The Ukrainian firm Marka Ukrainy has been issuing stamps, postal cards,
pre-stamped envelopes, special cancellations, and all sorts of additional
products for more than a decade now, making it hard to keep up with
everything. Wouldn't it be great if there was one catalog that listed all of
the philatelic materials produced in Ukraine since independence?!
Well, such a catalog now exists and it is the result of two dedicated
philatelists working (literally) on opposite ends of the earth. George Fedyk
(from Australia), who was the main compiler, and Ingert Kuzych (from the
US), who did the proof reading, have spent much of their free time over the
past couple of years compiling the Handbook of Modern Ukrainian Philately,
which is the most complete volume on modern Ukrainian philately ever
produced. Everything has been included and just about everything has been
illustrated (some 700 illustrations grace this tome). And the best part is,
it's all in English!
The authors have gone out of their way to make this Handbook extremely user
friendly, beginning from the very first pages with a brief Introduction to
Ukraine. Right up front, a Quick Reference Guide gives basic information on
all of Ukraine's stamps, first day covers, and first day postmarks in a
comprehensive seven-page table. This saves the user from having to search
through the main body of the book to search for basic facts.
When he or she does go looking for more info, however, the user will come
across complete and thorough descriptions of all of the types of philatelic
products produced in Ukraine. These items are easy to locate because they
are all grouped in appropriate Parts marked off by coloured inserts.
Part I covers all postage stamps, both regular issues and regional issues
created from remaining Soviet stamps in 1992 by overprinting with tridents.
The descriptions include all available information for every issue.
In addition to the regular facts such as date of release, designer(s),
colours,
paper type, perforations, quantities produced, and printing format,
additional information on major varieties is presented as well as
descriptions for the fluorescence patterns exhibited by the stamps or
souvenir sheets under UV light. This latter characteristic is a unique
attribute of Ukrainian stamps and sheets. Moreover, the subjects depicted on
the philatelic issues are concisely but completely described.
Part II details postal stationery items including first day covers,
pre-stamped envelopes, pre-stamped postal cards, souvenir folders, souvenir
cards, and stamp booklets. All available information is set forth including
dates, sizes, designer(s), quantities, descriptions, and, where applicable,
the unique Order Number that is assigned to every stationery item produced.
Part III describes Special Issues and includes joint issues, Europa issues,
World Wildlife Fund issues, and other distinctive releases - such as maximum
cards, post cards, and postal cards - prepared for certain philatelic
events.
Part IV is perhaps the most impressive in the catalog, because in includes
descriptions of all of the commemorative postmarks (837) produced in Ukraine
during its first decade of independence. These descriptions are laid out not
just chronologically, but also a second time grouped by oblast (province)!
Of these postmarks, those used as first day markings are also illustrated.
All of the stamps, stationery products, special issues, and cancellations
listed in Parts I through IV have been assigned their own unique catalog
numbers.
Part V closes out this impressive volume and is composed of five detailed
Appendices. These include an extensive listing of Thematics on Ukrainian
Stamps (22 categories are set forth), a compendium of Ukrainian Stamp
Series, a complete itemization of Ukrainian Postal Rates (from 1992 to 2000;
14 pages of minute but complete tables), an introduction to Ukraine's
Official Transliteration System, and a glossary of Philatelic Terminology.
The authors have tried not to overlook anything in their quest to make this
the ultimate guidebook for Ukrainian philately.
Order from: Ukrainian Philatelic Resources P.O. Box 3, Springfield VA 22150
USA; $25 plus $3 postage to US destinations, $6 postage to Canada, $7 for
mail to the rest of the world by surface, or $14 to the rest of the world by
air. (All funds in US dollars.)
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