Postage stamps and postal history of Georgia
Encyclopedia
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history
of Georgia
.
Georgia is in the Caucasus
region of Eurasia
. Situated at the juncture of Eastern Europe
and Western Asia, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea
, to the north by Russia
, to the south by Turkey
and Armenia
, and to the east by Azerbaijan
. Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 km² and its population is 4.385 million.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Georgia was annexed by the Russian Empire
. After a brief period of independence
following the Russian Revolution of 1917
, Georgia was invaded
by Bolshevik
armies in 1921 and incorporated into the Soviet Union
in 1922. The independence of Georgia was restored in 1991.
Soviet stamps to meet their postal needs after independence, although a number of overprints were carried out on Georgian stamps in 1994.
.
Postal history
Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of postage stamps and covers and associated material illustrating historical episodes of postal systems...
of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
.
Georgia is in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
region of Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
. Situated at the juncture of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and Western Asia, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
, to the north by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, to the south by Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, and to the east by Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 km² and its population is 4.385 million.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Georgia was annexed by the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. After a brief period of independence
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
following the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, Georgia was invaded
Red Army invasion of Georgia
The Red Army invasion of Georgia also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia was a military campaign by the Soviet Russian Red Army against the Democratic Republic of Georgia aimed at overthrowing the Social-Democratic government and installing the Bolshevik regime...
by Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
armies in 1921 and incorporated into the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1922. The independence of Georgia was restored in 1991.
First stamps
The first stamps of Georgia were issued on 26 May 1919. A further series was issued in 1921.Soviet republic
In January and February 1922 a series of five stamps were issued for Georgia's membership of the Soviet Republic.The Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic
In March 1922 until September 1923 overprinted stamps of The Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic were used and from 1 October 1923 general issues of the Transcaucasian Federation were used.Soviet stamps
From 1924 until 1993 stamps of the Soviet Union were used in Georgia following the absorption of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic into the U.S.S.R.Independence again
Following the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgia became independent again in April 1991 and issued stamps in its own name from 31st July 1993. Unlike other ex-Soviet republics, Georgia did not overprintOverprint
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage stamp or banknote after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail...
Soviet stamps to meet their postal needs after independence, although a number of overprints were carried out on Georgian stamps in 1994.
Abkhazia
Stamps have been produced purporting to be from the Republic of Abkhazia, an area in western Georgia that is recognised as a sovereign state by few countries. Most stamps of Abkhazia are believed to be bogus, produced in foreign countries solely for sale to collectors, but more recently Abkhazia has produced stamps that may have legitimate use locally within the borders of the disputed area. They are not recognised by the UPUUpu
Upu, also called Apu , was the region surrounding Damascus of the 1350 BC Amarna letters. Damascus was named Dimašqu/Dimasqu/ etc. Upu, also called Apu (and Ubi or Upi by some authors), was the region surrounding Damascus of the 1350 BC Amarna letters. Damascus was named Dimašqu/Dimasqu/ etc. Upu,...
.
See also
- List of people on stamps of Abkhazia
- Postage stamps of Batum under British occupationPostage stamps of Batum under British occupationBatumi is a city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. The city was under Russian rule at the beginning of World War I, but local unrest led to Turkey entering the city in April 1918, followed by the British in December, who stayed until July...