FOCUS ON PHILATELY
by Ingert Kuzych
The Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky
(and Soviet stamps depicting the hetman)
Last month I related some information about an Austrian military pin of World War I that bore a Ukrainian inscription designed to instill pride among the soldiers of a Ukrainian-manned battalion. This month I present some information of a World War II medal that was meant to provide a similar function to Ukrainians serving in the Soviet Red Army.
Background
When the German Wehrmacht attacked the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, it initially encountered limited resistance. While the Soviet Union had the manpower in 1940 to bully and annex the Baltic countries in the north or to grab Bessarabia (from Romania) in the south, it was totally unprepared to face a war on the scale the Germans unleashed. Over 3 million troops, 3,350 tanks, 7,184 artillery pieces, 600,000 motor vehicles, 625,000 horses and 2,500 aircraft of all types poured onto Soviet territories. The German allies of Finland, Romania, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia also provided significant additional manpower.
Although the invasion did not attain ultimate goals of Leningrad and Moscow, for the most part its offensives during 1941 and 1942 were successful. All of Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltics, and huge chunks of Russian territories - particularly in the north Caucasus area - were overrun. The situation started to change in 1943 as rebuilt Soviet armies began to take the offensive.
Since these military formations would now be moving to retake former Soviet lands (Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states) occupied by the Germans for a couple of years, it was unclear how the peoples of these lands would react to yet another occupation (a reoccupation). So, Soviet propagandists felt that it would be useful to appeal to these peoples' patriotism. The vast struggle between the Red Army and the Nazi war machine began to be called the Great Patriotic War by Soviet ideologues, and many subtle changes designed to instill pride in being a Soviet citizen were undertaken.
In October of 1943, the front commands were renamed: what had been the Voronezh, Steppes, Southwest and South fronts became the first, second, third and fourth Ukrainian fronts. A new, prestigious Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky was instituted on October 10.
Khmelnytsky was seen as a natural figure after which to name a Ukrainian-related honor. After all, he was the great hetman who had voluntarily "joined" Ukraine to Russia in the 1654 Treaty of Pereaslav. Ignored was the fact that the treaty was simply one of convenience, designed to procure Muscovite aid in the Kozaks' struggle against Poland.
About the award
The Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky came in three classes and was presented to officers, noncommissioned officers and enlisted men of the Soviet army, navy and guerrilla forces who especially distinguished themselves in battle. First class went to commanders of posts, senior officers, and senior partisan leaders. Second class was for division and regimental commanders, their deputies and commanders of partisan regiments. Third Class was designated for enlisted men, noncommissioned officers and others up to the rank of battalion commander, and partisans.
The order was primarily a World War II award. Nikita Khrushchev, who in 1943 was lieutenant general of the First Ukrainian Front, was largely instrumental in having this award established.
The first-class order was a 10-pointed star, five of gold and five of silver. The center medallion portrayed Khmelnytsky holding a mace in his right hand. His name, inscribed in Ukrainian, appeared along the edge of the medallion, while a highly ornate rim surrounded the medallion (Figure 1). The ribbon was a light blue moire with a white stripe at center.
The second-class award was similar, but the rays were all silver. The ribbon was light blue moire edged in white. For the third-class order the rays were again silver, but of shorter length. Instead of the ornate decoration, the name of Khmelnytsky was removed from the medallion to the rim (Figure 2). The ribbon was a light blue moire with white center stripe and edges.
Khmelnytsky on stamps
What is interesting about this order, and what demonstrates its valuable propagandistic value, is that it appeared no less than five times on stamps of the Soviet Union. The first time was in February of 1945 when three, single-colored, 2-ruble stamps (black, dark green and brown) were issued that showed the first-class order (Figure 3). In June of that year, shortly after the conclusion of the war, a smaller 45-kopek stamp showed the first-class order again on both perforated and imperforated versions (Figure 4).
Almost a decade later, the Soviet Union decided to go all out in its commemoration of the tercentenary (300th anniversary) of the Treaty of Pereiaslav. A total of 10 stamps were released for the occasion, all showing Ukrainian topics and all proclaiming "300 Years of Ukraine United with Russia."
Three of these stamps depicted Khmelnytsky in one form or another. A 60-kopek stamp showed the famous statue of the hetman in Kyiv (Figure 5), a 1-ruble value depicted the hetman ostensibly giving his pledge of fealty to Russia (Figure 6), and the third was a reissue of the green February 1945 Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky stamp, this time with a red overprint proclaiming the "Union" (Figure 7).
In succeeding decades, the Khmelnytsky statue appeared five more times on stamps of the USSR, each time as part of an issue honoring Kyiv or showing parts of the city. In 1963 the 20th anniversary of the retaking of Kyiv was recalled on one of the stamps in a series honoring the "Great Patriotic War," (Figure 8). In the background of this 4-kopek stamp, behind a Soviet soldier, looms an outline of the Khmelnytsky statue. In 1967 another series of stamps honored the 50th anniversary of the Great October Revolution. In the right foreground of this 4-kopek value, before various Kyiv structures, the hetman's statue can again be discerned (Figure 9).
In 1980 the Soviet Union issued a series of what are termed semi-postal stamps. These were used to move the mails just like regular stamps, but also carried a surcharge to raise funds for the Olympic Games, held that year in Moscow. A 1-ruble stamp carried a 50-kopek surcharge and was titled "Tourism Kyiv"; it showed the Khmelnytsky statue in front of the St. Sophia Cathedral bell tower (Figure 10).
In 1982 the Soviet Union concocted a 1,500th anniversary for the supposed founding of Kyiv. No one really knows when the city was established and 482 seemed as good a year as any. To celebrate this special event postally, a large 10-kopek stamp was produced that showed many of the city's most famous buildings, bridges and monuments all crowded together. In the lower right quadrant, a tiny profile of the Khmelnytsky statue may be discerned. (Figure 11).
The final stamp to present the Khmelnytsky monument appeared in 1989, just two years before the dissolution of the USSR. On this 15-kopek stamp the statue is prominently shown in front of St. Sophia Cathedral (Figure 12).
Bohdan Khmelnytsky also appeared on numerous Soviet pre-stamped envelopes and on special cancellations, but these cannot all be listed due to space considerations. However, one example of each will serve and may be seen in Figure 13.
Further information about Ukrainian philately and collecting may be found on the website of the Ukrainian Philatelic and Numismatic Society: www.upns.org. Dr. Ingert Kuzych may be contacted at P.O. Box 3, Springfield, VA 22150 or via e-mail at ingert@starpower.net.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 8, 2006, No. 2, Vol. LXXIV
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