Stamps of Belarus – Philatelic Country Profile

Belarus is a small land-locked country in Eastern Europe bounded by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. The country of Belarus has a total land area of just over 80,000 square miles and a population of just under 9.7 million. The country has 11,000 lakes and the landscape is very flat. Ethnicities from neighboring countries dominated the area of present day Belarus until the early 20th century with the establishment of the Belarusian People’s Republic. The republic lasted only two years as Belarus became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1919. The current borders of Belarusian land was established in 1939 when Poland relinquished control of the Belarusian-Russian lands to the Soviet Union, as Soviet Belarus. Belarus retained close political and economic ties with Russia culminating in the two-state union treaty of December 8, 1999. Belarus has two national languages – Russian and Belarusian with Russian spoken by over 70% of the population. Ethnic Belarusians constitute more than 80% of the population with the rest split among Russians (over 10%), Poles, and Ukranians. In the German invation of Soviet Union in 1941, Soviet Belarus was the hardest hit, with the country losing about one-third of the population. After World War II, Byelorussian (Soviet Belarus) became a major manufacturing center. Even today, Russia is the major trading partner of Belarus accounting for more than 50% of the trade. Belarus has a very respectable GDP (ppp) of around $12,000 – the economy is Soviet-style with a majority of the population working for state enterprises.

Belarus started issuing stamps in 1992 following Independence and have issued over 600 stamps in less than twenty years. Most of the stamps have very affordable catalog values making it possible for a collector with limited resources to acquire a complete set of all Belarusian stamps ever issued. About 80% of the Belarusian population today are orthodox Christians.

The first stamp of Belarus depict the Cross of Ephrosinia of Polotsk (Scott #1), a Belarusian national heritage symbol and was released on March 20, l992. The stamp is readily available for a few cents. It has a striking Red background with the golden-double-cross in the middle and is denominated 1r. An overprint of this stamp and a new souvenir sheet in the same design denominated 5r was released on September 25, 1992 to mark the thousandth anniversary of the orthodox church in Belarus. The overprint (Scott #17) and the souvenir sheet (Scott #18) are also affordable fetching less than a dollar. Other significant issues include. 1500r surcharge with overprints “World Cup/USA 94” (in Russian) of the souvenir sheet presumably (status unclear) released in 1993 exist and they catalog for around $13 MNH or Used:

1. A short arms set of four stamps issued 1992-94 (Scott #11-14) in four arms designs and denominations (2r, 25r, 700r, 700r). The set catalogs for less than $2 for MNH or Used.
2. The national symbols set of two stamps (Scott #15-16) also released in 1992 in two different designs (National Arms, Map & Flag) denominated at 5r. The set catalogs for about a dollar for MNH or Used. The set was reissued in two denominations using an overprint “World Cup/USA 94” (in Russian). There are four such stamps with the only difference among the two designs being the position of the overprints. The set of four stamps (Scott #61-64) catalogs for around $30 MNH or Used. Forgeries of the overprints exist and so collectors have to be careful.
3. The traditional costumes set of three stamps (Scott #114 to #116) released on July 13, 1995. The beautiful set in three denominations (180r, 600r, 1200r) show the following: a) 180r – woman & man in traditional costumes, b) 600r – woman & man in traditional winter costumes, and c) 1200r – woman holding a child and man wearing vest and knickers . The set is very affordable at around a dollar for MNH or Used.
4. The farm tractors set of four stamps (Scott #226 to #229) and a souvenir sheet released on October 16, 1997 in four denominations (3300r, 4400r, 7500r, 7500r). The set catalogs for around $7 MNH or Used while the souvenir sheet fetches double that. The designs depict different models of tractors manufactured in Belarus starting with the first wheeled tractor (4400r) . Heavy machinery, especially farm tractors and other heavy transport equipments (specialty trucks) form the biggest exports from Belarus and there are several other sets in this theme – the dump trucks set of 1998 (Scott #235 to #239), the quarry truck models set of 1998 (Scott #259 to #263) , the military trucks set of 1999 (Scott #295 to #299 including SS), and others. All these sets catalog for less than $5 MNH or Used but form a great collecting theme for Belarus stamps.