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LATVIA IN THE TSARISTIC PERIOD

In the 14th century Latvia was ruled by the Germans, the "Livonian Order". In 1466 the Livonian Order became tributary to the Polish king.
From 1561 Sweden ruled Estonia and Livonia (the south of contemporary Estonia and the north of present Latvia) to 1709. Then Peter the Great of Russia defeated Carl XII of Sweden, and in 1721 (Peace of Nystad), Livonia became officially a Russian government, with the capital Riga.
The eastern part of Latvia, Latgale, remained a part of the Polish province Witebsk. With the second Polish partition (1772) this part became Russian in the Russian government Witebsk. The south of Latvia, Courland, remains Polish to the third Polish partition (1795). Then became it the Russian gouvernment Courland, with the capital Mitau (Jelgava).

Long there were no postmarks used in the Russian Empire: letters had been registered indeed. Sometimes the weight and the received amount had been noticed on the backside of the letter.
However in some places already used, there came in 1782 official postmarks, which has been introduced as proof that the correct tariff is received.
In the postal regulations of 22 oktober 1830 has been decreeted that all letters, both by sending and arrival, must get a postmark with place and date.
And talking about dates: the Russian Empire uses to february 1918 the old Julian calender and by dates in association with this period I do also this. For our calendar, which the most countries also used in that period, there must 12 days count in for the period 1800-1899, and 13 days for the period after 1900.

1861: letter from Riga to the Netherlands. No stamps, postmark 'Riga' and 'aus Russland', via Königsberg/Bromberg.

Introduction of postage stamps: 1857. With this also the necessity of cancellation comes into existence. In the beginning still postmarks of the former period were used for this until the introduction of number-cancellations. Greater places, so the capitals of the governments, get a number, surrounded by points in the form of a circle. For Riga this was the mumber "38". For the backside also still the old postmarks were used.

ONE-RING-POSTMARKS

After 1860: one-ring-postmarks with only cyrillic letters (only Moscow and St. Petersburg became a double-ring-postmark).
The older postmarks have at the top the place name, under it month in cyrillic letters, underneath year. At the bottom an ornament. By more little places the name of government came in the place of the ornament.

Postmark of Riga, capital of Livonia, 1876, with an ornament.

From Riga, 1884, Amsterdam.


1892: from Riga


1895: from Libava (= Libau, Liepaja) to Belgium.
The month is still in cyrillic letters and the year remains directly under the month.

In circular 13 of 5 April 1890 the instruction arrived to use Roman numerals for new stamps. This happened on suggestion of the U.P.U., the Universal Postal Union.
Also the postmarks in Russia change in the 'crossed date'-type. In the middle the day stays first, under it the month (in Roman numerals), left of the whole the century and right the rest of the year.

In the later postmarks is also more information:

1907 from Ellern (= Latvian: Aknisi). In the postmarks you see the abbreviation for:
and



1910: from Libava (= Libau, Liepaja) to Wesselburen.

DOUBLE-RING-POSTMARKS

1911: from Libava (= Libau, Liepaja) to Hannover. Double-ring postmark.
From 1903 double-ring-postmarks are been used: circular nr. 9 of 3 februar 1903 introduced the double-ring-postmarks. The old postmarks are been replaced when the are worn out. Also there is been geven a detailed description of the new postmarks.
The postmarks consist of two rings, with the name of place between. Day-month-year stood now on one line (by the year "19" has been omitted. There came two sorts of postmarks: greater for the mail and more little for receipts.


1913: from Talsi.

RAILWAY MAIL

The work for the railway from Saint-Petersburg, via Dwinsk (now Daugavpils in Latvia) and Vilnius (Wilno), to Warsaw started in 1851was ready in 1862. A year before the line Riga-Dwinsk was put into use. In the same year there came a line from Vilnius to Eydtkuhnen (Eastern-Prussia). In 1871 follows the line from Vilnius to Libau (Liepaja), the Latvian port.
The line Wilna-Dwinsk was extended to Witebsk in 1866 and to Orel in 1868. So Dwinsk (the Latvian Dauavlips) were an important station for changing. Two main lines came together: SaintPetersburg-Warsaw and Riga-Orel.

For the mail by rail a special organisation were established in 1869, which managed the riding post offices ans station-post-offices. Thre were nine main divisions and Latvia came under Orel.

The oval postmarks, with the number of the railway line and the names of the terminal points, were prescribed in 1903 and slowly introduced.

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Periodicals:
HBG = Het Baltische Gebied[in Dutch]
Lituania [in German]

De eerste spoorwegpost in het Baltisch gebied / S. Reurich In: Op het spoor van Oost-Europa : ... . - Maarssen : Ver."Fil. Contactgroep Oost-Europa", cop. 1992. - p.67-86	[About: the first railway-post in the Baltic area]
Russian postmarks : an introduction and guide / A.V. Kiryushkin and P.E. Robinson [S.l.] : J. Barefoot, cop. 1989. - 110 p.	[About: the handbook for the tsaristic period
Russian railway postmarks / by A.V. Kiryushkin and P.E. Robinson [S.l.] : J. Barefoot, 1994. - 180 p.	[About: the handbook for the tsaristic period: railway postmarks]
De machinestempels van Riga : een chaos! / Ivo Steyn In: OEF 1986 ; nr. 4. - p. 18-24	[About: 'Krag'-machine-postmarks of Riga. On the 'Krag'-machine in Russia: OEF 1986 ; nr. 4. - p. 1-6. Addenda & errata: OEF 1987 ; nr. 1. - p. 20-23]
Grepen uit de postgeschiedenis van Riga I / Sijtze Reurich In: OEF 1992 ; nr. 2. - p. 10-16	[About: the postal history of tsaristic Riga]
Grepen uit de postgeschiedenis van Riga II / Sijtze Reurich In: OEF 1992 ; nr. 3. - p. 18-21	[About: the postal history of tsaristic Riga]
Grepen uit de postgeschiedenis van Riga III / Sijtze Reurich In: OEF 1993 ; nr. 3. - p. 8-11	[About: the postal history of tsaristic Riga]

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