page_title: Postage stamps and postal history of Russia
section_title: Soviet Union
hierarchical_section_title: Postage stamps and postal history of Russia / Postal history / Soviet Union
caption_attribution_description: English: Post office in Voronezh, Russia
context_page_description: This a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the modern Russian Federation.
context_section_description: During the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet postal service was a part of the People's Commissariat for Communications of the USSR. It delivered up to 70 million parcels per month to the Soviet Army front from the rear under extremely difficult and often very dangerous conditions.
  In the postwar years, the mail service has undergone quantitative and qualitative changes. In 1946, the People's Commissariat for Communications of the USSR was transformed into the Ministry of Communications of the USSR. The postal service was carried out by the Post Office, which was part of the Ministry of Communications, along with other offices of the telecommunications industries. By 1950, the postal industry, destroyed by the war, was restored and brought to the pre-war level.
  In subsequent years, the network of communication enterprises was significantly expanded, especially in rural areas, in the cities and a network of liaison offices, post offices, and subordinate communication centers. Most businesses combined postal, telegraph and telephone services. These communications were typically located in the same building and under single management. A huge network of mailboxes was established not only in cities but also in rural areas, stations, railway sidings and at freeway junctions.
  Further development of the postal service followed the path of mechanization and automation of mail processing, improving the organization of its transportation and delivery. For this, the old postal equipment was modernized and the production of brand new designs developed - mail processing and handling machines and equipment for container transport, means of mechanization and postal inventory, as well as equipment for customer service.
caption: Post office in Voronezh
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot A810", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image DateTime": "2013:07:29 12:00:46", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Tag 0x1001": "1600", "Image Tag 0x1002": "1200", "Image ExifOffset": "2298", "Image SensitivityType": "Standard Output Sensitivity and Recommended Exposure Index", "Image CameraOwnerName": "", "Image Padding": "[]", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/100", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:07:29 12:00:46", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:07:29 12:00:46", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "213/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1600", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1200", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "800000/121", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "600000/91", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4168"}