Stamps of Ukraine put humor, patriotism and swearing in the mail

Rude gestures are rarely found on postage stamps, but on the most famous stamp of Ukraine there is. It shows a soldier giving a middle finger to a Russian warship in a standoff on Snake Island on the first day of the full-scale invasion nearly three years ago.

The Russians demanded surrender, but the Ukrainians refused, using unprintable language.

The warship in question, the cruiser Moskva, was sunk by the Ukrainians two days after the stamp was issued and sold out within a week of going on sale.

Such was the value of the brand that all that was left was delivered to government delegations representing Ukraine on the world stage.

The head of the Ukrainian postal company “Ukrposhta” Ihar Smilyansky admits that it was a risky move.

“It was my decision. I said I don’t care what everyone else thinks. I just think it’s the right thing to do,” he told the BBC. “I know it breaks all the rules of philately (the study of stamps) and all the rules. But we’re going to break the rules.”

Ukrposhta often tests its projects in public, and the results of such online polls tend to be highly political as well.

This is how Ukraine’s best-selling stamp appeared, which depicts a Ukrainian tractor pulling a trophy Russian tank and a popular wartime greeting: “Good evening, we are from Ukraine.”

“Ukrposhta” sold about eight million such stamps.

Stamps with the image of Ukraine the famous mine-sniffing dog Patron earned Ukrposhte about $500,000 (£400,000): 80% of the money went to demining equipment and the rest to animal shelters.

Another brand a A mural left by the famous graffiti artist Banksy on a building destroyed by shelling near Kyiv, helped finance 10 bomb shelters. On this stamp is another popular, but unprintable Ukrainian slogan – this time against Vladimir Putin.

Ihar Smilianskyi says that the Ukrposhta stamp is being added with a touch of humor to support Ukraine’s morale during the war with Russia.

“Humor has become a fighting force for Ukrainians in this war,” he tells the BBC. “Even in the most difficult circumstances, you have to treat it with a sense of humor. And our brands sometimes talk about it.”

Oscar Young of British stamp dealers and auctioneers Stanley Gibbons says Ukraine’s war-focused approach to stamps is highly unusual.

“Typically stamps are artistic and polite, but to go out on a limb and be quite rude, profanity and very gesticulating on stamps is unique to these particular issues,” he tells the BBC.

He says the candid image used on the warship stamp is what made the stamp so famous and caused such a stir when it was released.

The distinctiveness of Ukrainian stamps has brought them popularity among collectors around the world.

Laura Bullivant from Gloucester, UK thinks other brands look ugly in comparison.

“I think they’re similar to the Ukrainian mental process, they’re just strong and they just don’t bow to what’s going on in their country,” she says.

“At a time of tremendous anxiety and terror, they bring something to the game that no other country could.”