Ministry of Communications (Soviet Union)
Министерство связи СССР | |
Official emblem of the Ministry on a Soviet Union stamp (1972). The Ministry was responsible for issuing postage stamps in the USSR | |
Agency overview | |
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Formed | 15 March 1946 |
Preceding agencies |
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Dissolved | 26 December 1991 |
Superseding agency |
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Jurisdiction | Union of Soviet Socialist Republics |
Headquarters |
7 Gorky Street, Moscow, RSFSR, Soviet Union 55°45′26″N 37°36′53″E / 55.75722°N 37.61472°E |
Annual budget | varied |
The Ministry of Communications of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Министерство связи СССР) was the central state administration body on communications in the Soviet Union from 1946 to 1991. It had authority over the postal, telegraph and telephone communications as well as public radio, technical means of radio and television broadcasting, and the distribution of periodicals in the country.
History
The Ministry of Communications of the USSR was established on 15 March 1946, replacing the People's Commissariat for Communications of the USSR (formerly People's Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs of the USSR). It was originally set up as an all-Union ministry, and in December 1954 transformed into a Union-Republican one.[1]
The Ministry of Communications of the USSR was responsible for the maintenance and further development of all types of communications in general use, and technical means of radio and television broadcasting. It was also in charge of the periodicals distribution as well as the provision of technological progress in the industry, the quality of communication services, and the most complete and continuous needs of the country media and communication services. Additionally, the Ministry was responsible for issuing postage stamps and postal stationery (envelopes, postcards, etc.), which were used in the postal system of the Soviet Union.
The Ministry was terminated on 26 December 1991 due to the abolition of the Soviet Union. All Ministry assets, premises and other facilities in the territory of the Russian Federation were delegated to the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation.
- Official mail cover postmarked in Odessa on 12 April 1974. The auxiliary postal marking states: "Official / Ministry of Communications" (Russian: СЛУЖЕБНОЕ / МИН-ВО СВЯЗИ)
- A blank telegram form (1988)
Departments
The Ministry included two major departments:[1][2]
- General Directorate of Post, whose administrative tasks were organization and management of the postal system in the USSR, and
- General Directorate of Periodicals Distribution Soyuzpechat (later, the Central Retail and Subscription Agency Soyuzpechat and since 1994, JSC 'Agency Rospechat') that was also in charge of organizing trade of philatelic materials through its unit, the “Soyuzpechat” Central Philatelic Agency (CPA).
Ministers
Over the years, the Ministry was headed by Ministers of Communications of the USSR as follows:
- Konstantin Yakovlevich Sergeichuk (19 March 1946 – 30 March 1948)
- Nikolai Dem'yanovich Psurtsev (30 March 1948 – 3 September 1975)
- Nikolai Vladimirovich Talyzin (3 September 1975 – 24 October 1980)
- Vasily A. Shamshin (24 November 1980 – 7 June 1989)
- Erlen Kirikovich Pervyshin (17 July 1989 – 26 December 1990)
- Gennady G. Kudryavtsev (2 March 1991 – 26 November 1991)
Publications
Under the auspices of the USSR Ministry of Communications and Soyuzpechat, the following periodicals and publications were issued:
- magazine Vestnik Sviazi (Russian: «Вестник связи»; Communications Journal),[3]
- magazine Filateliya SSSR (Russian: «Филателия СССР»; Philately of the USSR), jointly with the All-Union Society of Philatelists (Russian: Всесоюзное общество филателистов),[4]
- stamp catalogs, and price sheets of stamps of the USSR and other philatelic materials.
See also
- Ministries of the Soviet Union
- Ministry of Communications and Mass Media of Russia
- People's Commissariat for Communications of the USSR
- People's Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs of the RSFSR
- Postage stamps and postal history of Russia
- Soviet and post-Soviet postage rates
- Soviet Union stamp catalogue
- Stamps of the Soviet Union
Notes
- 1 2 Владинец, Н. И.; Ильичёв, Л. И.; Левитас, И. Я.; Мазур, П. Ф.; Меркулов, И. Н.; Моросанов, И. А.; Мякота, Ю. К.; Панасян, С. А.; Рудников, Ю. М.; Слуцкий, М. Б.; Якобс, В. А. (1988). "Министерство связи СССР" [Ministry of Communications of the USSR]. In Vladinets, N. I.; Yakobs, V. A. Большой филателистический словарь [Great Philatelic Dictionary] (in Russian). М. [Moscow]: Радио и связь [Radio i svyaz']. 320 p. ISBN 5-256-00175-2. Archived from the original on 2015-06-08. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
- ↑ История Агентства [History of the Agency]. About Us (in Russian). JSC "Agency Rospechat". Retrieved 2010-09-27.
- ↑ Прохоров, А. М., ed. (1971). "Вестник связи" [Vestnik Sviazi]. Большая советская энциклопедия: в 30 т. (1970–1979) [The Great Soviet Encyclopedia] (in Russian and English). 4 (Брасос – Веш) (3rd ed.). М. [Moscow]: Советская энциклопедия [Soviet Encyclopedia]. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
- ↑ Прохоров, А. М., ed. (1977). "Филателия СССР" [Filateliia SSSR]. Большая советская энциклопедия: в 30 т. (1970–1979) [The Great Soviet Encyclopedia] (in Russian and English). 27 (Ульяновск – Франкфорт) (3rd ed.). М. [Moscow]: Советская энциклопедия [Soviet Encyclopedia]. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
References
- Давыдов, Г. Б. [Davydov, G. B.] (1977). "Связь" [Economy]. In Прохоров, А. М. Большая советская энциклопедия: в 30 т. (1970–1979) [The Great Soviet Encyclopedia] (in Russian and English). 24 (кн. 2) (Союз Советских Социалистических Республик) (3rd ed.). М. [Moscow]: Советская энциклопедия [Soviet Encyclopedia]. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
External links
- Media related to Ministry of Communications (Soviet Union) at Wikimedia Commons
- "The Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 1964–1991". Governments (historical): Soviet Union SOV 1917. Finland: Dag Larsson; Elisa Oyj. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2010-06-09.