Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

: ''Pohjois-Inkerin tasavalta'') was a short-lived state of

Ingrian Finns The Ingrians ( fi, inkeriläiset, ; russian: Ингерманландцы, translit=Ingermanlandts'i), sometimes called Ingrian Finns, are the Finnish population of Ingria (now the central part of Leningrad Oblast in Russia), descending from Lu ...

in 1919–1920, which seceded from

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

after the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

. Its postal system was operated by the local government in co-operation with the Ministry of Transport and Public Works of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and the

Finnish postal service Posti Group Oyj (previously Suomen Posti during 1994–2007 and Itella during 2007–2015), trading internationally as Posti Group Corporation, is the main Finnish postal service delivering mail and parcels in Finland. The State of Finland is t ...

History

North Ingria was located in the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...

, between Finland and Soviet Russia. It was established 23 January 1919. The republic was first served by a post office at the Rautu railway station on the Finnish side of the border. As the access across the border was mainly restricted, the North Ingrian postal service was finally launched in the early 1920.Inkerin tunnukset
The Finnish Society of Ingermanland. Retrieved 21 February 2016. The man behind the idea was the lieutenant colonel Georg Elfvengren, head of the governing council of North Ingria. He was also known as an enthusiastic stamp collector. The post office was opened at the capital village of Kirjasalo.Северная Ингрия
Marochka. Retrieved 21 February 2016. (Russian) The first series of North Ingrian stamps were issued in 21 March 1920. They were based on the 1917 Finnish "Model Saarinen" series, a stamp designed by the Finnish architect

Eliel Saarinen Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish-American architect known for his work with art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Eero Saarinen. Lif ...

. The first series were soon sold to collectors, as the postage stamps became the major financial source of the North Ingrian government. The second series was designed for the North Ingrian postal service and issued 2 August 1920.Ossa, Mikko: ''Suomi – filatelian aarreaitta'', p. 80–81. Postimerkkiliike Lauri Peltonen, Hanko, Finland, 1971. The value of both series was in

Finnish mark The markka ( fi, markka; sv, mark; sign: Mk; ISO code: FIM, typically known outside Finland as the Finnish mark) was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The mark was divided into 100 pe ...

s and similar to the postal fees of Finland. The number of letters sent from North Ingria was about 50 per day, most of them were carried to Finland. They were mainly sent by the personnel of the Finnish occupying forces. Large number of letters were also sent in pure philatelic purposes. With the Treaty of Tartu, the area was re-integrated into Soviet Russia and the use of the North Ingrian postage stamps ended in 4 December 1920. Stamps were still sold in Finland in 1921 with an

overprint An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a Postage stamp, postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or Ticket (admission), ticket after it has been Printing, printed. Post offices most often use ...

ing "Inkerin hyväksi" (For the Ingria), but they were no longer valid. Funds of the sale went for the North Ingrian refugees.

Values

;Series I *5, 10, 25 and 50 pennies *1, 5 and 10 marks ;Series II *10, 30, 50 and 80 pennies *1, 5 and 10 marks

References

External links

{{PostalhistoryEurope Ingria Philately of Finland Philately of Russia