Russia
Are Russia stamps public domain?
Russian stamps are public domain at any date, in the archive's reading of Wikimedia Commons. Russia's Civil Code leaves official symbols and signs without copyright, and Russian postal law counts postage stamps among the official signs of postage. Commons warns that a painting or other work reproduced on a stamp keeps its own copyright when used apart from the stamp.
Why any date?
Article 1259 of Part IV of the Civil Code, in force since January 1, 2008, excludes official symbols and signs, such as flags, emblems, orders and money, from copyright. Article 2 of the federal law On Postal Service of July 17, 1999 names postage stamps among the official signs of postage, and a 1994 regulation of the Ministry of Communication lists stamps, souvenir and miniature sheets, stamped envelopes and postal cards.1 Commons' license tag for Russian stamps says it also applies to the official signs of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and of the Soviet Union at union level.2 The tag warns that a stamp is free when reused whole: cutting out a work it contains, or dropping the denomination and country name, could infringe.2
Postal history and copyright
The first Russian stamp was announced by a postal circular of December 10, 1857, for use from January 1, 1858.3 The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic issued its first stamps in 1918, Soviet stamps were used across it from August 1923 to January 1992, and the Russian Federation's first stamps were put into circulation on January 10, 1992.34 Commons' tag covers the RSFSR and the Soviet Union, and leaves the official signs of the other 14 Soviet republics to their successor states.2 It does not name the Russian Empire. A separate rule on Commons treats works published in the Empire before November 7, 1917, outside Finland and Congress Poland, as uncopyrighted in Russia, with a condition about republication within 30 days.1 In the archive's reading, the stamp rule also covers imperial issues and the Russian post offices in the Ottoman Empire; that is the archive's extension, since Commons' tag does not name the Empire and its stamp note mentions neither.
References 4
- ↑ Copyright rules for Russia. Wikimedia Commons, October 6, 2026. Accessed October 8, 2026.
- ↑ Wikimedia Commons license tag (Russia). Wikimedia Commons, July 16, 2019. Accessed October 8, 2026.
- ↑ Postage stamps and postal history of Russia. Wikipedia, April 20, 2026. Accessed October 8, 2026.
- ↑ Почтовые марки России. Wikipedia, August 15, 2026. Accessed October 8, 2026.
Copyright law in Russia
Russia’s own stamps follow the rule below. The historical issuers named here are read under the country’s general copyright law. A design answers Likely yes or Likely no only when every term that could apply agrees, and Unclear when they disagree.
- Named designer
- 70 years after the designer’s death
- Anonymous
- 70 years from issue
- Before 1993
- 50 years after the designer’s death; 50 years from issue for an anonymous stamp.
- Note
- Russian stamps are official signs and exempt from copyright. Other works whose 50-year term ended before January 1, 1993 stay free; authors who worked or fought in the 1941 to 1945 war get 74 years.
Historical issuers read under this law: American, British and Russian Zones, Amur Province, Ataman Semyonov Regime, Aunus (Finnish Occupation), Beirut (Russian Post Office), China (Russian Post Offices), Constantinople (Russian Post Office), Crete (Russian Post Offices), Crimea, Dardanelles (Russian Post Office), Denikin Government, Don Territory, Eastern Karelia (Finnish Occupation), Far Eastern Republic, Jaffa (Russian Post Office), Jerusalem (Russian Post Office), Karjala, Kerrasunde (Russian Post Office), Kolchak Government, Kuban Territory, Mount Athos (Russian Post Office), Mytilene (Russian Post Office), North Ingermanland, North Korea (Russian Occupation), North Western Army, Northern Army, Postage of Berlin-Brandenburg in the Russian Zone, Postage of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the Russian Zone, Postage of North West Saxony in the Russian Zone, Postage of South East Saxony in the Russian Zone, Priamur and Maritime Provinces, Prussia, Rizeh (Russian Post Office), Russian Zone (General Issues), Salonika (Russian Post Office), Saxony (Russian Zone), Siberia (Czechoslovak Army), Smyrne (Russian Post Office), South Lithuania (Russian Occupation), Thuringia (Russian Zone), Transbaikal Province, Trebizonde (Russian Post Office), Tuva, Tuvan People's Republic, Western Army.
Read from Wikimedia Commons, copyright rules for Russia, revision 1283720663, checked October 8, 2026
The rule by period
The same rule covers Russia (pre-Soviet), Russian post offices in the Turkish Empire.
Russia stamps and the public domain: questions
- Are Russian stamps public domain?
- Yes. In the archive's reading, Russian stamps are public domain at any date, because Russia's Civil Code leaves official symbols and signs without copyright and Russian postal law counts postage stamps among the official signs of postage. A painting or other work reproduced on a stamp keeps its own copyright when used apart from the stamp.
- Are Soviet stamps public domain?
- Yes. The rule that leaves Russian stamps without copyright also covers the official signs of the RSFSR and of the Soviet Union at union level, including their stamps. Signs of the other 14 Soviet republics fall under the law of their own successor states.
- Are Russian Empire stamps public domain?
- Yes, in the archive's reading, though this is the archive's own extension. Commons' stamp tag names only the RSFSR and the Soviet Union, not the Russian Empire. A separate rule treats works published in the Empire before November 7, 1917 as uncopyrighted in Russia, with a condition about republication within 30 days.
- Can I crop the artwork from a Russian stamp?
- Not safely. A Russian stamp is free when reused whole, but cutting out a painting or other work it contains could infringe that work's copyright. Dropping the denomination and country name could also infringe.