During the Great Patriotic War, great assistance to people on the frontlines and on the home front was provided by animals and birds; they did duty for equipment and transport, fought on a par with soldiers, saving lives of humans and bringing the Great Victory closer.
The greatest number of animals involved on the frontlines were dogs. They guarded squads, helped the wounded, participated in reconnaissance, committed acts of sabotage, and demolished tanks. Nearly 70 thousand dogs were called up for service. Mine-detecting dogs saved the majority of lives. During the war years, more than 6 thousand dogs of the mine-detection service neutralized above 4 million mines in the cities of the Soviet Union and Europe liberated from fascism.
To ensure psychological relief and a home-like atmosphere, cats were kept in dugouts and hospitals. There were practically none of them left in blockaded Leningrad, and rats attacked even without that scarce food supplies. After the blockade had been lifted, about 5 thousand cats were brought into the city. They immediately started catching rats, and soon the problem, which the city authorities could not cope with, disappeared by itself. The pets not only protected the inhabitants of Leningrad and invaluable food supplies from rats, but also took control of the storages of the Hermitage museum and other Leningrad palaces and museums. Cats often saved their owners during aerial bombardment and artillery shelling. Thanks to their natural sensitivity, they would start tearing about and meowing long before the air defense sirens announced the arrival of enemy planes.
During the most severe battles near Stalingrad, even such exotic animals as camels were mobilized to the front. These hardy “ships of the desert” were used in steppe conditions to transport weapons and ammunition. The most famous camels were Mishka and Mashka, who went through the war and traveled the front roads to Berlin.
During the War, reindeer replaced mechanized transport under the conditions of the North. They were used to convey ammunition, food, firewood and fuel, to clear of casualties and search for downed airplanes. Reindeer were not afraid of even the harshest weather conditions. They went where no machinery could pass: through snow up to several meters deep. During the years of the War, reindeer fighters in the Polar region evacuated more than 10 thousand wounded and sick from the front line, delivered almost 8 thousand soldiers for combat missions, transported 17 thousand tons of ammunition and military cargo, and evacuated 162 crashed planes from the tundra.
The postage stamps provide images of animals who participated in the Great Patriotic War: a mine-detecting dog on railroad tracks against the background of a defeated town; a cat with a caught rat against the background of the Hermitage; a pair of camels in harness, carrying soldiers, against the background of Berlin of 1945; and reindeer pulling sledges with ammunition.
| Paper |
Printing method |
Perforation |
Format of the stamp |
Edition |
| Chalk surfaced |
Offset + security system |
Comb 11½ |
65 × 32,5 mm |
90 thousand stamps |