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.
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.
The postage stamp provides image of an animal who participated in the Great Patriotic War: a cat with a caught rat against the background of the Hermitage.
| Paper |
Printing method |
Format of the postal card |
Edition |
| Chalk surfaced |
Offset |
105 × 148 mm |
4 500 pcs. |