On October 31, four postage stamps featuring uniforms of bailiff service employees were put into postal circulation in the Russian Jacket History series

  

  

On November 1 (October 19) of 1865, Emperor Alexander II signed a decree that finally defined the status of bailiffs in Russia. The decree defined the order of introduction of the judicial statutes approved in December of 1864. Bailiffs gained their own professional holiday after the issuance of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on September 8, 2009. Since then, November 1 has been celebrated as Bailiff Day in our country.

Bailiffs were first mentioned in documentary acts from the period of feudal fragmentation in Russia. At that time, bailiffs had sweeping powers: they could enlist the services of both the police and military units. The penalties for failure to comply with a court decision were severe, up to the extent of a jail or the galleys. In the 16th and 17th centuries, a unified judicial system was formed in Russia. It was during this period that the functions of bailiffs were enshrined in law. The duties of a bailiff included notifying the parties of a court summons, assisting in a search for the accused and bringing them to court. In the 18th century, the position and functions of bailiffs were abolished and transferred to the police. In 1782, the position of police bailiff was introduced in cities, thas is, a precinct or city bailiff, and in rural areas, district police superintendats appeared in 1873.

Owing to the judicial reform of Alexander II, the institution of bailiffs was created. They served under justice of the peace, district courts, and magistrates' assemblies. Foreigners, persons under the age of 21, persons who had been convicted or were under investigation were denied to become bailiffs. Besides, disciplinary, civil, and criminal liability of bailiffs was envisaged in the event of improper performance of their official duties. The institution of bailiffs existed until the early 20th century and was abolished by a Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of November 24, 1917, along with the annulment of the former judicial system.

It was only 80 years later that the Russian state adopted special laws regulating legal relations in the sphere of compulsory enforcement of court decisions and other executive documents. In 1997, the Federal Court Bailiff Service of the Russian Federation was established.

The postage stamps provide images of:
— bailiffs in ranks VIII and XII (1895);
— officers of justice (1971);
— bailiff executor and court officer responsible for ensuring the established order of court proceedings (2010);
— supreme and senior management of the Federal Bailiff Service of Russia (2025).

In addition to the issue of the postage stamps, JSC Marka produced First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow and St. Petersburg.


Design Artist: S. Ulyanovsky.
Face value: 80 rubles.
Stamp size: 32.5×65 mm, sheet size: 154×154 mm.
Emission form: sheets with formatted margins with 8 (4×2) stamps and a small sheet with 8 (4×2) stamps.
Quantity: 68 thousand each stamp (8.5 thousand each sheet), 14 thousand small sheets.

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