AUTHOR: Octav Gabriel NEGREA
Danubius, XLI, Galati, 2023, pp. 301-326.
Abstract
This article intends to call the attention of specialists, and not only of them, on the most significant propaganda postage stamp issues during the early days of the communist regime in Romania. Those issues that were dedicated to the Romanian Association for the Strengthening of Soviet Union Ties (A.R.L.U.S.). Throughout its 20-year presence and propaganda activity, the association put several postage stamp issues in circulation. According to acknowledged stamp collectors, only 8 of these postage stamp issues were dedicated explicitly to A.R.L.U.S. (1945-1948 issues, 1950-1952 and 1955 issues), while the rest of the postage stamps in circulation until 1964 (when the association was dissolved) were dedicated to the Romanian – Soviet Friendship Month. Comprising of a series of symbols and graphics with a direct appeal to the communist ideology, the A.R.L.U.S. postage stamps were a significant part of the propaganda mechanism employed by the communist regime.