in
the foreground.

The small doles of 3 kopecs per stamp collected in this manner for the
orphans' fund yielded about 50,000 roubles, roughly [L]5600.

The portraits of the Tsars never appeared on the stamps of Russia
until 1913, when a very fine portrait and view series of stamps were
issued (_Figs._ 171-187), and although not issued as war stamps
they are full of reminiscence of the three centuries of the stirring
history of the Romanofs.

The set begins with a picture of Peter the Great, after a portrait
by the Dutch painter De Moor, on the 1 kopec stamp. There is another
portrait of Peter on the 4 kopecs stamp, this one being copied from
an engraving of the picture painted by Kneller to the order of King
William III., and now at Hampton Court. Czar Alexander II. figures
on the green 2 kopecs stamp, and Alexander III. is portrayed on the 3
kopecs. The present Czar, Nicholas II., appears on the 7 kopecs brown,
the 10 kopecs blue, and the highest value in the set, viz., the 5
roubles (1 rouble = 2s. 1-1/2d.). A portrait of Catherine II., after
the painter Skorodo[~n]mow, and another of Elizabeth II. after Tchemesow,
add two more to the list of illustrious females in the stamp
collectors' portrait gallery. These are on the 14 kopecs green and 50
kopecs brown, respectively. The other Czars depicted are Nicholas
I. (15 kopecs), Alexander I. (20 kopecs), Alexei Michaelovitch (25
kopecs), Paul I. (35 kopecs), and last, but actually the first and
founder of the dynasty, Michael Feodorowitch (70 kopecs).

On three of the rouble values are views which include The Kremlin at
Moscow (1 rouble), the Winter Palace at St. Petersburg (2 roubles),
and the Romanof House (3 roubles).

[Illustration: 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184
185 186 187]

Early in the course of the present war the Russians invaded East
Prussia, and it is reported that they were using Russian stamps in
that country, but up to the time of writing, examples have not come to
hand. The only special marks yet noted in this country from Russia are
various censor marks and labels (_Fig._ 188).

[Illustration: 188]

In this war philatelic history is repeating itself, for Russia has
issued a new set of war charity postage stamps (_Figs._ 189-192) for
a fund organised by the Imperial Women's Patriotic Union, of the face
values 1 kopec, 3, 7 and 10 kopecs, each of which sells for one kopec
more than the franking value denoted.