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1 Rouble Beresovka; PoW Camp
| Issuer | Prisoner of War Camp, Beresovka |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917-1920 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | First Soviet Rouble (1917-1922) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed in blue-violet and red-orange on yellow paper, the note carries the camp name 'BERESOVKA' at upper centre above the large denomination inscription 'RUBEL', with the numeral '1' set within ornamental frames at the upper left and upper right corners. A guilloche-style wave underprint runs across the upper portion, while the lower centre is occupied by a vignette of a building with a domed roof and flanking towers. Two manuscript signatures appear at lower centre with a serial number at lower left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Protection description | Circular violet official handstamp applied to the reverse, bearing the camp authority inscription in Cyrillic around the circumference |
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| Comments |
Beresovka (Berezovka) held Austro-Hungarian prisoners during and after the First World War, located in the Transbaikal region of eastern Siberia — remote enough that supply lines were chronically unreliable and orthodox currency rarely reached the camp in sufficient quantity. Internal camp scrip of this type was a practical solution to that logistical problem, not an administrative formality.
The handstamp as the sole security feature tells you something about the conditions of production. Whoever printed these had access to a press but not much else. The date range spanning into 1920 reflects the chaos of repatriation delays — many Austro-Hungarian prisoners were not returned home until well after the Armistice, stranded by the Russian Civil War unfolding around them.