The postcard case

This article is based on findings from a small anthropological research project. The study focused on Russian-speaking members of the “Postcrossing” community, a network of people who exchange postcards via mail. It explored how individuals manage to make political statements after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, specifically how they are able to protest within thematic communities, when members suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of the barricades. Specific cases show how the Postcrossing community exhibit a range of political involvement while also manifesting a non-political character, and how the “policy of not being political” is expressed during wartime.

The worldwide “Postcrossing project” was created in 2005 by Portuguese student Paulo Magalhães. Magalhães noticed that many people would love to exchange postcards with people from abroad but did not know how to go about it. Those who had no opportunity to travel and meet people from abroad offline expressed desire to do that more avidly. Paulo created an online platform that allowed its users to find addresses of interested people and exchange postcards with them. Following this example, a Russian-language version of the project emerged some time later so now Russian postcrossers can use both  the international site and its Russian-language version.

The platform aims to connect people around the world, regardless of their country, age, gender, race or beliefs. Anyone who wishes to postcross fills a questionnaire on the project's website specifying their interests and wishes regarding the postcard, including the design. The platform then randomly connects two users, and the sender can look at their match’s profile and decide whether to make contact by sending a postcard. Postcards are sent through the national post offices of the countries where the community members are located.

Despite the wide variety of profiles and the difference of ages, professions, and so on, the postcrossing enthusiasts are generally welcoming to new experiences. They are curious about how community members from other countries and other regions live and think. Some people keep in touch after exchanging postcards with each other, talking about their outlook on life and their environment.

The Russian Post has continued to receive and deliver international letters and postcards from Western countries regardless of the existing sanctions and other restrictions. However, it seems that the war, which has brought not only death and destruction but also the impossibility of communication between whole groups and individuals, could not but affect the spirit of postcrossers.

Postcrossing before and now

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in Ukraine, the Postcrossing project’s creators aim is to connect people, not antagonise them. In spite of this, it has been hard to maintain universalism and a pacifist approach against a background of increasing polarisation and ongoing military conflicts. The core political feature of this apolitical postcard-loving community presumably lies in that very aspect. To complete registration, users must agree to the project’s rules, one of which is to refrain from religious and political disputes. That implies maintaining peace while communicating with others who may have completely different cultural patterns and values. Over the past three years, marked by division, hatred, and pain,  the idea of unconditional acceptance and resolute pacifism could be also perceived as a political message. Thus, the absolute ban on Russians and Belarusians has not happened, despite requests from some users in Western countries.

The vast majority of interviews with postcrossers found that people did observe changes in the attitudes and practices of other users. Miscommunication is the key word for the community environment in the wake of the post-February 2022 tensions, when it came to postcrossers from other countries. In the first months of the war, if the randomizer had chosen a Russian user for an international user, they were able to refuse to register a postcard from a sender from Russia, launch a political discussion accusing all RU-account users of military aggression, or not send a postcard at all.

The interlocutors also said that the nature of communication with Russian postcrossers has changed since February 2022. This shift was influenced by the fact that users were quickly and clearly, or indirectly, divided into three distinct groups: those supporting the “special military operation” in Ukraine, those opposing it, and those who did not want to take sides. The aforementioned miscommunication that occurred between the global community and the Russian-speaking division is noteworthy precisely because of the postcrosser community’s emphatically apolitical position. This apolitical stance was seen as a way of communicating without being affected by disagreements and without setting any agenda for the project itself.

The basic idea of communication and exchange between people of different views from different countries is still present in the community. At the same time, its members mentioned that since February 2022, the system has not connected Russian users with those from Ukraine. The ban on Instagram and Facebook, after Meta was recognized as an extremist organization in Russia, has also impacted international communication outside the official website. A postcrosser from Kostroma in Russia described their experience of the current situation:

“I wouldn't say we communicated [with foreign users] closely, but there was some [interaction]. We contacted each other via Instagram, I was following accounts of postcrossers from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine. We shared, bought something [from each other]. But after the ban, I lost access. Now I wouldn't even, you know, check those pages anymore…

[Now] I follow thematic groups on VKontakte, attend the meetings in my city” [translator’s note: VKontakte is a Russian online social media service]. 

Indeed, over the past few years, many Russian postcrossers have switched to VKontakte and the domestic platform post-crosser.ru. On the ‘Overheard at postcrossers’ VKontakte public page you can find such comments: 

‘“For a long time I avoided the international site, I sent only one postcard to Taiwan [...], mainly because unlike our Russian colleagues, some of the users there like to rather aggressively describe their views or strange bullshit theories, all this repulsed me as much as possible.”

Both cases reveal depoliticization as a response to a stressful situation. The first case shows a preference for offline leisure and socializing, while the second case demonstrates an effort to avoid engaging in polemics. The dynamics of tension within the community and the statements made by participants, including the refusal by some to debate politics, enables us to consider Russian modern history in light of a broader discussion on the contemporary state of society, which shifted towards apoliticism in the 2010s.  

The postcrossing community is notable in that it combines two different types of public space and two methods of communication. On the one hand, it represents a global online space where people can express themselves and connect with others in relative safety due to its anonymity. On the other hand, it is an inter-territorial offline space in which postcards with messages pass through state customs and postal services. Postcrossing exists in two different places at the same time and offers two communication strategies. Postcards are most often sent without an envelope, so the message can be read by an unlimited number of people and thus provide insights into the senders’ political views, cultural preferences, and values.

So what do community members living in warring Russia share in their postcards, knowing that their message could be seen by anyone from government representatives to aggressive opponents? How do people holding opposing views communicate? Do they communicate? And why do they do it at all?

Postcrossers online

Although  the community guidelines crucially ask people to refrain from arguing and speaking about political and religious topics, the guidelines do not clearly define what exactly constitutes controversy and hate speech but invites the community members to “be friendly.” Along with that, users who accept the community guidelines may have a clear and publicly labelled position, as seen in their personal accounts or individual statements. Postcrossing’s founders promise to track cases of aggression, but without a specific complaint against a user, a particular member’s account is unlikely to be flagged. Open aggression toward another postcrosser happens quite rarely. 

The first message a postcrosser shares about themselves is transmitted through their preferences for a postcard. One can specify one’s wishes regarding the design and layout, mail art, even the weather on the day the postcard is sent or the distance between the sender and the recipient. Addresses are ‘dropped’ to users randomly with the enclosed questionnaires that include specific wishes and the contact information (links to social networks are not normally listed). On the international postcrossing site, one can select the option ‘not to receive postcards from users from one’s own country,’ and other parameters cannot be specified. It is significant that no interviewee recalled any cases of foreign users wishing ‘not to receive postcards from users from Russia.’ Here is an example of how pro-war patriotism looks like in the postcrossers' community:

“Hi! My name is Alyona, I am 17 years old, so I can only be addressed as YOU) I am often involved in patriotic activities, take part in commemorative actions, rallies, meetings, parades, etc. Also I like sports, travelling, reading books and just love to watch TV series) Now I am mostly busy with studying(

!I will be glad to receive any postcard from you!

PLEASE write the date and city on the postcard)

- mountains

- cats

- Yuri Borisov

- Erich Maria Remarque, Jack London

- train aesthetics

-Altai

-Karelia

-Parachutes

-Patriotic (Special military operation, WWII, posters)

- Airborne Forces

-My Russia

-Modern postcards stylised by vintage

I really like postcards with design (especially pictures) and extended messages.

I look forward to your postcard!

Have a nice day)”

The way this schoolgirl puts World War II and the special military operation in the same patriotic semantic range is inherent in Russian state propaganda. The profile's description shows that the girl is politicised as she is aware of the political agenda and takes part in rallies, meetings, parades, and so on. However, this type of political engagement is very easy to achieve in Russia nowadays: attend a pro-regime political protest; be a school activist or a volunteer. For instance, patriotic events are published on the volunteer website Dobro.ru, along with appeals from animal shelters and announcements about clean-up days. 

Publicly stating one’s political position like this in a profile could be a ‘cry of despair’ for one person and a challenge for another. People who openly state their views are usually open to discuss them. Postcrossers  do not usually complain to the platform’s tech support when they notice an expression of interest in politics. Some of them even collect postcards with images of presidents of different countries. However, they may express their solidarity or disagreement  by making a comment on a postcard during registration or putting it on the postcard directly. Paradoxically, opponents of the war express their position much more directly and unambiguously. One of the questionnaires starts with the following lines: 

“Most important: go to hell, Putin!

Glory to Ukraine!”

The author, a young man, goes on to talk about his life: he lives with his husband in a small village in Germany, raises a dog and is engaged in social work. Among other wishes, the young man requests postcards with queer themes and on the topic of human and animal rights. One can guess that he has quite an active civic stance. Moreover, he is a member of an international postcrossing platform. It is noteworthy that foreigners, who also use the postcrossing.com platform, often indicate their political views in the first lines of the profile description, using  formulas such as “RU, stop the war” [Russians, stop the war] or “stand with Ukraine.”

Most commonly, anti-war statements and the political messages of users on the postcrosser.ru platform can be found at the very bottom of the wishlist and are generally expressed indirectly.For instance, one user from Minsk concludes his wishlist with the anti-wish list of unwanted postcards: 

“The only thing that definitely should NOT be sent is war-related postcards.

And if you’re from Belarus, don’t hesitate to sign a postcard in Belarusian.”

This is a remarkable example. On one hand, the user rejects any war-related postcards, clearly taking an anti-war stance. Moreover, he strives to correspond in Belarusian and encourage Belarusians to do the same. However, he chooses to use the Russian-language platform instead of the international one.

In the postcrossing community, people with fundamentally different views may not keep interacting with each other but still continue to co-exist within one platform. So, the question can be raised as to what extent compromises, such as refusing to boycott Russian/foreign users, can be perceived as political ones. For some, this is an indicator of depoliticisation. But community members likely see it is a political decision. Nevertheless, the practice of speaking out has emerged spontaneously on different platforms, taking a more open form on the international platform and a more subtle one on the Russian-language site.

Postcrossers offline

The directness of postcrossers’ statements is determined by where they are expressed: online, through profiles and accounts, or offline, through the postcards themselves. Sending postcards without an envelope is generally seen as a sign of good manners among posctrossers. Therefore, anyone who comes across the postcard on its journey to the recipient can familiarize themselves with its contents. One of the interviewees noted that she prefers to put her secret thoughts on the back of a postcard in an envelope when sending the postcard. Moreover, she shares them only if she feels a clear similarity in worldview with the recipient.

This kind of self-censorship in communication can be caused by both internal and external factors such as platform rules. Postcrossers feel more secure online, given that the questionnaire usually includes a real name and residential address. Some study participants expressed their concern about this, speculating about likely denunciation if their position becomes public. One participant from the Moscow suburbs shares her thoughts:

”I know that [in the community] I won’t be denounced. In the questionnaire I write about kittens, dogs, favorite artists. You can tell from it what position I stand for [anti-war], but it’s not going to cause outrage in someone who views my profile and then goes to the police to denounce me.”

One of the Russian postcrossers shared a photo of the back of the postcard they received. The message from the sender in Germany ended with the phrase: “PEACE AND FREEDOM FOR ALL IN THE WORLD.” Thus, the words “democracy,” “peace,” and “freedom” can be seen as signs of politicisation. It was no coincidence that the aforementioned user expressed his concerns by showing his postcard during the interview: “I hope the post office employees don’t speak English.”

The level of detail in postcards received from foreign users on an international platform does not always reflect the level of political sensitivity. Contact between users also at times does not work. It is important to mention that only a small part of postcrossers have abandoned the international platform because the Russian site was more convenient for them for various reasons, including the cost of international shipping and concern about miscommunications. However, even within Russian-language postcrossing, users sometimes send “formal” postcards. “Formal” can refer to postcards that lack a personal touch, such as creative design or special wishes, and are limited to the message “Happy Postcrossing!”

For postcrossers, the postcard serves as a message channel and represents the main artifact. Therefore, it is not uncommon for the postcard design to also reflect the postcrossers’ political views and their stance on the war. For example, one German postcrosser decorated her postcard with a flower sticker that included the pacifist symbol.
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Sadly, the pro-war postcrossers nowadays have many more opportunities to express their position through visual means. You do not even need to invent, draw or design anything yourself: it is all ready to go. At the end of 2022, the Russian Post issued 10 thematic stamps dedicated to the participants of the special military operation as part of the “Heroes of the Russian Federation” series. In post offices you can see stamps with images of Crimea, and cities of the “Donetsk and Lugansk Republics” were included in a series of stamps called “Cities of Military Glory of Russia.” Websites that specialize in stamp resales also offer sets of Donbas Post stamps on various themes, from the navy to PMC Wagner. 

Popular marketplaces are full of postcards on military themes, tagged as  “postcards for soldiers of the Navy,” “gift for a man,” or just “army.” At the same time, military-related art stamps are extremely affordable. They are almost always in stock at post offices (which cannot be said about the stamps on the theme of world art, which quickly sellout). Among such military-themed postcards there are also thematic issues for Victory Day or New Year. 

Although war-related and patriotic postcards are readily available, the postcrossers do not send them very often. They mostly prefer to choose something else, focusing on other interests such as cats, dogs, flowers, Harry Potter, and so on. This is not a political choice but deliberately intended to make the randomly chosen user feel good by taking into consideration their preferences. Often, posctrossers collect postcards relating to certain topics, and many members have a selection of postcards for the most common requests, such as animals, lighthouses, or Alice in Wonderland.

Not being political? 

After the failure of the anti-government protests of  2011-2012 and the conservative turn that followed, state officials began directly calling on Russians to avoid engaging in politics. Such slogans as “Sport should be apolitical!” and “There is no place for politics at university!” have not only become typical for deputies and officials, but tend to be more prevalent as Putin’s authoritarianism has gained strength. The phrase “I am out of politics” became a meme on the Russian-language internet, perfectly reflecting the absurdity of cultural conservatism and protective rhetoric that surged in the 2010s.

But what does it actually mean to be “out of politics”? One can assume that an apolitical person does not participate in elections, does not engage with political parties, does not have even minimal experience of interaction with socio-political organisations and movements such as signing petitions, filing complaints, volunteering, and so on. This is the ideal model of apolitical person which is very hard to meet in real life, even under authoritarian regimes. 

The so-called “politics of the apolitical” is not a new phenomena, and has been well researched. Those who seem to be apolitical can participate in urban protests, organise initiatives, get involved in campaigns supporting animal rights and participate in elections. These actions are part of participatory culture that contradicts the argument about political indifference.

The behaviour of the Postcrosser community’s Russian-speaking participants can be understood within this context, even though it may initially appear fundamentally apolitical. However, the special military operation that started in February 2022 made irrelevant the dialogue about the complete continuity of practices and attitudes from the previous decade. Communities that at first glance may seem apolitical, and even be perceived as such by their participants, also often make room for political statements. Paradoxically, in the case of postcrossers, this is especially evident among users who oppose the war. Whether this is a “politics of the apolitical” inherited from the 2000s or a new form of tension between political speech and its repression, driven by censorship, only time can tell.

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