Sheet «Trident of Independence»

On 25 (12) February 1918, in the town of Korosten, the Little Council of the Ukrainian Central Rada adopted a historic resolution declaring that "the coat of arms of the Ukrainian People's Republic shall be the emblem of the Kyivan State of the time of Volodymyr the Great." From that moment, the Tryzub (Trident)—the dynastic symbol of the Rurikids, known from the coins, seals, and architectural remains of the reign of Volodymyr the Great—became the national emblem of modern Ukraine. By choosing this ancient symbol, the founders of the Ukrainian People's Republic affirmed the continuity of Ukrainian statehood from Kyivan Rus to the modern Ukrainian state.

Even before its official adoption, the Tryzub had become a recognizable emblem of the new republic. On 6 January 1918, it appeared on Ukraine's first 100-karbovanets banknote, designed by the renowned graphic artist Heorhii Narbut. Narbut later created designs for the state seal and coat of arms of the Ukrainian State, laying the foundations of twentieth-century Ukrainian state graphic design.

The "Trident of Independence" stamp sheet is dedicated to this enduring national symbol. The stamps reproduce impressions of official state, military, diplomatic, and local government seals used between 1918 and 1921, illustrating how rapidly the Tryzub became an integral symbol of Ukrainian public institutions. The sheet features the seals of the Ukrainian Military Control, the Embassy of the Ukrainian People's Republic in Poland, the High Military Court of the Kamianets-Podilskyi Garrison, the 11th Light Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian State, the Konotop County Commandant, the Letychiv County Police, the Lunyn Volost Zemstvo Administration, and the Small State Seal of the Ukrainian People's Republic.

The original seals depicted on the stamps are preserved in the collection of the Sheremetyev Museum in Kyiv.

Postage stamps with the seals of the period of Ukrainian statehood in 1918-1921, collected in the stamp sheet “Trident of Independence”, are dedicated to the Trident, including:

“Seal of the Ukrainian Military Control, 1918-1920”;

“Seal of the Konotop District Commandant, 1918-1919”;

“Seal of the Lunyn Volost Zemstvo Administration of the Pinsk County, 1918-1920;

“Seal of the Higher Military Court of the Kamianets-Podilskyi Outpost, 1919-1920.”

“Seal of the 11th Light Artillery Brigade. Ukrainian State, 1918”;

“Seal of the Embassy of the Ukrainian People's Republic in Poland, 1920”;

“Seal of the Chief of the Letychiv District Police. UNR, 1919-1920”;

“Small State Seal of the Ukrainian People's Republic, 1918”.

The seals depicted on the stamps are kept in the collection of the Sheremetyev Museum (Kyiv).