Single page 7" x 8 ¾", front only, typed on medium-quality paper, bears the letterhead stamp of the First Military-Technical Signals Trains, RSFSR. Issued on 3 December 1918 in Pokrovsk, a city on the banks of the Volga, then part of Samara Province. The ID certifies that Alexander Abakumov was discharged from military duty as an instructor for railroad guards and is headed to his previous place of service, Moscow. The ID is hand-signed by the customary early-Soviet "triangle of power": the train commander, political commissar, and secretary, and bears the train's seal.

In very good condition. The paper is pliable and strong, the holes and rips left by filing staples are contained to the left margin and have no significant impact on the stamps, typed or handwritten material which is clear and perfectly legible.

Do not look for Pokrovsk on the map of Russia. In 1931, the city was renamed "Engels" after Karl Marx' closest friend and financial backer Friedrich Engels.

It is also worth mentioning that, a year after the language reform simplifying the Russian alphabet and orthography, the hated "old regime" orthography is still used in the stamp and seal. The typewritten text however, uses the new, post-reform orthography.

Please note that the pen in our photo is for size reference.