Karty Derzhavnye
Karty Derzhavnye (Sovereign cards) with artwork by S. Zaitsev, Russia, 1997.
Karty Derzhavnye fortune-telling cards were published in 1997 by the Kombinat Tsvetnoi Pechati, St. Petersburg. It is sometimes also translated as “Imperial”. The full pack contains 56 cards (52 cards + 2 jokers + 2 double-sided information/description cards). The author of the deck is S. Spirov and the artist is S. Zaitsev. The creators of the deck have incorporated into the pack the popular fortune-telling system “Fate and Will” and the “Pyramid of Success” solitaire as its basis.
The clubs and spades have a blue/turquoise background while the hearts and diamonds have a red background. The court cards differ in each suit, but the pip cards in each suit only have one background symbol: hearts show Peter the Great in a heart-shaped frame; diamonds show the two-headed eagle in a diamond frame; clubs show a bronze angel, while spades display a royal crown in a spade-shaped frame. The two extra cards explain how to arrange and interpret the cards for fortune-telling.
Above: cards from ‘Karty Derzhavnye’ (Sovereign cards) published by the Kombinat Tsvetnoi Pechati, St. Petersburg, 1997. 52 cards + 2 jokers + 2 double-sided information/description cards.
By Peter Burnett
United Kingdom • Member since July 27, 2022 • Contact
I graduated in Russian and East European Studies from Birmingham University in 1969. It was as an undergraduate in Moscow in 1968 that I stumbled upon my first 3 packs of “unusual” playing cards which fired my curiosity and thence my life-long interest. I began researching and collecting cards in the early 1970s, since when I’ve acquired over 3,330 packs of non-standard cards, mainly from North America, UK and Western Europe, and of course from Russia and the former communist countries.
Following my retirement from the Bodleian Library in Dec. 2007 I took up a new role as Head of Library Development at the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) to support library development in low-income countries. This work necessitated regular training visits to many sub-Saharan African countries and also further afield, to Vietnam, Nepal and Bangladesh – all of which provided rich opportunities to further expand my playing card collection.
Since 2019 I’ve been working part-time in the Bodleian Library where I’ve been cataloguing the bequest of the late Donald Welsh, founder of the English Playing Card Society.
Related Articles
Ministry of Emergency Situations
Emergency response playing cards published by the Kombinat Tsvetnoi Pechati (Colour Printing Combine...
Castle Rock Club
Castle Rock Club playing cards featuring Russian rock stars and musicians, c. 2000.
Russian Playing Cards
Playing cards were known in Muscovy as early as the last quarter of the sixteenth century.
GAI GIBDD
The State Automobile Inspection of Russian Federal Road Safety Service.
Petrovskie
Petrovskie, politicheskie karty Rossii (Russian political cards), 1997.
Karty Lyubvi
Karty lyubvi Slavyanskie (Slavonic love cards) and Karty lyubvi Starinnye (Ancient love cards).
Kashmir Playing Cards
Kashmir playing cards designed by Lev Liberman and printed by Printissa, Saint Petersburg, 2005.
Saint Petersburg vintage playing cards
Saint Petersburg vintage photography playing cards.
Soviet propaganda posters
Propaganda posters of the Soviet Union.
Russian Federation
Russian Federation pack featuring leading political figures of the time, c.2000.
![Komandirskie [Commanders]](/core/cache-wopc-thumbs/var/www/wopc/production/www/images/countries/russia/komandirskie-0.45cc333d.jpg "Komandirskie [Commanders]")
Komandirskie [Commanders]
‘Komandirskie’ military-themed playing cards from Russia, 1997.
Peterhof souvenir playing cards
Peterhof souvenir playing cards (Petergof suvenirnye igral’nye karty) published by Mednyi Vsadnik (B...
Dolls Gallery
Dolls Gallery / Galereia kukol : karty igral’nye / published by Varvara Skripkina, 2003.
Treasures of the Russian Museum
Treasures of the Russian Museum / Russkii Muzei : suvenirnye igral’nye karty.
Russian Cities Coats-of-Arms
Rossiia / Municipal Coats-of-Arms of Russian Federation.
Matryoshka playing cards
The first nested doll set was carved in 1890.
Palekh and Kholui lacquer miniatures
Palekh and Kholui lacquer miniatures.
Hunting playing cards
Hunting playing cards / “Okhotnich’i karty” with illustrations by the court artist Mihály Zichy.
Russian Emperors
Russian Emperors playing cards / “Rossiiskie imperatory karty igral’nye” produced and illustrated b...
Russian Beer
Russian Beer playing cards / “Russkoe pivo karty igral’nye” produced in 2006
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 60 days
