It's time...

After roughly 27 years of collecting and studying the stamps and postal history of the Russian Civil War in Siberia and the Far East, it's time to start putting some of my observations down on virtual paper, so other collectors can laugh at them and point out how terribly, terribly wrong I am. And if you, my hypothetical reader, finds any of this useful, then I'm happy.
Before I start typing all three of my typing fingers to the bone, let me make some general observations.

1. Everything you read here represents my personal opinion or informed guess. I will attempt to make clear on what basis I make statements, and present proof where possible, but let's face it: we're talking about events in a faraway place, 90+ years after the fact. I eagerly await the generation of Siberian philatelists who will take up the torch, but until then, my informed guesses is all I have. Caveat emptor.
2. I have my personal preferences. For example, I have almost no interest in philatelically-inspired "issues" that never served a postal purpose. So I will talk about the most valuable Siberian stamps - the Nikolaevsk-na-Amur'e "issue" and the Vladivostok airmail stamps - with disdain. I do not regard them as postage stamps in any accepted sense of the word. Similarly, I will ignore the Czech Legion charity labels which, I never tire of pointing out, were not postage stamps as they did not prepay postal services and their use was entirely optional. Fair warning!
3. I am always interested in hearing from fellow collectors, or just from anyone with a question or remark. When I first tackled this subject I had the great fortune of starting a long correspondence with Bob Taylor, whose collection of Siberian material was outstanding. Dick Scheper later formed an even more impressive collection, and corresponding with both gentlemen has been a pleasure and an education. So don't hesitate to write.
4. I'll be happy to give you a personal opinion about Siberian postal history from 1918-1924. The stamps I'm a little less enthusiastic about, and while I'll happily give you an opinion it's not an expert opinion, just an opinion from a collector. So you probably can't and shouldn't take that opinion to the bank!

For this particular subject, philately and history are deeply intertwined, so I make no excuses for including a brief historical summary as well. A bibliography of books I found useful will also be included.
I've been planning this for decades now, originally planning to write a book, then a website, then a series of articles before deciding that a blog is the perfect format. And the powers that be do make it very easy these days. I have no set timetable for writing, I will simply write as and when I have time.