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After 1792, by the latest Polish partition, whole Lithuania is part of the Russian tsaristic empire. Besides Vilnius, about which on an other place separated has been talked, also Kaunas was an important town: capital of the government of Kaunas.
The largest part of Lithuania fell under the governments of Kaunas and Vilnius. A little piece fell under the government Kurland, which further included a great part of the present Latvia.
Pre-philately:


On this letter we see the Polish influence: The writing is difficult to read, but some people has translated some Polish words:
Dziekan (=the title of Priest Eysziszkiemu (belongs to Eisiskiai (=place name), Priest (Probofzczowi) Nackiemu (name),
.......... ............ Prince (..iezu) Maciejewskiemu (name)
It is a report.
Sent to Naczy.

The postmark:

JPG-scan (60%) and information, sent by M. Lam.

By the postmarks is to recognize the Polish influence: the place names are mostly transcriptions of the Polish names.
As many Lithuanian places Kaunas has a Lithuanian form of the name (Kaunas), a Russian (KOBHa), a German (Kowno or Kauen), and a Polish (Kowno).

JPG-scan (60%), sent by M. Lam.

1869: postmark of Kaunas: at the top the place name, under it the month (december) in cyrillic letters, underneath that the year. At the bottom an ornament.	The right postmark: (V)=In = Joniskis (place) = accepted in Joniskis 20 (Dekabr) = December 1869 y(ear). I suppose that this is a receiving postmark. According the postal regulations of 22 October 1830, mail must have a postmark with place and date of dispatch and arrival.

Other side of the letter:


(place)

After the introduction of stamps in Russia, number cancellations came in use.
Kaunas had, as Vilnius, a number-cancellation.
The numbers "1" and "2" were introduced as number-cancellations for St. Petersburg and Moscow in circular no. 138 of 26 february 1858. Circular no. 1847 of 31May 1858 introduced these kind of cancellations for whole Russia. The circular no. 157 of 17 august 1858 gives more details.

a number (3 to 60) surrounded by points in the form of three concentric circles belongs to capitals of "guberniya", centers of districts, centers of militar districts, S.Petersburg and Moscow. #5 belongs to Wilno as a capital of Wilno gub. And #19 - to Kovno, as capital of Kovno gub

a dotted cancellation in the form of a hexagonal, but with points vertical. Belongs to Rail Road Post Officies. ##12-17 are from S.Petersburg - Warsaw Rail Road Post Officies (branches).

border-post offices get a dotted cancel with the number within three ovals of points. Tauroggen "9" , in Lithuanian Taurage, was the only in the Baltic states. This border-post office changed post with the post office in Tilsit in East-Prussia.

For the district-postoffices, range under the governmentoffices, a second kind of these number-cancellations was used: a number in an rectangle of points.
\

belongs to "Uezd" towns (county? towns). #36-Vileika, #37-Disna, #38-Lida, #39-Osmiany, #40-Svenciany, #41-Troki (all Wilno gub.); #179-Vilkomir, #180-Novoaleksandrovsk, #181-Ponevez, #182-Rossieny, #183-Telszy, #184-Shavli and #185-Jurburg (all Kovno gub.). Part of these towns in Wilno gub. are not a part of original Lithuania. You can add #106- Volkovysk (Vilkaviskis) from Grodno gub.

Under these came the ordinary post-offices: a number in a lying hexagon (with points horizontal). In Lithuania two post-offices: "21" Pakrazentis and "5" Druskininkai.

belongs to Post Officies in small towns. #5-Druskeniki (Grodno gub.), #21-Tsaritsino (Kovno gub.)

The last kind: a number in triangular cancellation with truncated corner for the sub-post offices. In Lithuania numbers 20, 177-186, 695, 698, 820 and 846 and 1202.

belongs toPost Officies on "highways" and for Officies of ROPiT. #28-Solechniki, #30-Schuchin (all Wilno gub.); #177-Lukniki (after Nov.1862-Vorneny), #178-Meshkutsy, #179-Smilgi, #180-Sredniki, #181-Utsiany, #182-Shadov, #183-Shensilskaia, #184-Sheislivy (till Aug.1862), #185-Janiski, #186-Janovo (all Kovno gub.). Later given numbers: #695-Keidany, #698-Nemokshtany, #820-Siady, #846-Skudy, #1425-Pogeloza (all Kovno gub.); #1201-Seiny, #1202-Serei (Suvalki gub.); 1330-Landvarovo, #1444-Glubokoie (Wilno gub.)

A table with the numbers in Lithuania you can find in the book of V.Fugalevicius (ed. 1984, p. 254-255) and I get information of M. Lam

Sub-post station in a little place with a triangular dotted cancellation with truncated corners:

Digit 1425: from Pogeloza (now Pagelaziai, belongs now to Ukmerge district North-East from Kaunas, but the railway connect these two points.
The numbers 623-1700 were introduced from october 1858.
JPG-scan (60%) and information sent by M. Lam.
The backside:

Postmarks:

Triangular cancellation with truncated corner, with digit 1425, probably the only known (now) copy of such cancel.	Postmark: place of dispatch ??=Station 7 =September 1875 y(ear)

Below we see a letter from Kaunas (KOBHO) from 1879 (?) to Klingenthal, with the after 1860 introduced one-ring-postmark:


Real size of the bmp-scan: 15,116 x 8,225 cm.
At the top the place name, under it the month in cyrillic letters, underneath that the year. At the bottom an ornament. In smaller places the name of government came in the place of the ornament, but Kaunas was also the capital of the government and so it held the ornament.
All pictures on this page, if not mentioned otherwise: scanned about 150 dpi (real size in most printers) and saved as bmp. Then converted into gif-format and resized 50%.
Real size of the bmp-scan is not the same as size of the letter

Kovno has had as only post-office two post-horns with thunderbolts as ornament at the bottom: a post and telegraph office.

From 1903 double-ring-postmarks are used:
circular nr. 9 of 3 February 1903 introduced the double-ring-postmarks. The old postmarks are replaced when they are worn out. Also a detailed description is given of the new postmarks.
The postmarks consist of two rings, with the name of place in between. Day-month-year now stood on one line (in the year "19" has been omitted. There came two sorts of postmarks: bigger for the mail and smaller for receipts.

A card from Rige with the arrival-postmark of Kaunas. Kaunas is the Lithuanian name. In German the city was called Kowna or Kauen, in Polish Kowno. The Russian transscription started from the German-Polish name: (the one-ring-postmarks) or (the double-ring-postmarks).
When Kaunas is Russian again -in the Soviet period- one started for the transscription from the Lithuanian naam:

Stempel
This happened with more names: Vilnius (the tsaristic -in German Wilna- or - in Polish Wilno, and the Soviet ) of course, but also other cities.