CERAMIC DINNERWARE SET, DULEVO, 1952-1962.

Two large tureens with lids and stands, two nozzles, a salad bowl, twelve dinner plates, eleven soup bowls, twelve fruit plates, twelve side dishes, two sauce boats, two sugar bowls (one with a lid), two sauceboats with lids, and a pair of spice molds, each decorated with a hammer and sickle surrounded by a sheaf of corn, bearing the gold mark of the manufactory. Quantity: 69.
From the Ambassador of the USSR in Helsinki, circa 1952.

Note: This dinner set was produced at a pivotal moment in the post-war development of Russian-Finnish diplomatic and economic relations. The countries were ideologically diverse, yet Finland's consistently friendly foreign policy facilitated the signing of the Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance between Finland and the USSR in 1948.
This agreement was renewed in 1955, 1970, and 1983. Trade between the two countries was and remains extremely important, especially after the cessation of reparations payments in 1950. However, diplomatic relations were not without complications. Following the 1958 elections, a Finnish government was formed under Social Democrat Karl-August Fagerholm, including members considered anti-Soviet. In response, the Soviet Union recalled its ambassador and, presumably, this Soviet dinner service until the Finnish government was restructured and relations stabilized.