In Anton Chekov's "The Witch", the story mentions a postman carrying a "postman's sword". Was this common gear for late 19th-century Russian postal workers, and what purpose would it have served?

by Whoyu1234

Relevant text: Jerking out these words like a hoarse sigh, the driver went out and soon after returned with another bag, then went out once more and this time brought the postman's sword on a big belt, of the pattern of that long flat blade with which Judith is portrayed by the bedside of Holofernes in cheap woodcuts.

It occurred to me that perhaps this isn't a part of the postal worker's equipment per se, just something this one dude happens to carry with him. Even so, it seems like an anachronistic thing to carry for a someone in the late 19th century.

wotan_weevil

A sword was common equipment for 19th century Russian postmen. An example of a Russian postman with a sword:

A more ornamentally-uniformed Russian postman of the late 18th century:

It's a multi-functional sword. The main purpose is a symbol of officialness, to show people that they are a government employee. Similarly, railway and forestry officials in various countries carried swords or dirks as similar signs of officialness:

The shift from swords to dirks is related to the second function of such weapons: protection of the mail and self-defence. Valuables were sometimes sent by mail, and an armed mail carrier could deter theft. Also, especially in rural areas, it might be necessary to defend oneself against wild animals. As such uses became less important, dirks - easier to carry than swords - sometimes replaced swords. Dirks were also useful to differentiate ranks among officials - low-level officials might carry dirks, while high-level officials carried swords.

In earlier times, these self-defence uses were important. For example, this Polish Medieval postman with sword:

might have carried a sword even when off-duty, for self-defence and display of masculinity and citizenship.