I’ve got some info for y’all-
This really only pertains to Postcrossers in the United States
If you had cards traveling to Russia/Belarus traveling for 2 weeks or more when the postal service ban started, they will very likely still arrive because they were already in transit.
Less than that, they would be returned to you if they hadn’t already been put on a flight to Russia, and you included a return address on them. If you get a card returned, the USPS will refund your postage cost. If you didn’t have a return address, they’ll likely either be held in storage until the suspension ends, or they’ll be sent to the dead letter office/mail recovery center.
If the card was returned to you OR you drew an address but didn’t mail the card before the outgoing mail block, I’ve found that the best option is to send it to someone else to forward it on to Russia.
Deutsche Post in Germany allows people anywhere to purchase postage on their website and print it on their own printer paper or labels at home. You want the 0.95 euro stamp for a postcard from Germany to another country. I purchased a few of those, printed them on labels, put them on the postcards to Russia, and then included them with a letter to a friend in Germany who I regularly communicate with already. He will then take the postcards that are all ready to mail, and then drop them in the mail, and the Deutsche Post will then deliver the cards to Russia.
Sure, the “distance traveled” will be a little skewed, and it will be a US postcard arriving with German stamps, but it will be delivered to the intended recipient so that they can register it.
The stamps can be purchased from the Deutsche Post here- Konfigurator der Internetmarke | Shop Deutsche Post
Remember, you want the 0.95 euro stamp for international postcards.
If you put the postcard inside an envelope, it’ll be 1.10 euros up to 20g which is 7/10 of an ounce.
If it’s in an envelope and heavier than that, you’ll need the stamp worth 1.70 euros for up to 50g = 1.8oz
They also let you choose a little image to go with the barcode on the stamp.
They accept American credit cards with PayPal so you can just pay online and then print on your own paper!