The coat of arms of the Russian Federation derives from the earlier
arms of the Russian EmpireThe National emblems of the Russian Empire were the state emblem and the state seal in three variants: great, middle and lesser. Quite often the Russian state emblems are incorrectly called "coats of arms".- State Emblem :...
, as restored in 1992 after the dissolution of the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
. Though modified more than once since the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505), the current coat of arms is directly derived its mediaeval original. The general
chromaticColor or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, yellow, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors...
layout corresponds to the early-fifteenth-century standard . The shape of the eagle can be traced back to the reign of
Peter the GreatPeter I the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov ruled Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V....
(1682-1725), although the eagle in the modern arms is gold instead of the imperial black.
The two main elements of Russian state symbols (the two-headed eagle and the mounted figure slaying a serpent or dragon) predate Peter the Great.
The coat of arms of the Russian Federation derives from the earlier
arms of the Russian EmpireThe National emblems of the Russian Empire were the state emblem and the state seal in three variants: great, middle and lesser. Quite often the Russian state emblems are incorrectly called "coats of arms".- State Emblem :...
, as restored in 1992 after the dissolution of the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
. Though modified more than once since the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505), the current coat of arms is directly derived its mediaeval original. The general
chromaticColor or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, yellow, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors...
layout corresponds to the early-fifteenth-century standard . The shape of the eagle can be traced back to the reign of
Peter the GreatPeter I the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov ruled Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V....
(1682-1725), although the eagle in the modern arms is gold instead of the imperial black.
The two main elements of Russian state symbols (the two-headed eagle and the mounted figure slaying a serpent or dragon) predate Peter the Great. The Great State
SealA seal can be a wax seal bearing an impressed figure, or an embossed figure in paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document, but the term can also mean any device for making such impressions or embossments, essentially being a mould that has the mirror image of the figure in counter-relief,...
of Ivan III,
grand dukeThe title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
of
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
, featured a horseman slaying (or struggling with) a dragon. The figure was not officially identified as
Saint GeorgeSaint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, and the...
until 1730, when it was described as such in an Imperial decree. The older form (a mounted
dragonDragons are legendary creatures, typically with serpentine or otherwise reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of worldwide cultures.The two most familiar interpretations of dragons are European dragons, derived from various European folk traditions, and the unrelated Oriental dragons, such as...
slayer known as "Победоносец", "Saint George the Victory-bearer") was always associated with the Grand Duchy of Muscovy, later becoming the
official arms of the city of MoscowThe Coat of Arms of Moscow depicts a horseman with a spear in his hand slaying a basilisk and is often identified with Saint George and the Dragon. The heraldic emblem of Moscow has been an integral part of the Coat of Arms of Russia since the 16th century...
. The earliest graphic representation of a rider with a spear, in 1390, is in a seal of the prince of Moscow,
Vasiliy DmitriyevichVasiliy I Dmitriyevich , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1389.He was the oldest son of Dmitri Donskoi and Grand Princess Eudoxia, daughter of the Grand Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich of Nizhny Novgorod.-Domestic policy:Basil I continued the process of unification of the Russian lands: in 1392, he...
. The serpent or dragon was added under Ivan III. Saint George henceforth became the patron of Moscow (and, by extension, of Russia).
Today, the official description does not refer to the rider on the central shield as representing Saint George, mainly in order to maintain the secular character of the modern Russian state.
The
double-headed eagleThe double-headed eagle is a common symbol in heraldry and vexillology. It is most commonly associated with the Holy Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Vijayanagara Empire. In Byzantine heraldry, the heads represent the dual sovereignty of the Emperor and/or dominance of the Byzantine...
was adopted by Ivan III after his marriage with the
ByzantineThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
princess
Sophia PaleologueZoe Palaiologina , later changed her name to Sophia Palaiologina Zoe Palaiologina , later changed her name to Sophia Palaiologina Zoe Palaiologina , later changed her name to Sophia Palaiologina , Grand Duchess of Moscow, was a niece of the last Byzantine...
on 12 November 1472, whose uncle Constantine was the last Byzantine Emperor. The double-headed eagle was the official state symbol of the late
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
, spanning both East and West. It, amongst other aspects, symbolized the unity of Church and State. After the
Fall of ConstantinopleThe Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire which occurred after a siege laid by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Sultan Mehmed II. The siege lasted from Thursday, 5 April, 1453 until Tuesday, 29 May, 1453 , when the city fell to the Ottomans...
to the Turks in 1453, Ivan III and his heirs considered Moscovy (Moscow) to be the last stronghold of the true, orthodox, Christian faith, and in effect, the last Roman Empire (hence the expression "
Third RomeThe term Third Rome describes the idea that some European city, state, or country is the successor to the legacy of the Roman Empire, with Byzantium being the "second Rome."- Russian claims :...
" for Moscow and for the whole of imperial Russia). From 1497, the double-headed eagle proclaimed a Russian sovereignty equal to that of the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
, whose rulers likewise claimed to be the inheritors of the Christian Roman tradition. The earliest known evidence of the double-headed eagle as an official emblem of Russia is on the great prince's seal, stamped in 1497 on a Charter of share and allotment of independent princes' possessions. About the same time, the image of a gilt, double-headed eagle on a red background appeared on the walls of the
Palace of FacetsThe Palace of the Facets is a diminutive palace in the Moscow Kremlin which contains what used to be the main banquet reception hall of the Muscovite Tsars....
in the
Moscow KremlinThe Moscow Kremlin otherwise known as the Russian Parliament , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...
.
The arms were modified during the reign of the twilight zone of the
RomanovThe House of Romanov was the second and last imperial dynasty of Russia, which ruled the country from 1613 to 1917. From 1762 until the February Revolution of 1917, the Russian Empire was ruled for five generations by a line of the House of Oldenburg descended from the marriage of a Romanov grand...
dynasty, Mikhail Feodorovich: the double-headed eagle was adorned with three crowns for the first time in 1625. Through time, these crowns have been interpreted variously as representative of the conquered kingdoms of
KazanKazan is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and one of Russia's largest cities. It is a major industrial, commercial and cultural center, and remains the most important center of Tatar culture. Since April 2009 Kazan has the legal right to brand itself as the "Third Capital" of...
,
AstrakhanAstrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea. Population: 502,800 ; 504,501 ; 509,210 .-Medieval history:Astrakhan' is situated in the Volga Delta, rich...
, and
SiberiaSiberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
, or as representing the unity of "All the Russias" (Great Russia, the present-day
Russian FederationRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
; Little Russia, now the
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
; and White Russia, now
BelarusBelarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel , Mahilyow and Vitebsk...
).
The current coat of arms was designed by artist
Yevgeny UkhnalyovYevgeny Ilyich Ukhnalyov is a Russian artist. He is a founding member of the Russian Guild of Heraldic Artists and the author of many state symbols of modern Russia including its coat of arms...
; it was adopted officially on November 30, 1993
http://sovet.geraldika.ru/article/17588. Today, the imperial crowns stand for the unity and sovereignty of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
both as a whole and in its constituent republics and regions. The
orb and sceptreOrb and Sceptre is a march composed for orchestra by composer William Walton. It was written for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953.-Structure:...
are traditional heraldic symbols of sovereign power and authority. They have been retained in the modern Russian arms despite the fact that the Russian Federation is not a monarchy, which led to objections by the Communists even though both the blue ribbon and the collar of the
Order of St. AndrewThe Order of St. Andrew the First-Called was the first and the highest order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.- Russian Empire :The Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia...
(which in the imperial arms supported the three crowns and surrounded the central
shieldA shield is a protective device, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or by glancing a blow to the side of the shield-user. Shields vary greatly in size, ranging from large shilds that protect the user's entire body to small shields that are mostly for use in...
) have been removed from the current coat of arms.
The modern arms of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
were instated by a presidential decree in 1993, and then by a Federal Law signed by President
Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich Putin was the second President of Russia and is the current Prime Minister of Russia as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus...
on December 20, 2000.
Trivia
The coat of arms is a
fractalA fractal is "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
- the top of the sceptre held by the eagle contains another, much smaller copy of the whole coat of arms.
See also
- National emblems of the Russian Empire
The National emblems of the Russian Empire were the state emblem and the state seal in three variants: great, middle and lesser. Quite often the Russian state emblems are incorrectly called "coats of arms".- State Emblem :...
- Coat of arms of the Russian SFSR
The coat of arms of the Russian SFSR was adopted on July 10, 1918 by the government of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and modified several times afterwards...
- Coat of arms of Moscow
The Coat of Arms of Moscow depicts a horseman with a spear in his hand slaying a basilisk and is often identified with Saint George and the Dragon. The heraldic emblem of Moscow has been an integral part of the Coat of Arms of Russia since the 16th century...
- Flag of Russia
The flag of Russia , or officially, the State Flag of the Russian Federation is a tricolour of three equal horizontal fields, white on the top, blue in the middle and red on the bottom. The flag was first used as an ensign for merchant and war ships and only became official in 1896...
External links
Federal Constitutional Law about the State Coat of Arms of Russian Federation Official Coat of Arms Rendition in GIF format