Contents
Today, almost every more or less large settlement in Russia (and even more so a large city!), Has its own coat of arms. Some coats of arms have a very long history, while others were created more recently.
After the Russian heraldic service was restored in 1992, all our cities and regional centers were strongly recommended to “have” their official symbols, which they did (though with varying degrees of success in terms of the content of the emblems themselves).
What is usually depicted on the coat of arms of the city? What conveys its main essence: the main attractions, some special milestones in history, etc. And in most Russian coats of arms, all this was well reflected (and some of them turned out to be real works of art).
But there are also those that cause surprise and bewilderment (why is THIS depicted on the symbol of the city!?), and sometimes sincere laughter.
So, for example, a camel flaunts on the coat of arms of Chelyabinsk (yeah, Chelyabinsk is really the birthplace of camels), on the coat of arms of Serpukhov there is a peacock with a luxurious tail, on the coat of arms of Kazan there is a wyvern dragon in a crown (though it looks more like a rooster in scales), and on the coat of arms of Irkutsk there is an unknown little animal babr (similar to an African American cat with webbed paws).
The most “cute” coat of arms is near the city of Snezhnogorsk, it depicts a pretty seal under three large snowflakes. Magnitogorsk is the proud owner of the coat of arms with the “black triangle of Malevich” (which, apparently, stands for Magnitnaya Mountain). On the emblem of Epifani there are three stalks of hemp (how has it not been banned yet?).
Well, we present to you the 10 most amusing (of course, in our very subjective opinion) Russian coats of arms.
10 Tver
No, in principle, from a historical point of view, everything is clear and understandable – it was the prince of Tver who was the first in Rus’ to call himself tsar. And therefore, on the coat of arms of Tver, we see “a golden throne, … on which lies a golden crown.”
But in a modern version, this very throne is very reminiscent of an elaborate stool with bent legs. And a crowned stool. A sort of “king-stool”. Yeah…
9. Chita
In Chita, the coat of arms happened about the same story as in Tver: the explanation of its symbolism is very logical, but it contrasts sharply with the “picture” that we see in front of us.
The head of the buffalo reminds us that cattle breeding was once the main occupation of the Transbaikalians; his silver eyes and tongue are about the Trans-Baikal silver mines, and the golden background, respectively, is about the gold mines; the red-green fence of 8 “planks” symbolizes 8 border fortresses founded in the XNUMXth century in Transbaikalia by Russian explorers.
Well, all together it looks like the bull is just looking through the village fence.
8. Shuya (Ivanovo region)
The coat of arms of Shuya, at the first acquaintance with it, can lead to a real impasse: what is it – a brick (in honor of the construction industry workers), a parallelepiped (a symbol of the fact that the city is very fond of geometry), a piece of butter?
Didn’t guess! More recently (until 2004) it was a bar of ordinary soap – a sign of the once famous Shuya soap factories. Previously, a heraldic lion with a large cross was also depicted above this bar, but for some reason they removed it (apparently, it slipped, got offended and left), which is why, according to the inhabitants of Shuya, the coat of arms became worse and more boring (how can I say!).
Now heraldists stubbornly assert that the bar is not soapy at all, but very gold, and what it means is not so important.
7. Iskitim (Novosibirsk region)
The coat of arms of the Siberian city of Iskitim depicts two beavers holding one mason’s trowel. Of course, this symbolizes the main city-forming industry of Iskitim – construction.
But the residents of the city and its guests interpret this picture a little differently: for example, everyone here is so hardworking that even animals fight over a tool. Or here’s an even more ridiculous option: the beavers have one ice cream for two.
(By the way, hard-working beavers are also found on other Russian coats of arms. For example, on the coat of arms of the Moscow region of Khoroshevo-Mnevniki, a contented beaver rests its paw on, apparently, a dam he personally built. And everything would be fine, only this dam for some reason is brick …)
6. Pskov
Here again, the symbolism is very beautiful (and even grandiose), but the modern picture makes us smile involuntarily.
The leopard on the Pskov coat of arms, of course, symbolizes courage and courage, its pose is aimed at the enemy; the blue field is a sign of the beauty and grandeur of the surroundings of Pskov; the hand of God from curly clouds means the patronage of heavenly forces; blah blah blah…
Well, in the end, we see that someone reaches out with his hand from above through the cotton to stroke the “leopard”.
5. Srednekolymsk (Yakutia)
Where do we most often find mammoths reliably “conserved” in the permafrost in Russia? Of course, in the north of Siberia.
And so the heraldists of the Yakut urban settlement Srednekolymsk, without thinking twice, placed this ancient shaggy beast on the local coat of arms.
But their mammoth, frankly, turned out to be very “non-standard”: firstly, it is bright red (is it hot for a little animal?), Secondly, it has a forked trunk and square ears; and thirdly, he either dances or splashes merrily in the Kolyma River. Well, the artist sees it this way…
4. Saki (Crimea)
Yes, there is a mammoth! It turns out that dinosaurs can be found on Russian coats of arms! Here is the coat of arms of the Crimean city of Saki. What do we see on it?
A red brontosaurus who decides whether to visit his snake friend today for a glass of martini, or limit himself to mineral water. (And it looks like he will still choose mineral water).
In fact, the brontosaurus appeared on this coat of arms because such a sculpture (installed in the park of one of the local resorts back in 1932) is a kind of symbol of the city.
The snake, wrapped around the staff of the god of healing Asclepius, symbolizes the healing properties of the Saka mud, and the jets gushing from the bowl are the most famous mineral spring in the Crimea.
3. Red (Tuva)
Over the past 45 years, the coat of arms of the capital of Tuva, the city of Kyzyl, has changed 4 (!) times. The newest one, approved in 2016, is quite cute (although it looks a little like a projection from above of a very long-nosed bird with its wings folded in front of it).
Prior to that (since 2005), the coat of arms of Kyzyl featured a golden yak with the sun stuck in its horns.
But the funniest (and most “minimalist”) was the 1994 coat of arms, which jokers called “Pinocchio Raising His Hands to the Sky,” in front of you. In fact, the “head of Pinocchio” on this coat of arms is just the silhouette of the obelisk “Center of Asia”, which is installed in Kyzyl.
2. Zheleznogorsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory)
Zheleznogorsk (aka Krasnoyarsk-26) is a former closed city of nuclear scientists (even today outsiders are allowed in only with special passes).
And we, perhaps, can safely call its coat of arms one of the most unusual in the world: on a scarlet background, a yellow bear conducts a dangerous experiment – it breaks the white nucleus of an atom with its claws, resting its paws on its orbitals.
According to the explanations of local heraldists, this very strange picture should symbolize “the fusion of the forces of nature and human thought.” In fact, it evokes slightly different analogies.
So, many jokers simultaneously had the idea that the Zheleznogorsk bear vividly illustrates the ideas of our “Western partners” about Russia: they say, a drinking bear is a grief in the family. He broke the balalaika, lost his earflaps and climbed into the cellar to destroy the home nuclear reactor.
1. Great Ustyug
And, finally, another almost surreal (as applied to Russia) coat of arms. And it belongs to the city of Veliky Ustyug. For some reason, it depicts either Neptune or Aquarius topless, in a laurel wreath and a white towel, which knocked over two red jugs of water.
According to the official explanation, all this means the confluence of the Yuga and Sukhona rivers and the formation of the Northern Dvina.
But, since Veliky Ustyug is also the official “homeland” of the Russian Father Frost, this picture takes on another meaning: according to local “herbal interpreters”, the most appropriate name for it is “Father Frost on vacation”. And what? Looks like!