State emblem from Ivan III to the first Romanovs. What is depicted on the coat of arms of the Russian Federation: description and meaning of the symbolism of the coat of arms of the Russian Federation

The invention and use of all kinds of signs and symbols is characteristic of man. The custom of choosing a special distinctive sign for oneself or for one’s clan and tribe has very deep roots and is widespread throughout the world. It comes from the tribal system and a special worldview characteristic of all peoples in the primitive period of their history.

Ancestral signs and symbols are called totems; they are the closest relatives of coats of arms. The term "totem" comes from North America, and in the Ojibwe Indian language the word "ototem" means the concept of "its kind." The custom of totemism consists in the election by a clan or tribe of any animal or plant as the progenitor and patron from whom all members of the tribe trace their origin. This custom existed among ancient peoples, but is also accepted today among tribes leading a primitive lifestyle. The ancient Slavs also had totems - sacred animals, trees, plants - from the names of which some modern Russian surnames are supposed to originate. Among the Asian peoples of Turkic and Mongolian origin, there is a similar custom of “tamga”. Tamga is a sign of tribal affiliation, an image of an animal, bird or weapon, adopted by each tribe as a symbol, which is depicted on banners, emblems, burned on the skin of animals, and even applied to the body. The Kyrgyz have a legend that tamgas were assigned to individual clans by Genghis Khan himself, along with “urans” - battle cries (which were also used by European knights, which is why they later appeared on coats of arms in the form of mottos).

Prototypes of coats of arms - various symbolic images placed on military armor, banners, rings and personal belongings - were used in ancient times. In the works of Homer, Virgil, Pliny and other ancient authors there is evidence of the use of such signs. Both legendary heroes and real historical figures, such as kings and generals, often had personal emblems. Thus, the helmet of Alexander the Great was decorated with a sea horse (hippocampus), the helmet of Achilles with an eagle, the helmet of the King of Numibia Masinissa with a dog, the helmet of the Roman Emperor Caracalla with an eagle. The shields were also decorated with various emblems, for example, the image of the severed head of Medusa the Gorgon. But these signs were used as decoration, were arbitrarily changed by owners, were not inherited and were not subject to any rules. Only a few emblems of islands and cities of the ancient world were used constantly - on coins, medals and seals. The emblem of Athens was an owl, Corinth - Pegasus, Samos - a peacock, the island of Rhodes - a rose. In this one can already see the beginnings of state heraldry. Most ancient civilizations had some elements of heraldry in their culture, for example, a system of seals or stamps, which would later be inextricably linked with heraldry. In Assyria, the Babylonian Empire and ancient Egypt, seals were used in the same way as in medieval Europe - to authenticate documents. These signs were squeezed into clay, carved into stone and imprinted on papyrus. Already in the third millennium BC, there was a “coat of arms” of the Sumerian states - an eagle with a lion’s head. The emblem of Egypt was a snake, Armenia - a crowned lion, Persia - an eagle. Subsequently, the eagle will become the coat of arms of Rome. The “coat of arms” of Byzantium was actually a double-headed eagle, which was later borrowed by some European states, including Russia.

The ancient Germans painted their shields in different colors. Roman legionnaires had emblems on their shields, which could be used to determine their belonging to a particular cohort. Roman banners were decorated with special images - vexilla (hence the name of the science of flags - vexillology). To distinguish legions and cohorts, the troops also used badges - signa - in the form of various animals - an eagle, a boar, a lion, a minotaur, a horse, a she-wolf and others, which were worn in front of the army on long shafts. Military units were sometimes named after these figures, often relating to the history of the city of Rome.

So, various systems of insignia and emblems have always existed everywhere, but heraldry itself, as a special form of symbolism, arose in the process of the development of the feudal system in Western Europe.

The bright and colorful art of heraldry developed during the dark times of cultural and economic decline that occurred in Europe with the death of the Roman Empire and the establishment of the Christian religion, when feudalism arose and a system of hereditary aristocracy emerged. Several factors contributed to the emergence of coats of arms. First of all, feudalism and the crusades, but they were born from the destroying and life-giving fire of war. It is believed that the coats of arms appeared in the 10th century, but it is difficult to find out the exact date. The first coats of arms depicted on seals attached to documents date back to the 11th century. The oldest armorial seals are placed on the marriage contract of the year 1000, concluded by Sancho, Infante of Castile, with Wilhelmina, daughter of Gaston II, Viscount of Béarn. It should be borne in mind that in an era of widespread illiteracy, the use of a coat of arms for a signature and to designate property was for many the only way to certify a document with their name. Such an identification mark was understandable even to an illiterate person (it is quite possible that coats of arms appeared first on seals, and only then on weapons and clothing).

Undoubted evidence of the existence of heraldry appears only after the Crusades. The earliest such evidence is a French enamel drawing from the tomb of Geoffroy Plantagenet (died 1151), Count of Anjou and Maine, depicting Geoffrey himself with a coat of arms, where on an azure field there are supposedly four rearing golden lions (the exact number of lions is difficult to determine due to the position , in which the shield is drawn). The Earl was the son-in-law of Henry I, King of England, who reigned from 1100 to 1135, who, according to the chronicle, granted him this coat of arms.

The first English king to have a personal coat of arms was Richard I the Lionheart (1157-1199). His three golden leopards have since been used by all the royal dynasties of England.

"WHO WHO IS SORRY AND POOR HERE WILL BE RICH THERE!"

The Crusades, which lasted from 1096 to 1291, constituted an entire era in European history. The beginning of this two-hundred-year war was provoked by the Turks, who had established themselves in Palestine - fanatical Muslims, who, armed with their irreconcilable religion, began to desecrate the shrines of Christianity and create obstacles for Christians who wanted to make a pilgrimage to Palestine and Jerusalem. But the true reasons lay deeper and lay in the centuries-old confrontation between Europe and Asia, which continues to this day. Asian tribes, united under the banner of Islam, began a grandiose expansion, as a result of which they conquered Syria, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa, Spain, threatened Constantinople and were already approaching the very heart of Europe. In 711, an Arab army of 7,000 men led by Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to the European continent. Thus began the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (the rock on the Spanish coast has since been called Mount Tariq, or in Arabic - Jabal Tariq, which in Spanish pronunciation became Gibraltar). By 715, almost the entire Iberian Peninsula was in Muslim hands. In 721, the Umayyad forces, who ruled a vast caliphate from 661-750, crossed the Pyrenees, captured Spain and began the conquest of southern France. They captured the cities of Narbonne and Carcassone. Thus, new strongholds arose for attacks on Aquitaine and Burgundy. The ruler of the Franks, Charles of the Carolingian family (689-741), defeated the Arabs when they reached the Loire. This happened in 732 at the Battle of Poitiers. The victory earned him the nickname Martel - "hammer" - because he stopped the Muslim advance across Western Europe. But the Arabs held power in Provence for several more decades. The military expansion of the Muslim conquerors contributed to the penetration of Arab art and philosophy into Europe during their brief heyday. Arab culture gave impetus to the development of medicine and natural sciences in Western Europe. In Byzantium, Muslims were crushed by Emperor Leo III the Isaurian. The further spread of Islam was stopped by the beginning of the political disintegration of the Muslim world, until then strong and terrible in its unity. The caliphate was fragmented into parts that were at war with each other. But in the 11th century, the Seljuk Turks began a new offensive towards the West, stopping just under the walls of Constantinople.

By that time, the lands of Western Europe were divided between secular and church feudal lords. The feudal system strengthened, replacing the communal one with its military democracy. The oppression and impoverishment of the people intensified - there were practically no free cultivators left, the peasants were enslaved and subject to tribute. The feudal lords came up with more and more taxes, competing in extortions with the church - the largest feudal owner, whose greed knew no bounds. Life became unbearable, which is why the population of Europe, impatiently awaiting the end of their torment in connection with the end of the world promised by the church and the advent of paradise on Earth, was in a state of religious exaltation, expressed in the desire for all kinds of spiritual achievements and readiness for Christian self-sacrifice. The flow of pilgrims increased. If the Arabs in former times treated them tolerantly, now the Turks began to attack pilgrims and destroy Christian churches. The Roman Catholic Church decided to take advantage of this, hatching plans for world domination, which first of all required subjugating the breakaway eastern - Byzantine - church and increasing its income through the acquisition of new feudal possessions - dioceses. In the latter, the interests of the church and the feudal lords completely coincided, since there were no more free lands and peasants sitting on them, and according to the rule of “majority,” the land was inherited from the father only to the eldest son. So the call of Pope Urban II to protect the Holy Sepulcher fell on fertile ground: the painful socio-economic conditions in Europe led to the emergence of many desperate people who had nothing to lose and who were ready to go on a risky journey to the ends of the world in search of adventure, wealth and the glory of the “soldiers of Christ.” In addition to the large feudal lords driven by aggressive motives, the idea of ​​going to the East was accepted by numerous small feudal knights (younger members of feudal families who could not count on receiving an inheritance), as well as merchants of many trading cities, hoping to destroy their main competitor in trade with the rich East - Byzantium . But the greatest enthusiasm was, of course, experienced by ordinary people, driven to despair by poverty and deprivation. Huge masses of people were inspired by the speech of Pope Urban in Clermont on November 24, 1095 and vowed to go to war against the infidels for the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher and the Holy Land. They sewed crosses cut from fabric (often taken from the attire of the priests themselves, who called on the masses to heroism) onto their clothes, which is why they received the name “crusaders.” To the shouts of “God wants it this way!” many set off straight from the Clermont Plain, following the pope’s propaganda call: “The land that you inhabit has become crowded with your large numbers. Hence it happens that you bite each other and fight with each other... Now your hatred, enmity will fall silent and civil strife will fall asleep. Take the path to the holy tomb, wrest that land from the wicked people and subjugate it to yourself. ...Whoever is sad and poor here will become rich there!"

The first crusade took place in 1096, but coats of arms could well have appeared a little earlier. The problem is that the first documentary evidence of coats of arms appeared at least two hundred years after their origin. Perhaps the close connection of the Crusades with the birth of heraldry is explained by the fact that it was during this period that the use of coats of arms became widespread. This required the creation of an ordered system of symbolic images as a means of communication, since the coat of arms served as an identification mark that carried some information about the owner and was clearly visible from a distance.

Since the 12th century, armor has become more and more complex, the helmet covers the entire face of the knight, and he himself dresses in armor entirely, from head to toe. In addition, with some differences, all the armor was of the same type, so it became impossible to identify the knight not only from afar, but also up close. This situation gave impetus to the massive use of the coat of arms as an identification mark. In addition to the coat of arms depicted on the shield, additional coat of arms gradually appeared, which were designed to help knights recognize each other from a distance and in the heat of battle: the pommel (kleinod) - a decoration made of animal horns and bird feathers fixed on the top of the helmet (this element received development during knightly tournaments), as well as heraldic pennants and standards. The combination of two types of generic signs - a shield and a pommel - later formed the material basis of the coat of arms.

But let's return to the Crusades. Much in heraldry indicates that it developed during the conquest of the East by the Crusaders. These are the signs. The term enamel, which denotes heraldic colors, is of Eastern origin. The word comes from the Persian "mina", meaning the blue color of the sky (the first enamels were blue). The unique technique of enamel painting came to Europe from Persia, Arabia and Byzantium. It was in this way - by applying enamel - that steel armor, shields and special coat of arms were painted, which heralds exhibited at tournaments. The blue color or azure - "azur" - was brought to Europe from the East - its very modern name ultramarine (overseas blue) reminds of this. The heraldic name "azur" comes from the Persian "azurk" - blue. This is also where the name lapis lazuli (lapis lazuli), a stone found mainly in Afghanistan, comes from, from which this paint is obtained. The name of the red color - "guelz" (gueulez) - comes from the purple-dyed furs with which the crusaders trimmed their marching clothes around the neck and sleeves (in the section "Rules of Heraldry" it will be discussed that heraldic figures were often made from pieces of fur stuffed on the shield). The name comes from the word "gul" - red, which in Persian means the color of a rose. The origin of the green color "vert", also called "sinople", probably comes from dyes produced in the East. The color orange, more commonly found in English heraldry, is called "tenne" - from the Arabic "henne". This was the name of the vegetable yellow-red dye, known to us as henna. Asian and Arab chiefs have an ancient custom of dyeing the mane, tail and belly of their war horses, and the right hand holding a weapon with henna. In general, Easterners dye their hair and nails with henna. Of eastern origin, it is called a shield with a special semicircular cutout on one or both edges into which a spear is inserted. This shield is called "tarch" - just like its Arabic prototype.

Two important details of the heraldic design owe their origin to the Crusades - the mantle and the burlet. During the First Crusade, dozens of knights died daily from the heat as their steel armor became hot in the sun. The Crusaders had to borrow from the Arabs a method used by the desert inhabitants to this day: in order to escape from the hot sun and prevent the helmet from heating up, Arab and Persian warriors used a piece of cloth thrown over the head and shoulders and secured on the head with a hoop made of woven camel hair intertwined with silk. threads. The so-called kufiyya is still an integral part of the Arab costume. From it comes the mantle or lambrequin ("lambrequin", from the Latin "lambellum" - a scrap or piece of matter), as well as burlet (from the French "burrelet" - wreath). The mantle is an obligatory part of the coat of arms, and is depicted in the form of a cape with fluttering ends, attached to the helmet with a burlet or crown. The mantle can be either whole, with an ornamentally carved edge (especially in early coats of arms) or excised, with long, intricately intertwined flaps (probably, the mantle cut by saber blows indicated the courage of the owner of the coat of arms - a participant in the hottest battles).

During the Crusades, European feudal lords, who were well known to everyone in their homeland, joined a huge international army and, against the general background, lost their usually pronounced external individuality, which is why they felt the need to somehow distinguish themselves from the mass of the same knights , demonstrate their national, tribal and military affiliation. The conquests of the Crusaders were always accompanied by terrible robbery and robbery, so a rule was established according to which the knight who was the first to break into any house of the captured city was declared the owner of everything that was in it. The knights had to somehow mark the loot in order to protect it from the encroachments of their comrades. With the advent of coats of arms, this problem was solved by nailing a shield with the coat of arms of its new owner to the door of the house. This need was felt not only by individual crusaders, but also by major military leaders: the inhabitants of the houses and neighborhoods taken by their detachments hung the banners of these troops so as not to be robbed by other feudal lords. It should be noted here that conflicts over the division of booty, skirmishes and disputes over the honor of taking a particular city arose constantly among the crusaders. You can also add that all the crusades were very poorly organized. There was complete confusion in the preparation of military operations, and during the battles there was a general chaos. The secular and ecclesiastical feudal lords brought all their discord, greed, deceit and cruelty, from which Europe groaned, with them to the East. Later, this (like the traditionally treacherous policy of Byzantium) will lead to the collapse of the crusading movement and the expulsion of Europeans from the occupied territories, but for now there is a need to somehow streamline the situation. An example was before our eyes: Arab warriors used shield emblems, usually consisting of inscriptions or drawings of flowers and fruits. This custom, like many others, was borrowed by the crusaders and became one of the foundation stones of the emerging heraldry.

The consequence of the Crusades was the extinction of many noble families of Europe, all of whose male representatives died during the campaigns. Noble families, whose roots went back to the era of the conquest of Rome by barbarian tribes, simply disappeared. As a result, European monarchs for the first time were forced to grant grants to the nobility, creating a new aristocracy. Coats of arms played a crucial role in this, since often the only basis for claiming nobility and documentary evidence of noble origin was the coat of arms brought from the Holy Land.

So, the accumulation in one place of many feudal lords from different countries (an unusual situation for Europe), the international character of the crusader army, the need to recognize each other and (in conditions of illiteracy and language barriers) to assert their own name, as well as the features of weapons, the method of waging war and the borrowing of many inventions of eastern civilization - all this became the reason for the emergence and design of heraldry.

The coat of arms owes no less to knightly tournaments than to the crusades. Tournaments appeared before the Crusades. In any case, there is a mention of military games that took place in 842 in Strasbourg during negotiations between Charles the Bald and Louis the German. Probably, tournaments took shape in France in the middle of the 12th century and then spread to England and Germany. In some chronicles, the French Baron G. de Prelli is called the inventor of tournaments, but most likely he only developed the first rules for tournaments.

Tournaments have long become an integral part of Western European life. Only knights with an impeccable reputation were allowed to participate in them. Violation of the chivalric code threatened terrible shame. Around 1292, new, safer rules for tournaments were introduced - "Statutum Armorum". You could only use blunt weapons. Each knight was allowed to have only three squires. In duels, special spears were now used that easily broke upon impact. It was forbidden to fight out of turn, to wound the enemy’s horse, to strike other than in the face or chest, to continue the fight after the enemy raised his visor, to act as a group against one. Violators were deprived of weapons, horses and imprisoned for up to three years. Special tournament armor appeared, so massive that the knight and his horse could hardly bear their weight. The horses themselves also wore armor from the 13th century. Just like the shields of knights, horse blankets had heraldic coloring. Two more important details should be mentioned. The knight should have been clearly visible from above, from the stands, especially during a general battle. That is why the already mentioned pommels appeared (or at least spread widely) - figures mounted on the top of the helmet, made of light wood, leather and even papier-mâché (later - from more expensive materials). The famous 14th-century German knight-errant Ulrich von Lichtenstein, who took part in several tournaments dressed as the legendary King Arthur, introduced the fashion for complex pommels: he wore a helmet decorated with a figure of Venus holding a torch in one hand and an arrow in the other. The tents or tents in which knights prepared for competitions, stored weapons and rested between battles (the same tents were used by the crusaders on campaigns) will also later be reflected in the art of heraldry - they will turn into a heraldic mantle and a “canopy” tent.

From wild, bloody carnage, tournaments evolved into colorful theatrical performances, where formalities became increasingly important, and the actual fight became less important and more conventional. For example, in the "Tournament of Peace", held in Windsor Park in England in 1278, swords made of whalebone covered with parchment and silvered, helmets made of boiled leather and shields of light wood were used. For certain achievements in the competition, the knight received points (for example, bonus points were awarded for knocking down a pommel). The winner was determined by crowned heads, senior knights or specially appointed judges (often heralds); sometimes the question of the winner was decided by the ladies in whose honor the knights fought. Tournaments were traditionally imbued with an emphatically reverent attitude towards women, which formed almost the basis of the knightly code. The winner of the tournament received the reward from the hands of the lady. The knights performed decorated with some badge received from their ladies. Sometimes ladies brought their knights tied with a chain - the chain was considered a symbol of special honor and was given only to a select few. In each competition, the last blow was struck in honor of the lady, and here the knights especially tried to distinguish themselves. After the tournament, the ladies led the winner to the palace, where he was disarmed and a feast was held in his honor, where the hero occupied the most honorable place. The names of the winners were included in special lists, and their exploits were passed down to descendants in minstrel songs. Victory in the tournament also brought material benefits: sometimes the victor took away the enemy’s horse and weapons, took him prisoner and demanded a ransom. For many poor knights, this was the only way to earn a living.

From Friday to Sunday, when tournaments were permitted by the church, there were fights every day, and in the evenings there were dances and celebrations. There were several types of competitions: horse riding, when a knight had to knock the enemy out of the saddle with a blow of a spear; sword fight; throwing spears and arrows; siege of wooden castles built specifically for tournaments. Another way to show courage, besides the tournament, was to "defend the passes." A group of knights announced that in honor of their ladies they would defend a place from everyone. So, in 1434, at Orbigo, in Spain, ten knights defended the bridge from sixty-eight rivals for a month, having fought more than seven hundred duels. In the 16th century, foot fights with short spears, maces and axes became popular. In Europe, only persons of noble birth were allowed to participate in tournaments. In Germany, the requirements were more liberal: sometimes, in order to obtain permission, it was enough to refer to an ancestor who took part in a knightly tournament. We can say that the main pass to the tournament was the coat of arms, proving the high origin of the owner and his position in the family hierarchy. For experts, such as heralds, the presented coat of arms contained all the necessary information. That is why the most important part of tournament etiquette were coats of arms, of which there were so many that it was time to restore order in this area.

The heralds systematized the knowledge about coats of arms, developed general principles and rules for their compilation and recognition, and ultimately created the science of “arms of arms” or “heraldry”
There are two options for the origin of the terms “heraldry” and “herald”: from the late Latin heraldica (from heraldus - herald), or from the German Herald - spoiled Heeralt - veteran, as people were called in Germany in the Middle Ages who had a reputation for valiant and brave warriors who were invited as guests of honor and judges at various celebrations, and, in particular, at tournaments. These veterans had to preserve the customs of chivalry, develop the rules of tournaments, and also monitor their compliance.
The predecessors of heralds were representatives of several related professions, whose duties were combined and clarified, which led to the emergence of heralds in the classical sense of the word - heralds, courtiers and traveling minstrels, as well as the veterans mentioned above.
Heralds or parliamentarians were used in ancient armies, as they are still used today - for negotiations with the enemy, for announcing decrees and various kinds of announcements.

Minstrels (French menestrel, from the medieval Latin ministerialis) are medieval singers and poets. In any case, this term acquired this meaning in France and England at the end of the Middle Ages. Initially, in all feudal states, ministerials were people who were in the service of the lord and performed some special duty (ministerium) under him. Among them were poets-singers, who, unlike their traveling brothers in the craft, were constantly at court or at a high-ranking official. In France in the 12th century, minstrels sometimes referred to the king's servants in general, and sometimes to his court poets and singers. The function of court minstrels was to sing and glorify the exploits of their feudal lords. And from here it’s not far to the function of managers of court ceremonies and, in particular, knightly tournaments. It is likely that the traveling minstrels, whose art was in demand at the courts of European feudal lords, gained experience in recognizing the coats of arms that constantly surrounded them. The oldest known poet-herald was Conrad of Würzburg, who lived in the 13th century. The functions of veterans, who by the nature of their activities were directly related to coats of arms, have already been mentioned.

It is possible that representatives of all three professions were called at a certain historical moment by one common term - heralds. One way or another, the spread of knightly tournaments contributed to the emergence of special officials who were supposed to announce the opening of the tournament, develop and observe the ceremony of its holding, as well as announce all fights and the names of their participants. This required special knowledge - the herald had to be well aware of the genealogy of the noble families whose representatives took part in the battles, and be able to recognize the coats of arms of the knights who gathered for the tournament. Thus, the profession of heralds gradually acquires a purely heraldic character, and heraldry itself is born at tournaments.

The French name for heraldry - "blason" - comes from the German "blasen" - "to blow a horn" and is explained by the fact that when a knight rode up to the barrier enclosing the tournament site, he would blow a horn to announce his arrival. Then the herald came out and, at the request of the tournament judges, described aloud the knight’s coat of arms as proof of his right to take part in the tournament. From the word “blasen” comes the French “blasonner”, the German “blasoniren”, the English “blazon”, the Spanish “blasonar” and the Russian word “blazonirovat” - that is, to describe a coat of arms. Heralds created a special jargon to describe coats of arms (and is still used today by heraldry specialists), based on Old French and medieval Latin, since chivalry itself, as well as much associated with it - the chivalric code, weapon developments, tournaments and, finally, heraldry - originates from France, or rather from the empire of Charlemagne (747-814), inhabited by Franco-Germanic tribes. Much of the heraldic terminology is denoted by quasi-French, obsolete words. During the Middle Ages, French was used by the ruling classes in most of Western Europe, so the rules of heraldry had to be drawn up in this language. However, some heraldic terms are so ornate that they seem deliberately designed to puzzle the uninitiated. The special terms developed by the heralds will be discussed below.

It is assumed that the Russian word "coat of arms" is borrowed from the Polish "herb" and is found in many Slavic and Germanic dialects (herb, erb, irb) meaning heir or inheritance. The Slavic name of this identification mark directly indicates its hereditary nature. The English term "coat of arms", denoting a coat of arms, comes from the name of a special piece of clothing "surcoat" - a linen or silk cape that protects a knight's armor from the sun and rain (the word "knight" comes from the German "ritter" - horseman).

So, coats of arms are becoming increasingly important in Western European countries. In England, since the 12th century, heralds have been held in high esteem at the court of kings. Edward III (1312-1377) established a heraldic college that functions to this day (this institution - "The College of Arms" - is located in London on Queen Victoria Street). In France, Louis VII (1120-1180) established the duties of heralds and ordered all royal regalia to be decorated with fleurs-de-lis. Under the French king Philip II Augustus (1165-1223), heralds began to be dressed in knightly dress with the coat of arms of the owner and were assigned certain duties at tournaments. The duties of heralds were precisely formulated by the middle of the 14th century. The title of herald becomes honorary; it is elevated to it only after some battle, tournament or ceremony. To do this, the sovereign poured a cup of wine (sometimes water) on the head of the dedicatee and gave him the name of the city or fortress associated with the dedication ceremony, which the herald kept until he received the next highest degree - the title of king of arms (French "roi d" armes", German. "Wappenkoenig"). The duties of the herald were divided into three main groups: 1) they were entrusted with declaring war, concluding peace, offering to surrender the fortress, etc., as well as counting the killed and wounded during a battle or tournament and assessing the valor of the knights; 2) they were required to attend all solemn ceremonies - the coronation or burial of the sovereign, the elevation to knighthood, ceremonial receptions, etc. 3) they were assigned purely heraldic duties - drawing up coats of arms and genealogies.
The work of heralds was paid very well; there was a tradition not to let the sent herald go without a gift, so as not to show disrespect to the sovereign who sent him.

Each state was divided into several heraldic marks, which were under the supervision of one “king of arms” and several heralds. For example, France in 1396 was divided into eighteen such marks. In Germany in the 14th century, individual provinces also had their own heralds.
True, since the 18th century, heralds have lost their medieval meaning, but they do not disappear without a trace, and are still used at ceremonies - coronations, weddings, etc.

Centuries after the appearance of coats of arms, the first scientific works on heraldry and armorials themselves begin to appear, the earliest of which, apparently, is the "Zuricher Wappenrolle", compiled in Zurich in 1320.

In France, Jacob Bretex at the end of the 13th century describes tournaments and the coats of arms of their participants. But the earliest work outlining the rules of heraldry is considered to be a monograph by the Italian lawyer Bartolo, whose “Tractatus de insigniis et armis” was published in 1356.
Berry, the chief herald of France at the court of Charles VII (1403-1461), on the instructions of the king, traveled throughout the country, visiting castles, abbeys and cemeteries, studying images of coats of arms and compiling genealogies of ancient noble families. Based on his research, he compiled the work “Le registre de noblesse”. After him, French heralds began to keep regular genealogical records. A similar task was received from the kings in the period from Henry VIII (1491-1547) to James II (1566-1625) by English heralds who carried out so-called “heraldic visits” - inspection trips around the country for the purpose of censusing noble families, registering coats of arms and checking their eligibility . It turned out that most of the ancient coats of arms that appeared before 1500 were appropriated by the owners without permission, and not granted by the king. It was not difficult to invent a simple coat of arms. The situation in which three unrelated nobles had identical coats of arms was not uncommon, but only proved that these coats of arms were adopted by them arbitrarily. When a dispute arose on this basis between the owners of identical coats of arms, everyone appealed to the king as the last resort. It is noteworthy that when the dispute was resolved, the nobleman, forced as a result to abandon his coat of arms, consoled himself by inventing a new one for himself.
The materials collected during the "heraldic visits" formed the basis of English genealogy and heraldry.

CITY EMBRACES

The basis of city and state emblems are the seals of feudal lords, which certified the authenticity of documents sent by them from their possessions. The family coat of arms of the feudal lord was thus transferred first to the seal of the castle, and then to the seal of the lands belonging to him. With the emergence of new cities and the formation of new states, the requirements of the time and legal norms led to the creation of coats of arms, either completely new, not borrowed from the family coats of arms of the nobility, but bearing symbolic images indicating local attractions, historical events, the economic profile of the city, or mixed. An example is the coat of arms of Paris, in which a ship and an azure field with golden lilies coexist. The ship symbolizes, on the one hand, the Isle de la Cité on the Seine River, located in the very center of the city, which has the shape of a ship, and on the other, trade and trading companies, the main component of the city economy. An azure field with golden lilies is an old emblem of the Capetian dynasty, under whose patronage Paris was.

From the end of the 13th and during the 14th centuries, heraldry penetrated into all areas of public life, and heraldic terminology became commonly used in cultural strata of society. Heraldry is becoming fashionable in literature, art, and everyday life. Coats of arms appear everywhere, from knights' armor to the collars of their favorite dogs. The knights who returned from the Crusades began, imitating the luxurious clothes of the eastern rulers, to wear special coats of arms, matching the colors of their coats of arms and decorated with embroidered armorial figures and mottos. Servants and squires receive clothes with the coat of arms of their masters, ordinary nobles put on a dress with the coats of arms of their lords, noble ladies begin to wear dresses with images of two coats of arms: on the right is the husband’s coat of arms, on the left is their own. Under the French king Charles V the Wise (1338-1380), clothes painted half in one color and half in another came into fashion. From the nobles and their squires, this fashion passed on to representatives of the urban classes. Thus, heraldry becomes an important component of the culture of Western Europe.

Along with individual heraldry, other areas of heraldry also developed in the Middle Ages - urban and corporate, including church. Urban artisans and merchants created guilds, registered as “legal entities” and provided with coats of arms accordingly. It was customary for guild members to wear clothing in the heraldic colors of their association - special liveries. For example, members of the London Butcher Company wore blue and white liveries, bakers wore olive green and chestnut colors, and wax candle merchants wore blue and white liveries. The London Furriers' Company were allowed to use ermine in their coat of arms, although according to medieval norms this heraldic color could only be used by royal and noble families as a sign of their exclusivity and superiority. Mainly tools of labor were placed on corporate coats of arms.

Similar coats of arms, called vowels - "armes parlantes", in which the name of the craft was conveyed by heraldic symbols, are received by many guilds and guilds. Here, for example, is what the coats of arms of the workshops of Ghent, one of the largest craft centers of the Middle Ages, looked like: coopers depicted a working tool and a tub on the shield of their coat of arms, butchers - a bull, fruit merchants - a fruit tree, barbers - a razor and scissors, shoemakers - a boot, fishmongers - fish, shipbuilders - a ship under construction. The workshop of goldsmiths in Paris received from King Philip VI (1293-1350) a coat of arms depicting royal gold lilies, connected to a gold cross and the emblems of their craft - gold sacred vessels and crowns, with the motto "In sacra inque coronas". Pharmacists depict scales and a lancet on their coats of arms, nailers - a hammer and nails, wheelwrights - wheels, manufacturers of playing cards - symbols of card suits. In addition, corporate coats of arms contained images of the patron saints of the respective crafts. The French king Louis XIII, wanting to raise the importance of the merchants, granted coats of arms to the six merchant guilds of Paris, in which the ship from the Parisian city coat of arms was adjacent to the symbols of the corresponding crafts and mottos.

Rich townspeople wishing to imitate the aristocracy used family insignia like coats of arms, although they were not official. But the French government, in need of money, decided to turn the spreading fashion to its advantage and allowed everyone to acquire coats of arms, but for a fee. Moreover, greedy officials even obliged townspeople to acquire coats of arms. As a result of the introduction of a tax on the right to have a personal coat of arms in 1696, the treasury began to receive significant income, since a huge number of coats of arms were registered. But as a result, the value of coats of arms in France fell greatly - the incredibly proliferating coats of arms became worthless.

Educational institutions have also used coats of arms for centuries. Universities often received the coats of arms of their founders, such as Christ's College, Cambridge, founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort. Eton College received a coat of arms in 1449 from its founder, King Henry VI (1421-1471), a pious hermit whose failure to rule was one of the causes of the Wars of the Roses. The three white lilies on this coat of arms symbolize the Virgin Mary, in whose honor the college was founded. Many private and commercial firms today strive to obtain a coat of arms, since the presence of such a coat of arms gives the company solidity and reliability. For example, the famous English trading company Herrods received a coat of arms relatively recently.

From the first days of its existence, the church laid claim to the highest and absolute power in this world, and therefore appropriated to itself all the attributes of secular power, including coats of arms. The coat of arms of the papacy in the 14th century became the crossed gold and silver keys of the Apostle Peter - “permissive” and “knitting”, tied with a gold cord, on a scarlet shield under the papal tiara. These symbols have received various interpretations, which we will not dwell on here. Let’s just say that the coat of arms indicates the rights received by Peter to “decide” and “knit” all the affairs of the church and that these rights were inherited from him by his successors - the popes. This coat of arms is today the official coat of arms of the Vatican, but each pope receives his own coat of arms, in which the keys and tiara frame the shield. For example, the current Pope John Paul II has a coat of arms that he received while still Archbishop of Krakow from the hands of a heraldry specialist, Archbishop Bruno Heim. The cross and the letter "M" on the coat of arms symbolize Christ and the Virgin Mary. It should be said that placing any inscriptions other than mottos in the coat of arms is considered bad form, but the author of the coat of arms justifies himself by referring to the traditions of Polish heraldry (which will be discussed later), where runic writing was originally used. Indeed, the letter “M” resembles a rune of a similar design.

The flag of the Vatican shows the small coat of arms of the city-state, which lacks the scarlet shield, but this color is transferred to the cord that binds the keys. Obviously, the colors of the keys chosen for the flag are gold and silver.

The Church, which was the largest feudal lord of the Middle Ages, early began to use coats of arms for practical purposes - to identify and demonstrate the territorial affiliation of church organizations. Coats of arms have been found on the seals of abbeys and bishops since the 12th century. The most common symbols of church heraldry are the keys of St. Peter's, St.'s eagle John and other signs symbolizing various saints, details of church life, and a wide variety of crosses. In Great Britain, there are certain rules for the coats of arms of church leaders, showing their status in the church hierarchy. For example, the coats of arms of archbishops and bishops are decorated with miters (the coat of arms of the Pope is crowned with a tiara), and on the coats of arms of lower-ranking priests, in accordance with their status, special hats of different colors are placed, equipped with multi-colored cords and tassels. A dean, for example, might have a black hat with two purple single cords with three red tassels on each. Priests of the Roman Catholic Church are not under the jurisdiction of official heraldic bodies, but the coats of arms they use have been regulated by special decree since 1967. For example, the coat of arms of a Catholic archbishop may contain a green hat with two green single cords, each equipped with ten green tassels.

All state emblems of European countries were based on the family coats of arms of the ruling dynasties. Many modern European state emblems in one form or another feature lions and eagles - traditional symbols of power and statehood.

On the coat of arms of Denmark - three azure leopards on a golden field decorated with scarlet hearts - this is how the coat of arms of King Canute VI Valdemarsson looked like around 1190. Along with the English one, this coat of arms can be considered the oldest European state emblem. In the great royal coat of arms of Sweden, lions support the shield and are also present in the second and third quarters of the shield. Around 1200, the ruler of Norway got his own coat of arms, which depicts a golden crowned lion of St. on a scarlet field. Olaf, clutching a battle ax in his front paws. The lion of the Finnish coat of arms gradually took shape by the 16th century. The coats of arms of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg also feature a lion - the old emblem of the Dukes of Burgundy. The coat of arms of the Netherlands features a golden lion with a silver sword and a bunch of arrows in its paws. This is the federal emblem of the Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, which gained independence in 1609. The Republican coat of arms was generally preserved after the creation of the kingdom in 1815. The coat of arms took its modern form in 1917, when, on the initiative of Prince Consort Heinrich of Mecklenburg (1876-1934), the royal crown on the lion’s head was replaced with a regular one, a mantle with a canopy and shield-holder lions appeared. By decision of the Congress of Vienna, which established a new European order after the collapse of the Napoleonic empire, the Netherlands gained independence. The son of the last stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, William VI of Orange, became King of the Netherlands under the name of William I. But the southern provinces of the Netherlands decided to defend their own independence. In 1830, an uprising occurred in Brabant, and since then the Brabant golden lion in a black field began to be perceived as a symbol of the independence of the union of the southern provinces. In 1831, the Kingdom of Belgium was proclaimed, the coat of arms of which became the coat of arms of Brabant. The coat of arms of Luxembourg was approved by King William I of the Netherlands in 1815, as he was also the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The lion can be seen on other state emblems. In international state heraldry, the lion is adjacent to another symbol of supreme power - the eagle. It can be seen on the coats of arms of Austria, Albania, Bolivia, Germany, Indonesia, Iraq, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Poland, Syria, USA, Chile and many other countries. Unfortunately, the space of this article does not allow us to pay attention to each of them, so here we will look at only a few examples.

The Austrian three-stripe (red-white-red) shield was the coat of arms of the Dukes of Babenberg, who ruled this country until 1246. His image appeared on the seals of the dukes in the 20s and 30s of the 13th century. Earlier, in the second half of the 12th century, the image of a black eagle, a very common heraldic emblem, first appeared on the seal of the first Austrian Duke Henry II of Babenberg. The Austrian knights, led by Duke Leopold V, set out on the third crusade under the black eagle flag. Soon, in 1282, Austria came under the rule of the new Habsburg dynasty, whose family coat of arms was a red lion in a golden field. From 1438 to 1806, the Habsburgs occupied the throne of the Holy Roman Empire almost continuously, whose emblem was traditionally the double-headed eagle. It became the coat of arms of Austria, and later the Austrian Empire (1804) and the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1868). The same eagle can be seen on the shield of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

Plants can be seen at the base of the UK coat of arms. These are the unspoken (silent) mottos or symbols of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. In different versions of the coat of arms, they can be depicted either separately or combined into one fantastic plant, a kind of hybrid consisting of a Tudor rose, a Caledonian thistle of Scotland, an Irish clover shamrock and a Welsh onion.

The Tudor rose was formed from the scarlet rose of Lancaster and the white rose of York, who fought among themselves for the English throne. After the Wars of the Roses, which lasted from 1455 to 1485, the founder of the new dynasty, Henry VII (1457-1509), united the emblems of the warring houses into one. The shamrock joined the rose-thistle hybrid in 1801 to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

The rose, thistle, shamrock and bow illustrate another area of ​​heraldry. Various badges attached to clothing, which could symbolize a specific person, country or some concept, appeared even before coats of arms, in antiquity, and gained great popularity in the Middle Ages. With the development of heraldry, these badges began to acquire a heraldic character. The badge usually represented one main emblem of the family coat of arms, many of which were very complex and consisted of many details. These badges were intended to show that their owners belonged to a person’s circle or to a whole family. During the Wars of the Roses, many soldiers, especially foreign mercenaries, dressed in the heraldic colors of their lord. For example, at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, soldiers in the Earl of Richmond's army wore white and green jackets, soldiers in Sir William Stanley's army wore red, and so on. In addition, they wore the personal badges of their commanders. This was a prototype of a military uniform. In all modern armies, along with elements of heraldry, there are special badges. The owner of the coat of arms could have several badges, and also change them arbitrarily at will.

Apart from Western Europe, only Japan had developed a similar heraldic system called "mon" by the 12th century. In some European languages ​​this is erroneously translated as "coat of arms", although it is not a coat of arms in the European sense of the word. As an example, we can consider the emblem of the imperial family - a 16-petal chrysanthemum. Similar signs were also placed on helmets, shields and armor breastplates, but unlike coats of arms, they were never depicted so large that they could be recognized from a distance. If such identification was required, "mon" was depicted on flags. Just like the European coat of arms, “mon” is used in art - for the design of clothing, furniture, and interior design. Just like in European royal families, the younger members of the Japanese imperial family had an image of a chrysanthemum modified according to certain rules. Just like in Europe, in Japan it was necessary to legally formalize "mon". Both hereditary heraldic systems arose independently of each other, but their similarity is not surprising, since feudal societies developed according to the same pattern. Like European, Japanese heraldry survived the era of chivalry and is widely used in our time.

SOME CONSIDERATIONS

In Europe, as well as in the USA and other former colonies, heraldry continues to live, despite the fact that feudalism is a thing of the past, and the coats of arms themselves play a purely decorative role. But in these countries, heraldry, which has a long history, has become a good tradition and has been democratized to a large extent. Many people who have long had no connection with the nobility, having discovered the owner of a coat of arms among their ancestors, rush to decorate their home with a coat of arms with a certificate in a beautiful frame. As a result, new coats of arms are constantly appearing. In many countries there are official heraldic societies involved in the development and approval of coats of arms and genealogical research. The large number and solid status of these organizations testifies to the real need of society for heraldry, which today is not a mossy fragment of history, but a part of modern culture. It is obvious that as long as there are people interested in the past of their kind, there will also remain an interest in coats of arms - witnesses of cruel wars, heroic crusades and luxurious knightly tournaments (to be convinced of this, just read the small and, of course, incomplete list of national and international heraldic organizations, which you don’t even have to read, but just skim).

Unfortunately, the present and future of heraldry is not so optimistic in Russia, where the very basis for its existence is practically absent. In addition, the old Russian heraldry is not very rich in material: it includes several thousand noble and several hundred provincial and city coats of arms, most of which appeared at approximately the same time and in one place - in the corresponding administrative institution, that is, in the Senate department of heraldry. The “General Arms of Arms of the Noble Families of the All-Russian Empire,” which amounted to 20 volumes by 1917, contained only about 6 thousand coats of arms with a total number of noble families of about 50 thousand. Of course, this is a drop in the bucket compared to the resources of European heraldry. Although various kinds of emblems were used by the Slavs in ancient times, real coats of arms appeared in Russia five hundred years later than in Europe, and not out of practical necessity, but as a beautiful toy from the West. Therefore, without having time to take root, Russian heraldry was carried away by the whirlwinds of history.

In the process of creating website materials, the question sometimes arose - how detailed should they be? What to talk about in general terms, and what to consider in detail? The degree of detail was determined by common sense, since the purpose of the site is to give the reader only a general idea of ​​​​heraldry, which is to some extent reflected in its name. "An Excursion into Heraldry", of course, cannot claim to be a complete coverage of this vast area, since only the basic principles are presented here, illustrated by some examples. Nevertheless, the authors believe that these materials may be of interest to those who have just begun to be interested in heraldry and feel the need for basic information on this topic.
The efforts of modern heraldry as an auxiliary scientific discipline are aimed at studying coats of arms, namely at identifying their owners, clarifying the history of their origin and establishing the time of their creation. For serious historical research, of course, more detailed information and more reliable sources will be required than "An Excursion into Heraldry." But in order to understand what a coat of arms is, what it consists of, what its main elements mean and are called, and, finally, to try to create a coat of arms yourself, guided by the principles outlined and focusing on the examples given, you can successfully use our review. In any case, the authors hope that they have mentioned here all the basic points necessary for the first steps towards the practical study of heraldry.

List of some foreign heraldic organizations:

• AUSTRALIA: The Heraldry Council of Australia; The Heraldry Society (Australian ranch); The Heraldry Society of Australia Heraldry AustraliaInc.
• AUSTRIA: Heraldisch-Genealogische Gesellschaft.
• ENGLAND and WALES: The College of Arms; The Heraldry Society; Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies.
• BELGIUM: Heraldique et Genealogique de Belgique; Musees Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire; L'Office Genealogique et Heraldique de Belgigue.
• HUNGARY: Magyar Heraldikai es Geneologiai Tarsasag.
• GERMANY: Der Herold; Genealogisch-Heraldische Gesellschaft; Wappen Herold; Deutsche Heraldische Gesellschaft.
• DENMARK: Heraldisk Selskab, Koebenhavn; Dansk Genealogisk Institut;Nordisk Flaggskrift.
• IRELAND: The Chief Herald of Ireland's Office; The Heraldry Scoiety of Ireland.
• ITALY: Aradico Collegio; Istituto Italiano di Genealogia ed Araldica.
• CANADA: Canadian Heraldic Authority; Heraldry Society of Canada.
• LUXEMBOURG: Conseil Heraldique de Luxembourg.
• NETHERLANDS: Koninklijk Nederlands Genootschap voor Geslact en Wapenkunde; Central Bureau voor Genealogie.
• NORWAY: Heraldisk Forening Norsk; Norsk Vapenring; Norsk Slekthistorik Forening; Kunstindustrimuseet i Oslo; Middelalderforum; Universitetet i Oslo, Historisk Institutt; Universitetet i Oslo Ethnografisk Museum.
• NEW ZEALAND: The Heraldry Society of New Zealand; The Heraldry Society (New Zealand Branch).
• POLAND: Heraldic Records Archive.
• PORTUGAL: Institutio Portuges de Heraldica.
• SCANDINAVIAN SOCIETY: Societas Heraldica Scandanavica.
• USA: New England Historic Genealogical Society; North American Institute of Heraldic and Flag Studies; American College of Heraldry; The Augustan Society Inc; Genealogical and Heraldic Institute of America; National Genealogical Society.
• FINLAND: Heraldica Scandanavia; Suomen Heraldinen Seura; Finlands National committee for Genealogi och Heraldik; Genealogiska Samfundet i Finland; Heraliske Sallskapet i Finland.
• FRANCE: Federation des Societes de Genealogie, d"Heraldique et de Sigillographie; La Societe Franeise D"Heraldique et de Sigillographie; La Societe du Grand Armorial de France.
• SCOTLAND: Lord Lyon King of Arms, and the Court of Lord Lyon; The Heraldry Society of Scotland; The Scottish Genealogical Society.
• SWITZERLAND: Heraldische Schweizersche Gesellschaft.
• SWEDEN: Swedish state herald: Clara Neveous, Riksarkivet - Heraldiska sektionen; Svenska Heraldiska Foreningen (Heraldry Society of Sweden); Heraldiska Samfundet; Skandinavisk Vapenrulla (SVR); Svenska Nationalkommitten for Genealogi och Heraldik; Voestra Sveriges Heraldiska Saellskap; Riddarhuset; Genealogiska Foereningen Genealogical Society).
• South Africa: The State Herald; Bureau of Heraldry; The Heraldry Society of Southern Africa.
• JAPAN: The Heraldry Society of Japan.
• INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: Academie Internationale d'Heraldique; Confederation Internationale de Genealogie et d'Heraldique; International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Studies; International Fellowship of Armorists (Heraldry International); International Genealogical Institute; Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints.

The Russian coat of arms is not just a drawing. It has a rich history, and each element carries a hidden meaning.

The official symbol of any country is its coat of arms. Any coat of arms, as a rule, has its own long and interesting history. Each symbol of the coat of arms has a strictly defined meaning. The coat of arms may depict the main activity of the country, an important historical event, an animal or bird. In general, anything that is important for the people and the state.

In addition to the coat of arms, any country also has a flag and anthem. This article is devoted to the coat of arms of the Russian Federation. But if you are interested in learning, for example, about the flag of the Russian Federation, we recommend that you contact.

What the State Emblem of the Russian Federation looks like: photo

So, the state emblem of the Russian Federation is an image of a double-headed eagle, on each of the heads there is one small royal crown. A larger crown crowns both heads. The eagle has a scepter in one paw and an orb in the other. These are symbols of power since the times of Tsarist Russia. On the eagle's chest is the coat of arms of the capital of Russia - the city of Moscow. On it, St. George the Victorious kills a snake with a spear.

Now the coat of arms of the Russian Federation looks like this

It is noteworthy that each city in the Russian Federation has its own coat of arms, which is chosen through popular vote!

It is worth saying that the coat of arms of the Russian Federation was not always exactly the same as we know it now. Over the past 100-plus years, several revolutions have occurred in Russia. The government changed, the name of the country changed, and the coat of arms and flag changed accordingly. The modern coat of arms has only existed since 1993. In 2000, the description of the coat of arms changed, but the coat of arms itself remained the same.

The coat of arms of the RSFSR looked like this

The photo below shows how the coat of arms of the RSFSR differed from the coat of arms of the USSR.

The crest of the Russian Empire, approved in 1882, is more reminiscent of a whole composition. On the left is Archangel Michael, on the right is Archangel Gabriel. The small coat of arms inside, crowned with the coats of arms of the principalities, is the progenitor of the modern Russian coat of arms, only in black.

Complete coat of arms of the Russian Empire

Small coat of arms of the Russian Empire

And before Russia became an empire, the Russian state had its own flag. It is very similar to the small coat of arms of the Russian Empire, but not as well detailed.

Depending on the ruler and the general situation in the country, the coat of arms changed. There were at least three versions of the Russian coat of arms before 1882. But in general they all represent a reworking of the same image.

option 2

History of the Russian coat of arms: description for children

The history of the coat of arms of Russia begins in the Middle Ages. In Rus' there was never a coat of arms; instead, images of saints and an Orthodox cross were used.

This is interesting! The image of an eagle on coats of arms was relevant in Ancient Rome, and before it in the ancient Hittite kingdom. The eagle was considered a symbol of the highest power.

So how did the double-headed eagle migrate to the coat of arms of the Russian state? There is an opinion that the symbol came from Byzantium, but there is speculation that perhaps the image of an eagle was borrowed from European states.

Many countries have a coat of arms with an eagle in different variations. An example in the photo below.

This is the coat of arms used in Armenia; similar coats of arms are approved in many countries

The coat of arms was approved only in the 16th century. No one can name the exact date now. The coat of arms changed with each new ruler. Elements were added or removed by the following rulers:

• 1584 1587 - Fyodor Ivanovich “Blessed” (son of Ivan IX the Terrible) - an Orthodox cross appeared between the eagle crowns
• 1613 - 1645 - Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov - image on the chest of an eagle of the Moscow coat of arms, third crown
• 1791 - 1801 - Paul the First - image of the cross and crown of the Order of Malta
• 1801 - 1825 - Alexander the First - abolition of Maltese symbols and the third crown, instead of a scepter and orb - a wreath, torch, lightning
• 1855 - 1857 - Alexander the Second - redrawing of the double-headed eagle (rework), approval of three crowns, an orb, a scepter, in the center - a rider in armor killing a snake.

Without changes, the coat of arms of the Russian Empire was valid until 1917. After the coup, the new government approved a simpler, “proletarian” coat of arms - the hammer and sickle.

This is what the USSR coat of arms looked like on coins

And after the collapse of the USSR and the reorganization of the USSR into the RSFSR, the coat of arms was slightly redesigned (the photo is already in the article). Then the coat of arms was returned, reminiscent of the coat of arms of the Russian Empire, but in a different color scheme. This was in 1993.

What is depicted on the coat of arms of the Russian Federation: description and meaning of the symbolism of each element of the coat of arms of the Russian Federation

Each component of the coat of arms carries a specific meaning:

• heraldic shield (that same red background) is the main element of the coat of arms of any state
• double-headed eagle - a symbol of supreme power and bilateral policy of the Russian state
• crowns - high dignity, state sovereignty, national wealth
• scepter and orb - symbols of power
• a rider on a horse killing a snake - according to one version, this is St. George the Victorious, according to another, Tsar Ivan III. It is difficult to give an exact definition, perhaps this is an appeal to the memory of ancestors, the embodiment of a legend, or simply an image made to order of Ivan III.

How many colors are on the coat of arms of the Russian Federation?

There are several colors on the Russian coat of arms. Each color has a special meaning. For example:

• red is the color of courage, courage, shed blood.
• golden - wealth
• blue - sky, freedom
• white - purity
• black (snake) - symbol of evil

So it turns out that three of the five colors are found both on the coat of arms of Russia and on the flag. For the country, the meaning of these flowers has always been very important, because courage, purity and freedom have always been the driving force in the soul of the Russian person.

Video: Coat of Arms of Russia (documentary)

Coats of arms appeared in Russia a long time ago, but these were only drawings that did not obey heraldic rules. Due to the lack of knighthood in Rus', coats of arms were not very common. At its very beginning (until the 16th century), Russia was a disunited state, so there could be no talk of a state emblem of Russia. However, despite the fact that the 16th century is considered the final date for the unification of Rus', the state emblem in Russia appears already under Ivan III (1462-1505). It is he who is credited with the establishment of the state emblem, as such. At that time, his seal acted as a coat of arms. On its front side there is a picture of a horseman piercing a serpent with a spear, on the back side there is a double-headed eagle.

The origin of the double-headed eagle goes back a long way. The first images of him known to us date back to the 13th century BC. This is a rock carving of a double-headed eagle grabbing two birds with one stone. It served as the coat of arms of the Hittite kings.

Then the double-headed eagle is discovered in the Median kingdom - an ancient power spread over the territory of Western Asia - during the reign of the Median king Cyaxares (625-585 BC). Centuries passed. And now we already see the double-headed eagle on the emblems of Rome. Here he appeared under Constantine the Great. In 326, he chose the double-headed eagle as his emblem. After the founding of the new capital - Constantinople - in 330, the double-headed eagle became the state emblem of the Roman Empire. In Rus', the double-headed eagle appeared after the marriage of John III Vasilyevich and Sophia Paleologus, the niece of the last Byzantine Emperor Constantine XII Paleologus. The history of the relationship between Rus' and Byzantium is very deep and interesting and is a topic for a separate work. However, let us briefly address this issue. The first historical mentions of relations between Russia and Byzantium date back to 957 - the year when Princess Olga traveled to Constantinople and converted to Christianity. But then relations with Byzantium in Rus' deteriorated. So in 969-972 a war broke out between them for Bulgaria, which was conquered by Svyatoslav.

Later, in 988, Vladimir the Holy baptized Rus'.

“The adoption of Christianity from Byzantium by Russia widely opened the door to the influence of Byzantine culture, Byzantine ideas and institutions. This influence had a significant impact in the political sphere. Together with Christianity, a stream of new political concepts and relations began to penetrate into Rus'. The visiting clergy transferred the Byzantine concept of a sovereign appointed by God not only for the external defense of the country, but also for the establishment and maintenance of internal social order...”

However, there is no further historical evidence of relations between Rus' and Byzantium until 1469, when Pope Paul II proposed the daughter of Thomas Palaiologos Sophia as a wife to the Russian sovereign John III Vasilvich, whose wedding took place in 1472. This marriage did not lead Moscow to a religious union with Rome, but had important consequences for the rise of monarchical power in Moscow. As the husband of the last Byzantine princess, the Grand Duke of Moscow becomes, as it were, the successor of the Byzantine emperor, who was considered the head of the entire Orthodox East. At the request and on the advice of Sofia, a magnificent, complex and strict ceremony began to take place in the Moscow Kremlin at the court of the Grand Duke, following the models of the Byzantine court. From the end of the 15th century, the previously dominant simplicity of relations and direct treatment of the sovereign with his subjects gradually ceased, and he rose above them to an unattainable height. Instead of the former simple and “household” title “Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich,” Ivan III takes on the magnificent title: “John, by the grace of God, Sovereign of All Rus' and Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow and Novgorod and Pskov and Tver and Ugra and Perm and Bulgaria and others.”

In relations with small neighboring lands, the title of Tsar of All Rus' appears. Another title adopted by the Muscovite sovereigns, “autocrat” is a translation of the Byzantine imperial title autocrator; This title originally meant an independent sovereign, not subordinate to any external authority, but Ivan the Terrible gave it the meaning of the absolute, unlimited power of the monarch over his subjects. Since the end of the 15th century, the Byzantine coat of arms - a double-headed eagle (which is combined with the former Moscow coat of arms - the image of St. George the Victorious) appears on the seals of the Moscow sovereign. This is how Rus' designated its continuity from Byzantium, which is the first reflection of its development on the coat of arms...

The formation of the Russian coat of arms from Ivan III to Peter I

Already at the very beginning of the development of the Russian coat of arms, we see its intertwining with the history of Rus'. An interesting fact is that the eagle on the seals of John III was depicted with a closed beak and looked more like an eaglet than an eagle. If you look at Russia of that period, you can see that it is a young state that is just beginning to take shape as a centralized one. The first reliable evidence of the use of the double-headed eagle as a state emblem is the seal of John III Vasilyevich on the exchange document of 1497 with his nephews, princes Fyodor and Ivan Borisovich Volotsky.

During the reign of Vasily III Ioannovich (1505-1533), the double-headed eagle is depicted with open beaks, from which tongues protrude. This, for example, is evidenced by the seal attached in 1523 to the record of the sovereign and Grand Duke Vasily Ioannovich when he departed with the army for Kazan. In short, if we approach it from a purely artistic point of view, we can say that the eagle is starting to get angry. At the same time, having examined Russia at that time, we note that it was strengthening its position and becoming a new center of Orthodoxy. This fact was embodied in the theory of the monk Philotheus “Moscow - the Third Rome”, known from the monk’s letter to Vasily III.

During the reign of John IV Vasilievich (1533-1584), Rus' won decisive victories over the Kazan and Astrakhan kingdoms and annexed Siberia. The growth of the power of the Russian state was also reflected in its coat of arms. The double-headed eagle on the state seal is topped with a single crown with an eight-pointed Orthodox cross above it. On the obverse of the seal on the eagle's chest there is a shield of a carved, or “Germanic” shape, with a unicorn - the personal sign of the king. The fact is that all the symbols used in the personal symbolism of John IV are taken from the Psalter, which indicates the rooting of Christianity in Rus'. On the reverse side of the seal on the eagle's chest is a shield with the image of St. George beating a serpent. Subsequently, this side of the seal will play an important role in the formation of the Russian coat of arms. The image of the Moscow coat of arms on the chest of an eagle becomes traditional. However, in accordance with the ancient Russian icon painting tradition, St. George is facing the right side of the viewer, which contradicts the heraldic rules.

On February 21, 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the throne. This put an end to the Troubles, which, in the period between the death of Ivan the Terrible and the accession to the throne of Mikhail Romanov, undermined the spirit of the Russian people and almost eradicated Russian statehood. Russia was on the path to prosperity and greatness. During this period, the eagle on the coat of arms “started up” and spread its wings for the first time, which could mean the “awakening” of Russia after a long sleep, and the beginning of a new era in the history of the state. By this period, Russia had completely completed its unification and had already managed to become a single and fairly strong state. And this fact is symbolically reflected in the state emblem. Above the eagle, instead of an eight-pointed cross, a third crown appeared, which meant the Holy Trinity, but was interpreted by many as a symbol of the unity of Great Russians, Little Russians and Belarusians.

Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov (1645-1676) managed to end the Russian-Polish conflict by establishing the Truce of Andrusovo with Poland (1667), under which Russia was able to “show itself” to all of Europe. The Russian state occupies a fairly significant place next to European states. During the reign of Alexei Romanov, the appearance of a new image of the coat of arms was also noted. This is due to the fact that, at the request of the tsar, the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I sent his king of arms Lavrentiy Khurelevich to Moscow, who in 1673 wrote an essay “On the genealogy of Russian great princes and sovereigns, showing the kinship between Russia and Russia through marriages.” eight European powers, that is, Caesar of Rome, the kings of England, Denmark, Spain, Poland, Portugal and Sweden, and with the image of these royal coats of arms, and in the middle of them the Grand Duke St. Vladimir, at the end of the portrait of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.”

It was the starting point for the development of Russian heraldry. The state eagle of Alexei Mikhailovich was the prototype of subsequent official images of the Russian armorial eagle. The eagle’s wings are raised high and fully open, which symbolized the complete establishment of Russia as a solid and powerful state; Its heads are crowned with three royal crowns, a shield with the Moscow coat of arms is placed on its chest, and a scepter and orb in its paws. An interesting fact is that before the attributes of monarchical power appeared in the eagle’s paws, the eagle’s claws, starting from the eagle on the marble slab of the Xiropotamian monastery in Athos (Byzantium, 451-453), gradually unclenched, as if in the hope of grabbing something, until they took orb and scepter, thereby symbolizing the establishment of an absolute monarchy in Rus'.

In 1667, with the help of Lavrenty Khurelevich, an official explanation of the Russian coat of arms was given for the first time: “The double-headed eagle is the sovereign coat of arms of the Great Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich of All Great and Lesser and White Russia, the autocrat, His Royal Majesty of the Russian Empire, on which three crowns are depicted , signifying the three great Kazan, Astrakhan, Siberian glorious kingdoms, submitting to the God-protected and highest power of His Royal Majesty, the Most Gracious Sovereign... on the Persians is the image of the heir; in the box there is a scepter and an apple, and they reveal the most merciful Sovereign, His Royal Majesty the Autocrat and Possessor.” As you can see, the description gives a new interpretation of the elements of the coat of arms. It is dictated by diplomatic considerations and should testify to the greatness of Russia.

"From Ancient Rus' to the Russian Empire." Shishkin Sergey Petrovich, Ufa.

Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire” Collection 1. St. Petersburg, 1830
“Collection of state charters and agreements” part 1. M, 1813
Brockhaus and Efron “Chronology of General and Russian History.” St. Petersburg, 1905
Brockhaus and Efron “Encyclopedia” vol. 17. St. Petersburg, 1893
Von Winkler P.P. "State Eagle" St. Petersburg: type. E. Hoppe, 1892
“Anthology on the history of the USSR XVI - XVII centuries.” M, 1962
Vilinbakhov G.V. “State heraldry of Russia at the end of the 17th - first quarter of the 18th century. (on the issue of the formation of absolutism in Russia)” // Abstract of the dissertation for the degree of candidate of historical sciences. L, 1982
“Heraldry” // Materials and research of the State Hermitage. L: GE, 1987 (1988)
Noble families of the Russian Empire.” St. Petersburg, 1993
“History of Russia in persons and dates” Dictionary-reference book. St. Petersburg, 1995
Kamentsev E.I., Ustyugov N.V. “Russian sphragistics and heraldry.” M, 1974
N.M. Karamzin “Tales of the Ages”. M., 1988
Lakier A.B. “Russian heraldry”. M: Book, 1990
Lebedev V. “Sovereign Eagle of Russia.” M: Rodina, 1995
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Lukomsky V.K. “Stamp examination (cases and methods of application)” // “Archival file” 1939 N 1 (49).
Lukomsky V.K. “On heraldic art in Russia.” St. Petersburg, 1911.
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Pushkarev S.G. “Review of Russian History.” Stavropol, 1993.
Khoroshkevich A.A. “Symbols of Russian statehood.” M., 1989
G. Vilinbakhov “Pedigree of the Russian coat of arms” // “Motherland” 1993 N1
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Konov A. “Russian Heraldry” // “Neva” 1985 N2.

The appearance of a double-headed eagle in Rus' under Ivan III

The double-headed eagle is not one of the signs widely known to Russian tradition before the end of the 15th century. There are images of double-headed eagles in Russia, but they are extremely few in number and are not the rule, but the exception.

The first known images date back to the 10th century: these are plaques (costume decorations) from the Gnezdovo burial mound and from the Osipova Hermitage. There is a well-known decorative tile with a double-headed eagle, found on the banks of the Dniester in the town of Vysilevo (Northern Bukovina) - it dates back to the 12th-13th centuries, double-headed eagles in the paintings of the Nativity Cathedral in Suzdal (13th century). A coin dates back to the 14th century and depicts an original figure: a man with two heads and eagle wings.

Researchers have suggested that these rare and atypical images for Russia were probably borrowed from the east. In the X-XIII centuries, Russian lands had fairly active trade relations with Persia (Iran) and Arab countries; after the establishment of the Golden Horde’s power over Russia, relations with the Arab, Persian and Central Asian east were carried out through the Horde.

The first image of the Russian state emblem, the double-headed eagle, that has survived to this day dates back to 1497. It is placed on the reverse side of the seal of Ivan III Vasilyevich (1462-1505).

Ivan III is one of the greatest figures in Russian history. Its significance is determined by the fact that it created a unified Russian state.

Having established his power in the new, unified Russian state, Ivan III took care to reflect this in the main means of demonstrating his rights - the press. With its help, it was reported that the document was indeed issued on behalf of the one who attached the seal to it. A ruler who had any territories under his control spent a long time trying to gain the right to use his seal, since without this he did not consider his power legitimate and was not recognized by other rulers.

The seal of 1497 is such a seal. It has a front and back side. The front side of the seal of 1497 depicts the sign of the Moscow princes - the rider: a horseman killing a dragon (snake) with a spear. On the reverse side is a double-headed eagle, each head of which is crowned. The double-headed eagle had a fundamentally new meaning. If earlier symbols associated with the prince personally were placed on the reverse sides (for example, the patron saint of the prince), now the reverse side of the seal was occupied by the symbol of the state that the prince controls. This symbol became a double-headed eagle and the seal thus acquired a harmonious logical meaning: the front side spoke about who exactly owned this seal, and the back side spoke about which country the owner of the seal ruled.

Here it is appropriate to ask the question: why the double-headed eagle? What considerations guided Ivan III when he chose this sign as a symbol of our country? The answer to this question is complex: history has not preserved for us sources that would allow us to draw an accurate conclusion. We can only make assumptions and analyze their likelihood.

From the history of the existence of the double-headed eagle in other countries, several assumptions can be made:

The double-headed eagle was adopted following the example of the Holy Roman Empire.

The double-headed eagle was adopted by Russia from the Balkan countries.

The double-headed eagle was borrowed by Russia from Byzantium.

What speaks against the first version is that Russia did not adopt the same form of the double-headed eagle that was adopted in the West. The Russian eagle had attributes unknown to the West - crowns on their heads, and a different color scheme (golden eagle on red, in the West - black eagle on gold).

Russia also actively developed ties with the Balkan countries (Moldova, Wallachia, Bulgaria) and the Balkan influence was especially strong in the cultural sphere. However, in the political environment, the Balkan influence and significance of the Balkan problems was incomparably less than the influence of the Byzantine and Western issues.

The third version is the most preferable. Of course, Ivan III supported the idea of ​​Russia as the heir of Byzantium. It was actively emphasized that after the fall of Byzantium, Russia remained the last stronghold of Orthodoxy. Ivan III married the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, the Russian court tried to follow Byzantine traditions. The sovereign himself began to strive to call himself “tsar.” However, it must be remembered that the double-headed eagle in Byzantium was not in the full sense of the word a state emblem, and did not quite correspond to the nature of the new state sign that Ivan III needed.

Thus, each version of the reasons for Ivan III’s choice of the double-headed eagle as a state symbol is solid... and unprovable. It is quite possible that all three factors - Byzantine, Western European and Balkan influence - together contributed to shaping the decision of Ivan III. In fact, something else is important: in those years when the unified Russian state was born, the state emblem of the new country was created. It became the double-headed eagle - and this symbol is inextricably linked with Russia to this day, for more than 500 years.

Already at the very beginning of the development of the Russian coat of arms, we see its intertwining with the history of Rus'. An interesting fact is that the eagle on the seals of John III was depicted with a closed beak and looked more like an eaglet than an eagle. If you look at Russia of that period, you can see that it is a young state that is just beginning to take shape as a centralized one.

Vasily III

Grand Duke Vasily III Ivanovich (1505-1533) turned out to be the successor of his father’s work in all respects. Under him, the expansion and strengthening of the unified Russian state continued, and its symbolic support also developed. It is noteworthy that the double-headed eagle is depicted with open beaks, from which tongues protrude. If we approach it from a purely artistic point of view, we can say that the eagle is starting to get angry. At the same time, having examined Russia at that time, we note that it was strengthening its position and becoming a new center of Orthodoxy.

An important innovation was that the seal with a double-headed eagle gradually began to be used more often, began to stand out among other grand ducal seals and acquired the status of the main - state - seal of the Grand Duke. Most of the international treaties and documents of Vasily III were certified with a seal with a double-headed eagle.

Ivan IV the Terrible

Under Ivan IV the Terrible (1533-1584), several important changes took place in the state press.

In the 1560s. the double-headed eagle is transferred from the reverse side of the seals to the front and, thus, the sign of the state occupies a more honorable place on the seals than the sign of the ruler himself. At the same time, a new symbol, the unicorn, began to be used as a royal sign, along with the traditional horseman. The second important innovation of the 1560s was the combination of state and royal signs in one symbol. For this purpose, the royal sign (horseman or unicorn) was located in the shield on the chest of the double-headed eagle on the front side of the seal.

The next change in the seal occurs in 1577-78. Instead of the two crowns that crowned the eagle's heads, there is one large five-pronged crown with an eight-pointed Orthodox cross above it. All symbols used in the personal symbolism of John IV are taken from the Psalter, which indicates the rooting of Christianity in Rus'.

During the reign of John IV, Rus' won decisive victories over the Kazan and Astrakhan kingdoms and annexed Siberia. The growth of the power of the Russian state was also reflected in its coat of arms: twenty-four emblems of the lands that were part of the Russian state began to be placed around it. The very fact of the appearance of territorial emblems on the large state seal is very indicative: for the first time, a Russian sovereign, with the help of a state symbol, tried to demonstrate how great his power was and exactly what main lands were included in it.

The image of the Moscow coat of arms on the chest of an eagle becomes traditional. However, in accordance with the ancient Russian icon painting tradition, St. George is facing the right side of the viewer, which contradicts the heraldic rules.

Fedor Ivanovich

Tsar Fyodor I Ivanovich (1584-1598), who succeeded Ivan IV, made a change to the state symbol - on his seal (1589) the double-headed eagle is again depicted with two crowns, and between the heads of the eagle an eight-pointed Orthodox cross on Calvary is placed

On both the front and back sides of the seal, the eagle has a shield with a rider on its chest.

Probably, the rejection of the innovations of Ivan IV (one crown, unicorn) could serve as Fyodor Ivanovich’s desire to show that in his reign he intended to rely on the experience of the wise and zealous reigns of his grandfather (Vasily III) and great-grandfather (Ivan III), and not the cruel methods of his father. The appearance of the cross can be explained by the deepest and sincere religiosity characteristic of Fyodor Ivanovich, who wanted to reflect the God-protected state of his state and the primacy of spiritual values ​​over worldly ones.

Time of Troubles

Tsar Boris Godunov (1598-1605), who reigned after Fyodor I, used the same eagle as under Fyodor Ivanovich (with two crowns and a cross), but a unicorn was occasionally placed in the shield on the eagle’s chest.

The Time of Troubles that followed led to a rapid change of rulers on the Russian throne, of which the most interesting mark on the development of Russian state heraldry was left by Tsar Dmitry (False Dmitry I) (1605-1606).

Having ascended to the Russian throne with the help of Polish-Lithuanian troops, and being in constant contact with the Poles and Lithuanians who arrived in Moscow with him, False Dmitry accepted a seal with a new design of the state symbol. The double-headed eagle was adjusted in accordance with Western European heraldic traditions. On the seal of False Dmitry (1600), a double-headed eagle was depicted with its wings spread and raised upward. The eagle's heads were crowned with two traditional crowns, and above them was a third one - larger in size and with a different design. Finally, the rider in the shield on the chest of the double-headed eagle was turned visually to the left (while traditionally in Russia the rider was depicted visually turned to the right).

Coats of arms of the Romanov dynasty

The reign of False Dmitry was short-lived and ended ingloriously. The Time of Troubles ended with the enthronement of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich (1596-1645). This put an end to the Troubles, which, in the period between the death of Ivan the Terrible and the accession to the throne of Mikhail Romanov, undermined the spirit of the Russian people and almost eradicated Russian statehood. Russia was on the path to prosperity and greatness. During this period, the eagle on the coat of arms “started up” and spread its wings for the first time, which could mean the “awakening” of Russia after a long sleep, and the beginning of a new era in the history of the state.

The eagle's heads were crowned with two crowns, but between them an Orthodox cross was alternately placed (until the 1640s), then a third larger crown, which gradually replaced the symbol of Orthodoxy and by the middle of the 17th century became an indispensable attribute of the Russian coat of arms.

By this period, Russia had completely completed its unification and had already managed to become a single and fairly strong state, and the three crowns probably meant the Holy Trinity. However, this was interpreted by many as a symbol of the unity of Great Russians, Little Russians and Belarusians. On the chest of the double-headed eagle there was a shield with a rider (on the seal of 1625, the rider, still according to the tradition of False Dmitry, was visually turned to the left, but since 1627 the rider has turned to the traditional right side for Russia). In 1620 - early 1640s. an image of a unicorn is sometimes placed on one side of the seal on the eagle's chest, but by the mid-1640s. The unicorn finally disappears from the composition of the state emblem.

During the reign of the next sovereign - Alexei Mikhailovich (1645 - 1676) - Russia strengthened, expanded and gathered strength for the breakthrough in development that it was destined to make under his son - Peter the Great (1682-1725). The state symbol is being clarified and, for the first time, purposefully adjusted in accordance with heraldic rules.

The Russian state occupies a fairly significant place next to European states. The state eagle of Alexei Mikhailovich was the prototype of subsequent official images of the Russian armorial eagle. The eagle's wings are raised high and fully open, which symbolized the complete assertion of Russia as a solid and powerful state; Its heads are crowned with three royal crowns, symbolizing God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit. On the chest there is a shield with the Moscow coat of arms, in the paws there is a scepter and an orb

An interesting fact is that before the attributes of monarchical power appeared in the eagle’s paws, the eagle’s claws gradually unclenched, as if in the hope of grabbing something, until they took the orb and the scepter, thereby symbolizing the establishment of absolute monarchy in Rus'.

In 1672, the first official collection of the main state emblems was compiled in Russia. The "Titular Book" opened with the image of a golden double-headed eagle under three crowns, with a scepter and an orb in its paws (without a rider on its chest). The signature under the drawing read “Moscow” - that is, the double-headed eagle was presented as the coat of arms of the Moscow land - the heart of the united Russian state - and, accordingly, the general symbol of all of Russia.

The 17th century left us not only numerous seals, coins and documents, but also a large number of other carriers of images of the state coat of arms. At this time, the double-headed eagle began to be actively placed in architectural compositions, on state regalia, banners, weapons, various items of palace life and everyday life of the Russian nobility. There are numerous items of decorative and military weapons with double-headed eagles, cups and other ceremonial dishes, household items and gifts (caskets, furniture, etc.). It is likely that such a use of the double-headed eagle took place before (for example, there is information that decorative red tiles with golden double-headed eagles decorated the Faceted Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin under Ivan III), but the merciless passage of time and, especially, the destructive events of the Time of Troubles led to the fact that regalia and household items of the 15th-16th centuries. with the coat of arms have hardly survived to this day.

In 1654, a crowned golden double-headed eagle was installed on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin, and in 1688 - on the spiers of the Trinity and Borovitskaya towers.

After the death of Alexei Mikhailovich, Russia was ruled for a short time by his eldest son, Tsar Feodor II Alekseevich (1676-1682). After his death, half-brothers Ivan V and Peter I were simultaneously elevated to the throne.

This period is interesting from the point of view of the development of state symbols in that the image on the chest of a double-headed eagle, always understood as a conventional portrait of the Grand Duke or Tsar, now develops into a documentally accurate one, and sometimes the rider is completely replaced by a portrait of the sovereign

Thus, on the regimental Streltsy banner of 1695, on the chest of a double-headed eagle, Tsars Ivan and Peter are depicted sitting on two thrones. On the personal banner of Sofia Alekseevna in the 1680s. A portrait of the ruler was placed on the eagle's chest. On the soldier’s banner of 1696, on the chest of an eagle there is a depiction of a rider who resembles Peter, and on another banner, instead of a rider, the shield on the chest of the eagle is occupied by a horseman with a sword in his hand, whose portrait resemblance to Peter is quite obvious.

After 1700, the conventional rider returns to the chest of the double-headed eagle. The tradition of combining portraits of the king with the state coat of arms has been preserved, but it has received a new development. Officially, the coat of arms remains a double-headed eagle with a rider on its chest. And the portraits of the king superimposed on the coat of arms are used only for decorative and allegorical purposes.

Peter I

The turn of the 17th-18th centuries became another turning point in the history of our country. The new sovereign, Peter I, decisively directed Russia along the path of Europeanization and ushered in a period of major reforms that affected all aspects of Russian life without exception. The rapid flow of Peter's reforms did not leave aside state symbols.

Almost throughout the reign of Peter, Russia waged incessant wars and the means of warfare - the army - was the object of the autocrat's constant concerns. Peter also thought about a single symbol of the army. St. Andrew's Cross was chosen as such a sign.

The blue St. Andrew's cross placed on a white cloth became the flag of the Russian navy, which to this day bears the name St. Andrew's flag. But it is especially important that the symbolism of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called has become an integral part of the state emblem since the time of Peter I. In Peter's time, the badge of the order was worn on a neck chain consisting of various decorative links

And since 1700, the sign and chain of the order have been included directly in the coat of arms: the chain is depicted surrounding a shield with a rider on the chest of a double-headed eagle, and the sign of the order, attached to the chain, is located directly under this shield.

The second significant change in the state emblem under Peter I is associated with a rethinking of the meaning of the rider on the chest of the double-headed eagle. Since the 1710s. the ancient rider, according to European tradition, is beginning to be defined as an image of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George. The coloring of this element was established: the shield had a red field, the rider was depicted as silver, and the dragon he defeated was black.

The third significant change in the coat of arms of Peter's time was the establishment of a certain type of crown crowning the double-headed eagle. Since 1710, first on seals, and then on coins and other symbols, imperial crowns begin to be depicted above the heads of the eagle. At the same time, the middle - large - crown received a traditional heraldic design: with ribbons (infuls) emanating from it, touching the other two crowns. Peter’s choice of imperial crowns was not accidental: this demonstrated the complete independence of Russia and its absolute freedom in its power rights. Note that imperial crowns appeared in the Russian coat of arms more than ten years before Russia was proclaimed an Empire, and Peter himself took the title of Emperor.

The fourth and final change to the state emblem in Peter's time was a change in colors. In 1721 our country was proclaimed an Empire. In connection with the new state structure, the colors of the state emblem were also changed: following the example of the only empire that existed at that time - the Holy Roman Empire - the double-headed eagle of the Russian coat of arms was made black with golden beaks, tongues, eyes, paws and attributes (scepter, orb in paws and crowns above their heads). The field also turned golden. On the eagle’s chest there is a red shield with an image of a silver horseman - St. George - slaying a black dragon with a spear. The shield on the eagle's chest was surrounded by a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, the sign of which was located on the chain under the shield with St. George

Thus, the coat of arms of our country acquired those basic heraldic characteristics that remained for almost 200 years, until the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917.

In 1722, Peter established the office of the king of arms (1722-1796) and the position of king of arms.

The era of palace coups. XVIII century

The post-Petrine era is characterized by an intense struggle at the top of state power, known as the “era of palace coups,” which in the 30s of the 18th century led to excessive influence in the state of immigrants from Germany, which did not at all contribute to the strengthening of Russia.

In 1740, the Swiss engraver Gedlinger, invited by Anna Ioannovna to Russia in 1736, made a state seal, which was used until 1856 and, in essence, consolidated the classic appearance of the Russian double-headed eagle.

Until the end of the 18th century, there were no fundamental changes in the design of the coat of arms, however, specific features corresponding to the reign of emperors and empresses, especially during the times of Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine the Great, were noticeable. At this time, the eagle looks more like an eagle than an eagle. Oddly enough, during the time of Catherine II, the state emblem remained almost unchanged, although, as is known, she carried out a large number of reforms in the field of government and education. He chose to maintain continuity and traditionalism.

Paul I

New significant changes to the composition of the state emblem were made only at the very end of the 18th century - during the reign of Emperor Paul I (1796-1801).

Paul's innovations in the field of the state emblem affected, first of all, two points.

1. The coat of arms itself was changed. In 1798, the Emperor took under his protection the island of Malta, located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, on which there existed a sovereign knightly state - the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Paul accepted the title of Master of the Order - head of the Maltese state. In the same year, the main symbols of the Order of Malta were introduced into the Russian state emblem.

The symbols of the order were a white equal-armed cross with widening, deeply chipped ends (“Maltese cross”) and the master’s crown. In the Russian state emblem, the Maltese cross was located on the chest of a double-headed eagle under a shield with a rider. The upper end of the cross was crowned with the crown of the Master of the Order of Malta. At the same time, the insignia of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called was excluded from the coat of arms.

2. An attempt was made to introduce the full coat of arms of the Russian Empire. On December 16, 1800, he signed the Manifesto, which described this complex project. Forty-three coats of arms were placed in the multi-field shield and on nine small shields. In the center was the above-described coat of arms in the form of a double-headed eagle with a Maltese cross, larger than the others. The shield with coats of arms is superimposed on the Maltese cross, and under it the sign of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called again appears. The shield holders, the archangels Michael and Gabriel, support the imperial crown over the knight's helmet and mantle (cloak). The entire composition is placed against the background of a canopy with a dome - a heraldic symbol of sovereignty. From behind the shield with coats of arms emerge two standards with a double-headed and a single-headed eagles. The large Russian coat of arms was supposed to symbolize the internal unity and power of Russia. However, Paul I's project was not implemented.

Alexander I

Emperor Alexander I Pavlovich (1801-1825), who succeeded Paul I, just two months after ascending the throne - April 26, 1801 - abolished the use of the Maltese cross and crown as part of the state coat of arms and returned the chain and sign of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. The abolition of Maltese symbols was due to the fact that Alexander I, realizing the groundlessness of his claims to the island of Malta and not seeing the point in supporting the Order of Malta, refused to accept the title of Master and ceased the existence of the order on Russian territory.

Under Alexander, the tradition of freedom of artistic design for the state emblem developed. Not only were various artistic interpretations of the design of the coat of arms used, but also variants of its solution that seriously differed from the approved coat of arms in their heraldic composition.

Along with the traditional solution of the state emblem: an eagle with raised wings, under three crowns, with a scepter and an orb in its paws and surrounded by a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and with a shield with St. George on the chest. The image of the coat of arms in the form of a double-headed eagle with widely spread and downward-pointing wings has become widespread. In such a composition of the coat of arms, instead of three crowns over the heads of the eagle, one was often used, the sign of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called was not used, and in the paws of the eagle, instead of a scepter and orb, a sword, a laurel wreath or lightning bolts (peruns) were placed.

Nicholas I

After the death of Alexander I, the throne went to his younger brother, Emperor Nicholas I Pavlovich (1825-1855). During his reign, the issues of using the state emblem were streamlined.

Nicholas I established two types of state symbol. The first - intended for use on state regalia, seals and banknotes - corresponded to the ancient Russian tradition and represented a black double-headed eagle in a golden field with wings spread and raised upward, with golden eyes, beaks, tongues and paws. The eagle was crowned with three imperial crowns, had a scepter and orb in its claws, and on its chest was a red shield surrounded by the chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, with a silver rider placed in it, striking a black dragon with a spear. An innovation of Nicholas I was the placement on the wings of the eagle of six coats of arms (three on each wing) of the main lands that were part of the Russian Empire: Kazan, Astrakhan, Siberian (on the right wing), Polish, Tauride and Finland (on the left wing).

The second type of state emblem - intended mainly for military symbols and for decorative purposes - was a double-headed eagle, which came into use under Alexander I: a black double-headed eagle with golden eyes, beaks and paws, had wings spread and pointing downwards, crowned with one gold imperial crown, had a red shield on his chest with a silver horseman in a blue cloak - Saint George, striking a black dragon with a spear, and in his paws - a sword (or a sword and lightning) and a laurel wreath

Both types of state emblem, established under Nicholas I, were used until the end of the Russian Empire. At the same time, the first type (an eagle with raised wings) became increasingly widespread as the main, official version of the coat of arms, and the second type became most widespread in the symbolism of government departments, primarily the army and navy.

Small State Emblem

At the end of the reign of Nicholas I, attention was paid to streamlining the work of the state heraldic service, which had long before eked out a miserable existence. The service was transformed into a separate department of the Senate, called the Department of Heraldry, and within this department a special department was allocated specifically for heraldry - the Arms Department. Baron B. Köhne was appointed manager of the Armorial Department of the Department of Heraldry, leaving a large and unique mark on the development of Russian heraldry, in particular state heraldry.

The first thing he noticed was the state emblem. According to Köhne, the coat of arms needed improvement in order to bring it into line with the rules of heraldry. The idea of ​​Paul I to create a large coat of arms of the Russian Empire was revived, and Koehne went further, proposing three variations of the state symbol: Large, Middle and Small coats of arms.

Prepared by Köhne and executed by the artist Alexander Fadeev, a new drawing of the Small Coat of Arms of Russia was approved by Emperor Alexander I on December 8, 1856. The main elements of the coat of arms, in general, have been preserved. The number of shields with land emblems on the wings of a double-headed eagle was changed: there were eight such shields. On the right wing were the coats of arms of Kazan, Poland, Tauride and Vladimir, Kiev and Novgorod combined in one shield. On the left wing are the coats of arms of Astrakhan, Siberian, Georgian and Finnish. In addition, the turn of the rider on the chest of the double-headed eagle was changed: from now on, St. George began to look to the left

On April 11, 1857, the Great, Middle and Small coats of arms of the Russian Empire, the coats of arms of members of the imperial family, the family coat of arms of the emperor, drawings of the new Large, Middle and Small state seals, arks for seals, drawings of seals for the main and lower offices and officials were approved by the Highest. . In total, one act approved one hundred and ten drawings lithographed by A. Beggrov. For more than half a century - until 1917 - the state symbol of Russia retained the basic features that were given to it in 1856-57.

Large State Emblem of 1883

In its final form, the Great Coat of Arms was formed by 1883 and remained so until 1917. He was depicted on the large state seal, on thrones, canopies, in halls intended for meetings at the Imperial Court and for meetings of the highest government places. By means of heraldic symbolism, it reflects the triune essence of the Russian idea - for the Faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland.

In the center of the Great Coat of Arms is the state emblem of Russia - a black double-headed eagle in a golden shield. On the eagle's chest is the Moscow coat of arms - St. St. George the Victorious, piercing the serpent. The coat of arms of Russia is crowned with the helmet of the Holy Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. On both sides of the coat of arms of Russia there are shield holders: Archangel Michael with a fiery sword and Archangel Gabriel - the heavenly patrons and intercessors of Russia. Around the shield is a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. The central part is covered with a golden canopy in the form of a tent, lined with ermine. The Russian motto is inscribed on the canopy: ‘God is with us’. Above it is placed the imperial crown and the state banner, with a double-headed eagle and an eight-pointed cross. Around the main shield are shields with the coats of arms of the Kingdoms and Grand Duchies, crowned with appropriate crowns. The prototypes of the crowns were the real historical crowns of Russian sovereigns: the Cap of Monomakh, the Kazan Cap of John IV Vasilyevich, the Diamond Cap of Peter 1, the Crown of Anna Ioannovna, etc. In the upper part of the Great Coat of Arms there are shields with the coats of arms of the territories that are part of Russia.

The circular arrangement of the coats of arms emphasizes the equality between them, and the central location of the coat of arms of Moscow - the desire for the unity of Rus' around Moscow - the historical center. The large coat of arms creates a monumental image of the great, united and indivisible Russia, which it was at that time. Here we find another obvious relationship between heraldry and state history.

The large coat of arms of Russia is framed by laurel and oak branches. They symbolize glory, honor, merit (laurel branches), valor and courage (oak branches).

Alexander III

Under Emperor Alexander III in 1882-83, the drawings of the Greater and Middle State Emblems were refined: they were supplemented with the coats of arms of the new lands that became part of Russia and the imperial title, and the outlines of the details were slightly changed (including the shield holders - the archangels Michael and Gabriel). The color of the imperial crowns crowning the double-headed eagle also changed - they became silver.

29.06.11 18:14

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15th century

The reign of Grand Duke Ivan III (1462-1505) is the most important stage in the formation of a unified Russian state. Ivan III managed to finally eliminate dependence on the Golden Horde, repelling the campaign of Khan Akhmat against Moscow in 1480. The Grand Duchy of Moscow included Yaroslavl, Novgorod, Tver, and Perm lands. The country began to actively develop ties with other European countries, and its foreign policy position strengthened. In 1497, the all-Russian Code of Laws was adopted - a unified set of laws of the country.
It was at this time - the time of successful construction of Russian statehood - that the double-headed eagle became the coat of arms of Russia, personifying supreme power, independence, what was called “autocracy” in Rus'. It happened like this: the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III married the Byzantine princess Sophia Paleologus and, in order to increase his authority in relations with foreign states, adopted the family coat of arms of the Byzantine kings - the Double-Headed Eagle. The double-headed eagle of Byzantium personified the Roman-Byzantine Empire, spanning East and West (Fig. 1). Emperor Maximilian II, however, did not give Sophia his Imperial eagle; the eagle depicted on the banner of Sophia Paleologus did not have the Imperial crown, but only the Caesar's crown (Fig. 2).

Nevertheless, the opportunity to become equal with all European sovereigns prompted Ivan III to adopt this coat of arms as the heraldic symbol of his state. Having transformed from the Grand Duke into the Tsar of Moscow and taking a new coat of arms for his state - the Double-Headed Eagle, Ivan III in 1472 placed Caesar's crowns on both heads (Fig. 3), at the same time a shield with the image of the icon of St. George the Victorious appears on the eagle's chest. In 1480, the Tsar of Moscow became Autocrat, i.e. independent and self-sufficient. This circumstance is reflected in the modification of the Eagle; a sword and an Orthodox cross appear in its paws (Fig. 4).

The collapsed Byzantine Empire makes the Russian Eagle the successor of the Byzantine one and the son of Ivan III, Vasily III (1505-1533) places one common autocratic Monomakh's Cap on both heads of the Eagle (Fig. 5). After the death of Vasily III, because his heir Ivan IV, who later received the name Grozny, was still small, the regency of his mother Elena Glinskaya (1533-1538) began, and the actual autocracy of the boyars Shuisky, Belsky (1538-1548) began. And here the Russian Eagle undergoes a very comic modification (Fig. 6).

Mid-16th century

Ivan IV turns 16 years old, and he is crowned king and immediately the Eagle undergoes a very significant change (Fig. 7), as if personifying the entire era of the reign of Ivan the Terrible (1548-1574, 1576-1584). But during the reign of Ivan the Terrible there was a period when he renounced the Kingdom and retired to a monastery, handing over the reins of power to Semyon Bekbulatovich Kasimovsky (1574-1576), and in fact to the boyars. And Eagle reacted to the events taking place with another change (Fig. 8).

The return of Ivan the Terrible to the throne causes the appearance of a new Eagle (Fig. 9), the heads of which are crowned with one common crown of a clearly Western design. But that’s not all, on the Eagle’s chest, instead of the icon of St. George the Victorious, an image of a Unicorn appears. Why? One can only guess about this. True, in fairness it should be noted that this Eagle was quickly canceled by Ivan the Terrible.

Late 16th - early 17th century

During the reign of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich “the Blessed” (1584-1587), the sign of the passion of Christ appears between the crowned heads of the double-headed eagle: the so-called Calvary cross. The cross on the state seal was a symbol of Orthodoxy, giving a religious connotation to the state emblem. The appearance of the “Golgotha ​​cross” in the coat of arms of Russia coincides with the establishment of the patriarchate and ecclesiastical independence of Russia in 1589. Another coat of arms of Fyodor Ivanovich is also known, which is somewhat different from the above (Fig. 10).
In the 17th century, the Orthodox cross was often depicted on Russian banners. The banners of foreign regiments that were part of the Russian army had their own emblems and inscriptions; however, an Orthodox cross was also placed on them, which indicated that the regiment fighting under this banner served the Orthodox sovereign. Until the middle of the 17th century, a seal was widely used, in which a double-headed eagle with a rider on its chest is crowned with two crowns, and an Orthodox eight-pointed cross rises between the heads of the eagle.

Boris Godunov (1587-1605), who replaced Fyodor Ivanovich, could be the founder of a new dynasty. His occupation of the throne was completely legal, but popular rumor did not want to see him as a legitimate Tsar, considering him a regicide. And Eagle (Fig. 11) reflects this public opinion.

The enemies of Rus' took advantage of the troubles and the appearance of False Dmitry (1605-1606) in these conditions was quite natural, as was the appearance of the new Eagle (Fig. 12). It must be said that some seals depicted a different, clearly not Russian Eagle (Fig. 13). Here events also left their mark on Orel and in connection with the Polish occupation, Orel becomes very similar to Polish, differing, perhaps, in having two heads.

The shaky attempt to establish a new dynasty in the person of Vasily Shuisky (1606-1610), the painters from the official hut reflected in Orel, deprived of all the attributes of sovereignty (Fig. 14) and, as if in mockery, either a flower or a cone will grow from the place where the heads are fused. Russian history says very little about Tsar Vladislav I Sigismundovich (1610-1612); however, he was not crowned in Rus', but he issued decrees, his image was minted on coins, and the Russian State Eagle had its own forms with him (Fig. 15). Moreover, for the first time the Scepter appears in the Eagle’s paw. The short and essentially fictitious reign of this king actually put an end to the Troubles.

17th century

The Time of Troubles ended, Russia repelled the claims to the throne of the Polish and Swedish dynasties. Numerous impostors were defeated, and the uprisings that flared in the country were suppressed. Since 1613, by decision of the Zemsky Sobor, the Romanov dynasty began to rule in Russia. Under the first king of this dynasty - Mikhail Fedorovich (1613-1645), popularly nicknamed "The Quietest" - the State Emblem changes somewhat (Fig. 16). In 1625, for the first time, a double-headed eagle was depicted under three crowns; St. George the Victorious returned on the chest, but no longer in the form of an icon, in the form of a shield. Also , on the icons St. George the Victorious always galloped from left to right, i.e. from west to east towards the eternal enemies - the Mongol-Tatars. Now the enemy was in the west, the Polish gangs and the Roman Curia did not abandon their hopes of bringing Rus' to the Catholic faith.

In 1645, under the son of Mikhail Fedorovich - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich - the first Great State Seal appeared, on which a double-headed eagle with a rider on his chest was crowned with three crowns. From that time on, this type of image was constantly used.
The next stage of changing the State Emblem came after the Pereyaslav Rada, the entry of Ukraine into the Russian state. At the celebrations on this occasion, a new, unprecedented three-headed Eagle appears (Fig. 17), which was supposed to symbolize the new title of the Russian Tsar : "Tsar, Sovereign and Autocrat of All Great and Little and White Rus'."

A seal was attached to the charter of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Bogdan Khmelnitsky and his descendants for the city of Gadyach dated March 27, 1654, on which for the first time a double-headed eagle under three crowns is depicted holding symbols of power in its claws: a scepter and an orb.
In contrast to the Byzantine model and, perhaps, under the influence of the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire, the double-headed eagle, starting in 1654, began to be depicted with raised wings.
In 1654, a forged double-headed eagle was installed on the spire of the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin.
In 1663, for the first time in Russian history, the Bible, the main book of Christianity, came out of the printing press in Moscow. It is no coincidence that it depicted the State Emblem of Russia and gave a poetic “explanation” of it:

The eastern eagle shines with three crowns,
Shows faith, hope, love for God,
Krile stretches out, embraces all the worlds of the end,
North, south, from the east all the way to the west of the sun
With outstretched wings it covers goodness.

In 1667, after a long war between Russia and Poland over Ukraine, the Truce of Andrusovo was concluded. To seal this agreement, a Great Seal was made with a double-headed eagle under three crowns, with a shield with a rider on the chest, with a scepter and an orb in its paws.
In the same year, the first in the history of Russia Decree of December 14 “On the royal title and on the state seal” appeared, which contained the official description of the coat of arms: “The double-headed eagle is the coat of arms of the Great Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich of all Great and Lesser and White Russia autocrat, His Royal Majesty of the Russian reign, on which three crowns are depicted signifying the three great Kazan, Astrakhan, Siberian glorious kingdoms. On the chest (chest) there is an image of the heir; in the claws (claws) there is a scepter and an apple, and reveals the most gracious Sovereign, His Royal Majesty Autocrat and Possessor."

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich dies and the short and unremarkable reign of his son Fyodor Alekseevich (1676-1682) begins. The three-headed Eagle is replaced by the old two-headed Eagle and at the same time does not reflect anything new. After a short struggle with the boyar choice for the kingdom of the young Peter, under the regency of his mother Natalya Kirillovna, a second king, the weak and limited John, is elevated to the throne. And behind the double royal throne stands Princess Sophia (1682-1689). The actual reign of Sophia brought to life a new Eagle (Fig. 18). However, he did not last long. After a new outbreak of unrest - the Streletsky rebellion - a new Eagle appears (Fig. 19). Moreover, the old Eagle does not disappear and both of them exist for some time in parallel.

In the end, Sophia, having suffered defeat, goes to a monastery, and in 1696 Tsar John V also dies, the throne goes to Peter I Alekseevich “the Great” (1689-1725).

Early 18th century

In 1696, Tsar John V also died, and the throne went solely to Peter I Alekseevich “The Great” (1689-1725). And almost immediately the State Emblem dramatically changes its shape (Fig. 20). The era of great transformations begins. The capital is moved to St. Petersburg and Orel acquires new attributes (Fig. 21). Crowns appear on the heads under one common larger one, and on the chest there is an order chain of the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called. This order, approved by Peter in 1798, became the first in the system of highest state awards in Russia. The Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, one of the heavenly patrons of Peter Alekseevich, was declared the patron saint of Russia.
The blue oblique St. Andrew's Cross becomes the main element of the insignia of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and the symbol of the Russian Navy. Since 1699, there have been images of a double-headed eagle surrounded by a chain with the sign of the Order of St. Andrew. And next year the Order of St. Andrew is placed on the eagle, around a shield with a rider.
From the first quarter of the 18th century, the colors of the double-headed eagle became brown (natural) or black.
It is also important to say about another Eagle (Fig. 21a), which Peter painted as a very boy for the banner of the Amusing Regiment. This Eagle had only one paw, for: “Whoever has only one land army has one hand, but whoever has a fleet has two hands.”

Mid-18th century

During the short reign of Catherine I (1725-1727), the Eagle (Fig. 22) again changed its shape, the ironic nickname “Marsh Queen” was everywhere and, accordingly, the Eagle simply could not help but change. However, this Eagle lasted for a very short period of time. Menshikov, paying attention to it, ordered it to be removed from use, and by the day of the coronation of the Empress, a new Eagle appeared (Fig. 23). By decree of Empress Catherine I of March 11, 1726, the description of the coat of arms was fixed: “A black eagle with outstretched wings, in a yellow field, with a rider on it in a red field.”
After the death of Catherine I during the short reign of Peter II (1727-1730) - the grandson of Peter I, Orel remained virtually unchanged (Fig. 24).

However, the reign of Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740) and Ivan VI (1740-1741), the great-grandson of Peter I, does not cause practically any change in the Eagle (Fig. 25) with the exception of the body being exorbitantly elongated upward. However, the accession to the throne of Empress Elizabeth (1740-1761) entails a radical change in the Eagle (Fig. 26). Nothing remains of the imperial power, and St. George the Victorious is replaced by a cross (besides, not an Orthodox one). The humiliating period of Russia added the humiliating Eagle.

Orel did not react in any way to the very short and extremely offensive reign of Peter III (1761-1762) for the Russian people. In 1762, Catherine II “The Great” (1762-1796) ascended the throne and the Eagle changed, acquiring powerful and grandiose forms (Fig. 27). In the coinage of this reign there were many arbitrary forms of the coat of arms. The most interesting form is the Eagle (Fig. 27a), which appeared during the time of Pugachev with a huge and not entirely familiar crown.

1799 - 1801

The Eagle (Fig. 28) of Emperor Paul I (1796-1801) appeared long before the death of Catherine II, as if in contrast to her Eagle, to distinguish the Gatchina battalions from the entire Russian Army, to be worn on buttons, badges and headdresses. Finally, he appears on the standard of the crown prince himself. This Eagle is created by Paul himself.
During the short reign of Emperor Paul I (1796-1801), Russia pursued an active foreign policy, faced with a new enemy - Napoleonic France. After French troops occupied the Mediterranean island of Malta, Paul I took the Order of Malta under his protection, becoming the Grand Master of the Order. On August 10, 1799, Paul I signed a Decree on the inclusion of the Maltese cross and crown in the state coat of arms (Fig. 28a). On the eagle’s chest, under the Maltese crown, was a shield with St. George (Paul interpreted it as the “indigenous coat of arms of Russia”), superimposed on the Maltese cross.
Paul I made an attempt to introduce the full coat of arms of the Russian Empire. On December 16, 1800, he signed the Manifesto, which described this complex project. Forty-three coats of arms were placed in the multi-field shield and on nine small shields. In the center was the above-described coat of arms in the form of a double-headed eagle with a Maltese cross, larger than the others. The shield with coats of arms is superimposed on the Maltese cross, and under it the sign of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called again appears. The shield holders, the archangels Michael and Gabriel, support the imperial crown over the knight's helmet and mantle (cloak). The entire composition is placed against the background of a canopy with a dome - a heraldic symbol of sovereignty. From behind the shield with coats of arms emerge two standards with a double-headed and a single-headed eagles. This project has not been finalized.

1st half of the 19th century

As a result of a Masonic conspiracy, on March 11, 1801, Paul fell at the hands of the palace regicides. The young Emperor Alexander I “The Blessed” (1801-1825) ascends the throne. By the day of his coronation, a new Eagle appears (Fig. 29), without the Maltese emblems, but, in fact, this Eagle is quite close to the old one. The victory over Napoleon and almost complete control over all processes in Europe causes the emergence of a new Eagle (Fig. 30). He had one crown, the eagle’s wings were depicted lowered (straightened), and in his paws were not the traditional scepter and orb, but a wreath, lightning bolts (peruns) and a torch.

In 1825, Alexander I (according to the official version) dies in Taganrog and Emperor Nicholas I (1825-1855), strong-willed and aware of his duty to Russia, ascends the throne. Nicholas contributed to a powerful, spiritual and cultural revival of Russia. This revealed a new Eagle (Fig. 31), which changed somewhat over time (Fig. 31a), but still carried the same strict forms.

Mid-19th century

In 1855-1857, during the heraldic reform, which was carried out under the leadership of Baron B. Kene, the type of state eagle was changed under the influence of German designs. The drawing of the Small Coat of Arms of Russia, executed by Alexander Fadeev, was approved by the highest on December 8, 1856. This version of the coat of arms differed from the previous ones not only in the image of an eagle, but also in the number of “title” coats of arms on the wings. On the right were shields with the coats of arms of Kazan, Poland, Tauride Chersonese and the combined coat of arms of the Grand Duchies (Kyiv, Vladimir, Novgorod), on the left were shields with the coats of arms of Astrakhan, Siberia, Georgia, Finland.
On April 11, 1857, the Supreme approval of the entire set of state emblems followed. It included: Big, Middle and Small, coats of arms of members of the imperial family, as well as “titular” coats of arms. At the same time, drawings of the Large, Middle and Small state seals, arks (cases) for seals, as well as seals of the main and lower official places and persons were approved. In total, one hundred and ten drawings lithographed by A. Beggrov were approved in one act. On May 31, 1857, the Senate published a Decree describing the new coats of arms and the rules for their use.
Another Eagle of Emperor Alexander II (1855-1881) is also known, where the shine of gold returns to the Eagle (Fig. 32). The scepter and orb are replaced by a torch and a wreath. During the reign, the wreath and torch are replaced several times by the scepter and orb and return several times.

Large State Emblem, 1882

On July 24, 1882, Emperor Alexander III in Peterhof approved the drawing of the Great Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire, on which the composition was preserved, but the details were changed, in particular the figures of the archangels. In addition, imperial crowns began to be depicted like real diamond crowns used at coronations.
The large Russian state emblem, Supremely approved on November 3, 1882, contains a black double-headed eagle in a golden shield, crowned with two imperial crowns, above which is the same, but larger, crown, with two fluttering ends of the ribbon of the Order of St. Andrew. The state eagle holds a golden scepter and orb. On the eagle's chest is the coat of arms of Moscow. The shield is topped with the helmet of the Holy Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. Black and gold mantle. Around the shield is a chain of the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called; On the sides there are images of Saints Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel. The canopy is golden, crowned with the imperial crown, dotted with Russian eagles and lined with ermine. On it is a scarlet inscription: God is with us! Above the canopy is a state banner with an eight-pointed cross on the pole.

Small State Emblem, 1883-1917.

On February 23, 1883, the Middle and two versions of the Small coat of arms were approved. In January 1895, the highest order was given to leave unchanged the drawing of the state eagle made by academician A. Charlemagne.
The latest act - "Basic provisions of the state structure of the Russian Empire" of 1906 - confirmed all previous legal provisions relating to the State Emblem, but with all its strict contours it is the most elegant.

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