Russian Coat of Arms

Last modified: 2005-05-07 by antónio martins
Keywords: coat of arms | heraldry | eagle: double-headed (golden) | eagle: double-headed (black) | saint george |
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• The current Coat of Arms
• Differences between Tzarʼs and current Coat of Arms
• History and Discription of the Coat of Arms
• History and Discription of the Two-Headed Eagle
• History and Discription of the Horseman

• Russia
• Russian Empire
• Moscow City

• ftp://www.vexillopolis.com/pub/fotw/arms/
  A large scan of the coat of arms, posted by António Martins on 03 Dec 1997
• http://acs.bu.edu:8001/~razumkin/cre.html
  Russian Heraldry Page on a historic heritage of Russia.
• http://www.times.st-pete.fl.us/Treasures/TC.2.1.10.1.html
  The finial of the Russian National Banner, piece of art was made in 1896 by the famous Fabergé jewellers modeled on the coat of arms.

The current Coat of Arms

Present coat of arms was adopted on 30 November 1993 with the Decree of the President #2050. The arms: red shield, golden double-headed eagle with scepter, orb and three crowns. Silver horseman is in red escutcheon. Author of drawing — Evgeny Ukhnalyov from St.Petersburg. The horseman is not St. George. Russia is not a christian-only country, there are many muslims, buddhists and other. Thatʼs why the authors decided not to name the horseman as “Saint”. The comission to design the arms was created on 16 November 1993, the comission was led by R. Pikhoya, state archivist of Russia. In 1991 double-headed eagle (without crowns), breast-shield, scepter nor orb was drawn on coins. The arms may be used without red shield (article 2, Regulation on State Coat of Arms). Later this arms was named “coat of arms of The Bank of Russia”.
Victor Lomantsov, 10 Nov 1999

The horseman on historical russian arms (and on the arms of Moscow too) is St. George. In official description of modern arms of Russia (1993) the horseman became simply a «horseman» as a tribute to the muslim population, but he “looks like” St.George. Some heraldists want to rename back «horseman» to «St. George».
Victor Lomantsov, 10 Nov 2000

I suppose that thereʼs a (legal?) prescription which specifically says that the dragon slaying rider on the russian arms is not St. George, in order not to ostracize some 10% of the citizens of Russia who are not christians.
António Martins, 09 Nov 2000

If it isn't St. George, one misses the reference to Moscow's patron saint in Georgiy Zhukov, the latter-day savior of Moscow, riding a white horse through Red Square over the captured Nazi regalia. I'm sure it wasn't intentional on Stalin's part, but I've been told the Muscovites certainly caught the