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| Coat of arms of Saint Petersburg | |
|---|---|
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| Versions | |
 Lesser coat of arms of Saint Petersburg | |
 Brandmark | |
| Adopted | 1730; re-enacted in 1991; current version since 2003 |
The coat of arms of Saint Petersburg is the official symbol of the city and was adopted in 23 April 2003.
The historical coat of arms of St. Petersburg was approved in 1730, confirmed in 1780, and amended in 1857. It had never been declined and was brought back into use in 1991. The coats of arms of the Holy See and Vatican City (the original "city of St. Peter") served as the prototype for the coat of arms of St. Petersburg.
After the October Revolution, and until the collapse of the Soviet Union (from 1917 to 1991), the city's coat of arms was not used. It bore the symbol of imperial power, which was incompatible with the official ideology of the Soviet regime, and the widespread use of city emblems and flags did not exist in the Soviet tradition. Arbitrary symbols, such as a boat from the spire of the Admiralty were more commonly used.
Only in the spring of 1989 did the city government of Leningrad re-consider the need for a city emblem. A citywide competition was declared to design one with a cash prize to be awarded to the winner. An exhibition was held to display the candidates in May 1989 in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The Russian Historical Society opposed this initiative and organized protests, petitioning for the revival of the historical coat of arms of St. Petersburg (video of the event was shown on TV and were reported in the local media). As a result, the idea of establishing a new Soviet emblem of the Northern capital was abandoned, with public opinion favouring the revival of the existing city emblem, and this was officially re-enacted in 1991.
The current coat of arms was adopted on 23 April 2003.
The coat of arms of Saint Petersburg is a red heraldic shield with a field featuring two silver anchors. The Maritime anchor is oriented diagonally from left to right from the viewer, with two legs in the upper left corner, and the River anchor mirrors its position, with four legs in the upper right corner. Above them is a golden scepter with a double-headed eagle. The shield is crowned with an imperial crown with two St. Andrew azure ribbons emerging from it. Behind the shield two are crosswise gold scepters adorned with diamonds connected by St Andrew azure ribbons.
The heraldic description of the coat of arms of St. Petersburg states: "In the dark red field gold Russian scepter over two overturned silver anchors sea and river, about four teeth, crosswise. The shield is crowned Russian imperial crown and put it on top of two Russian scepter natural color connected ribbon of St. Andrew."
The coat of arms of St Petersburg may also be reproduced in abbreviated versions, for both historical and heraldic purposes. The imperial crown can be omitted, as can its ribbons, along with the two Russian scepters and double-headed eagle but the two silver anchors - sea and river, laid crosswise remain constant.
The scepters represent the rulers of St Petersburg. In this case, a scepter surmounted by an eagle symbolised monarchical royal power, and that St. Petersburg was the capital of the Russian Empire. The two silver anchors, one of which was two-bladed with a cross in the ring representing the sea, and the other, with four blades and a ring representing the river, meant that the city was both a sea and river port. The red of the shield recalls the bloody battles against the Swedes in the Great Northern War.
A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross. The word comes from the Middle French sautoir, Medieval Latin saltatoria ("stirrup").
The coat of arms of Ukraine is a blue shield with a golden trident. It is colloquially known as the tryzub.
The coat of arms of Romania was adopted in the Romanian Parliament on 10 September 1992 as a representative coat of arms for Romania. The current coat of arms is based on the lesser coat of arms of interwar Kingdom of Romania, which was designed in 1921 by the Transylvanian Hungarian heraldist József Sebestyén from Cluj, at the request of King Ferdinand I of Romania, it was redesigned by Victor Dima. As a central element, it shows a golden aquila holding a cross in its beak, and a mace and a sword in its claws. It also consists of the three colors which represent the colors of the national flag. The coat of arms was augmented on 11 July 2016 to add a representation of the Steel Crown of Romania.
The coat of arms of Russia derives from the earlier coat of arms of the Russian Empire. Though modified more than once since the reign of Ivan III (1462–1505), the current coat of arms is directly derived from its medieval original, with the double-headed eagle having Byzantine and earlier antecedents. The general tincture corresponds to the fifteenth-century standard.
The coat of arms of Malta is the national coat of arms of the country of Malta.
The coat of arms of Georgia is one of the national symbols of Georgia. The coat of arms is partially based on the medieval arms of the Georgian royal house and features Saint George, the traditional patron saint of Georgia. In addition to St. George, the original proposal included additional heraldic elements found on the royal seal, such as the seamless robe of Jesus, but this was deemed excessively religious and was not incorporated into the final version.
The coat of arms of Moldova is the national emblem of the Republic of Moldova.
The coat of arms of Bucharest is the heraldic symbol of the capital city of Romania. The present-day coat of arms was adopted by Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza, and changed under the Communist regime. In 1994, it was renewed again with minor alterations.
The coat of arms of Napoleonic Italy was the coat of arms used by the Kingdom of Italy (1805–1814) during the reign of Napoleon as King of Italy.
The coat of arms of Kropyvnytskyi is one of the city's symbols reflecting its past and the controversies of its history.
Coat of arms of Tallinn represents Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia.
Russian heraldry involves the study and use of coats of arms and other heraldic insignia in the country of Russia. Compare the socialist heraldry of the Soviet period of Russian history (1917–1991).
A national coat of arms is a symbol which denotes an independent state in the form of a heraldic achievement. While a national flag is usually used by the population at large and is flown outside and on ships, a national coat of arms is normally considered a symbol of the government or the head of state personally and tends to be used in print, on armorial ware, and as a wall decoration in official buildings. The royal arms of a monarchy, which may be identical to the national arms, are sometimes described as arms of dominion or arms of sovereignty.
The coat of arms of the Bryansk Oblast was approved by the Bryansk Oblast Duma on November 5, 1998. According to the official description provided by the legislature of the oblast, the arms of the Bryansk Oblast "reflect the characteristic features of the area and its inhabitants: industry and patriotism.
The coat of arms of the Omsk Oblast in Russia were adopted 29 April 2020 by Governor Alexander Burkov.
The coat of arms of Nizhny Novgorod is the official symbol of the city from December 20, 2006.
The coat of arms of Baku is the official heraldic symbol of the city of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The first emblem of the city was approved in 1840, changed in 1890, 1967, and 2001. The dimensions of the emblem are: width – 100 mm, height – 140 mm.
The coat of arms of Guayaquil is used for the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil. Adopted in 1920, it's composed of a circle in blue with an inscribed silver star. The circumference is surrounded on both sides by two olive branches in the shape of a crown, linked at the bottom by a ribbon of gules. Under the ribbon is the slogan "Por Guayaquil independiente". It usually appears with an oval border in blue, although this is not an official version.
The coat of arms of Sevastopol is a heraldic symbol representing the city of Sevastopol, Crimea. It is featured in the middle of the flag of Sevastopol on a red background.
The coat of arms of the University of Sheffield is the official heraldic emblem of the University of Sheffield. It was granted by the College of Arms on 28 June 1905, one month after the university's royal charter was sealed. The coat of arms was registered as a trademark by the University of Sheffield in 1992. In 2005, the university designed a logo consisting of a simplified version of the arms; the logo, however, does not supersede the heraldic symbol.
Media related to Coats of arms of Saint Petersburg at Wikimedia Commons
