The city of Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod region has a unique history, its own characteristic feature in Russia. For the first time in documents this city is referred to as the village of Rastyapino in 1606.
As a city with its infrastructure, Dzerzhinsk developed in the USSR somewhere in the 60s of the last century. Engineering functioned in the city, a chemical plant worked. Cultural and social environment developed. A city with a population of about 200 thousand people was in full swing and flourished. New houses, streets, neighborhoods appeared. Scientific and design institutes have settled in the city. The chemical industry has entered the world market.
City Emblem Competition
To mark their products with a special sign, it became necessary to develop a certain symbol of the city, its business card. The first attempts reflected the cinema "Drummer", DC chemists. Such insignia appeared on posters. By decree of the party and government, each element was to express an ideological worldview. There was a need to develop the emblem of the city.
The first to propose the idea of the emblem of the city was V.V. Voronkov, who occupies the place of chief architect in Dzerzhinsk. Leaders supported his initiative. The bureau of the city party committee and the executive committee of the city council decided to create an emblem. A competition has been announced. According to the terms of the competition, the emblem must reflect:
- chemical engineering;
- F. E. Dzerzhinsky, by whose name the city is named;
- socialism;
- city of chemistry.
The main educational goal of the coat of arms of Dzerzhinsk is to instill a sense of love for the motherland, pride in your hometown.
The emblem of the city of Dzerzhinsk
There were few people wishing to participate in the competition. Stubbornly began to work on the emblem VN Smirnov and VV Osipov. Young enthusiasts have been working on the symbol for a whole year. Some sketches were rejected by the leadership of the city, there was a lot of controversy. Young artists and the chief architect in the creative union completed the sketch and presented their work to the commission. All conditions have been met. The task was not easy.
What is depicted on the coat of arms of the city of Dzerzhinsk?
The appearance of the emblem: the shape is round, the symbols of socialism are captured, as required - a sickle and a hammer. Chemical engineering was reflected in the form of a gear, which was depicted by masters on the left in a circle. Ears are located on the right. Sickle and hammer, ears and gear symbolized the union of workers and peasants. The city functions in collaboration with the Volodarsky Territory. The central part was occupied by a retort flask, proclaiming Dzerzhinsk a city of chemistry, distillation columns reminded of this. All these details were symbols of the time.
At the bottom of the temporary space, the creators expanded, included the part in the form of a manuscript, on the expanded sheet of the decree in large print wrote the year when the city of Dzerzhinsk was founded. Five-pointed stars, symbols of the world revolution, are also depicted.
This emblem can be seen on Chkalov Avenue on the wall of a nine-story building in a mosaic design. At that time, this high-rise building was visible from afar. The symbol met guests entering the city. The exact date of the appearance of this emblem is 08/03/1965. To this day, the symbol pleases the eye of residents of microdistrict 4a at the North Gate.
Photo album with the emblem of the city
There is currently an album - a bibliographic rarity - about the history of the city. It is this emblem of the city of Dzerzhinsk that is imprinted on the binding by embossing. This memorable colorful photo album is unique in that it was published in Finland. Trying N. S. Patolichev - Minister of Foreign Trade, a native of Dzerzhinsk. There were no technologies for the release of such albums in the USSR then.
The authors of the emblem Smirnov and Osipov entered the Union of Artists, became honorary members of the city. For decades, their emblem was in demand as a symbol of the city. Over time, the need arose to create the coat of arms of the city of Dzerzhinsk. Many cities of the Soviet Union have coats of arms decorated according to heraldic canons.
Creation of the coat of arms of Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod region
The 50th anniversary of the founding of the city was approaching. The authorities decided to coincide with this date to create a new symbol of Dzerzhinsk - the coat of arms. According to all the rules of heraldry, the coat of arms was to become a symbol of culture, history, production, and the geographical location of Dzerzhinsk. According to the plan, the emblem should be aesthetically correctly designed and understandable. Content and form should meet the highest requirements.
The appearance of the coat of arms
The architect E. A. Sinyavsky, the artist A. Ya. Muravyov, worked well in the community to create the coat of arms of the city of Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. An already existing emblem was placed in a red shield of rectangular heraldry, the edges were rounded, pointed limbs appeared. The name of the city was crowned with gold letters, the background is blue; below - blue waves and the date of foundation of the city. Of course, a sickle and a hammer.
The chief architect and chief artist of the city had no ideological bickering with the authorities about the ideology and design of the coat of arms. Decorators from Gorky wanted to take on this matter, but the executive authorities chose local craftsmen.
So, what is depicted on the coat of arms of Dzerzhinsk? It consists of gears, ears and symbols of the chemical industry, since the city has a special role in the development of Russian chemistry. The lower part is the blue waves of the Oka River, on which the city is located.
Coat of arms designation
12/21/1978, by decision of the City Council, consent was given to create a coat of arms based on the sketch of the authors. The City Council determined the use of the symbolism of the city in the form of a coat of arms. According to the decision made, the halls of the meetings of the administrative sector, the facades of buildings, official correspondence were decorated with the coat of arms. Since the emblem was ordered for the anniversary of the city, they first decorated invitation cards for the celebration of the celebration.
Currently, in single copies you can find both souvenirs and official forms of the era with the coat of arms. On the stele, the city emblem was replaced with a coat of arms. In 1980, the city of Dzerzhinsk was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. This sign also found a place on the stele along with the coat of arms. At the entrance to the city from afar they meet a coat of arms and an order. The author of these works is A. Ya. Muravyov. He made masterpieces from metal at the Zarya factory. It was very difficult to color the metal. Different colors of enamel required a different temperature regime: either cracked, or burned. The solution came by itself: they used epoxy.
Steles with a coat of arms and an order indicate the achievements of the working people, the peculiarity of the city, delight the eyes of visitors and residents themselves.
New trends
The coat of arms has been revised several times over time. In 1995, the Charter approved the symbol, in 2005 it was left in the same form. And yet, the coat of arms created by Sinyavsky and Muravyov is outdated. Time is running, life is changing. In 2014, a competition was announced for the coat of arms of the city of Dzerzhinsk. This time, 15 authors participated in the competition and submitted 25 works.
According to modern requirements, one cannot leave the symbols of the USSR: a sickle and a hammer, a red star (a symbol of the world revolution). According to the rules of heraldry, there should not be any inscriptions. Russia is another country with a new ideology, therefore the coat of arms of the city of Dzerzhinsk has gone down in history. This is a historical monument. The commission in the first round selected 8 sketches and put it to the vote of the public.
A city such as Dzerzhinsk, the second largest population in the Nizhny Novgorod region, a working city with world history should have a worthy emblem.