Among the names of Russian cities there are names that sound the personification of the essence of the Russian state, its complex and long history. This is reflected in their symbolism.
The coat of arms of Ryazan is one of the oldest in Russian heraldry; it possesses the value of a real historical artifact. His age is estimated at almost four centuries.
Walking horse
The Ryazan principality was one of the last to join the united state formed around Moscow. The history of the confrontation between the rulers of Ryazan and the surrounding rulers is full of examples of relentless militancy, cunning and treachery. Only the father of Ivan the Terrible - Vasily III - won the right to add to his titles the title of Grand Duke of Ryazan.
On the Great State Seal of Ivan IV (1577), among the emblems of the cities that the king of all Russia owned, there was a Ryazan seal. She portrayed a horse without a rider and a rein. This earliest coat of arms of Ryazan has always evoked different interpretations among different generations of historians. Some saw in it a symbol of closeness to the steppe expanses, from which the threat of the nomad cavalry came, while others personified a wild, unadulterated horse, but not galloping, but walking in stride, with the pacification of the violent disposition of the Ryazan princes.
Throne of Mikhail Fedorovich
In the annals there is evidence of the active participation of the Ryazans in the battle on the Kulikovo field, about the distracting blow of the Ryazan prince Oleg against the governor Jagaila, thanks to which the army of Mamaia did not receive support from the Lithuanians either. In the army, which liberated Moscow from the Poles, who tried to make the king of False Dmitry, the regiments, consisting of Ryazan nobles, were considered an elite.
The militancy of the inhabitants of the steppe outskirts of Russia, who at one time considered both steppes, Mordovians, Muscovites, and Kazan as their enemies, was also taken up by the coat of arms of Ryazan. A warrior with a drawn sword in his right hand first appeared as a symbol of the Ryazan principality after 1626, was embroidered on the cover of the back wall of the silver throne of the first king from the Romanov dynasty. Then, a description of the Ryazan coat of arms appears in the "List of all sovereign seals": "A man, in his right hand is a sword, beneath it is earth." The “titular” by Alexei Mikhailovich (1672) also contains a similar image.
Warriors on all variants of the coat of arms differ in pose, clothing, weapons, color scheme. For the first time, Peter the Great attempted to introduce the conformity of Russian state symbols to uniform heraldic rules.
Francis Santi and Bernhard Köhne
In the Geroldmeister office, created by Peter in 1722, an important role was played by an expert from Italy compiling personal and state symbols invited by Italy - Count Santi. Among other emblems, he created Ryazan. For the first time, a nationwide approach to the compilation and use of emblems is carried out, excluding local initiative.
Catherine II carried out her administrative reform, which included the compilation and approval of symbols for cities in strict accordance with their status. But the final, imperial order in heraldry was imposed only under Alexander II. Great effort was made by the prominent heraldmeister B. Köhne. The coat of arms of the city of Ryazan received, along with the decoration in the form of golden oak wreaths entwined with a scarlet ribbon, the right to crown the shield with the royal crown. The prince, depicted on the coat of arms, turned in full view, received a certain graphic and color solution for his weapons and clothing.
Historical coat of arms: oblivion and rebirth
In Soviet times, the coat of arms of Ryazan of the sample of 1856, which was considered historical, was not used in official practice when conducting official ceremonies and for preparing city documentation. At the same time, it was widely used in the manufacture of souvenirs and printed materials for tourists.
In August 1994, a new life of urban symbols of Ryazan began. The official symbol of the city, created on the basis of the historical coat of arms, was approved. For many residents of Ryazan, this was a confirmation of the continuity of the traditions of the city, originating in ancient times, the special significance and persuasiveness of the symbol found in those distant times.
Creative reconstruction
The modern coat of arms of Ryazan, finally approved in 2002, was the result of the gradual development of the historical symbol of the city, taken as a basis.
For many historians, it was important to return the first symbol of the city, which appeared on the princely seals, - a walking horse. In 1997, the coat of arms of the Ryazan region was adopted, in which the title coat of arms of the city was supplemented by shield holders - silver horses with a gold mane and red mantle, lined with ermine.
On the recommendation of the Heraldic Commission, the city coat of arms acquired an additional element - the Monomakh cap, which crowned the coat of arms of Ryazan, which means its status as a regional center directly subordinated to the capital center.
In 2001, he also received shield holders - a silver horse and a golden griffin, painted with scarlet lights. A shield began to surround a golden chain from the ceremonial sign of the head of the city.
In the same year, a competition was announced for the draft motto, and the city coat of arms was decorated with an inscription inscribed in black letters on a gold ribbon: "Glorious history - a worthy future." Thus, the complete coat of arms of Ryazan was finally formed, the description of which is entered in the State Heraldic Register of the Russian Federation under the number 172.