Bryansk is one of the most ancient Russian cities, founded in 985. In his history there are many events that testify to his important role in opposing enemy invasions - who does not know about the struggle of the Bryansk partisans against the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War?
The historical emblem of Bryansk first appeared about three centuries ago, while an attempt to recreate it in the modern history of Russia has not been successful so far - the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation refused to add it to the State Register, which would give legitimacy to the symbolism.
Reforms of Peter
Among the many areas of state activity, which, in the opinion of Peter I, required to be brought to European standards, was heraldry. Many Russian cities and provinces received their official symbols on the basis of images on the banners of the regiments that were housed in them. Bryansk, a city that until then did not have a certain coat of arms, also received its symbol. These banners were made in the Armory according to a uniform model and according to the rules gleaned from manuals issued in Europe.
The heraldic commission also used in the work the famous “Titular” of 1672, which belonged to Peter's father, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and contained all the city emblems and seals known by that time. The developed symbols were combined into a single “Signal Stamp”. In the publication of this guide, developed in 1729, under the guidance of B.K. The emblem of Bryansk appeared for the first time, containing the plot, which was used all the subsequent time. It was described briefly: a golden mortar in a red field, on either side of it - "a pile of bombs." The coat of arms was “painted” on the banner of the Bryansk Landmilitsky (that is, contained at the expense of local authorities) regiment.
Why mortar?
Those who know about the famous Bryansk Arsenal, which has long supplied the Russian army with guns, are associated with the appearance on the coat of arms of the city of a heavy mortar and cores for it. But historians say that when the Arsenal was built (1783), the coat of arms of Bryansk with an “artillery motif” existed for about half a century.
According to local historians and historians of heraldry, the developers of the Bryansk coat of arms, headed by Minikh, took into account the Decree of Peter the Great of 1722 on the formation of three units of the Russian siege artillery in case of war with the Turks, which consisted of particularly powerful and heavy guns, including those that shot hinged mortar fire. One of these batteries by royal order was placed in Bryansk.
Emblem approved by the Empress
During the administrative reforms of the Catherine’s time, Bryansk became part of the Oryol governorate and received the official coat of arms, highly approved among the heraldic emblems of other county towns of the province in 1781. The coat of arms of Bryansk, like most of the already existing city symbols, was called “old” in the description and differed from the image on the banner of the Bryansk regiment in the form of a shield and a sharper and clearer picture.
The symbolism of the colors used in the coat of arms has long been indicated by the canons of classical heraldry. Gold mortars mean wealth, justice, and generosity. The red color of the field (called scarlet heraldry) is the color of courage, courage and fearlessness. The lower part of the shield is painted green, symbolizing hope, joy and abundance. Blackened kernels - with their color symbolize prudence, humility and sadness.
Coat of arms deserves respect
The historical emblem of the city of Bryansk was used until 1917 and was not formally withdrawn from circulation during the entire Soviet time. It did not contain, as in the arms of other ancient Russian cities, any monarchical or religious symbols, so the golden mortar appeared on numerous souvenirs brought by tourists from Bryansk. At the same time, the old coat of arms was frivolously supplemented with various Soviet attributes and symbols: Soviet orders and order ribbons, a sickle and a hammer, etc.
Perhaps such disrespectful attitude to ancient and well-deserved symbols affected when, after the advent of new times in 1998, an attempt was made to restore the historical emblem and flag of Bryansk, it was accompanied by such an illiterate description and graphic embodiment of them that it was called the head of the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation G.V. Vilinbakhov "distortion of the historical appearance" of ancient urban attributes.
The essence of the claims of heraldists
In a letter that accompanied the refusal to register the “new old” coat of arms, the Presidential Council on Heraldry indicates that unacceptable deviations from the historical coat of arms were made:
- In the lower part of the heraldic shield, new elements appeared, called the description “young shoots”. From the point of view of classical coat of arms, they can be interpreted as arrows stuck in the ground - a sign of flight from the enemy, and a formidable weapon becomes thrown on the battlefield.
- For some reason, the cores in the pyramid are not painted black, as in the 1761 version, but made in gold.
- The golden border around the edge of the shield, according to the same classical rules of arms studies, means the humiliation of the carrier, the loss of its honor and dignity. Bryansk is a city of military glory, therefore it does not deserve such analogies.
After the refusal to register the city coat of arms in Bryansk, a working group was created to draft a new symbol, taking into account the comments made by professional heraldists. Attempts continued to supplement the historical emblem with new elements denoting the changes that took place in the state and in the status of the city. The process of herbalism in Bryansk continues.