On December 7, 2003, a referendum was held among the residents of the Perm Region and the Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug to unite these subjects of the Russian Federation. According to its results, from December 1, 2005, the Perm Territory appeared on the map of Russia .
Formally, this is one of the youngest administrative entities in the state, although the history of intensive development of these places has more than three hundred years. Its reflection is the coat of arms of the
Perm region, created on the basis of the city symbol of the capital of the region.
History of the region
The first information about the peoples who inhabited the territory of the present Perm Territory appears in the annals of "The Tale of Bygone Years", which says that Russia collected tribute from the inhabitants of Prikamye. Later, the lands along the banks of the Kama River at the confluence of the Chusovaya River were owned by powerful merchants and miners Stroganovs. The history of the capital of the region as a city begins in 1723, from the moment the construction of a copper smelter began near the mouth of another Kama tributary, the Yegoshikhi River.
Four hundred years before this, the enlightenment activity of the legendary St. Stephen of Perm became famous. His tireless missionary work greatly contributed to the inclusion of Perm territories in the Moscow state. He was the author of the written language of many peoples of the Kama region - Komi, Zyryans, Permians, actively introduced Orthodoxy in those places where he later became a bishop in the Perm diocese formed by his works. The gospel in a gold frame, included in the coat of arms of the Perm Territory, is considered by many to be a tribute to this enlightener.
Perm Bear
Historians explain the choice of the bear as the main symbol of the capital of Prikamye by the existence of the cult of this beast among the tribes that inhabited those territories. Perhaps, it was from pagan totems that the bear migrated to the press, which fastened the letters of the first Perm governor, and then to the coat of arms of the Perm Territory.
The liberty of an artistic interpretation of the image of the “master of the taiga”, which is characteristic of various historical images of the Permian symbol, has given rise to many versions among historians - professionals and amateurs. At the first distinct artifact of Russian heraldry - the Great State Seal of Ivan the Terrible (XVI century) - the letters "Perm Seal" surround a certain beast that looks more like a fox.
Similar images that appeared at a later time - for example, on the Saadach veil of the throne of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov - often also looked little like the formidable Toptygin, having more similarities with a sheep, wolverine, arctic fox or big cat. At the same time, a bear was invariably present in the description.
Heraldic processing of the old plot
In the course of the reforms of Catherine II, the city of Perm, which became the provincial center, was supposed to receive symbols developed according to uniform rules. The coat of arms of the Perm Territory of that time was officially approved on July 17, 1783: in a scarlet (red) field there is a silver bear on which the Gospel is placed in a gold frame, at the top there is a silver four-pointed broadened cross, below is the earth.
This plot, which has been preserved in its main features until now, first appeared in another famous Russian coat of arms - “Titular” of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1672). Then it was repeated on the banners of the Perm regiments, on the official seals of the capital of Perm governorate and other cities that were part of it.
On the basis of the coat of arms approved by Alexander II in 1856, the coat of arms and flag of the Perm Territory were developed during the revival of state symbols that began after the collapse of the USSR. The shield, containing an old heraldic plot with a walking bear with the gospel on its back and a four-pointed cross, was crowned by the imperial crown and decorated with a wreath of golden oak leaves intertwined with St. Andrew's ribbon.
Without the cross and the gospel
In Soviet times, new editions of the historical coat of arms of Perm and the Perm Territory appeared. In it, religious and monarchist symbols were replaced by elements more appropriate to communist ideology. The cross over the marching bear was replaced by a five-pointed star, and in the open book, only a historian could recognize a link to a collection of divine texts.
In 1967, a competition was held to develop an ideologically seasoned Perm coat of arms. The winners proposed an option in which the historical coat of arms, devoid of religious and autocratic subtext, was used as a small emblem at the bottom of the shield, and the main symbols were other symbols: a monument to the fighters for the cause of the revolution, erected in the famous Perm region - Motovilikha - and an outgoing radiance that represents energy power of the region.
What symbolizes the emblem of the Perm region
Under the administrative association of the Perm Region and the Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug, a working group was created that tried to develop heraldic elements that combine the symbols of the two regions. As a result, it was decided to create the coat of arms and flag of the Perm Territory based on the emblem of its capital. In addition to the stability and adherence to traditions declared in this case, it was noted that the bear, like no other symbol, is suitable for the indigenous peoples inhabiting the region. It is included in their ancient and modern culture in the form of fairy tales, songs, traditions, handicrafts, etc.
Since 2007, the coat of arms of the Perm Territory has been included in the State Heraldic Register of the Russian Federation. What each element constituting it means can be understood from the description and comments of the herald masters who took part in the reconstruction of the region’s historical symbols:
- The silver bear, going to the right, is a symbol of the natural wealth that the Permian land possesses - hidden in the bowels of the earth and growing on it in the form of endless forests, where many animals live.
- The gospel in a gold frame is a symbol of enlightenment, which came to the indigenous peoples of the Kama region mainly in the form of Christian and Orthodox culture.
- The four-pointed equilateral cross made of silver is a heraldic sign of special destiny, chosenness, victoriousness, patronage and protection from higher powers.
- The red (scarlet) color of the shield, as well as the royal crown crowning it, mean the significance of the region as a full-fledged subject of the federation, which has its own capital, belonging to a single monolithic state.