Coat of arms is an integral attribute of any Russian city. And the coat of arms of St. Petersburg is generally the oldest of all Russian heraldic symbols. It appeared back in the time of Peter I. And despite such a long period of existence and numerous changes, the symbol has not lost its original idea.
Coat of arms
Like many other territorial symbols, the emblem of the city of St. Petersburg had its "predecessors", which served as its prototypes.
The first territorial emblem of the province was created in 1710. It was a banner depicting a column decorated with the imperial crown. On the column - a two-handed sword and a key to the city, crossed between each other. The coat of arms had a religious meaning, as depicted crosswise the key and the sword symbolized the holy apostles Paul and Peter.
In 1712, another symbol appeared: a flaming heart of gold under the silver mantle of the emperor, decorated with a golden crown, and under them - a pair of palm branches. Probably, the idea of such a coat of arms was taken from the book “Symbols and Emblem”, which was published under Peter the Great. This symbol was depicted on the banners of the troops of the city of St. Petersburg.
The same burning heart was also used in the coat of arms of Menshikov, the founder of the St. Petersburg military regiment.
Coat of arms of Peter the Great
In 1722, St. Petersburg underwent major transformations. This also affected his banner. Since at that time the official symbol of the city did not exist, Peter I founded the heraldry office and instructed them to modify the symbol.
He wanted to emphasize the metropolitan status of the city and to indicate its superiority at sea. Thus, according to the instructions of the emperor, in 1724 a new coat of arms of St. Petersburg appeared. The capital’s symbol was a scarlet shield, which depicted sea and river silver anchors crossed between each other, as well as a scepter of power against their background.
Time for a change
Six years later, Christopher Minich compiled the royal emblem, which included a description of the coat of arms of St. Petersburg, with only a few additions. So, over the scarlet shield depicted the crown of the Emperor, and above the scepter - an eagle with two heads. It was this version in 1730 that was approved as the emblem of St. Petersburg by Anna Ioannovna and approved by the Governing Senate.
Since its official approval in 1730, the emblem has been modified several times. So, exactly fifty years later, Catherine the Great decided to fix the status of the city emblem by personal decree. And also bring some of its changes, in particular in the form of a scarlet shield.
The middle of the 18th century became a time of radical renewal for the capital's banner. So, at this time in the Russian Empire new rules were introduced regarding the design of urban symbols. On an existing banner, vertically arranged gold oak branches framing a red shield appeared, St. Andrew's ribbon was also added, and the river anchor screw lost one of the four blades.
In the 19th century, the emblem of the city of St. Petersburg was again updated. This time, two crossed scepters and several ribbons of azure color were added . In this version, the coat of arms was used before the October Revolution and the fall of the emperor.
Coat of arms of Leningrad
After Lenin died and the city changed its name to Leningrad, the need arose to create new symbolism. So, all attributes of imperial power disappear from the old coat of arms, the inscription “LENINGRAD” is added. After the revolution and the transfer of power into the hands of the Bolsheviks until the collapse of the USSR, the historical coat of arms of St. Petersburg was not used. The reason for this was the symbols of imperial authority depicted on it, which contradicted official Soviet ideology. In addition, in the post-revolutionary period, almost no city emblems and flags were used. Instead of the coat of arms, a badge was used in the form of a boat on the spire of the Admiralty.
There was another project of the symbol of Leningrad. So, Kiss in his book “Coats of arms of the USSR” cited the following option: the white cruiser Aurora on the blue waves of the Neva, and the red “flame of revolution” burns in the background. However, this project has not been approved. The coat of arms of Leningrad lasted until the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
The modern emblem of St. Petersburg
In 1991, the city was returned the name that Peter I gave it, as well as the previously used coat of arms. So, in September of that year, the government of St. Petersburg adopted and officially approved a new version of the coat of arms, which is relevant to this day.
Its modern version is a symbolic red shield with the sea and river silver anchors depicted on it, crossed among themselves, against a background of a gold inlaid rod decorated with an eagle with two heads. Above the shield are the emperor’s crown and azure ribbons, behind are crossed scepters. Around the shield flows a wide ribbon of turquoise color. Less commonly, but still one more option is used: without a crown, azure ribbons and scepters - this is a simplified coat of arms of St. Petersburg.
What does it mean?
Each of the elements depicted on the emblem of the city has a deep meaning. So, the scarlet shield field symbolizes the spilled blood of the Russian people in battles with the Swedes during the Northern War.
Two silver anchors (sea and river) talk about the idea of Emperor Peter I, that the almighty and ideally fortified city has its own exits to the river and the sea. That is, St. Petersburg is a river and sea port at the same time.
The scepter is an attribute of imperial power since ancient times. A rod crowned with an eagle with two heads gives the city the status of the capital of the Russian state.