The state emblem is not just a beautiful drawing - in its image, as a rule, all the symbols of the country's internal structure are laid down: priorities, policies and even warnings.
Coat of arms of the Russian state
The history of the coat of arms of Russia goes back to the time of the reign of Ivan III. It was then, in 1497, that the image of an eagle with two heads first appeared on the royal seal. After it underwent various changes, and as a result, by 1917, the coat of arms of Russia was overgrown with symbols, each of which had its own meaning:
- The double-headed eagle, which gazes in different directions, suggests that Russia combines all the best that is inherent in the West and the East, being the golden mean between two cultures.
- The warrior, riding a spear on a horse, - George the Victorious - a symbol of the fact that the Fatherland is under protection and will always be able to defeat the encroaching evil.
- Three crowns mean the independence of Russia.
- A scepter and a power is the unity of a power controlled by state power.
That is, all the symbolism included in the coat of arms said that the country to which it belongs is a multinational, powerful, sovereign, power capable of protecting its people.
But this was until 1917, when there was a turn in the history of the Russian state.
New Government - Other Symbols
The February Revolution in Russia in 1917 brought an end to the rule of the monarchy. Power over the country passed into the hands of the so-called Provisional Government, whose work was headed by Prince G.E. Lvov. From now on, the Constituent Assembly was to determine the fate and path of Russia . The power has changed, which means that the old symbols were no longer in the changing country. Nevertheless, all important documents should have been secured by the state seal. Already in March, requests were sent from various institutions and departments of the country to the Provisional Government with a request to clarify what kind of real state should be. stamp confirming the authenticity of documents.
In this regard, a special meeting was convened, and under it a special commission on art was created, headed by A. M. Gorky. Gorky, in turn, attracted artists from the "World of Art" and famous heraldists.
The result of their joint work was a sketch made by I. Ya. Bilibin, which after some discussion was adopted as a temporary emblem for the state press. The sample was still the same double-headed eagle, though devoid of all the attributes that were considered symbols inherent in tsarism and inappropriate for the new era.
This emblem that adorned the state. the press, in fact, was the emblem of the Provisional Government, but the question of giving it state status remained open.
New time - a new emblem
After the model of the new press was publicly presented to the public, a wave of protests swept through the country, demanding to eradicate the old "royal" paraphernalia, still used in everyday life. The country needed a different national emblem.
The question of the new symbol was raised several times at the Legal Conference, which is convening under the Provisional Government. In the end, the image of the eagle in the new version was recognized as possible for use as a state symbol. However, the final decision on how the coat of arms of the Provisional Government would look like was postponed until the next Constituent Assembly. Nevertheless, the new leadership of the country already considered the “naked” eagle “their” new symbol. His image appeared on new paper banknotes.
Temporary emblem on temporary money
The paper money issued under the new government looked quite interesting.
They depicted the coat of arms of the Provisional Government - a two-headed eagle against the background of a swastika, which at that time was not yet considered a sign of fascism. The swastika (“Running Cross”) was considered a solar (solar) sign symbolizing eternity, the path to prosperity and progress. Apparently, this is precisely why it was used by the Provisional Government in conjunction with the eagle as a symbol of Russia's victory over the yoke of the monarchy. However, an official explanation of what the new state symbol means did not happen. The coat of arms of the Provisional Government of 1917, in fact, remained only an emblem.
In the summer of 1918, the already formed Soviet government decided to completely eradicate the old symbolism. The new Constitution adopted at that time determined that the emblem of the state from now on would symbolize only the political symbols of the new ruling party. The coat of arms of the Provisional Government was replaced by the coat of arms of the RSFSR.
Why money is the coat of arms of the Provisional Government
In 1991, the collapse of the USSR. Again, in the history of our country, transitional times have come when the old Soviet symbols were no longer relevant, and new ones had not yet appeared.
In 1992, the Bank of Russia began to mint coins with an emblem very similar to the coat of arms of the Provisional Government of 1917.
And this happened because at that time the state symbols approved by the government of the country simply did not exist. Therefore, the Bank of Russia decided to use its logo on money, which, according to Alexander Yurov, who is the director of the Central Bank’s cash circulation department, has nothing to do with the Provisional Government and its symbols. And the similarity of the two emblems explained by the fact that they were really made by the same artist - I. Bilibin. Only the emblem of the Central Bank is borrowed from Russian fairy tales, in the design of the books of which this artist took part.
The year 2016 was marked by the fact that a full-fledged emblem of Russia returned to domestic banknotes.