History of the State Emblem of Russia.
January 23rd, 2013
"Sign of Rurikovich" - coat of arms, moreover, monarchical and Christian.
This is how they arelook, already systematized.
Genealogy of signs of Rurikovich 9 - 11 centuries on S. Beletsky "Ancient heraldry of Rus'".
1. Coats of arms of Rurikovich are not generic signs, but coats of arms. The first conclusion that can be drawn from this table.
The proof for this is that:
a/ all coats of arms have one base, this is Olga's coat of arms, and additions in the form of a cross, a bird, a "third tooth" and a small triangle at the bottom of the base. That is, these are normal personal coats of arms. This is how they usually look.
The personal coat of arms displays all the ownership rights of a given person. Rights, both realized (lands and peoples) and unrealized rights. This means that all ruling dynasties are related to each other and, members of dynasties in the order of inheritance, have a very real opportunity to receive some kind of land by inheritance. The coats of arms of these countries - lands are also reflected in the personal coat of arms. It also reflects the line of succession to the throne;
Consider, as an example, the personal coat of arms of Emperor Alexander 2.
Family coat of arms of His Imperial Majesty
The shield is split. To the right - the coat of arms of the Romanov family: in a silver field, a red vulture holding a golden sword and a tarch crowned with a small eagle; on a black border are eight severed lion heads, four gold and four silver. To the left - the coat of arms of Schleswig-Holstein: a quarter-part shield with a tip and a small shield in the middle; in the first part - the Norwegian coat of arms: in a red field, a golden crowned lion with a silver halberd; in the second part - the coat of arms of Schleswig: in a golden field, two blue leopard lions; in the third part - the coat of arms of Holstein: in a red field a crossed small shield, silver and red; around the shield is a silver, cut into three parts, a nettle leaf and three silver nails with ends to the corners of the shield; in the fourth part - the Stormarn coat of arms: in a red field a silver swan with black paws and a golden crown around its neck; at the end - the coat of arms of Ditmarsen: in a red field, golden, with a raised sword, a rider on a silver horse covered with black cloth; the middle small shield is also dissected: in the right half is the coat of arms of Oldenburg: in a golden field there are two red belts; on the left - the coat of arms of Delmengorst: in a blue field, a golden cross with a sharp end at the bottom. This small shield is surmounted by a grand ducal crown, and the main one by a royal crown.
The emblem clearly displays the information contained in the title. Each word corresponds to a symbol. You can verify yourself.
Title imp. Alexander II:
By God's hastening mercy, We, Alexander II, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, Moscow, Kyiv, Vladimir, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Poland, Tsar of Siberia, Tsar of Tauric Chersonis, Sovereign of Pskov and Grand Duke of Smolensk, Lithuanian, Volyn, Podolsk and Finland, Prince of Estland , Liflyandsky, Kurlyandsky and Semigalsky, Samogitsky, Belostoksky, Korelsky, Tversky, Yugorsky, Permsky, Vyatsky, Bulgarian and others; Sovereign and Grand Duke of Novgorod Nizovsky land, Chernigov. Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Beloozersk, Udora, Obdorsk, Kondi, Vitebsk, Mstislav and all Northern countries, Lord and Sovereign of Iver. Kartalinsky, Georgian and Kabardian lands and Armenian regions, Cherkasy and Mountain Princes and other hereditary Sovereign and Possessor, Heir of Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn, Ditmarsen and Oldenburg and others, and others, and others
b/ the coats of arms of Rurikovich disappear by the middle of the 13th century. That is, precisely when the Rurikovichs lose their sovereign rights and receive a label in the Horde for reigning. Now they are vassals.
Ivan 3 Vasilyevich regained his sovereign rights and took the coat of arms of the Paleologs, the last Byzantine dynasty. On what basis? Apparently, this was his "line of succession" of the Palaiologoi - the result of many dynastic marriages with members of the Byzantine dynasties.
The coat of arms of the country may not coincide with the personal coat of arms. It doesn't even match, rather than match.
2. "Coat of arms of Rurikovich" - the monarchical coat of arms. This is so because the Rurikovichs are a princely dynasty with ownership rights.
Simultaneously with the emergence of the family, private property and the state, the rights of kings to the lands and the peoples inhabiting them arise. That is, to thrones.
As in the Bible: "and the Lord gave you this land and your kind."
Ownership belongs to sovereigns, those who is not a vassal to anyone.
Within the limits of his possession, power can be limited to some extent. For example, veche or parliament. But from nowhere outside, except from the Lord God, the possessive master has no restriction of his rights. Each sovereign lord is absolutely sovereign from the other. Regardless of the size of his holdings. Can all Rurikovich be considered sovereign or some of them are vassals of the Grand Duke, and how is this reflected in their coats of arms, this is separate issue. We will return to it later.
Consequently The coat of arms of Rurikovich is a monarchical coat of arms, a visual and figurative expression of their sovereign rights.
I had to meet with some researchers the definition of coats of arms as:
- a symbol of power;
- a symbol of ownership;
- secular-military emblem.
And the fact that the main feature of the coat of arms is that it is inherited.
All of these are profound delusions.
Coats of arms are not inherited, but ownership rights. And coats of arms only clearly demonstrate these rights. According to the coats of arms, it is possible to trace the transfer of ownership rights from one representative of the dynasty to another.
Rurikovich - a dynasty. And like any dynasty, it is built on the basis of kinship (blood) ties. And where there is a leafy right, too.
It is necessary to distinguish between the coats of arms of states and the personal coats of arms of monarchs and members of ruling houses.
3. Coats of arms of Rurikovich - coats of arms with Christian symbols.
Some anti-Normanists sure that these coats of arms are a symbolic image of a falcon attacking prey.
However, the image of a falcon can only be a generic sign, essentially belonging to pre-Christian culture.
Rapov mentions that the Danish tribal sign "raven" cannot be on the coat of arms of a Christian ruler. . And he doesn't mind the falcon. Which is strange.
Conclusion: a falcon cannot be present on the coat of arms of a Christian ruler.
And one more thing: if someone sees the image of a falcon in the coat of arms of Svyatoslav, he should also see it in the coat of arms of Vladimir the Red Sun, the prince who made Christianity the state religion. And in the coat of arms of Yaroslav the Wise, etc.
And this is impossible by definition. After all, you don’t think that in these coats of arms the cross or “middle tooth” is the image of a falcon? So, the falcon is present at the base of all the coats of arms of the Rurikids? So they are all pagans? Or are they all Christians? Starting from the first!
Written sources, both Russian and foreign, give us a different answer to this question.
And the coats of arms, on the contrary, clearly testify: all these princes were Christians.
Only Christian symbols and plots can be depicted on the coat of arms of a Christian monarch.
All of them are well known.
Changes in the state coats of arms occur when the boundaries of the state change: new lands are added or previously owned are lost.
Personal emblems can also change for the same reasons, and even in those cases when the prospects for inheriting other lands change.
Christian symbols:
- anchor is an image of hope (the anchor is the support of the ship in the sea, hope is the support of the soul in Christianity). This image is already present in the Epistle to the Hebrews of the Apostle Paul (Heb.);
- the dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit;
- phoenix symbol of resurrection;
- the eagle is the symbol of youth "Renew like an eagleayour youth"(Ps.));
- the peacock is a symbol of immortality (according to the ancients, his body did not decompose);
- the rooster is a symbol of resurrection (the crow of a rooster awakens from sleep, and awakening, according to Christians, should remind believers of the Last Judgment and the general resurrection of the dead);
- the lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ;
- the lion is a symbol of strength and power;
- the olive branch is a symbol of eternal peace;
- lily is a symbol of purity (common due to the influence of apocryphal stories about the presentation of a lily flower by the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation);
- the vine and the basket of bread are symbols of the Eucharist.
And no falcon! And it wasn't! If it were, in the era of Christianization, it would not have turned into
dove, but would have been changed to a different symbol. Only very romantic patriots from among the "Ukrainian lads" can joke about such things.
The monarchical coat of arms, especially in the era of the Christianization of the country, cannot carry pagan symbols! Categorically!
So take your pick from the birds. Dove, eagle, phoenix.
It is very possible that this is a dove, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. And also - a symbol of baptism.
Why doesn't he look like a pigeon? Yes, because it is a symbol! Whether it is made on a pendant by the hands of a skilled jeweler or scratched on a comb, it is still the HOLY SPIRIT. It is shown upside down or upside down. Even just a smear, a tick is also the Holy Spirit. And Byzantine icon-painting comparisons are not needed here.
Are you saying that in the Russian tradition there is no image of the DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT before the 13th century? Icons may or may not exist. But what is depicted on coins, pendants, and so on? And in different
options! Why should there be only icons?
The coats of arms of the Rurikids (if we consider them Christian coats of arms) include several Christian symbols: the Cross, the Holy Spirit and the Descent of the Holy Spirit (hence the third prong, like a raised tail of a dove, means that the dove's head is lowered), the bird is directed downwards). Yes, primitive! But these are symbols!
That is. in your language, the bident is the Holy Spirit, and the trident is the DescentHoly Spirit.
At the risk of annoying you, but the Holy Spirit and the Descent of the Holy Spirit are two different stories. The coat of arms of Sudislav Vladimirovich just contains both of these plots. Here is a dove sitting quietly in the center of the coat of arms, and the Descent of the Holy Spirit - in the form of the base of the coat of arms.
It is possible that not a dove, but an eagle (two-headed) is depicted on the coat of arms of the Rurikids.
And the cross, spear, dove on the coat of arms of Sudislav and the orb are simply superimposed on it.From all of the above, I can make inputs:
1. Signs of Rurikovich - personal royal coats of arms.
2. All these coats of arms belong to Christian monarchs.
And this means that the Rurikovichs were a GOVERNING DYNASTY, at least from the 9th century to the middle of the 13th century, and they were a CHRISTIAN dynasty.
Therefore, the statement that the falcon was the heraldic sign of the Rurikovich
erroneously.
The history of the coat of arms of Russia from the time of the Dnieper Slavs to the present day. George the Victorious, double-headed eagle, Soviet coat of arms. Emblem changes. 22 images
In ancient Rus' as such a coat of arms, of course, did not yet exist. The Slavs in the 6th-8th centuries AD had intricate ornaments that symbolized a particular territory. Scientists learned about this through the study of burials, in some of which fragments of women's and men's clothing with embroidery have been preserved.At times Kievan Rus the grand dukes had their own princely seals, on which images of an attacking falcon were placed - the ancestral sign of the Rurikovich.
In Vladimir Rus' Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavovich Nevsky has an image on his princely seal George the Victorious with a spear. Subsequently, this sign of the spearman appears on the front side of the coin (penny) and it can already be considered the first real full-fledged coat of arms of Rus'.
In Muscovite Rus', under Ivan III, who was combined in a dynastic marriage with the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Sophia Paleolog, an image appears double-headed Byzantine eagle. On the royal seal of Ivan III, George the Victorious and the Double-Headed Eagle are depicted as equals. The Grand Duke seal of Ivan III, sealed in 1497 his "exchange and allotment" charter for the land holdings of specific princes. From that moment on, the Double-Headed Eagle becomes the state emblem of our country.
The reign of Grand Duke Ivan III (1462-1505) - milestone formation of a unified Russian state. Ivan III managed to finally eliminate dependence on the Golden Horde, repelling the campaign of the Mongol Khan against Moscow in 1480. The Grand Duchy of Moscow included Yaroslavl, Novgorod, Tver, Perm lands. The country began to actively develop ties with other European states, its foreign policy position strengthened. In 1497, the first all-Russian Sudebnik was adopted - a single code of laws of the country. At the same time, images of a gilded double-headed eagle on a red field appeared on the walls of the Pomegranate Chamber in the Kremlin.
Mid 16th century
Beginning in 1539, the type of eagle on the seal of the Grand Duke of Moscow changed. In the era of Ivan the Terrible, on the golden bull (state seal) of 1562, in the center of the double-headed eagle, an image of George the Victorious appeared - one of the oldest symbols of princely power in Rus'. George the Victorious is placed in a shield on the chest of a double-headed eagle crowned with one or two crowns surmounted by a cross.
Late 16th - early 17th centuries
During the reign of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, between the crowned heads of the double-headed eagle, a sign of the passion of Christ appears - the Calvary cross. The cross on the state seal was a symbol of Orthodoxy, giving a religious coloring to the coat of arms of the state. The appearance of the Calvary cross in the coat of arms of Russia coincides with the time of the establishment in 1589 of the patriarchate and church independence of Russia.
In the 17th century, the Orthodox cross was often depicted on Russian banners. The banners of foreign regiments that were part of the Russian army had their own emblems and inscriptions; however, an Orthodox cross was also placed on them, which indicated that the regiment fighting under this banner served the Orthodox sovereign. Until the middle of the 17th century, a seal was widely used, on which a two-headed eagle with George the Victorious on his chest was crowned with two crowns, and an Orthodox eight-pointed cross rises between the heads of the eagle.
XVII century.
The Time of Troubles ended, Russia repulsed the claims to the throne of the Polish and Swedish dynasties. Numerous impostors were defeated, the uprisings blazing in the country were suppressed. Since 1613, by decision of the Zemsky Sobor, the Romanov dynasty began to rule in Russia. Under the first tsar of this dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, the State Emblem changes somewhat. In 1625, for the first time, a double-headed eagle is depicted under three crowns. In 1645, under the second king of the dynasty, Alexei Mikhailovich, the first Great State Seal appeared, on which a two-headed eagle with George the Victorious on his chest was crowned with three crowns. Since that time, this type of image has been constantly used.
The next stage in the change of the State Emblem came after the Pereyaslav Rada, the entry of Ukraine into the Russian state. To the letter of commendation of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Bogdan Khmelnitsky dated March 27, 1654, a seal was attached, on which for the first time a two-headed eagle under three crowns is depicted holding symbols of power in its claws: scepter and orb.
From that moment on, the eagle began to be depicted with raised wings .
In 1654, a forged double-headed eagle was installed on the spire of the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin.
In 1663, for the first time in Russian history, the Bible, the main book of Christianity, came out from under the printing press in Moscow. It is no coincidence that the State Emblem of Russia was depicted in it and its poetic "explanation" was given:
The eastern eagle shines with three crowns,
Faith, hope, love for God shows,
Wings outstretched, embraces all the worlds of the end,
North South, from east to sunset
Goodness covers with outstretched wings.
In 1667, after a long war between Russia and Poland over Ukraine, the Andrusovo truce was concluded. To seal this treaty, a Great Seal was made with a double-headed eagle under three crowns, with a shield with George on the chest, with a scepter and an orb in its paws.
Peter's time
During the reign of Peter I, a new emblem entered the state heraldry of Russia - the order chain of the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called. This order, approved by Peter in 1698, became the first in the system of the highest state awards in Russia. The Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, one of the heavenly patrons of Peter Alekseevich, was declared the patron saint of Russia.
The blue oblique St. Andrew's Cross becomes the main element of the sign of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and the symbol of the Russian Navy. Since 1699, images of a double-headed eagle surrounded by a chain with the sign of the St. Andrew's Order have been found. And next year, the St. Andrew's Order is placed on an eagle, around a shield with a rider.
It should be noted that already from 1710 (a decade earlier than Peter I was proclaimed emperor (1721), and Russia - an empire) - they began to depict imperial crowns.
From the first quarter of the 18th century, the colors of the double-headed eagle were brown (natural) or black.
The era of palace coups, Catherine's time
By decree of Empress Catherine I of March 11, 1726, the description of the coat of arms was fixed: "A black eagle with outstretched wings, in a yellow field, on it is St. George the Victorious in a red field." Empress Anna Ioannovna in 1736 invited a Swiss engraver, who by 1740 had engraved the State Seal. The central part of the matrix of this seal with the image of a double-headed eagle was used until 1856. Thus, the type of double-headed eagle on the State Seal remained unchanged for more than a hundred years. Catherine the Great did not make changes to the state emblem, preferring to maintain continuity and traditionalism.
Pavel the First
Emperor Paul I, by decree of April 5, 1797, allowed members of the imperial family to use the image of a double-headed eagle as their coat of arms.
AT a short time reign of Emperor Paul I (1796-1801) Russia was actively foreign policy, faced with a new enemy for themselves - Napoleonic France. After the French troops occupied the Mediterranean island of Malta, Paul I took the Order of Malta under his protection, becoming the grand master of the order. On August 10, 1799, Paul I signed a decree on the inclusion of the Maltese cross and crown in the state emblem. On the chest of the eagle, under the Maltese crown, there was a shield with St. George (Paul interpreted it as the "root coat of arms of Russia") superimposed on the Maltese cross.
Paul I made an attempt to introduce a full coat of arms Russian Empire. On December 16, 1800, he signed the Manifesto, which described this complex project. Forty-three coats of arms were placed in the multi-field shield and on nine small shields. In the center was the coat of arms described above in the form of a double-headed eagle with a Maltese cross, larger than the rest. The shield with coats of arms is superimposed on the Maltese cross, and under it the sign of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called again appeared. The supporters, the archangels Michael and Gabriel, support the imperial crown over the knight's helmet and mantle (cloak). The whole composition is placed against the background of a canopy with a dome - the heraldic symbol of sovereignty. Two standards with two-headed and one-headed eagles emerge from behind the shield with coats of arms. This project has not been finalized.
Shortly after accession to the throne, Emperor Alexander I, by decree of April 26, 1801, removed the Maltese cross and crown from the coat of arms of Russia.
First half of the 19th century
The images of the double-headed eagle at that time are very diverse: it could have one and three crowns; in the paws - not only the scepter and orb that have already become traditional, but also a wreath, lightning bolts (peruns), a torch. The wings of an eagle were depicted in different ways - raised, lowered, straightened. To a certain extent, the image of the eagle was influenced by the then European fashion, common to the Empire era.
Under Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich the First, the simultaneous existence of two types of state eagle was officially fixed.
The first type is an eagle with spread wings, under one crown, with the image of St. George on the chest and with a scepter and an orb in its paws. The second type was an eagle with raised wings, on which the title coats of arms were depicted: on the right - Kazan, Astrakhan, Siberian, on the left - Polish, Tauride, Finland. For some time, another version also circulated - with the emblems of the three "main" ancient Russian Grand Duchies (Kyiv, Vladimir and Novgorod lands) and three kingdoms - Kazan, Astrakhan and Siberia. An eagle under three crowns, with St. George (as the coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Moscow) in a shield on his chest, with a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, with a scepter and orb in his paws.
Mid 19th century
In the years 1855-1857, during the heraldic reform, the type of the state eagle was changed under the influence of German designs. Then St. George on the chest of an eagle, in accordance with the rules of Western European heraldry, began to look to the left. The drawing of the Small Coat of Arms of Russia, executed by Alexander Fadeev, was approved by the highest on December 8, 1856. This version of the coat of arms differed from the previous ones not only in the image of an eagle, but also in the number of "title" coats of arms on the wings. On the right were shields with the emblems of Kazan, Poland, Tauric Chersonesos and the combined emblem of the Grand Duchies (Kyiv, Vladimir, Novgorod), on the left - shields with the emblems of Astrakhan, Siberia, Georgia, Finland.
On April 11, 1857, the Supreme approval of the entire set of state emblems followed. It included: Large, Medium and Small, coats of arms of members of the imperial family, as well as "titular" coats of arms. At the same time, drawings of the Large, Medium and Small state seals, arks (cases) for seals, as well as seals of the main and lower government places and persons were approved. In total, one act approved one hundred and ten drawings. On May 31, 1857, the Senate published a Decree describing the new emblems and the norms for their use.
Large State Emblem of 1882.
On July 24, 1882, Emperor Alexander III approved the drawing of the Great Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire, on which the composition was preserved, but the details were changed, in particular the figures of the archangels. In addition, the imperial crowns began to be depicted like real diamond crowns used during the coronation.
The final drawing of the Great Emblem of the Empire was approved on November 3, 1882, when the coat of arms of Turkestan was added to the title emblems.
Small State Emblem of 1883
On February 23, 1883, the Middle and two variants of the Small Coat of Arms were approved. In January 1895, the imperial order was given to leave unchanged the drawing of the state eagle, made by Academician A. Charlemagne.
The most recent act - "Basic Provisions of the State Structure of the Russian Empire" of 1906 - confirmed all previous legal provisions relating to the State Emblem.
State Emblem of the Provisional Government
After the February Revolution of 1917, Masonic organizations gained power in Russia, which formed their Provisional Government, including a commission to prepare a new coat of arms of Russia. One of the leading artists in the commission was N. K. Roerich (aka Sergei Makranovsky), a well-known freemason who later decorated the design of the American dollar with Masonic symbols. Masons plucked the coat of arms and deprived it of all sovereign attributes - a crown, a scepter, powers, the wings of an eagle were limply lowered down, which symbolized the obedience of the Russian state to Masonic plans. , adopted in February 1917, was to become the official coat of arms of Russia again. Masons even managed to place the image of their eagle on the obverse of modern Russian coins, where it can be seen to this day. The image of the eagle, the sample of February 1917, continued to be used as official after the October Revolution, until the adoption of the new Soviet coat of arms on July 24, 1918.
State Emblem of the RSFSR 1918-1993
In the summer of 1918, the Soviet government finally decided to break with the historical symbols of Russia, and the new Constitution adopted on July 10, 1918 proclaimed in the state emblem not ancient Byzantine, but political, party symbols: the double-headed eagle was replaced by a red shield, which depicted a crossed hammer and sickle and the rising sun as a sign of change. Since 1920, the abbreviated name of the state - the RSFSR - was placed at the top of the shield. The shield was bordered by ears of wheat, fastened with a red ribbon with the inscription "Proletarians of all countries, unite." Later, this image of the coat of arms was approved in the Constitution of the RSFSR.
60 years later, in the spring of 1978, the military star, which by that time had become part of the coat of arms of the USSR and most of the republics, entered the coat of arms of the RSFSR.
In 1992, the last change in the coat of arms came into force: the abbreviation above the hammer and sickle was replaced by the inscription "Russian Federation". But this decision was hardly implemented, because the Soviet coat of arms with its party symbols no longer corresponded to the political structure of Russia after the collapse of the one-party system of government, the ideology of which it embodied.
State Emblem of the USSR
After the formation of the USSR in 1924, the State Emblem of the USSR was adopted. The historical essence of Russia as a power passed precisely to the USSR, and not to the RSFSR, which played a subordinate role, therefore it is the coat of arms of the USSR that should be considered as the new coat of arms of Russia.
The Constitution of the USSR, adopted by the II Congress of Soviets on January 31, 1924, officially legalized the new coat of arms. At first, he had three turns of a red ribbon on each half of the wreath. On each turn was placed the motto "Proletarians of all countries, unite!" in Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Georgian, Armenian, Turko-Tatar languages. In the mid-1930s, a coil with a motto in Latinized Turkic was added, and the Russian version migrated to the central band.
In 1937, the number of mottos on the coat of arms reached 11. In 1946 - 16. In 1956, after the liquidation of the sixteenth republic within the USSR, Karelian-Finnish, the motto in Finnish was removed from the coat of arms, until the end of the existence of the USSR, 15 ribbons remained on the coat of arms with mottos (one of them - the Russian version - on the central sling).
National emblem Russian Federation 1993.
On November 5, 1990, the Government of the RSFSR adopted a resolution on the creation of the State Emblem and the State Flag of the RSFSR. A government commission was created to organize this work. After a comprehensive discussion, the commission proposed to recommend to the Government a white-blue-red flag and a coat of arms - a golden double-headed eagle on a red field. The final restoration of these symbols took place in 1993, when, by Decrees of President B. Yeltsin, they were approved as the state flag and coat of arms.
On December 8, 2000, the State Duma adopted the Federal Constitutional Law "On the State Emblem of the Russian Federation". Which was approved by the Federation Council and signed by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on December 20, 2000.
The golden double-headed eagle on a red field preserves the historical continuity in color scheme coats of arms of the late XV - XVII centuries. The drawing of the eagle goes back to the images on the monuments of the era of Peter the Great. Three historical crowns of Peter the Great are depicted above the heads of the eagle, symbolizing in the new conditions the sovereignty of both the entire Russian Federation and its parts, subjects of the Federation; in the paws - a scepter and an orb, personifying state power and a single state; on the chest is an image of a horseman slaying a dragon with a spear. This is one of the ancient symbols of the struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, the defense of the Fatherland.
The restoration of the double-headed eagle as the State Emblem of Russia embodies the continuity and continuity of Russian history. Today's coat of arms of Russia is a new coat of arms, but its components are deeply traditional; it reflects different stages of national history and continues them in the third millennium.
Russian Civilization
Coats of arms in Russia appeared a long time ago, but these were only drawings that did not obey heraldic rules. Due to the lack of chivalry in Rus', coats of arms were not very common. At its very beginning (until the 16th century), Russia was a disparate state, and therefore there could be no talk of the state emblem of Russia. However, despite the fact that the 16th century is considered the final date for the unification of Rus', the state emblem in Russia appears already under Ivan III (1462-1505). It is to him that the establishment of the state emblem, as such, is attributed. At that time, his seal acted as a coat of arms. On its front side there is a horseman piercing a serpent with a spear, on the back - a two-headed eagle.
The origin of the double-headed eagle goes back far into the past. The first images of him known to us date back to the 13th century BC. This is a rock carving of a double-headed eagle grabbing two birds with one stone. It served as the coat of arms of the Hittite kings.
Then the double-headed eagle is found in the Median kingdom - ancient power, spread over the territory of Western Asia, during the reign of the Median king Cyaxares (625-585 BC). Centuries passed. And now we already see the double-headed eagle on the emblems of Rome. Here he appeared under Constantine the Great. In 326, he chose the double-headed eagle as his emblem. After the foundation of the new capital - Constantinople - in 330, the double-headed eagle became the state emblem of the Roman Empire. In Rus', the double-headed eagle appeared after the marriage of John III Vasilyevich and Sophia Palaiologos, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XII Palaiologos. The history of relations between Rus' and Byzantium is very deep and interesting and is a topic for separate work. However, let us briefly address this issue. The first historical mention of relations between Russia and Byzantium dates back to 957 - the year when Princess Olga traveled to Constantinople and converted to Christianity. But further relations with Byzantium in Rus' worsen. So in 969-972 a war broke out between them for Bulgaria, which was conquered by Svyatoslav.
Later, in 988 Vladimir the Holy baptized Rus'.
“The adoption of Christianity from Byzantium by Russia opened the doors wide to the influence of Byzantine culture, Byzantine ideas and institutions. This influence had a significant impact in the political sphere. Together with Christianity, a stream of new political concepts and relations began to penetrate into Rus'. Kyiv prince the newcomer clergy endured the Byzantine concept of a sovereign appointed by God not only to protect the country externally, but also to establish and maintain internal social order...”
However, there is no further historical evidence of relations between Rus' and Byzantium until 1469, when Pope Paul II offered the daughter of Thomas Palaiologos Sophia as a wife to the Russian sovereign John III Vasilvich, whose wedding took place in 1472. This marriage did not lead Moscow to a religious union with Rome, but had important consequences for the rise monarchical power in Moscow. As the husband of the last Byzantine princess, the Grand Duke of Moscow becomes, as it were, the successor of the Byzantine emperor, who was revered as the head of the entire Orthodox East. At the request and on the advice of Sofia, in the Moscow Kremlin at the court of the Grand Duke, a magnificent, complex and strict ceremonial began to start according to the patterns of the Byzantine court. From the end of the 15th century, the previously dominant simplicity of relations and the direct treatment of the sovereign with his subjects gradually ceased, and he rises above them to an unattainable height. Instead of the former simple and “domestic” title “Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich”, Ivan III takes on a magnificent title: “John, by the grace of God, Sovereign of All Rus' and Grand Duke Vladimir and Moscow and Novgorod and Pskov and Tver and Yugra and Perm and Bulgarian and others.
In relations with small neighboring lands, the title of Tsar of All Rus' already appears. Another title adopted by the Moscow sovereigns, "autocrat" is a translation of the Byzantine imperial title autocrator; this title originally meant an independent sovereign, not subject to any external authority, but Ivan the Terrible gave it the meaning of the absolute, unlimited power of the monarch over his subjects. From the end of the 15th century, the Byzantine coat of arms appeared on the seals of the Moscow sovereign - a double-headed eagle (which is combined with the former Moscow coat of arms - the image of George the Victorious). This is how Rus' marked its succession from Byzantium, which is the first reflection of its development on the coat of arms...
The formation of the Russian coat of arms from Ivan III to Peter I
Already at the very beginning of development Russian coat of arms we see its interweaving with the history of Rus'. An interesting fact is that the eagle on the seals of John III was depicted with a closed beak and looked more like an eaglet than an eagle. If you look at Russia of that period, you can see that it is a young state that is just beginning to form as a centralized one. The first reliable evidence of the use of the double-headed eagle as a state emblem is the seal of John III Vasilyevich on the exchange letter of 1497 with his nephews, princes Fedor and Ivan Borisovich Volotsky.
In the reign of Vasily III Ioannovich (1505-1533), the double-headed eagle is depicted already with open beaks, from which tongues protrude. This, for example, is evidenced by the seal attached in 1523 to the record of the sovereign and Grand Duke Vasily Ioannovich when he left with the army for Kazan. In short, if you approach from a purely artistic point of view, then you can say that the eagle begins to get angry. At the same time, having examined Russia of that time, we note that it is strengthening its position, becoming a new center of Orthodoxy. This fact was embodied in the theory of the monk Philotheus "Moscow - the Third Rome", known from the message of the monk Vasily III.
In the reign of John IV Vasilyevich (1533-1584), Rus' won decisive victories over the Kazan and Astrakhan kingdoms, annexed Siberia. The growth of the power of the Russian state was reflected in its coat of arms. The double-headed eagle on the state seal is surmounted by a single crown with an eight-pointed Orthodox cross above it. On the front side of the seal on the chest of the eagle there is a carved or "Germanic" shield with a unicorn - the king's personal sign. The fact is that all the symbols used in the personal symbolism of John IV are taken from the Psalter, which testifies to the rooting of Christianity in Rus'. On the reverse side of the seal on the chest of the eagle is a shield with the image of St. George beating a serpent. Subsequently, this side of the seal will play important role in the formation of the Russian coat of arms. The image of the Moscow coat of arms on the chest of the eagle becomes traditional. However, in accordance with the ancient Russian icon-painting tradition, St. George is turned to the right side of the viewer, which contradicts the heraldic rules.
On February 21, 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom. This put an end to the Troubles, which in the period between the death of Ivan the Terrible and the accession to the throne of Mikhail Romanov undermined the spirit of the Russian people and almost eradicated Russian statehood. Russia was embarking on the path of prosperity and greatness. During this period, the eagle on the emblem “started” and spread its wings for the first time, which could mean the “awakening” of Russia after a long sleep, and the beginning of a new era in the history of the state. By this period, Russia had completely completed its unification and had already managed to become a single and fairly strong state. And this fact is symbolically reflected in the state emblem. Instead of an eight-pointed cross, a third crown appeared above the eagle, which meant the Holy Trinity, but was interpreted by many as a symbol of the unity of Great Russians, Little Russians and Belarusians.
Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov (1645-1676) managed to end the Russian-Polish conflict by establishing the Andrusovo truce with Poland (1667), under which Russia was able to “show itself” to all of Europe. The Russian state occupies a fairly significant place next to the European states. During the reign of Alexei Romanov, the appearance of a new image of a coat of arms eagle was also noted. This is due to the fact that, at the request of the tsar, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Leopold I sent to Moscow his king of arms Lavrenty Hurelevich, who in 1673 wrote an essay “On the Genealogy of the Russian Grand Dukes and Sovereigns, with an indication of the affinity between Russia and eight European powers, that is, Caesar of Rome, the kings of England, Danish, Gishpan, Polish, Portuguese and Swedish, and with the image of these royal coats of arms, and in the middle of their Grand Duke St. Vladimir, at the end of the portrait of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
She came Starting point for the development of Russian heraldry. The state eagle of Alexei Mikhailovich was the prototype for subsequent official images of the Russian coat of arms. The wings of the eagle are raised high and fully open, which symbolized the complete assertion of Russia as a solid and powerful state; its heads are crowned with three royal crowns, a shield with the Moscow coat of arms is placed on its chest, and a scepter and orb are in its paws. An interesting fact is that before the appearance of the attributes of monarchical power in the paws of the eagle, the claws of the eagle, starting from the eagle on the marble slab of the Xiropotamsky monastery in Athos (Byzantium. 451-453), gradually unclenched, as if in the hope of grabbing something, until they took orb and scepter, thus symbolizing the affirmation absolute monarchy in Rus'.
In 1667, with the help of Lavrentiy Khurelevich, an official explanation of the Russian coat of arms was given for the first time: “The double-headed eagle is the coat of arms of the sovereign Grand Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich of All Great and Small and White Russia, the autocrat, His Royal Majesty of the Russian kingdom, on which three corunas are depicted , signifying the three great Kazan, Astrakhan, Siberian glorious kingdoms, submitting to the God-protected and highest of His Royal Majesty, the most merciful Sovereign, and command ... on the Persians is the image of the heir; in pasonkteh, a scepter and an apple, and they reveal the most merciful Sovereign, His Royal Majesty the Autocrat and Possessor. As you can see, the description gives a new interpretation of the elements of the coat of arms. It is dictated by diplomatic considerations and should testify to the greatness of Russia.
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Noble families of the Russian Empire”. St. Petersburg, 1993
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My answer to the stuffing about the coats of arms of Ukraine and Russia: Ukraine is a vassal of Novgorod and must pay tribute to him! April 20, 2014
Let's start with the "coat of arms" of Ukraine. Well, firstly, the "trident" or "diving falcon" is not the coat of arms of Ukraine and, moreover, not the coat of arms of Kievan Rus.
This is the coat of arms of the Rurikids - ancient Russian princes, leading their lineage from Rurik, Prince of Novgorod since 862, whose relative Oleg conquered Kyiv in 882. Coins in Kyiv began to be minted by Prince Vladimir the Red Sun (Rurik's grandson) in the 900s. Naturally, he did not think about any coat of arms of Kievan Rus, because. he simply did not know that there was such a state (later historians came up with this), but he thought that everyone should know the Rurik family and therefore placed his family coat of arms on the coins (as Julius Caesar once placed his profile on the coins).
Everything. The topic with the coat of arms of Ukraine can be closed. Ukraine can recognize itself as a vassal of Novgorod.
Now with a hint that Russia borrowed the coat of arms of the Horde. I don’t know what kind of coin is in the photo, but in the Silver Coins of the Golden Horde there is not exactly such a coin. There DOES NOT have a single coin with a double-headed eagle! But there are coins with a six-pointed Star of David! Does this mean that dill propaganda will now begin to hint at Israel or will not take risks so as not to run into sanctions from the financial lobby and sanctions from the Mossad?
Where did the coat of arms of the Russian Empire come from? Everything is described in Wikipedia. It is only necessary to add that the Palaiologos dynasty, whose family coat of arms was a double-headed eagle, ruled from 1261 to 1453. Those. Byzantium existed in parallel with the Golden Horde.
Coat of arms of the Palaiologoi
Grand Duke Ivan III, married Sophia Paleolog (who did not have rights to the throne of Constantinople, but had rights to a coat of arms) in 1467, the first image of the coat of arms dates from 1497, 17 years after the fall of the Golden Horde.
And personally, I understand why Ivan III did this: it was a claim to recreate the Byzantine Empire on the lands of Rus'.
After all, during his reign were attached to Moscow: Novgorod land, long time former rival of the Moscow principality Tver Principality, as well as Yaroslavl, Rostov, and partially Ryazan principalities. Only the Pskov and Ryazan principalities remained independent, however, they were not completely independent either. After successful wars with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Novgorod-Seversky, Chernihiv (what about Ukraine?), Bryansk and a number of other cities (before the war, they constituted about a third of the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania); dying, Ivan III transferred to his successor several times more land than he himself received. In addition, it was under Grand Duke Ivan III that the Russian state became completely independent: as a result of “standing on the Ugra”, the power of the Horde Khan over Russia, which had lasted since 1243, completely ceased.
Portrait of Ivan III from a book of 1575.
Great coat of arms of the Russian Empire. In it, in the form of a kind of map, the history of the Russian Empire is encrypted.
One of the readers of the site resource Maxim Karakulov in search of a book on history life together peoples within our state, found ... Coat of arms. And he wrote an article, trying to show the history of the unification of peoples in Russia.
“The State Emblem of the Russian Empire is a kind of map of its political and geographical structure. In the center of the emblem there is a shield with the emblem of Moscow, surrounded in a circle by shields with the emblems of kingdoms, principalities and regions annexed to Russia at various times. Let's try to figure out what historical event is associated with each of these shields.
Russia is unique, among other things, in that over the centuries it has managed to unite in one state the most diverse peoples - each with its own culture, faith and language. Thanks to this, many peoples were not only able to survive as a separate ethnic group, but also were able to further develop their original culture.
A book about the friendship of peoples in single state must appear as soon as possible. The whole current political environment is vehemently demanding it. However, at the moment there is no such book, or it is so deeply hidden that it cannot be found.
In search of such a book, this publication was born. I tried to make a very rough sketch of the history of the unification of peoples in one Russian state. To begin with, I just wanted to mark on the time scale when this or that nation joined, and also to find out, at least superficially, the reasons for such joining, and finally, - calculate the time spent living together in one state.
The structure of the publication was suggested to me by the Great Emblem of the Russian Empire. I recently stumbled upon it by chance and suddenly discovered that in it, in the form of a kind of map, the very story that I am looking for is encrypted!
Briefly - about the history of the coat of arms. In Rus', there never existed the concept of a knightly hereditary coat of arms, widely accepted in Western Europe. During the battles, battle banners with embroidered or painted images were carried over the army Orthodox cross or saints. The history of the coat of arms of Russia is, first of all, the history of the Grand Duke's press.
Ivan III the Great (1440-1505) eliminated the dependence of Rus' on the Golden Horde and united around Moscow many of the original Russian territories, fragmented since the 12th century. To increase his authority in the eyes of foreign states, Ivan III married Princess Sophia Paleolog, the niece of the last emperor of Byzantium, and adopted the family coat of arms of the Byzantine kings - a double-headed eagle. Since then, the double-headed eagle has been the state emblem on the seals of Russian rulers.
A little later, the image of the Moscow coat of arms was added to the emblem: a horseman slaying a dragon with a spear. This rider was first placed on the reverse side of the seal, and then migrated to the chest of the eagle. Then, first, the coats of arms of the kingdoms of Astrakhan, Kazan and Siberia, conquered by Ivan IV the Terrible (1530-1584), were attached to the Moscow coat of arms, and then the coats of arms of all major areas and lands that became part of the empire in subsequent times. Thus, the state emblem became the emblem of its entire territory.
Manifesto of Paul I
The idea of the Great State Emblem, as we know it today, was originally proposed by Paul I (1754-1801), the son of Catherine II. In 1800, he published a manifesto on the "Complete State Emblem of the All-Russian Empire" with a detailed description of all parts of the coat of arms. In particular, this is what he writes:
“The current Russian Imperial Coat of Arms was assigned to our Empire in the fifth for ten centuries from now to our days by the Providence of God the fate of the Kingdoms that determines, at different times different Powers and lands were attached to the Throne of Russia, whose names are included in our Imperial Title; but the coat of arms of Russia and the State seal have hitherto remained in their former form, disproportionate to the space of our possessions. Now we deign to include in the composition of the Russian Coat of Arms, in accordance with our full Title, all the Coats of Arms and signs of the Kingdoms and lands we possess, and therefore, affirming them in the form attached to this, we command the Senate to make their order appropriate in discussing the use of them.
sovereign title
Here it is important to pay attention to such a concept as the “imperial title”, which Paul I speaks about several times. The title in general is an honorary hereditary title in class societies (baron, count, prince). - this is the most important title, the honorary title of the ruler of the Russian state. This title from the time of Ivan III was supposed to include a listing of all subject lands. This principle titles were preserved by descendants and filled with new content in the process of gain or loss of land. Over time, the title more and more turned into a modified, mobile formulation, with the help of which both large-scale and current political tasks were solved. The history of the sovereign's title is the history of the expansion of the territory of the state. When adding a new territory, the sovereign added to his title the title of the former ruler of this territory.
Heraldic reform
Unfortunately, Paul I was killed (not without the participation, by the way, of British intelligence), and he did not have time to bring his manifesto to life. His idea begins to embody his son, Nicholas I (1796-1855). He starts a heraldic reform, inviting Baron B. Kene for this. Again, due to death, Nicholas I did not have time to complete the reform, and his son Alexander II (1818-1881) finished the work. In 1857, the Great State Emblem was “highly affirmed”.
This coat of arms in its original form existed until 1917. Only in 1882, Alexander III (1845-1894) made a slight amendment to the coat of arms: in addition to purely stylistic and compositional changes, a shield was added with the coat of arms of Turkestan, which became part of Russia in 1867.
What is shown on the coat of arms
We will not give a detailed description of the entire emblem, so as not to deviate from our main topic, we will only say that the main shield with the emblem of Moscow is surrounded by shields with the emblems of kingdoms, principalities and regions annexed to Russia at different times.
The main shield is surrounded by nine shields from below. Coats of arms of kingdoms: I. Kazansky, II. Astrakhan, III. Polish, IV. Siberian v. Chersonese Tauride, VI. Georgian. VII. United coats of arms of the great principalities: Kyiv,Vladimirsky and Novgorod. VIII. Coat of arms of the Grand Duchy Finnish. IX. The family coat of arms of His Imperial Majesty.
There are six shields above the main shield. X. Shield of the united coats of arms of the principalities and regions of the Great Russian. XI. Shield of the united coats of arms, principalities and areas of the southwestern. XII. Shield of the united coats of arms of principalities and regions of Belarusian and Lithuanian. XIII. Shield of United Coats of Arms regions of the Baltic. XIV. Shield of United Coats of Arms northeastern regions. XV. Coat of arms Turkestan.
It turns out that the state emblem is a kind of map that reflects both the political structure of Russia and its geography. Let's try to figure out what historical event is associated with each of the armorial shields, we will supplement the "map" given to us with historical content. In brackets, next to the name of the shield, we will indicate the number corresponding to the number of this shield in the diagram above.
United coats of arms of the Grand Duchies (VII)
Coat of arms Kyiv ( Saint Michael)
Vladimirsky ( lion leopard),
Novgorod ( two bears and fish).
These are the three most "root" old Russian grand principalities. The Kyiv coat of arms symbolizes the ancestral home of the Russian state Kievan Rus (formed in the middle of the 9th century). Also, Kyiv denotes the south-western Rus' formed a little later, the Vladimir coat of arms - north-eastern Rus', and Novogorodsky - north-western (Novgorod Republic). All three Russ were formed in the XII century as a result of the fragmentation of Kievan Rus and the Tatar-Mongol invasion.
The titles of all the rulers of Russia, starting with Ivan III, always began with a listing of these three lands: “Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, Moscow, Kyiv, Vladimir, Novgorod ...” - this is how the title of the last Russian emperor Nicholas II began. Then followed all the other kingdoms, principalities and regions.
The history of Russia as a whole, starting with Kievan Rus, has more than 1000 years. Conventionally, all three Russ formed in the 12th century in connection with the collapse of Kievan Rus (before that, they had been together for 300 years). Under influence Tatar invasion in the XIII century until the middle of the XV century they were separated (200 years), but since then they have been together again (more than 500 years). It will be interesting further to compare with these time intervals the time of the joint life of other peoples, gradually joining Russia.
Coats of arms of Great Russian principalities and regions (X)
Coat of arms Pskov ( golden leopard in the center) , coat of arms Smolensky ( a gun) , coat of arms Tverskoy ( golden throne) , coat of arms Yugorsky ( hands with spears) , coat of arms Nizhny Novgorod ( deer), coat of arms Ryazan ( standing prince) , coat of arms Rostov ( silver deer) , coat of arms Yaroslavsky ( bear) , coat of arms Belozersky ( silver fish) , coat of arms Udorsky ( fox).
As a result of the ensuing war with the Commonwealth, Russia returned the lands lost as a result of the Time of Troubles. And Alexei Mikhailovich (1629-1676) supplemented the title with a new wording: "Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke of All Great and Small and White Russia Autocrat."
The territory of present-day central Ukraine was part of Russia/USSR from the middle of the 17th century to the end of the 20th (together for more than 300 years).
In 1654, the scepter and orb first appeared on the royal seal in the paws of an eagle. Forged double-headed eagle mounted on the spire of the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. In 1667, Alexei Mikhailovich, in the first ever decree on the coat of arms (“On the royal title and on the state seal”), gave an official explanation of the symbolism of the three crowns over the heads of the eagle:
“The double-headed eagle is the coat of arms of the sovereign Grand Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich of All Great and Small and White Russia, the autocrat, His Tsarist Majesty of the Russian reign, on which three crowns are depicted signifying the three great Kazan, Astrakhan, Siberian glorious kingdoms. On the Persians (chest) the image of the heir; in pasnoktyah (claws) a scepter and an apple, and reveals the most merciful Sovereign, His Royal Majesty the Autocrat and Possessor.
More than 100 years later, in 1793, under Catherine II, as a result of the second partition of the Commonwealth, Podolsk and Volyn, along with the entire right-bank Ukraine, were ceded to Russia.
The territory of the current western, right-bank, Ukraine as part of Russia / CCCP since the end of the 18th century (together 200 years).
A significant part of modern Ukraine in the middle of the 14th century was included in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and from the middle of the 16th century - in the Commonwealth (that is, central Ukraine before reunification with Russia was Lithuanian for 200 years and Polish for another 100 years, and the western one - was Lithuanian for 200 years and Polish for another 200 years).
For the first time, Ukraine acquires a formally independent statehood, becoming a Soviet republic within the USSR. At the same time, the territory of modern Ukraine was formed. And the first sovereign state Ukraine forms in 1991 as a result of the collapse of the USSR. Those. This state is just over 20 years old.
Coats of arms of the Baltic regions (XIII)
Coat of arms Estonian ( three leopard lions) Livonian ( silver vulture with sword) , emblems - Courland ( lion) and Semigalsky ( deer) , coat of arms Karelian ( hands with swords).
Peter I (1672-1725) cut a window to Europe. In 1721, according to the Treaty of Nystadt, Estonia (today's server Estonia), Livonia (today's northern Latvia and southern Estonia) and Karelia passed from Sweden to Russia. Accordingly, at that time the title of sovereigns included: "Prince of Livonia, Estland and Karelia." And the phrase of the big title "Great Sovereign, Tsar of All Great and Small and White Russia, Autocrat" changes to "We, Peter the Great, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia."
Instead of royal crowns, imperial crowns appear on the coat of arms near the eagle, and the order chain of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, the patron saint of Russia and the heavenly patron of the tsar himself, appears on his chest. On the wings of an eagle for the first time appear shields with the coats of arms of the Great Kingdoms and Principalities. On the right wing there are shields with coats of arms: Kyiv, Novgorod, Astrakhan; on the left wing: Vladimir, Kazan, Siberian.
"Poltava battle". Louis Caravaque. 1717–1719
In 1795, under Catherine II, as a result, Courland and Semigallia (present-day western Latvia) were ceded to Russia. Catherine II adds "princess of Courland and Semigalle" to the title.
So. From the 13th to the 16th centuries (300 years), the peoples of present-day Estonia and Latvia were under the control of the Germans as part of the Livonian Order. According to the resultsLivonian War from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 18th century (more than 100 more years), the territory of Estonia was part of Sweden, and the territory of Latvia was divided between Sweden and the Commonwealth.
From the beginning of the 18th to the beginning of the 20th centuries, Estonia and Latvia were part of the Russian Empire (200 years), and from the middle to the end of the 20th century they were part of the USSR (another 50 years).
For the first time in their centuries-old history, Estonia and Latvia became independent states in 1918 as a result of the collapse of the Russian Empire. And in 1940 entered to the USSR in connection with the threat of an attack by Nazi Germany. Estonia and Latvia regained their independence in 1991 due to the collapse of the USSR. Thus, the total history of sovereignty among these peoples is about 50 years old.
Coats of arms of Belarusian and Lithuanian principalities and regions (XII)
Coat of arms of the Grand Duchy Lithuanian ( silver rider - in the center) , coat of arms Bialystok ( eagle rider) , coat of arms Samogitsky ( bear) , coat of arms Polotsk ( rider on a white background) , coat of arms Vitebsk ( rider on a red background) , coat of arms Mstislavsky ( wolf).
In 1772, under Catherine II, as a result of the first division of the Commonwealth, Belarusian lands, including Polotsk, Vitebsk and Mstislavl. In 1795, as a result of the third partition of the Commonwealth, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ceded to Russia. In 1807, under Alexander I, according to the Treaty of Tilsit, Bialystok (Belarus) and Samogitia (Lithuania) were ceded to Russia.
It turns out that today's Belarus and Lithuania lived together with Russia/USSR for 200 years. Prior to that, Belarus was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. And the Grand Duchy of Lithuania itself was formed in the XIII century. 300 years later, in the middle of the 16th century, it formed the Commonwealth state with Poland and stayed with it until joining Russia for almost 250 years. The history of Lithuanian independence spans over 500 years.
Belarus for the first time gained formal independence within the USSR. And it gained full independence for the first time in 1991 as a result of the collapse of the USSR. This state is just over 20 years old, like Ukraine.
"Storm of Prague" (1797). Alexander Orlovsky. The assault was commanded by General-in-Chief Suvorov and received the highest military rank of field marshal for this victory. The storming of Prague ended the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1794.
Coat of arms of Chersonese Tauride (V)
Coat of arms of Chersonese Tauride
As a result of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, according to the Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace treaty, under Catherine II, Novorossia and North Caucasus, and the Crimean Khanate came under its protectorate.
And already in 1783, Catherine II (1729-1796) issued a manifesto, according to which the Crimea, Taman and Kuban became Russian possessions. Thus, the Crimea finally became part of the Russian Empire. And Catherine II added to the sovereign title: "Queen of Tauric Chersonesus."
Crimea, North Caucasus and Novorossiya as part of Russia for 200 years.
Modern history Crimea begins in the middle of the XV century with the formation on its territory from a fragment of the Golden HordeCrimean Khanate , which quickly became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire (it turns out that Crimea was part of the Khanate for 300 years).
Coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Finland (VIII)
Coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Finland
As a result of the war with Sweden under the Friedrichsham Peace Treaty in 1809, the lands of Finland passed from Sweden to Russia on the rights of a union. Alexander I (1777-1825) adds the title "Grand Duke of Finland" to the sovereign.
The territory of present-day Finland, for most of its history, from the 12th century to the beginning of the 19th century (600 years), was part of Sweden. After that, it became part of Russia as the Grand Duchy of Finland, having existed in this form until the collapse of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century (they were together for 100 years). For the first time, Finland gained an independent statehood in 1917. Those. This state is less than 100 years old.
Poland was formed as an independent state parallel to Kievan Rus, in the 9th century. In the middle of the 16th century, Poland united with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to form the Commonwealth, which existed until the end of the 18th century. Then the state completely disappeared, being divided among neighboring states, including Russia. And from the beginning of the 19th century, Poland was revived as the Kingdom of Poland within Russia and existed in this form until the beginning of the 20th century and the collapse of the Russian Empire (100 years together). Before joining Russia, Poland had 900 years of independent history.
Episode of the Battle of Borodino. Illustration for M. Yu. Lermontov's poem "Borodino". Chromolithography by N. Bogatov. 1912
Its essence was reduced to the establishment of a protectorate by Russia. In 1800, the Georgian side asked for closer cooperation. And Paul I (1754-1801) issued a manifesto according to which Georgia joined Russia as an independent kingdom. But already in 1801, Alexander I issued a new manifesto, according to which Georgia was directly subordinate to the Russian emperor. Accordingly, Paul I adds to the title: "Sovereign of the Iversky, Kartalinsky, Georgian and Kabardian lands." And Alexander I adds to the title already: "King of Georgia."
The formation of Georgia as a state dates back to the 10th century. From the 13th to the 14th centuries, the state was first invaded by the Mongols, and then by Tamerlane. From XV to XVII Georgia is torn apart by Iran and the Ottoman Empire, turning into an isolated Christian country, surrounded on all sides by the Muslim world. From the end of the 18th century to the end of the 20th century, Georgia was part of Russia/USSR (200 years together). Before that, it turns out that Georgia has an 800-year history of a separate state.
The conquest of Transcaucasia by Russia was completed in the first years of the reign of Nicholas I. As a result of the Russian-Persian war of 1826-1828, the Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates were annexed to Russia, which united into the Armenian region, where about 30 thousand Armenians moved from Persia. As a result of the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829, the Ottoman Empire also recognized Russia's power over Transcaucasia, and about 25 thousand Armenians moved to Russia from its territory. As a result of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, Russia annexed the Kars region, inhabited by Armenians and Georgians, and occupied the strategically important Batumi region. Alexander II
Coat of arms of Turkestan
Turkestan in the 19th century was the name given to the lands of present-day Central Asia: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Turkestan included five regions located one after another to the east of the Caspian Sea along the border of the Russian Empire with Persia, Afghanistan and China: the Transcaspian, Samarkand, Fergana, Syrdarya and Semirechensk, as well as the Bukhara and Khiva khanates.
The annexation of Turkestan was preceded by the annexation of the Kazakh Khanate (present-day Kazakhstan). The Kazakh Khanate was formed from a fragment of the Golden Horde in the 15th century, and in the 19th century it consisted of three parts: the Younger (west), Middle (center) and Senior (east) zhuzes. In 1731, under the protectorate of Russia - for protection from the Khiva and Bukhara khanates - the Younger zhuz was asked and accepted. In 1740, the Middle Zhuz was adopted under the protectorate to protect against the Kokand Khanate. In 1818 - a part of the Great Zhuz. And in 1822 the power of the Kazakh khans was abolished. Thus, Kazakhstan has been together with Russia for more than 250 years.(1845 - 1894) approved the project on the formation of a new governor-general - Turkestan region. This marked the completion of the initial stage of the annexation of the Central Asian territories. Alexander III begins to be titled "Sovereign of Turkestan".
The Great Coat of Arms includes the coat of arms of His Imperial Majesty. By the end of the monarchical rule in Russia (1917), a large title Russian emperors, according to Art. 59 of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire, was formulated as follows:
"By God's hastening mercy We ( name) , Emperor and Autocrat All-Russian, Moscow, Kyiv, Vladimir, Novgorod;Tsar Kazansky,Tsar Astrakhan,Tsar Polish,Tsar Siberian,Tsar Chersonis Tauride,Tsar Georgian;Sovereign Pskov andGrand Duke Smolensk, Lithuanian, Volyn, Podolsky and Finnish;Prince Estonian, Livonian, Courland and Semigalsky, Samogitsky, Bialystok, Korelsky, Tver, Yugorsky, Perm, Vyatsky, Bulgarian and others;Sovereign and Grand Duke Novgorod Nizovsky lands, Chernigov, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Belozersky, Udorsky, Obdorsky, Kondia, Vitebsk, Mstislav and all northern countrieslord and sovereign Iver, Kartalinsky and Kabardian lands and regions of Armenia; Cherkasy and Mountain princes and othershereditary Sovereign and Possessor ; Sovereign Turkestan,Heir Norwegian,duke Schleswig-Holstein, Stornmarn, Dietmar and Oldenburg and others, and others, and others.
