Emblems of the Soviet Republics

The emblems of the constituent republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics all featured predominantly the hammer and sickle and the red star that symbolised communism, as well as a rising sun (although in the case of the Latvian SSR, since the Baltic Sea is west of Latvia, it could be interpreted as a setting sun), surrounded by a wreath of wheat (except the Karelo-Finnish SSR with a wreath of rye). The USSR State motto, Workers of the world, unite!, in both the republic's language and Russian was also placed on each one of them. In addition to those repetitive motifs, emblems of many Soviet republics also included features that were characteristic of their local landscapes, economies or cultures.

The emblems are often called coats of arms, but since they (deliberately) did not follow the rules of heraldry, they cannot be considered coats of arms. However, they all did follow the same basic pattern, a pattern which sometimes has led to the use of the term "socialist heraldry".

The table below presents final versions of the renderings of the Soviet republics' emblems prior to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, as well as the arms of two republics that ceased to exist before that time. For comparison, national arms of present-day successor states of the Soviet republics are also shown. As can be seen, most Asian post-Soviet republics use arms based on or reminiscent of the Soviet-era emblems. Most European republics, on the other hand, reverted to their traditional pre-Soviet heraldic arms. Belarus used the traditional Pahonia as its coat of arms from 1991 to 1995 when it was replaced by a new emblem closely resembling the Soviet-era design. Additionally, the secessionist Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (Transnistria), internationally recognised as part of Moldova, uses an emblem based on the emblem of the Moldavian SSR (see Coat of arms of Transnistria) and the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, consisting of the Luhansk Oblast in Ukraine, created the similar emblem.

Republic Emblem Main article Republic-specific features Present-day national
coat of arms
Russian SFSR Emblem of the Russian SFSR Plants wheat
Coat of arms of Russia
Landscapes,
geographic features
Industry
Ornaments Baroque cartouche
Ukraine Emblem of the Ukrainian SSR[1] Plants wheat
Coat of arms of Ukraine
Landscapes,
geographic features
Industry
Ornaments Baroque cartouche
Byelorussia Emblem of the Byelorussian SSR Plants wheat, clover, flax
Emblem of Belarus
Landscapes,
geographic features
Industry
Ornaments
Uzbekistan Emblem of the Uzbek SSR[1] Plants wheat, cotton
Emblem of Uzbekistan
Landscapes,
geographic features
Industry
Ornaments
Kazakhstan Emblem of the Kazakh SSR[2] Plant wheat
Emblem of Kazakhstan
Landscapes,
geographic features
Industry
Ornaments
Georgia Emblem of the Georgian SSR Plants wheat, grapes
Coat of arms of Georgia
Landscapes,
geographic features		 Caucasus Mountains
Industry
Ornaments Georgian ornament with a seven-pointed star from the pre-1921 Georgian coat of arms
Azerbaijan Emblem of the Azerbaijan SSR[3] Plants wheat, cotton
Emblem of Azerbaijan
Landscapes,
geographic features
Industry oil drilling rig
Ornaments
Lithuania Emblem of the Lithuanian SSR[1] Plants wheat, oak
Coat of arms of Lithuania
Landscapes,
geographic features
Industry
Ornaments
Moldavia Emblem of the Moldavian SSR[1] Plants wheat, maize, pears, grapes
Coat of arms of Moldova
Landscapes,
geographic features
Industry
Ornaments
Latvia Emblem of the Latvian SSR Plants wheat
Coat of arms of Latvia
Landscapes,
geographic features		 Baltic Sea
Industry
Ornaments
Kirghizia Emblem of the Kirghiz SSR Plants wheat, cotton
Emblem of Kyrgyzstan
Landscapes,
geographic features		 Tian Shan Mountains
Industry
Ornaments Kyrgyz embroidery
Tajikistan Emblem of the Tajik SSR[1] Plants wheat, cotton
Emblem of Tajikistan
Landscapes,
geographic features
Industry
Ornaments
Armenia Emblem of the Armenian SSR Plants wheat, grapes
Coat of arms of Armenia
Landscapes,
geographic features		 Mount Ararat[4]
Industry
Ornaments
Turkmenistan Emblem of the Turkmen SSR Plants wheat, cotton, grapes
Emblem of Turkmenistan
Landscapes,
geographic features
Industry oil drilling rig
Ornaments gillam detail from a Turkmen rug
Estonia Emblem of the Estonian SSR[5] Plants wheat, pine, spruce
Coat of arms of Estonia
Landscapes,
geographic features
Industry
Ornaments
Republics that dissolved before 1991
Karelo-Finnish SSR
(1940-1956)		 Coat of arms of the Karelo-Finnish SSR Plants rye, pine
Coat of arms of Karelia
(autonomous part of Russia)
Landscapes,
geographic features		 Karelian landscape
Industry
Ornaments Karelian embroidery
Transcaucasian SFSR
(1922-1936)		 Emblem of the Transcaucasian SFSR Plants Wheat, cotton, maize, rice, grapes
Landscapes,
geographic features		 Caucasus mountains
Industry Factory, oil drilling rigs
Ornaments

Other emblems of the post-Soviet territories

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Государственные гербы и флаги республик СССР". sovietthings.webuda.com. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  2. ↑ "Kazakhstan in the Soviet Union". crwflags.com. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  3. ↑ "Coats of arms". azerbaijans.com. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  4. ↑ "Armenia in the Soviet Union". crwflags.com. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  5. ↑ "Estonia in the Soviet Union". flags-of-the-world.net. Retrieved 5 December 2012.

See also

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