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 symbolized 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.

USSR republics coat of arms display on USSR State Television.

The emblems are often called coats of arms, but since they (deliberately) did not follow the rules of heraldry, most of them 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, with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have present-day arms nearly identical to the Soviet one. 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, controlling part of the Luhansk Oblast in Ukraine, created the similar emblem.

Emblems of the Soviet Republics

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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
Sun rising on Caspian Sea
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
Turkmenia   Emblem of the Turkmen SSR Plants wheat, cotton, grapes  
Emblem of Turkmenistan
Landscapes,
geographic features
Turkmen landscape
Industry oil drilling rig
Ornaments gillam detail from a Turkmen rug
Estonia   Emblem of the Estonian SSR[5] Plants rye, 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
(constituent entity 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

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Current independent territories

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Former independent territories

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Государственные гербы и флаги республик СССР". sovietthings.webuda.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Kazakhstan in the Soviet Union". crwflags.com. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  3. ^ "Coats of arms". azerbaijans.com. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. 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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