There are always many oddities and coincidences in Russian history. One of them is that the modern coat of arms of St. Petersburg, Northern Palmyra, was adopted in the same year 2003, when the symbol of the official capital, Moscow, was approved.
Moreover, the authorities of the city on the Neva turned out to be faster and approved their main symbol a month earlier than their Moscow counterparts. As has often happened in Russian history, St. Petersburg in many cases becomes the initiator and initiator, and Moscow acts as a catch-up.
Interesting Facts
In history, the main symbol of the city on the Neva appeared much later than its Moscow “colleague”. This can be easily explained - the history of St. Petersburg is much shorter than that of the capital. The official approval of the first coat of arms took place in 1730, confirmed in 1780, then minor changes were made over the centuries.
Interestingly, unlike Moscow, which received a new official symbol with the advent of Soviet power, the coat of arms of St. Petersburg temporarily "faded into the shadows." It was simply not used in official documents, but there was no alternative to it either. With the collapse of the USSR and the return to historical roots, the coat of arms of the second Russian capital was reintroduced in 1991.
By the way, one story is also connected with the return of the historical coat of arms to St. Petersburg. In 1989, the city authorities nevertheless raised the issue of the official symbol, and even announced a competition to create a new sketch with the appointment of a cash prize to the winner.
Naturally, there were many who wanted to leave their name in history and receive a cash prize; an exhibition of new projects was held in the Peter and Paul Fortress. But the patriots of the city amicably and decisively opposed the Soviet symbols on the coat of arms, in general, against the appearance of a new emblem. A very short time later, the historical coat of arms was returned to St. Petersburg.
Description of the modern symbol
The color image or photo of the coat of arms of the city shows the heraldic shield of the traditional scarlet color, which depicts the following important elements:
- two silver crossing anchors;
- a golden scepter topped with a double-headed eagle, the symbol of the Russian Empire.
This is how the small coat of arms of St. Petersburg looks like, there is also a large coat of arms, its center is occupied by a shield with the same symbols. In addition, two more crossing sceptres with the same two-headed eagles appear behind the shield. Around the shield and scepters there is a frame in the form of azure ribbons. The composition is crowned with an imperial crown decorated with precious metals and stones.
