Flag and coat of arms of the Perm Region: history, description, meaning

On December 7, 2003, a referendum was held among residents of the Perm Region and the Komi-Permyak Autonomous District on the merger of these subjects of the Russian Federation. Based on the results of its December 1, 2005 on the map of Russia appeared Perm Territory. Formally, this is one of the youngest administrative entities in the state, although the history of intensive development of these places has more than three hundred years. Its reflection is the emblem of the Perm region, created on the basis of the city symbol of the capital of the region.

History of the region

The first information about the peoples who inhabited the territory of the present Perm Territory, appear in the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years", where it is said that Russia collected tribute from the inhabitants of the Kama region. Later, the powerful merchants and mining workers of Stroganov owned the rivers along the banks of the Kama in the region of the confluence of the Chusovaya River. The history of the capital of the region as a city begins in 1723, from the moment the construction of a copper smelting plant near the mouth of another tributary of the Kama River, the Yoshoshi River began.

Four hundred years before this, the enlightening activity of the legendary Saint Stephen of Perm was known. His tireless missionary work greatly contributed to the inclusion of the Perm territories in the Moscow state. He was the author of the written language of many peoples of the Kama region, the Komi, Zyryans, Permyaks, actively introduced Orthodoxy in those places where he later became a bishop in the work of the Perm Diocese formed by him. The gospel in the golden salary, included in the coat of arms of the Perm region, is widely considered a tribute to this enlightener.

The Perm bear

Historians explain the choice of the cult of this beast as the main symbol of the capital of the Perm Kama region. Perhaps, it was with pagan totems that the bear moved to the press, with which the documents of the first Perm governors were fastened, and then on the coat of arms of the Perm region.

The freedom of the artistic interpretation of the image of the "master of the taiga", which is characteristic of various historical images of the Permian symbol, has generated a multitude of versions among historians - professionals and amateurs. On the first distinct artefact of Russian heraldry - the Great State Seal of Ivan the Terrible (XVI century) - the letters "Permian Seal" are surrounded by a certain beast, more like a fox.

Similar images appearing at a later time - for example, on the Saadach cover of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov's throne - often also little resembled the formidable Toptygin, having more in common with a sheep, wolverine, fox or a large cat. At the same time, the bear invariably was present in the description.

Heraldic processing of the old plot

In the course of the reforms of Catherine II, the city of Perm, which became a provincial center, was to receive symbolic design developed according to uniform rules. The coat of arms of the Perm region of that time was officially approved on July 17, 1783: in the scarlet field there is a silver bear, on which the Gospel is placed in a golden setting, at the top is a silver four-pointed cross crossed, below - the earth.

This story, preserved in main features until now, first appeared in another famous Russian herbarium - "Titular" by Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich (1672). Then it was repeated on the banners of the Perm Regiments, on the official seals of the capital of Perm governorship and other cities that were part of it.

On the basis of the coat of arms, approved by Alexander II in 1856, the emblem and flag of the Perm region were developed with the revival of the state symbols that began after the collapse of the USSR. A shield containing an old heraldic plot with a walking bear with the Gospel on its back and a four-pointed cross crowned the imperial crown and adorned a wreath of golden oak leaves intertwined with St. Andrew's ribbon.

Without the cross and the gospel

In Soviet times, new editions of the historic emblem of Perm and the Perm region appeared. In it, religious and monarchical symbols were replaced by elements more appropriate to communist ideology. A cross over a walking bear was replaced by a five-pointed star, and in an open book a reference to a collection of divine texts could only be recognized by a historian.

In order to develop an ideologically sustained Perm coat of arms in 1967, a competition was held. The winners were offered a variant in which the historical coat of arms, devoid of religious and autocratic subtext, was used in the form of a small emblem at the bottom of the shield, and the main ones were other symbols: a monument to fighters for the cause of the revolution, established in the famous Perm-Motovilikha district, and an outgoing radiance that embodies the energy The power of the region.

What symbolizes the coat of arms of Perm Krai

With the administrative association of the Perm Region and the Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug, a working group was created that tried to develop heraldic elements that unite the symbols of the two regions. As a result, it was decided to create the emblem and flag of the Perm region on the basis of the emblem of its capital. In addition to the declared stability and adherence to traditions in this case, it was noted that the bear, like no other symbol, is suitable for indigenous peoples inhabiting the region. He enters into their ancient and modern culture in the form of fairy tales, songs, legends, objects of folk crafts, etc.

Since 2007, the State Emblem of the Russian Federation included the coat of arms of the Perm Region. What is meant by each element, its constituent, can be understood from the description and comments of specialists-heraldmasters who took part in the reconstruction of the historical symbols of the region:

• The silver bear that goes to the right is a symbol of the natural resources that the Permian land possesses - hidden in the earth's interior and growing on it in the form of endless forests where many animals live.
• The Gospel in the golden salary is a symbol of enlightenment, which came for the indigenous peoples of the Kama region mainly in the form of Christian and Orthodox culture.
• The four-pointed equilateral cross of silver is a heraldic sign of special purpose, chosenness, victoriousness, patronage and protection from the higher forces.
• The red (scarlet) color of the shield, like the royal crown crowning it, means the significance of the region as a full-fledged subject of the federation, having its own capital, belonging to a single monolithic state.