The emblem of the Provisional Government is a symbol of the transitional period

The emblem of the state is not just a beautiful drawing - in its image, as a rule, all the symbols of the internal structure of the country are laid: priorities, politics and even warnings.

Coat of arms of the Russian state

The history of the emblem of Russia goes back to the time of the reign of Ivan III. It was then, in 1497, the image of an eagle with two heads first appeared on the royal seal. Afterwards, it underwent various changes, and as a result, by 1917 the Russian emblem grew up with symbols, each of which had its own meaning:

• The two-headed eagle, looking its way in different directions, says that Russia combines all the best that is inherent in the West and the East, being the golden mean between the two cultures.
• A warrior, sitting on his horse with a spear, is George the Victorious - a symbol of that the Fatherland is under protection and will always be able to defeat the infringing evil.
• Three crowns mean Russia's independence.
• The Scepter and the Power are the unity of the state governed by the state.

That is, all the symbols included in the arms, said that the country to which it belongs, is multinational, powerful, sovereign, capable of protecting its people by the state.

But it was until 1917, until there was a turn in the history of the Russian state.

New government - other symbols

As a result of the February revolution that took place in Russia in 1917, the monarchy's rule came to an end. The power over the country passed into the hands of the so-called Provisional Government, whose work was headed by Prince GE Lvov. From now on, the Constituent Assembly was to determine the further fate and path of Russia . The power has changed, and so, and the old symbols in the changing country already had no place. Nevertheless, all important documents were to be fixed by the state seal. Already in March various requests from the various agencies and departments of the country were sent to the Provisional Government with a request to clarify what kind the real state should be. A seal confirming the authenticity of the documents.

In connection with this, a special meeting was convened, and with it a special commission for arts, headed by AM Gorky, was established. Gorky, in turn, attracted artists from the "World of Arts" and famous heraldists to work.

The result of their joint work was a sketch made by I. Ya. Bilibin, who after some discussion was adopted as a temporary emblem for the state press. The sample was the same two-headed eagle, however, devoid of all the attributes, which were considered to be symbols inherent in tsarism and irrelevant for the new time.

This emblem, decorated with the state. The seal, in fact, was the coat of arms of the Provisional Government, but the question of giving it a state status remained open.

New time - a new coat of arms

After the sample of the new press was publicly presented to the public, a wave of protests rallied across the country, demanding to eradicate the old "royal" attributes still used in everyday life. The country needed a different state coat of arms.

The question of a new symbol was raised several times at the Legal Meeting, which is convened under the Provisional Government. In the end, the image of the eagle in the new version was recognized as possible for use as a state symbol. However, the final decision on how the coat of arms of the Provisional Government will look like was postponed until the future Constituent Assembly. Nevertheless, the new leadership of the country has already considered the "naked" eagle "its" new symbol. His image appeared on new paper currency signs.

Temporary coat of arms on time

The paper money issued under the new government looked quite interesting.

They depicted the emblem of the Provisional Government - a two-headed eagle against a swastika, which at that time was not yet considered a sign of fascism. Swastika ("Running Cross") was considered a solar (solar) sign, symbolizing eternity, the path to prosperity and progress. Apparently, that is why it was used by the Provisional Government in conjunction with the eagle as a symbol of Russia's victory over the oppression of the monarchy. However, the official explanation, which means the new state symbol, never happened. The coat of arms of the Provisional Government of the 1917 model, in fact, remained just an emblem.

In the summer of 1918, the already formed Soviet government decided to eradicate the old symbols. The new Constitution adopted at that time determined that the state's coat of arms would now symbolize only the political symbols of the new ruling party. The emblem of the Provisional Government was replaced by the emblem of the RSFSR.

Why is the coat of arms of the Provisional Government on money

In 1991, the Soviet Union disintegrated. Again in the history of our country came the transition times, when the old Soviet symbols were already irrelevant, and new ones had not yet appeared.

In 1992, the Bank of Russia began to mint coins with an emblem very similar to the coat of arms of the Provisional Government of the 1917 model.

And it happened because at that time the state symbols approved by the government of the country simply did not exist. Therefore, the Bank of Russia decided to use its emblem on the money, which, according to Alexander Yurov, who is the director of the department for cash circulation of money by the Central Bank, has nothing to do with the Provisional Government and its symbols. And the similarity of the two emblems was explained by the fact that they really were performed by the same artist - I. Bilibin. Only the emblem of the Central Bank is borrowed from Russian fairy tales, in the design of books which this artist participated in.

2016 was marked by the fact that the Russian coat of arms was returned to the Russian banknotes again.