Coat of arms and Flag of St. Petersburg

As you know, St. Petersburg plays the role of the Northern Capital of Russia, in addition, it has the status of the cultural capital of the country. However, some cities periodically try to challenge this right in the city of St. Peter. But our conversation will not go about this, but about the symbols that St. Petersburg today represent - about the flag and the coat of arms.

Description of the flag

The flag of St. Petersburg now looks like a solid red rectangular panel. His side in the official version is a proportion of 2: 3. In the center of the canvas is the emblem of the city, which consists of crossed between two anchors - river and sea. Anchors are represented on the flag by white. Behind them is depicted a golden scepter, crowned with a knob in the shape of a two-headed eagle. It is known that the coat of arms of the Vatican, also the city-state of St. Peter, the prince of the apostles, served as a prototype of this composition.

Symbolism

The fact that one anchor on the flag of the river and the other on the sea signifies the unity of the two ports located in the city. The scepter as a symbol of the imperial autocracy is located on the flag also for a reason. Such a flag of St. Petersburg emphasizes his capital status, which he once had officially, but today retains by right of honor. This is a reminder that the city was built on the direct initiative of the Russian emperor and for many years played the role of the center of the empire and the state house.

History of the flag of St. Petersburg

That version of the cloth, which today plays the role of the official banner of the Northern capital, was approved in this capacity in 1992, on June 8. The flag of St. Petersburg was entered in the heraldic register with the assignment of number 49. This happened for a reason. In 1991, that is, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a city referendum took place, during which a large part of the population advocated that the city be returned to its historical name and symbolism.

Alternative option

But before the modern flag of St. Petersburg was adopted, other alternative variants were offered for the Soviet banner. One of them was a typical Russian tricolor, near the shaft of which in the upper corner was a gold boat from the spire of the Admiralty. By the way, this vessel already played the role of the official symbol of the city under the Soviet regime. And today it is one of the most recognizable, albeit unofficial characters associated with St. Petersburg. It can be found on various souvenirs, postcards and T-shirts with branded St. Petersburg symbols. It is also included in the design of some enterprises that manufacture souvenir flags and flagstaffs. St. Petersburg has a flag, the basis of which is a red canvas. Which is also not accidental. It is believed that this is a symbol of the bloody Northern War, during which fierce battles were fought with the Swedes. These military actions played a huge role in the history of the capital city. You can also understand this color as a symbol of the blood on which the city is built and is standing, for it is known how many lives it was erected.

The coat of arms of St. Petersburg

The coat of arms and the flag of St. Petersburg are very similar. Both of them include one and the same composition of anchors and a scepter on a red background. But the coat of arms, as it should be, is not on the canvas, but on the heraldic shield. Behind there are two more golden golden scepter, analogous to that depicted behind the anchors. Scepter crossed with each other. Crowns the emblem of the imperial crown with a cross. And all this composition is framed along the perimeter of the blue Andreevsky ribbon. The same coat of arms appeared in 1857. More precisely, it originated in its basis earlier, back in the XVIII century. But in the aforementioned year it was last amended and has not changed since then, up to the approval of party symbols after the revolution. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the cities began to return to themselves the historical, primordial symbols that they had before the party leaders imposed on them their signs, completely breaking with the monarchical and imperial past. This process was touched also by the Northern capital - St. Petersburg. He was given back both the historical name and a set of symbols reflecting his status in the history of the Russian state.