We are all accustomed to the Moscow coat of arms, to the image of St. George the Victorious on horseback, slaying the serpent. However, we do not think about its history, about where and when it came to Russia. It is worth saying that Saint George is a common Christian saint, revered in many other countries, for example, he is the patron saint of England. And foreigners are sometimes very surprised where it comes from - in Moscow, on the coat of arms of the city and even the country.

Officially, the coat of arms of the city of Moscow has existed since December 20, 1781. On this day it was “highly approved” along with the coats of arms of other cities of the Moscow province.

In the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire, our capital's coat of arms is described as follows: “St. George on a horse against the same as in the middle of the state coat of arms, in a red field, striking with a copy of a black serpent.” It was also noted that the coat of arms is “old”. This meant that the emblem was previously known.

Indeed, the horseman slaying the dragon with a spear was used for several centuries as component sovereign Russian coat of arms. That is, there was no coat of arms as such in ancient times, but there were seals and coins with similar images. The custom of placing a portrait of a prince on seals and coins, as well as an image of a saint whom the prince considered his patron, came to Rus' from Byzantium at the end of the 10th century .

At the beginning of the 11th century, an image of St. George appears on the coins and seals of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, who took the name Yuri (George). The founder of Moscow, Yuri Dolgoruky, continued this tradition. On his seal there is also a saint, standing at full height and drawing a sword from its sheath. The image of St. George was on the seals of Yuri Dolgoruky’s brother Mstislav, the serpent warrior was present on numerous seals of Alexander Nevsky, and he is found on the coins of Ivan II the Red and Dmitry Donskoy’s son Vasily. And on the coins of Vasily II the Dark, the emblem of St. George takes on a form close to what was later established on the Moscow coat of arms. Saint George has been considered the patron saint of Moscow since the time of Dmitry Donskoy.

St. George the Victorious and the Serpent

The killing of the serpent (dragon) is one of the most famous posthumous miracles of St. George. According to legend, a serpent devastated the land of a pagan king in Beirut. As the legend says, when the lot fell to give the king’s daughter to be torn to pieces by the monster, George appeared on horseback and pierced the snake with a spear, saving the princess from death. The appearance of the saint contributed to the conversion of local residents to Christianity. This legend was often interpreted allegorically: the princess - the church, the snake - paganism. This is also seen as a victory over the devil - the “ancient serpent”.
There is a variant description of this miracle relating to the life of George. In it, the saint subdues the snake with prayer and the girl destined for sacrifice leads him to the city, where the inhabitants, seeing this miracle, accept Christianity, and George kills the snake with a sword.

Saint George on an icon of the second half of the 16th century, from Novgorod.

Veneration of St. George in other countries

This saint has become extremely popular since early Christianity. He suffered torment in Nicomedia, and soon he began to be revered in Phenicia, Palestine, and then throughout the east. In Rome in the 7th century there were already two churches in honor of him, and in Gaul he has been revered since the 5th century.

Saint George on the Georgian icon.

George is considered the patron saint of warriors, farmers and shepherds, and in some places - of travelers. In Serbia, Bulgaria and Macedonia, believers turn to him with prayers for rain. In Georgia, people turn to George with requests for protection from evil, for good luck in hunting, for the harvest and offspring of livestock, for healing from illnesses, and for childbearing. IN Western Europe It is believed that prayers to Saint George (George, Jorge) help get rid of poisonous snakes and contagious diseases. Saint George is known to the Islamic peoples of Africa and the Middle East under the names Jirjis and al-Khadr. George is also the patron saint of Portugal, Genoa, Venice (together with Apostle Mark) and Barcelona. Well, and of course, England. Back in the 10th century, churches dedicated to St. were built in England. George, and in the 14th century he was officially recognized as the patron saint of England.

The coat of arms of Moscow, which depicts a horseman slaying the black Serpent with a spear, has been seen by many. But what this means and signifies, few will answer.

Officially, Moscow received its coat of arms in 1781, when on December 20 it was approved by Catherine the Second along with the coats of arms of cities throughout the Moscow province and had the following description in the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian State:

“Saint George on horseback, opposite the same as in the middle of the state emblem, in a red field, striking with a copy of the black serpent.”

It is worth noting that the document noted that the legalized coat of arms of Moscow is “old”, i.e. This emblem has been known for a long time.

Unfortunately, the history of Russian symbols is revealed rather poorly and therefore we will have to turn to the surviving unclear evidence and material materials (sculptural images, coins and seals).

The custom of putting the image of the prince, as well as the faces of the saints who patronized him, on coins and seals came to Russian lands back at the end of the 10th century from Byzantium.

Saint George first appeared on coins and seals at the beginning of the 11th century. This is associated with Prince Yaroslav the Wise, who after baptism took the name Yuri (otherwise known as George).

Yuri Dolgoruky, the founder of the city of Moscow, became the successor of this tradition and put the image of the saint on his seal. St. George the Victorious was presented in full height, and his hand was taking out a sword from a sheath located on his belt.

A view close to the current image first appeared on coins from the time of Vasily II the Dark.

At the end of the 15th century, a horseman slaying a dragon with his spear was approved as a symbol of the Russian State. Evidence of this is the national seal of the times of Ivan III Vasilyevich.

A written account in which the first mention of a horseman piercing a dragon is found in the Ermolin Chronicle.

It notes that the sculptural image of St. George the Victorious was installed above the entrance gate located in. This happened in 1464. The image was installed by the architect Vasily Ermolin.

Some historians believe that this was the coat of arms of the ancient city of Moscow at that time, arguing for this by the location of the image on the main tower of the Kremlin and the fact that even princes who passed through the gates removed their hats in front of it.

But, most likely, the statue had only protective functions, because on back side two years later a bas-relief of St. Demetrius appeared on the tower. It was installed by the same architect Ermolin.

It is interesting to know that after the reconstruction of the Frolovskaya Tower, a sculptural image of St. George the Victorious was placed in the temple named after him as an icon (the religious building was located next to the tower), and instead of it, an icon of the Savior Almighty was installed. It was this event that served as the reason for renaming the structure - since then it has been the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin.

Since the sixteenth century, for the first time, a double-headed eagle and a horseman located on its chest have been combined on state seals. This composition remained unchanged for a number of centuries and became, in essence, the coat of arms of the state - the Russian Empire.

It is worth noting that the image of the horseman was periodically changed: either it resembled the features of the sovereign, or the horseman was turned to the left side, and not to the right we are accustomed to. And what is also important is that the “Moscow rider” (as they said then) was in no way associated with Saint George.

So in the inventory of 1666-1667, carried out in , about the coat of arms it is written: “In a circle there is a double-headed eagle, crowned with two crowns, and on his chest a king on a horse is stabbing a serpent with a spear.”

In the Titular Book of 1672, Saint George was generally presented as the coat of arms of the lands that belonged to the Georgian kings.

It will also be important to bring up the associations of the common people with the coat of arms that existed at that time. Here are just some of these sayings - “the king on a horse defeated the serpent,” “the king himself with a spear,” “our great sovereign on an argamak,” and “a man on a horse with a spear stabs a snake.”

Sigismund Herberstein, who visited Moscow as a diplomat in 1517 and 1526, describes state seal in his “Notes on Muscovy”:

“In the circle is a double-headed eagle, crowned with two crowns, and on his chest is a king on a horse stabbing a serpent with a spear.”

Tsar-Emperor Peter the Great first names the horseman “Saint Yegor.” In his papers, dating from the 18th century, and which describe his personal standard and the newly introduced naval flags, there is a description of the state coat of arms:

“This began from there, when Vladimir the monarch divided his empire into receipts for his 12 sons, from whom the Vladimir princes took this coat of arms of St. Yegor, but then Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, when the monarchy from his grandfather was collected again and was crowned, then an eagle for the coat of arms accepted the Russian Empire, and placed the princely coat of arms in his chest.”

Finally, St. George the Victorious was approved on the coat of arms as a horseman in connection with the development of heraldry in the Russian State, which implied the approval of city coats of arms, incl. and for Moscow.

The beginning of this event occurs during the reign of Peter the Great. It was then that a system of distributing army regiments in cities began to take shape. The military unit received the name of the settlement, and the emblem of the city was depicted on its battle banner.

Since 1712, regiments stationed in the city of Moscow used a double-headed eagle as an emblem with an image of three crowns on top and a shield on the chest, in the center of which was a horseman slaying a dragon with a spear.

By 1729-1730, the emblem on the banners had changed significantly: the eagle disappeared, and only a horseman with a crown remained on it, still piercing a snake with a spear.

St. George, being part of the coat of arms of the Russian Empire, soon became the coat of arms of Moscow, which was recognized in Peter's times as the historical center of Russia (the capital by that time had been moved to St. Petersburg).

Photo 2. Moscow coat of arms, approved in 1730 and 1883

The color design was developed in the Heraldry Office, to which Francis Santi, a Piedmontese nobleman, was invited as a consultant. Not without his direct participation, St. George the Victorious began to be depicted “on a white horse, a yellow cap and a spear (golden), a yellow crown (crown), a black serpent, a white field all around, and a red one in the middle.”

In a decree dated 1781, which approves the coats of arms of Moscow and the cities of the Moscow province, the description of the Moscow symbol almost completely coincides with the description from 1730:

"Moscow. Saint George on horseback against the same as in the middle of the State Emblem, in a red field, striking a black serpent with a spear.”

In this form, the coat of arms of the city of Moscow remained unchanged until 1857, when, during the heraldic reforms, under Nicholas I, the Arms Department was created, which was assigned to the Department of Heraldry of the Senate. Baron B.V. was entrusted with leading the new department. Kene.

The planned work to change the coat of arms was approved by the emperor, and already on April 11, 1857, the description was published:

“On the chest of the eagle is the coat of arms of Moscow: in a scarlet shield with gold edges, the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George in silver armor and an azure cape (mantle), on a silver horse, covered with crimson cloth with gold fringe, striking a golden dragon with green wings with a golden, eight-pointed with a cross at the top, with a spear.”

The color of the cloak on the coat of arms of Moscow was most likely chosen azure (blue) in order to include in the attribute all the colors inherent in the state flag of the Russian Empire (horse - white, shield - red, cloak - blue). The horseman himself on the coat of arms is unusual: turned to the left, with a Western European helmet on his head.

Coat of arms of the capital of Russia

In 1993, the Moscow Government the coat of arms of the city of Moscow was approved in the form of a dark red shield with the image of St. George the Victorious in silver armor, striking a black serpent with a golden spear. What does the color scheme of the coat of arms mean? The color red means that we honor the memory of the soldiers who remained on the battlefield. Black dragon – forces of evil. Silver and gold colors of George's ammunition and weapons are success, superiority over the enemy.

From the history of the origin of the coat of arms of Moscow

History refutes the opinion that the image of St. George has always been on the coat of arms of Moscow. Let's consider the facts of the origin of the coat of arms. After the legendary Battle of Kulikovo, a secular horseman began to appear on the coat of arms of the Grand Dukes of Moscow, striking dragon spear. In the 16-17th century and in earlier times, our ancestors perceived this image as the image of a sovereign. Associations about the similarity of the image of the horseman with St. George arose among overseas ambassadors visiting our country. The Russians eloquently argued that this was not the case. Each Russian sovereign approved a new coat of arms. The compositions and colors changed.

Since the 20s of the 18th century, the horseman began to be called Saint George. Tsar Peter the Great contributed to this. He made St. George the patron saint of the capital, listening to the reasoning of European men on heraldry. Essential change of coat of arms happened in 1883 - the rider was turned the other way. The knights wore a shield on their left hand, and the image of the warrior on the coat of arms began to look “in the face of the enemy.” After the 1917 revolution, the coat of arms was abolished. The new emblem was approved in 1924. In the center of the composition were depicted a star, a sickle and a hammer - symbols of the workers' and peasants' brotherhood.

Only on November 23, 1993, the ancient image of the coat of arms was returned to Moscow. Who was this warrior? St. George the Victorious, depicted on the coat of arms of Moscow? George came from a noble Greek family, was in the military service of the emperor, and was himself a Christian. When Emperor Diacletian declared persecution of Christians, George came to their defense. For this he was subjected to terrible trials. George prayed to the Lord to strengthen him and steadfastly endured all the trials. Then the priests and the crowd of people demanded the execution of George. On May 6, 303, his head was cut off. Since then, every year on May 6th the day of the Holy Great Martyr George is celebrated. The history of Moscow began with Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. Yuri - translated from Greek means George. Maybe this is not a coincidence?
Numerous miracles associated with the image of St. George earned him the love and veneration of the Russian people.

It was approved in 1993 by decree of the country's first president, Boris Yeltsin. However, the symbols that are depicted on the coat of arms of Russia have much more long history, rooted in the period of formation of the Moscow Principality. The coat of arms of the Russian Federation depicts a double-headed eagle spreading its wings. What does it symbolize on the Russian coat of arms?

Any state emblem is not only an image on banknotes, documents and police insignia. First of all, the coat of arms is a national symbol intended to unite people living in a given territory.

What does the state emblem mean? Russian Federation? When did he appear? Was there a coat of arms medieval Rus' similar to modern? Why does the Russian eagle have two heads?

The history of the coat of arms of Russia is rich and interesting, but before telling about it, a description of this national symbol should be given.

Description of the coat of arms of the Russian Federation

The coat of arms of the Russian Federation is a red heraldic shield with the image of a golden double-headed eagle spreading its wings.

Each eagle's head is crowned, in addition, there is another crown above them, bigger size. Three crowns are connected by a gold ribbon. The double-headed eagle holds a scepter in its right paw, and an orb in its left. On the chest of the double-headed eagle there is another red shield with the image of a horseman killing a dragon with a silver spear.

As it should be according to heraldic laws, each of the elements of the Russian coat of arms has its own meaning. The double-headed eagle is a symbol of the Byzantine Empire, its image on the Russian coat of arms emphasizes the continuity between the two countries, their cultures and religious beliefs. It should be noted that the double-headed eagle is used in the state emblems of Serbia and Albania - in countries whose state traditions have also experienced strong influence Byzantium.

Three crowns in the coat of arms mean the sovereignty of the Russian state. Initially, the crowns meant the three kingdoms conquered by the Moscow princes: Siberian, Kazan and Astrakhan. The scepter and orb in the paws of an eagle are symbols of the supreme state power(prince, king, emperor).

The horseman slaying the dragon (serpent) is nothing more than the image of St. George the Victorious, a symbol of the bright principle defeating evil. He personifies the warrior-defender of the Motherland and has enjoyed great popularity in Russia throughout its history. No wonder St. George the Victorious is considered the patron saint of Moscow and is depicted on its coat of arms.

The image of a horseman is traditional for the Russian state. This symbol (the so-called rider) was in use back in Kievan Rus, he was present on princely seals and coins.

Initially, the horseman was considered an image of the sovereign, but during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the tsar on the coat of arms was replaced by Saint George.

History of the coat of arms of Russia

The central element of the Russian coat of arms is the double-headed eagle; this symbol first appeared during the reign of Ivan III, at the end of the 15th century (1497). The double-headed eagle was depicted on one of the royal seals.

Before this, seals most often depicted a lion tormenting a snake. The lion was considered a symbol of the Vladimir principality and passed from Prince Vasily II to his son Ivan III. Around the same time, the horseman became a common state symbol (later it would turn into St. George the Victorious). For the first time, the double-headed eagle as a symbol of princely power was used on the seal that sealed the deed of land ownership. Also during the reign of Ivan III, an eagle appears on the walls of the Faceted Chamber of the Kremlin.

Why exactly during this period the Moscow tsars began to use the double-headed eagle is still a matter of debate among historians. The canonical version is that Ivan III took this symbol for himself because he married the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Sophia Paleologus. In fact, this theory was first put forward by Karamzin. However, it raises serious doubts.

Sofia was born in Morea - the outskirts of the Byzantine Empire and was never close to Constantinople, the eagle first appeared in the Moscow principality several decades after the marriage of Ivan and Sofia, and the prince himself never made any claims to the throne of Byzantium.

The theory of Moscow as the “third Rome” was born much later, after the death of Ivan III. There is another version of the origin of the double-headed eagle: having chosen such a symbol, the Moscow princes wanted to challenge the rights to it from the strongest empire of that time - the Habsburg.

There is an opinion that the Moscow princes borrowed the eagle from the South Slavic peoples, who quite actively used this image. However, no traces of such borrowing could be found. And the appearance of the Russian “bird” is very different from its South Slavic counterparts.

In general, historians still don’t know exactly why a double-headed eagle appeared on the Russian coat of arms. It should be noted that around the same time, a single-headed eagle was depicted on coins of the Novgorod principality.

The double-headed eagle became the official state emblem under the grandson of Ivan III, Ivan the Terrible. At first the eagle is complemented by a unicorn, but soon it is replaced by a rider who slays a dragon - a symbol usually associated with Moscow. Initially, the horseman was perceived as a sovereign (“great prince on horseback”), but already during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, they began to call him George the Victorious. This interpretation will be finally consolidated much later, during the reign of Peter the Great.

Already during the reign of Boris Godunov, the coat of arms of Russia for the first time received three crowns located above the heads of the eagle. They meant the conquered Siberian, Kazan and Astrakhan kingdoms.

Since about the middle of the 16th century, the Russian double-headed eagle has often been painted in the “armed” position: the bird’s beak is open and its tongue is hanging out. Such a double-headed eagle seems aggressive, ready to attack. This change is the result of the influence of European heraldic traditions.

At the end of the XVI - early XVII centuries in the upper part of the coat of arms, between the heads of the eagle, the so-called Calvary cross often appears. This innovation coincides with the moment Russia gained church independence. Another version of the coat of arms of that period is the image of an eagle with two crowns and an eight-pointed Christian cross between his heads.

By the way, all three False Dmitrys actively used seals depicting the Russian coat of arms during the Time of Troubles.

The end of the Time of Troubles and the accession of the new Romanov dynasty led to some changes in the state emblem. According to the heraldic tradition of that time, the eagle began to be depicted with spread wings.

In the middle of the 17th century, during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the State Coat of Arms of Russia for the first time received an orb and a scepter, an eagle holding them in its paws. These are traditional symbols of autocratic power. At the same time, the first official descriptions of the coat of arms appeared; they have survived to this day.

During the reign of Peter I, the crowns over the heads of the eagle acquired the well-known “imperial” look, in addition, the coat of arms of Russia changed its color design. The eagle's body became black, and its eyes, beak, tongue and paws became gold. The dragon also began to be depicted in black, and St. George the Victorious - in silver. This design became traditional for the entire period of the Romanov dynasty.

The coat of arms of Russia underwent relatively serious changes during the reign of Emperor Paul I. This was the beginning of the era of the Napoleonic wars; in 1799, Britain captured Malta, whose patron was the Russian emperor. Such an act by the British infuriated the Russian emperor and pushed him into an alliance with Napoleon (which later cost him his life). It is for this reason that the Russian coat of arms received another element - the Maltese cross. Its meaning was that the Russian state lays claim to this territory.

During the reign of Paul I, a draft of the Great Coat of Arms of Russia was prepared. It was made entirely in accordance with the heraldic traditions of its time. Around the state coat of arms with a double-headed eagle, the coats of arms of all 43 lands that were part of Russia were collected. The shield with coats of arms was held by two archangels: Michael and Gabriel.

However, soon Paul I was killed by the conspirators and the large coat of arms of Russia remained in the projects.

Nicholas I adopted two main versions of the state emblem: full and simplified. Before this, the coat of arms of Russia could be depicted in different versions.

Under his son, Emperor Alexander II, a heraldic reform was carried out. It was handled by the King of Arms Baron Köhne. In 1856, a new small Russian coat of arms was approved. In 1857, the reform was finally completed: in addition to the small one, the medium and large coat of arms of the Russian Empire were also adopted. They remained virtually unchanged until the events February Revolution.

After the February Revolution, the question arose about a new coat of arms of the Russian state. To solve this problem, a group of the best Russian heraldry experts was assembled. However, the issue of the coat of arms was rather political, so they recommended, until the convening of the Constituent Assembly (where they were supposed to adopt a new coat of arms), to use the double-headed eagle, but without the imperial crowns and St. George the Victorious.

However, six months later another revolution occurred, and the Bolsheviks began developing a new coat of arms for Russia.

In 1918, the Constitution of the RSFSR was adopted, and along with it, the draft of a new coat of arms of the republic was approved. In 1920, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee adopted a version of the coat of arms drawn by the artist Andreev. Finally the coat of arms of the Russian Soviet socialist republic was adopted at the All-Russian Congress in 1925. The coat of arms of the RSFSR was used until 1992.

The current state emblem of Russia is sometimes criticized for the abundance of monarchical symbols, which are not very appropriate for a presidential republic. In 2000, a law was passed that establishes exact description coat of arms and regulates the procedure for its use.

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The Holy Great Martyr George has long been revered by the Russian Orthodox people. His image occupies a significant place not only in church art, but also in secular culture: he was depicted by such different artists as V. Serov and V. Kandinsky; anonymous authors of spiritual poems about Yegor the Brave and poets of the Silver Age addressed him... And it is impossible to imagine the pages of Russian military glory without the name of the Holy Victorious, in whose honor the highest military awards of the Russian Empire were named.

We talk about the heraldic symbols and military regalia dedicated to St. George with the famous military historian, author of a number of scientific monographs and numerous articles, head of the Department of Military-Historical Heritage of the House of Russian Abroad named after A. Solzhenitsyn Andrei Sergeevich Kruchinin.

Andrei Sergeevich, there are many images of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious among the oldest Russian icons that have survived to this day. This, apparently, allows us to talk about the special veneration of the holy warrior by our ancestors?

Indeed, you don’t need to be an expert to immediately remember how numerous the images of St. George left to us by ancient Russian iconography are. These are “portrait” icons, and images with numerous marks illustrating the life and miracles of the great martyr, images on foot and on horseback, icons from the Deesis tier of iconostasis... Of course, Saint George was not the only saint of God who enjoyed special love and veneration in Russia ( along with St. Nicholas, the Prophet Elijah, Florus and Laurus...), and not even the only holy warrior - let us remember Demetrius of Thessaloniki, Theodore Tiron, Andrei Stratilates... But, I think, the “place” of the Roman military leader who became a truly Russian saint, nevertheless, in its own exclusive way - it turns out to be so “common” for various segments of the population of Russia.

The Church first of all remembers and glorifies the great martyr, who endured terrible suffering and martyrdom and thereby sealed his faith in Christ; evidence of this veneration is both the iconography with which we began the conversation, as well as churches and monasteries - let us recall, for example, the ancient Yuryev Monastery near Novgorod (the main and oldest temple it is not much younger than the famous Novgorod Hagia Sophia). And the “autumn” holiday - the memory of St. George on November 26 according to the Julian calendar - is celebrated precisely in honor of the consecration St. George's Church in Kyiv in the 11th century. “Spring Yegoriy” (St. George commemorated on April 23) enjoyed special veneration among farmers, who asked him to keep their livestock away from wild animals. Finally, the martyr-commander, the victorious martyr, naturally became a “princely”, “companion” saint. It is no coincidence that George is one of the fairly common “princely” names, and even Yaroslav the Wise in Holy Baptism was George. It is appropriate to recall here the cities that bore this name - Yuryev-Polskoy, Yuryev-Povolzhsky (Yurievets) or, say, Yuryev in the Baltic states - later Dorpat, and now Estonian Tartu.

You rightly noted the diversity of ancient Russian iconography of St. George. And yet this name is primarily associated with the image of the miracle of the serpent.

Yes, it would not be an exaggeration to say that for most Russian people the name of St. George is primarily brought to mind by the icon depicting a horseman with a spear - the conqueror of the serpent (dragon). And this coincidence of one of the miracles of the Holy Victorious with the favorite mythological and fairy-tale plot of snake fighting also probably supported the “popularity” of this particular saint.

And over time, the image of the miracle of George on the serpent also became a symbol of the first throne capital of the Russian state, although the path of the Holy Victorious to the Moscow coat of arms and to the coat of arms of All Rus', Great, Lesser and White, and then the Russian Empire was not simple.

How long ago did this symbol of Moscow appear, poetically captured by Marina Tsvetaeva: “Moscow coat of arms: the hero pierces the reptile...”?

Heraldry in the Western sense of the word - a system of strict rules for the compilation and description of coats of arms - Russia for a long time I didn’t know, although Rus', of course, had its own state and regional (“land”) symbols. First of all, stable images-emblems are found on coins and seals, and here the regional symbolism is combined with personal symbols belonging to the sovereign - the owner of a given region or city, who owns the seal or on whose behalf the coinage is minted. And now the familiar figure of a horseman with a spear (less often with a saber) has become a mandatory image on Moscow coins and seals since the 14th century. And after the adoption by Grand Duke John III of the double-headed eagle - a kind of legacy of Orthodox Byzantium, which fell under the Ottoman blows - the image of a horseman is more and more often combined with this new symbol for Rus', both on both sides of the “hanging” seal, and moving, in a small shield, to chest of a royal bird.

The point, however, is that it is still Not George the Victorious, which follows both from narrative sources, which repeatedly and quite definitely testify that the reigning person, the Grand Duke, and then the Tsar are depicted (“Great Prince Ivan Vasilyevich erected a banner on the money: the Great Prince on a horse, and having a spear in his hand, and from then on it was nicknamed “kopeck money”), and from the peculiarities of the image itself - on the vast majority of coins the horseman appears crowned, although even in icon painting the martyr’s crown is not at all a mandatory attribute, and it was depicted differently. The serpent is also not visible on the coins (under the horse’s hooves is usually the designation of the mint), although in general the features of the coinage were such that part of the figure, even the head, could easily end up outside the coin. However, the serpent itself was not an indispensable indication that the conquering horseman was Saint George. Thus, on the title page of the Bible, printed in Moscow in 1663, among other images there was a serpent fighter rider (outwardly clearly depicting a non-saint) with a poetic signature addressed to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, where there were the following words: “Conquer with a copy of the opposing serpent, / Especially with the sword of the evil spirit of the heretic.”

It must be said that portraits of rulers (with greater or lesser similarities, including simply schematic ones) from Antiquity are one of the stable subjects of coinage. But in our country, the image of the “rider” as a specific sovereign is gradually turning into a national symbol. For example, the zemstvo militia of Minin and Pozharsky continued in 1611-1613 to depict a “Moscow rider” in a crown on their coins (in 1612, coins were minted in Yaroslavl, which was designated by the letters “YAR”), although for their own printing both the First and the Second The militia in 1611-1612 did not use either this image or the double-headed eagle - the militia seal had a flying single-headed eagle (on the other hand, coins were minted by the “council of all the earth” not in its own name, but in the name of the reigning monarchs). And by the end of the 17th century, an amazing process took place, as if the opposite of “secularization” - a kind of sacralization of the image: external compositional similarity leads to the fact that the “horse-riding king” is increasingly perceived as Saint George. In the 18th century, the “freethinking” and “secular” century, which brought many trials to the Russian Church, it is this interpretation that takes root firmly and forever.

During the 18th century, the horseman gradually disappeared from coins (the most complete image, with a slaying serpent, dates back to the era of Empress Elizabeth), giving way to the double-headed eagle (while remaining on the eagle’s chest as a symbol of Moscow). But the image of St. George legally becomes the Moscow coat of arms, although the “pedigree” of the Victorious in city symbolism is much older: it can be traced back at least to 1464, when his sculptural image - a relief icon - was installed on the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin. Peter I and his heirs, transferring many of the European rules and norms to Russia, laid the foundation for the systematic creation of coats of arms, including land ones. Initially, the massive development of city and land coats of arms was associated with their placement on regimental banners, since regiments in Russia for the most part bore the names of cities, sometimes traditionally preserved for decades and centuries, even if the true connection of military units with these cities was lost. In the new heraldry, ancient images that were traditionally the emblems of Russian cities, lands or principalities were often used, having been reworked according to the rules of European heraldic science, but other coats of arms were invented. As for the coat of arms for the banners of the Moscow regiments (both infantry and cavalry), since at least 1729 it has been described as “George on horseback, opposite that in the middle of the state coat of arms.”

Thus, it seems that the image of St. George as the emblem of the capital of the Russian state was included in the State Emblem of the Russian Empire before the formal approval of the city emblem of Moscow: the latter was approved by Empress Catherine II only in 1781, representing, according to the official description, “St. George on horseback against the same as in the middle of the State Emblem, in a red field, striking with a copy of the black serpent,” and was used in this form in the most different cases: for example, the carabinieri of the “Moscow Legion” that existed under Catherine wore a copper forehead badge with the image of St. George on their caps.

And why at different times the figure of St. George on the Moscow coat of arms was directed either to the right or to the left? Is this related to some rules of heraldry?

In 1883, the Moscow city coat of arms was changed according to the model of the provincial coat of arms of 1856; the latter appeared during the heraldic reform associated with the name of B.V. Köhne, historian and head of the Arms Department of the Department of Heraldry. Köhne had many enemies who created his reputation as a “self-proclaimed heraldist,” but for the city and land heraldry of Russia his reform seems important and justified. For the Moscow coat of arms, the changes made should be considered truly beneficial.

First of all, this refers to the “direction of movement” of the rider on the coat of arms. The fact is that according to heraldic rules, the coat of arms should be taken literally as a knight’s shield worn on left hand and facing the front side (image) to the enemy. Let’s imagine this and understand that the “correct” movement of the depicted figures will be “to the left of the viewer,” because otherwise the figures will “run” from the enemy, and this, of course, is undesirable. In the Moscow coat of arms of the 18th century, the direction of movement “from left to right” was probably associated with the tradition of images on coins and seals, and perhaps on icons, and in this case it had its reasons (sometimes in heraldry the rules are deliberately “broken” so that the sophisticated viewer wondered why there was such a violation and whether there was any special meaning hidden in it). But the “turn” of the figure of the horseman in the “heraldic correct” direction that took place under Koen, I think, was completely justified (unfortunately, this is not taken into account in the now approved coat of arms of Moscow - it is based on the 18th century version).

The drawing of St. George himself has also undergone changes. In the 18th century, he was depicted as a Western European knight, clad in armor from head to toe, wearing a helmet with an open visor and holding a tournament spear in his hand. Now the appearance of the Victorious has been made in some sense more “historical” and, undoubtedly, more Orthodox - he appears in weapons, relatively speaking, of the “Greco-Roman” model, in a Greek helmet with a crest, and most importantly - now the spear of St. George crowned with a cross (according to the description - eight-pointed, but due to lack of space a four-pointed cross could also be depicted). According to the official description, the Moscow provincial coat of arms of the 1856 model represented “in a scarlet shield, the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George, in silver weapons and an azure cape (mantle), on a silver horse, covered with crimson cloth with gold fringe, striking a golden dragon with green wings gold with an eight-pointed cross on top of a spear. The shield is crowned with the Imperial crown and surrounded by golden oak leaves connected by St. Andrew’s ribbon”; the description of the city coat of arms of the 1883 model is almost identical, with the exception of the “decorations” accompanying the coat of arms: “The shield is crowned with the Imperial crown. Behind the shield are two gold scepters placed crosswise, connected by St. Andrew's ribbon (denoting the capital status of Moscow. - A.K.)". In this form, the coat of arms existed until 1917.

- Please tell us about the Order of St. George.

A European-style award system appeared in Russia, again under Peter I, who established the Order of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called and the Ladies' Order of the Great Martyr Catherine. The Emperor intended to establish a special military order, naturally naming it in memory of the holy noble Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, but after the death of Peter, the military meaning of this award was somehow lost by itself (and what kind of wars were there under his immediate successors?), and it turned simply into an order for state merit, and in essence - for high dignitaries, remaining as such until the very end of the Russian Empire. The idea of ​​the need for a military order was returned to in the “age of Catherine,” famous for the glorious victories of Russian weapons. Initially, there was a project to call it the “Catherine Order,” but Catherine II had the wisdom and tact not to create an order “in her own name” (namely yours, because the order Saint Catherine already existed!), and found the best option - on November 26 (old style) 1769, on “autumn Yegor”, the establishment of the “Military Holy Great Martyr and Victorious Order of George” was announced in four degrees.

The statute (legislation on the order) was edited several times, but its main provisions remained unchanged since Catherine’s time: “Neither high breed, nor wounds received in front of the enemy,” the first edition said, “give the right to be granted this order, but it is given to those who Not only did they correct their position in everything according to their oath, honor and duty, but in addition they distinguished themselves by some particularly courageous act or gave wise and useful advice for Our military service.” Remained unchanged appearance order: “A large, golden cross, with white enamel on both sides, along the edges with a gold border, in the middle of which is depicted the kingdom of Moscow coat of arms on enamel, that is, in a red field, St. George, armed with silver armor, with gold hanging on top of it epancheyu, having a golden diadem on his head (in practice, the image could be simplified.- A.K.), sitting on a silver horse, on which the saddle and all the harness are golden, striking a black serpent in the sole of a shield with a golden spear; on the back side in the middle, in a white field, the monogram of this name of St. George”, “a silk ribbon, with three black and two yellow stripes”; in the first and second degrees, the order cross was also accompanied by “a quadrangular star, gold, in the middle of which in a black hoop there is a yellow or gold field, and on it the name of St. George is depicted in a monogram, and in the black hoop in gold letters and the inscription: for service and courage” (order motto).

Since 1807, there was also an award “assigned to the Military Order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George” and called the “insignia of the Military Order” for lower ranks (soldiers, sailors, Cossacks, non-commissioned officers). The manifesto of Emperor Alexander I declared: “This insignia is acquired only on the battlefield, during the defense of fortresses or on the waters. It is given to those of the lower military ranks who, having actually served in our land and naval forces, are distinguished by excellent courage against the enemy.” Since 1856, this sign received four degrees, and since 1913 it began to be officially called the St. George's Cross. Its appearance corresponded to the cross of the Order of St. George, but without enamel. Let us mention by the way that for persons of non-Christian religion in the Russian Empire, images of Christian saints on orders were replaced with the state emblem, probably for fear of somehow offending their feelings. But these fears seem exaggerated: there are cases when highlander horsemen who received the St. George Cross indignantly demanded their reward “with a horseman,” and not with some kind of “bird.”

Since the time of Catherine, it was established: “This order should never be removed, for it is acquired through merit,” and over time, this position acquired additional features. Representatives of the clergy were also awarded orders, but during religious ceremonies the orders had to be removed. The only exception was the pectoral cross on the ribbon of the Order of St. George, which could be awarded to military priests, or the order itself (although cases of awarding a priest with this order were extremely rare, a corresponding rule existed).

In the complex of St. George's awards, according to the statute of 1913, in addition to "belonging" to the Order of the St. George's Cross, for the first time the St. George's medal of four degrees was also included (previously it was the medal "For bravery" for awarding border guards in peacetime) and the St. George's weapon. The award of award weapons (golden weapons) existed much earlier, but only now it was officially declared “ranked” to the order - as one of the emigrant authors later noted, being “like its fifth degree.”

In addition, the St. George awards were not only individual, but also collective, and the complex of such awards also took shape over decades. First of all (in order of importance) this included the St. George banners and standards; depending on the type of weapon, signal instruments decorated with St. George’s ribbons (a trumpet or a horn, which made up entire “choirs”) could also be complained to the regiments or batteries; military units could receive St. George's buttonholes. There was, so to speak, a whole “St. George” regiment - one of the cuirassier regiments (later the dragoon regiment) was called the “regiment of the Military Order” and had an image of an order star on its helmets. And although this did not necessarily mean staffing it with St. George’s cavaliers, for a long time this regiment was considered one of the exemplary ones (which was recognized, for example, by such a demanding judge as Emperor Nicholas I).

Later, in relation to the award practice of the First World War, there was an opinion: if in a unit the St. George Knights make up a relatively large percentage of the personnel, this affects the fighting qualities... negatively - according to this point of view, the recipient must certainly be “out of the ordinary” , otherwise the reward loses its meaning.

The World War, with its unprecedented scale, really sharply increased the number of St. George Knights, primarily among soldiers: the number of those awarded the fourth degree went to hundreds of thousands, and then exceeded a million! At the same time, regarding the order itself (officer’s award), a fairly strict procedure for presentation and awarding continued to exist, which is worth talking about in more detail.

After all, in general, the Order of St. George was given with such scrutiny that in the entire history there were only... four “full” cavaliers (once again: precisely the order, and not the soldier’s cross): M. I. Kutuzov, M. B. Barclayde -Tolly, I. I. Dibich-Zabalkansky and I. F. Paskevich-Erivansky. The absence of A.V. Suvorov from this list is surprising, but initially the orders could not have been given in gradual order: Suvorov was awarded the 3rd (1771), 2nd (1773) and 1st (1789) degrees, but did not have a lower one . Subsequently, the procedure for awarding the fourth degree, and then the St. George’s Arms, began as a mandatory stage to include a discussion of the issue of the merits of those nominated for the award in special St. George’s Dumas (or “dumas of persons who have the St. George’s Arms”). It is important to emphasize that, according to the statutes of some other orders, such dumas should also have existed for them, but they somehow remained on paper, while in addition to the St. George’s Dumas, they could award only personally the sovereign.

Here is just one example of the exacting nature of the St. George’s Duma. In 1915, during the difficult days of the retreat of the Russian army, in one of the battles, staff captain Ya. A. Slashchov (later a famous white general), at the head of his company, with a brave attack, “despite the murderous fire of the enemy,” threw off the advancing Germans from a tactically important heights, and, having been wounded shortly before, he personally leads the soldiers to the bayonet line... with his arm in a sling. However, the Duma refused to support the nomination to the Order of St. George (there is no doubt that the officer would have received another award, but not the St. George award!). And only “additional testimony” from the battalion commander, who said that at that moment he himself was out of action due to injury, and Slashchov rushed to the attack not by order, but on his own initiative, forced the Duma to change its opinion.

- Emperor NicholasII in his diary dated October 25, 1915, he calls “unforgettable” the day when he was awarded the Order of St. George, and the entry shows that the award came as a complete surprise to him. Was the Georgievsk Duma authorized to reward the Tsar himself?

The Duma still did not award, but checked whether the circumstances and nature of the act corresponded to such a high reward. In this case, the Duma of the Southwestern Front petitioned before the sovereign about accepting (only!) the fourth degree of the order, testifying “that the presence of the Sovereign Emperor at the forefront inspired the troops to new heroic deeds and gave them great power spirit." The Emperor indeed, during his trip to the front, was in the zone of actual enemy artillery fire. The general who headed the Duma later admitted: “To be honest, we were worried about the result; but, thank God, everything went well...” (The Emperor replied: “Indescribably touched and delighted by my undeserved distinction, I agree to wear our highest military order and with all my heart I thank you, everyone Knights of St. George and the troops dearly beloved by Me for the white cross earned by Me through their heroism and high valor”). It must be said that this same general, fearless in battle and afraid that the emperor would refuse to accept the award, was a holder of the St. George's Arms and orders of the third and fourth degrees, and in the future - one of the founders of the White movement A. M. Kaledin...

In general, among those who earned the St. George's Awards with their exploits during the Great War, there were many future leaders and heroes of the White movement. One of the first, if not the first (the issue was heatedly debated in exile) holder of the Order of St. George, 4th degree, was the future general, and then captain P.N. Wrangel - for the dashing attack of German guns firing almost point-blank. The first Russian pilot to receive this award was V. M. Tkachev, the future head of Wrangel aviation, who in 1914 managed to deliver the results of a reconnaissance flight in an airplane with an oil tank pierced by a bullet, the hole in which had to be plugged with his foot during the flight. Another awarded pilot, V.L. Pokrovsky (during Civil War he gained fame as the commander of cavalry units), in 1915, without serious weapons on his plane, he attacked an Austrian airplane and, firing from a Mauser (!), scared the enemy pilots so much that they were forced to land and were captured. General A.I. Denikin, commander of the famous “Iron Riflemen” (brigade, then division) - the name speaks for itself! - in addition to the St. George Arms and the Order of St. George of the fourth and third degrees, he was also awarded the “St. George Arms, decorated with diamonds” - an extremely rare award, and indeed four The St. George's awards for one war in themselves deserve attention. Finally, the last Russian commander awarded the second degree of the Order of St. George (for Suvorov’s assault on the Turkish fortress of Erzurum in 1916) was General N. N. Yudenich, the future leader of the “campaign on Petrograd” in 1919...

During the First World War, no changes were made to the Statute of St. George, but there was a secret circular that allowed “military doctors, military priests, as well as persons not belonging to the combat troops” to be awarded for awards, but not just for bravery, but specifically for “officer” feat performed at the head of soldiers; One of the motivations for such a decision could have been the act of sister of mercy Rimma Ivanova, who in September 1915, in a difficult moment of battle, led the attack of the soldiers left without commanders and, as they said in the official formulations of that time, “with her death she sealed the feat she had committed.”

Another innovation became a sign of the next, terrible period of Russian history. The Great War ended in a great tragedy - revolution and the collapse of the army, in which, with the weak-willed connivance of the Provisional Government, political propaganda was allowed, including the most extremist and defeatist parties led by the Bolsheviks. At the same time, trying to “democratize” the troops and create additional incentives for soldiers and demoralized officers who did not want to fight, the Minister of War, and then the Minister-Chairman of the Provisional Government, A. F. Kerensky, ordered that officers be awarded the soldier’s St. George Cross at the decision of the soldiers, and soldiers - the officer’s cross, with promotion to warrant officer. The distinctive sign of such awards was to be a metal laurel branch on a ribbon. There is no doubt that many of these crosses were truly deserved by the officers and generals of the dying Russian army, but this award (and especially the “twig,” contemptuously nicknamed “broom”) was not held in high esteem. It is noteworthy that during the Civil War, outstanding generals Volunteer Army V.Z. May-Maevsky and B.I. Kazanovich wore their soldier’s crosses, but the “revolutionary” branches were removed from their ribbons...

- How did the fate of the St. George's Awards turn out in these terrible years for Russia?

The history of the Order of St. George did not end with the revolution of 1917. Despite the fact that the “chief commander,” or grandmaster, of the Russian orders was the emperor, the close connection of the order itself with the history of the Russian army did not allow it to be abandoned in the conditions of the struggle waged against Bolshevism by the White Armies. On most of the White Fronts (in the east with Admiral A.V. Kolchak, in the north with General E.K. Miller, in the northwest with General N.N. Yudenich), the awarding of old Russian awards, including the St. George's, was restored ( although in the north-west there is only one known case of awarding the St. George weapon), and only in the south of Russia did General A.I. Denikin not practice this; the soldier was awarded the St. George Cross All(and Denikin, who sometimes personally pinned a cross to distinguished soldiers).

- But General Wrangel believed: “Rewarding feats accomplished in internecine warfare with all-Russian orders, which had previously been awarded to feats in the fight against an external enemy, seemed hardly appropriate.”

Unfortunately, today, when it comes to the award practice of the White movement, they usually remember only this phrase from Wrangel’s memoirs, which rather confuses than clarifies the issue. Of course, Kolchak, Denikin, and Yudenich understood - and mourned! - that there are Russian people on the other side of the front. Yes, and resistance began even during the period when the First World War was not over. World War, and Denikin bitterly regretted in his memoirs that the Red commanders had lost elementary patriotism, otherwise a united front could have struck at the presumptuous Austro-German occupiers... But the Soviet rulers (like the Ukrainian rulers - whether Grushevsky, Skoropadsky) were ready to give the Germans Russian lands, Russian bread and gold, just to stay in power. The fight against such an anti-Russian, anti-patriotic force, essentially a “government of national treason,” should hardly have caused remorse to prevent the awarding of Russian orders. The point was different: such an award is the prerogative sovereign, and Denikin in this regard was obviously more scrupulous than Kolchak. But Kolchak also excluded from the list of awards that could be used to celebrate military exploits and state merits higher degrees of orders, essentially also symbolizing the “vacancy” of the highest post in the state hierarchy, despite his title of Supreme Ruler.

The question is also appropriate: if the awarding of the Order of St. George would be so unacceptable for “internecine warfare,” then why did images of this particular order and the saint himself become favorite emblems, in some sense of the word symbols of the army waging this warfare? But this was practically the case - just look at the postage stamps or banknotes, issued by the Main Command of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, that is, by the same Denikin. Many of them contain an image of both the saint and the order (“white cross”, sometimes as one of the attributes given to the double-headed eagle). And one of the “High Command tickets” - a thousand-ruble bill - was even called a “ribbon” in everyday life, because the ribbon and cross of the Order of St. George were the first thing that caught the eye when looking at it.

Let us not forget the order of the Supreme Ruler and Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Kolchak, dated November 30, 1918, by which the holiday of the Order of St. George (November 26, old style) was not only restored, but also turned into “a holiday of the entire Russian Army, whose valiant representatives have high feats, courage and with courage they imprinted their love and devotion to our Great Motherland on the battlefields”: it was commanded to “solemnly celebrate it annually in all military units and commands.”

The image of St. George received additional significance as the coat of arms of Moscow, which since 1918 has become a strategic goal towards which the operational directions of all the White armies were directed. It is interesting that in his project “Russian People's Army” (1919), Colonel V.K. Manakin (in 1918 - organizer and commander of the Saratov Corps, consisting of local rebel peasants) specially emphasized: “The coat of arms of the Russian People's Army, before the establishment of the Russian coat of arms by the legitimate government of Russia, there should be an image of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George - the coat of arms of Moscow, adopted at the beginning of the gathering of Russia and as the emblem of the final task of the Russian [People's] Army: in Moscow, as the heart of Russia, gather the best elected people, in whose person the Russian people themselves will decide their future fate native land(emphasized in the original source. - A.K.)". However, this proposal had no official consequences, and the independent “heraldic role” of St. George was to be resurrected only at the last stage of the Civil War (1921-1922) in the Far East, under the rule of the Provisional Amur Government, and then the Ruler of the Amur Zemsky Territory, General M.K. Dieterichs (a convinced monarchist and deeply religious Christian).

The most famous is the image of St. George on the medal established on August 16, 1922 in memory of the activities of the Amur Zemsky Council, which decided to transfer power to General Dieterichs until the restoration of the monarchy; The image of St. George in the full sense of the word, heraldic, on the coat of arms is also known - from the impressions of the seals of the office of the Ruler and the representatives of the Provisional Amur Government. Therefore, it does not seem too much of a stretch to assume that the state emblem of the “Amur Zemsky Territory” was the miracle of George about the serpent - the coat of arms of Moscow, which was obviously not part of it - in a situation where there was nothing to hope for except a miracle.

One can even say that the St. George ribbon and St. George himself, along with the “Kolchak” version of the double-headed eagle, whose crowns were replaced by a shining cross, were a kind of coat of arms of the White armies - the heirs and successors of the army of the Russian Empire, which itself was inextricably linked with this saint God's. Russian soldiers carried the tradition of venerating St. George into exile, and for many years in various parts of the world his image was among the favorite emblems of military associations.

In general, the history of the Order of St. George and the “St. George” symbolism is so extensive that in a short conversation one can only outline its main “sections.” But I would definitely like to mention one more insignia that appeared in emigration. It obviously resembles the Order of St. George (white rays, red central medallion), and its ribbon, with its black and orange color scheme, St. George Ribbon, but is distinguished by the unusual shape of the rays and the medallion - in the form of five hearts (in the center of the order is a Russian double-headed eagle). This is the “Order of the Compassionate Heart”, established in the early 1930s by General A. Ya. Elshin, who headed the American department of the Foreign Union of Russian Military Disabled Persons. Elshin, a St. George cavalier of the Great War, was himself disabled: after the German gas attack His legs were paralyzed due to damage to the central nervous system. Nevertheless, in 1918, walking with difficulty on crutches, he agreed to become the chief of staff of General F.A. Keller. As Elshin later recalled, in the then hopeless situation, he “could not refuse such a Knight’s request, perhaps the last of mine and his.”<Ф. А. Келлера>life." Keller was killed by Petliurists, his chief of staff managed to escape and get out abroad, and in exile he devoted himself to caring for those Russian military exiles who, due to loss of ability to work, found themselves in the most difficult situation. The order established by Elshin was intended to celebrate the merits of philanthropists (both Russians and foreigners) who helped the defenders of Russia - those who sacrificed everything for it and found themselves deprived of their Motherland. By choosing the “St. George” design option, the general seemed to deviate from the exclusively military nature of the imperial award, but - wittingly or unwittingly - he seemed to complete the troparion to St. George, the patron saint of the Russian army, with his (certainly military!) order:

« As the liberator of the captives, and the protector of the poor, the physician of the infirm, the champion of kings, the victorious Great Martyr George, pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls».