Coat of arms of Ukraine

Coat of arms of Ukraine
Armiger	Ukraine
Adopted	19 February 1992
Blazon	Azure, a tryzub Or
Earlier version(s)
Use	Ukrainian People's Republic (1918–1920)

Greater coat of arms of Ukraine
Armiger	President of Ukraine Verkhovna Rada Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Constitutional Court of Ukraine Supreme Court of Ukraine
Adopted	24 August 2021 in first reading[1]
Crest	a crown of Yaroslav the Wise
Blazon	Azure, a tryzub Or
Supporters	a Ruthenian lion, crowned Or, a Cossack with a musket Or, elements Gules, standing on a compartment
Compartment	ribbon of two equal horizontal stripes Azure and Or
Other elements	below the compartment two ears of wheat Or, a cluster of viburnum Gules, mantling Gules and Or

The coat of arms of Ukraine is a blue shield with a gold trident. Officially referred to as the Princely State Symbol of Volodymyr the Great, or, colloquially, the tryzub, the insignia derives from the seal-trident of Volodymyr, the Grand Prince of Kyiv.

The small coat of arms was officially adopted on 19 February 1992, while constitutional provisions exist for establishing the great coat of arms, which is not yet officially adopted. The small coat of arms was designed by Andriy Grechylo, Oleksii Kokhan, and Ivan Turetskyi. It appears on the Presidential Standard of Ukraine. Blue-coloured tridents are considered to be an irregular representation by the Ukrainian Heraldry Society. The greater coat of arms which has not been adopted consists of the small coat of arms and the coat of arms of Zaporizhian Host (Constitution of Ukraine, Article 20).

The trident was not thought of as a national symbol until 1917, when one of the most prominent Ukrainian historians, Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, proposed to adopt it as a national symbol (alongside other variants, including an arbalest, a bow or a cossack carrying a musket, i.e. images that carried considerable historical and cultural and heraldic significance for Ukraine). On 25 February 1918, the Central Rada (parliament) adopted it as the coat of arms of the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic.

During the Soviet period of 1919–1991 and independence between 1991 and 1992, the state symbols were consistent with the Russian SFSR and the Soviet Union – a hammer and sickle over the rising sun.

Tryzub[]

The modern "trident" symbol was adopted as the coat of arms of the Ukrainian People's Republic in February 1918. The design has precedents in seals of the Kyivan Rus. The first known archaeological and historical evidence of this symbol can be found on the seals of the Rurik dynasty. However, according to Pritsak, the stylized trident tamga, or seal which was used by Rus rulers such as Sviatoslav I of Kiev and similar tamgas that were found in ruins are Khazar in origin.^[2] It was stamped on the gold and silver coins issued by Prince Volodymyr the Great (980–1015), who might have inherited the symbol from his ancestors (such as Svyatoslav I Igorevich) as a dynastic coat of arms, and he passed it on to his sons, Svyatopolk I (1015–19) and Yaroslav the Wise (1019–54). The symbol was also found on the bricks of the Church of the Tithes in Kyiv, the tiles of the Dormition Cathedral in Volodymyr-Volynskyi, and the stones of other churches, castles, and palaces. There are many examples of it used on ceramics, weapons, rings, medallions, seals, and manuscripts.

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  Seal of Sviatoslav the Brave (945)

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  Coin of Volodymyr the Great (980)

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  Coin of Yaroslav the Wise (1019)

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  Coat of arms of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1918)

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  Greater coat of arms of the Ukrainian People's Republic, (1918)

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  The Ukrainian trident overprint of May 1919 on a five-heller stamp of Austria-Hungary

The white gyrfalcon, possibly the prototype of Ukraine's trident

Drawing of the coat of arms

Most historians agree that the medieval symbol was not intended as depicting a trident, but rather, was a symbol of the Holy Trinity;^[3] it also was most likely a stylized falcon. Depictions of a flying falcon with a Christian cross above its head have been found in Old Ladoga, the first seat of the Kievan Rurik dynasty,^[4] of Scandinavian lineage.^[5] Such a falcon, along with a cross are also featured on the coins of Olaf Guthfrithsson, a Viking king of Dublin and Northumbria.^[4] Falconry for centuries has been a royal sport in Europe. The gyrfalcon (known also as Norwegian falcon) was considered a royal bird and is mentioned (ukr.: рарог) in one of the earliest epics of Ruthenia, the 12th century poem The Tale of Ihor's Campaign.

Later images of the trident ("tryzub") among the Rurikids resemble more a bident or the letter "У", which also in the modern Cyrillic alphabet denotes the sound "u" as in "Ukraine" (though the Cyrillic alphabet at the time did not have such a letter, using the digraph OѴ/Ѹ or its monogram Ꙋ instead).

Other uses[]

The Tryzub is heavily used in the military heraldry to commemorate the participation on the Eastern Front during World War II. At least 36 units of the Italian Army carry the Tryzub in their Coat of Arms, as they were awarded a Medal for Military Valor during their service on the territory of Ukraine. The Tryzyb is the Coat of arms of Zaslawye. Worth noting is that the Tryzub was also used in conjunction with the Russian tricolour, as the symbol of the anti-communist movement National Alliance of Russian Solidarists in the early 20th century.

Three-fingered salute[]

A three-fingered hand salute is sometimes used to mimic the Tryzub;^[6][7] as for example in pro-independence demonstrations in the late 1980s and in the logo of the (Ukrainian) Svoboda party.^[7]

Historical coats of arms[]

Kingdom of Ruthenia (Ruthenian lion)[]

Seal of King George-Boleslav denoting a horse rider with lion on the coat of arms

Modern interpretation of the King seal of Yurii I of Halych

Coin of Galicia after the Polish annexation (Moneta Russie)

The coat of arms for the Kingdom of Ruthenia (Latin: Regnum Russiæ) and Duchy of Galicia–Volhynia existed since the 12th century. It consisted of lion rampant Or on heater shield Azure.^[8] The Ruthenian lion first appears in the seal of the Ruthenian king Yurii I, dated to the beginning of the XIV century. On its obverse, there is an image of a monarch on a throne, and on the reverse - an armed horseman holding a shield with a lion on his hind legs. On the seal, there is an inscription in Latin: "Sigillum Domini Georgi Regis Rusie" (Seal of the owner of George-Yuri, King of Ruthenia), on the back: "Sigillum Domini Georgi Ducis Ladimerie" (seal of the owner of George-Yuri, prince of Lodomeria).

On the seal of his son Lev II, only a lion without a rider is depicted; the animal stands on its hind legs and reverses to the left.

Figures of lions as symbols of Ruthenia are found on the silver coins of the Lithuanian prince Lubart, the last ruler of the Kingdom of Ruthenia (1340-1383), and his son Fedor (1384-1387). We see the same motive on Ruthenian money, the issue of which continued during the reign in Ruthenia of the Polish king Casimir III (1349-1370), the Hungarian king Louis (1370-1372, 1378–1382) and his governor, Prince of Opolsk Vladislav (1372-1378).

After the occupation of Eastern Galicia by the Kingdom of Poland as a result of the Galicia–Volhynia Wars, the coat of arms with many changes was adopted as part of the Ruthenian Voivodeship (Latin: Palatinatus russiae, Ruthenian Palatine). It was abandoned with partition of Poland and annexation of territory by the Austrian Empire. At the end of World War I and dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the Western Ukrainian People's Republic revived the coat of arms. With the annexation of the West Ukraine by Poland again in 1918 and later the Soviet Union, the gold lion symbol became the coat of arms for the city of Lviv.

Kingdom of Ruthenia
Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Rus	Coat of arms of the Ruthenian Voivodeship	Coat of arms of the West Ukrainian People's Republic

Cossack Hetmanate (Cossack with musket)[]

A Cossack with a musket was an emblem of the Zaporizhian Host and later the state emblem of the Hetmanate and the Ukrainian State. The origin of the emblem is uncertain, while its first records date back to 1592. On the initiative of Pyotr Rumyantsev, the emblem was phased out and replaced by the Russian double-headed eagle in 1767.

A Cossack with a rifle was restored by the Hetman of Ukraine Pavlo Skoropadsky in 1918. However, later the emblem disappeared again until in 2005 it reappeared on the proposed Great Seal of Ukraine.

Cossack Hetmanate, Zaporizhia and Ukrainian State
Coat of arms of the Zaporizhian Host (Cossack Hetmanate)	Coat of arms of the Zaporizhian Host the Lower (Zaporizhian Cossacks)	Coat of arms of the Ukrainian State in 1918 (did not have time to approve, because the hetman renounced power)

Grand Duchy of Ruthenia (Archistrategos Mykhaïl)[]

Importance of the Kyiv region coat of arms with Archangel Michael known as Archistrategos Mykhaïl arose during discussion of the so-called 1658 Hadiach Treaty between delegation of Cossack Hetmanate and the Crown of Poland that foresaw transformation of the Commonwealth into Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth.

Ruthenia, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Cossack Hetmanate, Russian Empire, Ukraine
Coat of arms of Kyiv Land[citation needed]	Coat of arms of Kijow Voivodeship	Coat of arms of Kyiv Regiment	Coat of arms of Kiev Governorate	Coat of arms of Kyiv City

Proposed / Drafts
Coat of arms of the January Uprising	Bytynskyi coat of arms of Ukraine	Kokhan coat of arms of Ukraine

Carpathian Ruthenia (Red bear)[]

The coat of arms was created after the end of the First World War, when Carpathian Ruthenia (then called Subcarpathian Rus') was transferred from Hungary to the newly created state of Czechoslovakia. It was designed in 1920 by Czech historian  [Wikidata]. The Ruthenians had been promised autonomy within the new country, and therefore a coat of arms was created for their land.^{[citation needed]}

Carpathian Ruthenia
Coat of arms of Czechoslovakia	Coat of arms of Carpatho-Ukraine	Coat of arms of the current Zakarpattia Oblast

The coat of arms shows the Ukrainian tinctures (heraldic colours) of blue and gold in its first (dexter) field and a red bear on silver in its second field. The bear is perhaps a symbol of Carpathian wildlife. The horizontal lines (in heraldry called bars) could perhaps have been inspired by the partitions per fess in the coat of arms of Hungary, to which the territory had belonged.

The arms were also used by the short-lived state of Carpatho-Ukraine in 1939, but with the addition of the Ukrainian Tryzub in the uppermost blue field, used previously by the Ukrainian People's Republic. Since the territory is the same for the current Zakarpattia Oblast, the oblast uses the arms as its own.

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic[]

The coat of arms of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on March 14, 1919, by the government of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and subsequently modified on November 7, 1928, January 30, 1937, and November 21, 1949. The coat of arms of 1949 is based on the coat of arms of the Soviet Union and features the hammer and sickle, the red star, a sunrise and ears of wheat on its outer rims. The rising sun stands for the future of the Soviet Ukrainian nation, the star as well as the hammer and sickle for the victory of communism and the "worldwide socialist community of states". The banner bears the Soviet Union state motto ("Workers of the world, unite!") in both the Ukrainian and Russian languages. The name of the Ukrainian SSR is shown only in Ukrainian.

After independence on August 24, 1991, Ukraine retained the Soviet emblem. The next year, in 1992, the emblem was changed to the present coat of arms of Ukraine, the tryzub (trident) coat of arms.

Emblem of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
1919–29	1929–37	1937–49	1949–92

Other variations[]

Among other notable features are Archistratege Michael the Archangel, Pohoń Ruśka (Ruthenian Pursuer), Three crowns (representing three kings Daniel, Leo and George),^[8] Galician jackdaw, Volhynian silver cross pattée at the red field, Podolian gold sun, Chernihiv black eagle, Kharkiv crossed cornucopia and caduceus at the green field.

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  Columns of Gediminas

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  Sich Riflemen emblem on the cockade

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  Tryzub of Robert Lisovskyi

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  14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Ukrainian) with a lion and three crowns

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  City of Lviv in the Soviet Union (1967–1990)

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  Variation of Pogon Ruska for the city of Kamianets-Podilskyi in (1374–1796) until occupation of Podolia by Russian Empire

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  Variation of Pogon Ruska for the city of Nizhyn

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  Proposed coat of arms for the Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth during the January Uprising

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  Variation of Galician jackdaw with three crowns

Greater coat of arms[]

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  Mykola Bytynskyi's proposal

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  Mykola Bytynskyi's proposal

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  Mykola Bytynskyi's proposal

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  Mykhailo Hrushevskyi's proposal

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  Oleksii Kokhan's 1991 proposal

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  Oleksandr Ivakhnenko's 1996 proposal

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  Oleksii Kokhan's 1997 proposal

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  2007 proposal

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  Oleksii Rudenko's proposal

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  Ivan Turetskyi's 2020 proposal

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  Ivan Turetskyi's 2020 proposal

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  Ivan Turetskyi's 2020 proposal

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  Oleksii Rudenko's, Artem Shchyhol's, Yaroslav Pavlysynsia's and Oleh Odnorozhenko's 2020 proposal

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  Oleh Odnorozhenko's and Artem Shchyhol's 2020 proposal

In 1917, President of the Central Rada Mykhailo Hrushevsky proposed the Great Coat of Arms in the form of a single shield topped by a dove with olive branch. The shield was split five ways. At its center there was a smaller shield depicting a plough as a symbol of productive peaceful work surrounded by ancient state symbols of Ukraine: the princely arms of Volodymyr the Great (tryzub), Litvin Pogon with a golden lion, cossack with musket, the crossbow of Kyiv and the lion of Lviv.

In the current Constitution of Ukraine there is a constitutional provisions for the establishment of a Great Coat of Arms of Ukraine,^[9] although it was never officially adopted^[10] and was published in various heraldic sources. In this variant, the shield is supported by a lion from the Galician Coat of Arms on the left and a cossack in traditional dress, wielding a musket, the symbol of the Cossack Hetmanate on the right. The Coat of Arms is crowned with the crown of Volodymyr the Great, symbolizing Ukrainian sovereignty and decorated with viburnum and wheat at the bottom. The official adoption of the Great Coat of Arms has to be endorsed by a majority two-thirds vote (300 votes) in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament.^[10] Since Ukrainian independence in 1991 four attempts by the Ukrainian government to create an official Great Coat of Arms failed.^[10] On 25 August 2020 the Verkhovna Rada instructed the Shmyhal Government to get an official Great Coat of Arms of Ukraine adopted in time for the 30th Independence Day of Ukraine celebrations on 24 August 2021.^[10]

See also[]

• Armorial of Ukraine
• Symbols of the Rurikids
• Columns of Gediminas
• Cossack with musket
• Flag of Ukraine

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coats of arms of Ukraine.

• Pritsak, Omeljan (1998). The Origins of the Old Rus' Weights and Monetary Systems. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. ISBN 0-916458-48-2.
• Zhukovsky, Arkadii (1993). "Trident (tryzub)". Encyclopedia of Ukraine. vol. 5. Retrieved 2009-03-26. |volume= has extra text (help)