Belarusian heraldry

Emblem of Belarus

The uses of heraldry in Belarus is used by government bodies, subdivisions of the national government, organizations, corporations and by families.

History

The history of Belarusian heraldry is integral to that of the Szlachta, the Polish-Belarusian nobility. Until it was absorbed into the Soviet Union, Belarus itself was represented by a coat of arms: a charging knight on a red field, called the Pahonia ('the Chase').

With Communism, coats of arms fell out of favor and were replaced by emblems. The cities still used shields, but these were changed to add socialist realism or to announce the state awards each city earned.

Once the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, the Pahonia was restored as the state coat of arms and the cities reverted to old coat of arms or created new designs. Each of the seven voblasts of Belarus has its own coat of arms. Historical achievements, state awards or state symbols are placed on the coat of arms. For example, the enterprise "October" features the state flag of Belarus on their coat of arms.

See also

• Coat of Arms
• Heraldry
• History of Belarus
• List of Belarusian Coats of Arms
• Ruthenia
• Szlachta
• Polish heraldry
• Belarusian name

Further reading

• Tadeusz Gajl, "Herby szlacheckie Rzeczypospolitej Obojga Narodow", Gdańsk, 2003

External links

• Coats of Arms of Lands of the Commonwealth
• Arms of the Belarusian cities (English)
• The state symbols of Great Litva/Belarus
• Arms of the cities in the Minsk Oblast (Russian)
• Heraldica Litvaniae