In the Russian Federation, the rules for compiling andThe use of official symbols is established by the Heraldic Council under the President. In order for the use of the city coat of arms or flag to be legitimate, it is necessary to coordinate it with the council and make it into the State Heraldic Register of the Russian Federation.
Protection of Russia's southern borders, struggle for access toFor a long time the Black Sea was an important task for Russian autocrats. During the Azov campaigns of Peter I (1695-1696) the history of the city began, which became one of the main centers for the development of the southern territories of the state. The official date of foundation of Rostov-on-Don is the decree of Catherine II on the establishment in the mouth of the tributary of the Don River of the Temernik customs to collect duties for goods exported to the southern countries, and for imported, mostly Turkish.
Defensive citadel and the center for the collection of trophiesand trade duties - this appointment originally had Rostov-on-Don. The city's coat of arms became the expression of these functions. At the beginning of the XIX century, Rostov was a member of the Yekaterinoslav vicegerency and among its other subjects received the highest approved coat of arms. His image, recorded in the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire, was reproduced in 1899 by the famous Russian heraldist Pavel Pavlovich von Winkler in the album "Coats of arms of cities, provinces, provinces and districts of the Russian Empire."
On August 2, 1811, within the framework of the administrativereform, conducted by Alexander II, was the highest approved coat of arms of Rostov-on-Don. Description (in the heraldic practice the term blazon was adopted) contained elements that denoted the main purpose of the city. On the azure (blue) field was a two-tiered fortress tower with closed gates at the bottom and two loopholes above, topped by the St. Andrew's flag fluttering to the left. It meant an obstacle from the raids of southern neighbors. In the scarlet (red) field - the trophies won in battles with them: a helmet and chain mail against the backdrop of crossed fighting bow and spears.
The description was not entirely unambiguous,which gave rise to several informal options. For example, it took banners for the regiments that had the place of deployment Rostov-on-Don. The coat of arms, compiled by historian AA Skalkovsky, which was used in them, was significantly different from the version of 1811. In it, the vertical dissection of the shield was replaced by a transverse intersection, the pattern and arrangement of the tower and armor changed. On the shield appeared the symbol of Ekaterinoslav province - the monogram of Empress Catherine II surrounded by stars. The coat of arms was complemented by a tower crown and ears, twined with a red Alexandrov ribbon.
At the beginning of the 20th century, among other large settlementsRussia has the right of a separate city government received and Rostov-on-Don. His coat of arms was changed in accordance with the new status. According to the rules developed by the prominent herald-master Baron Bernhard Köhne, the shield crowned the ancient Tsar's crown, framed by its golden oak branches adorned with the red ribbon of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.
In 1904, the improved coat of arms wasapproved. Uncertainty remained in the inscriptions of the tower and trophies, in their color solution. In this form it existed until 1917 and became the basis for the Rostov coat of arms, restored by the city authorities in 1996. In Soviet times, a completely different symbol was used.
Deprived of, like all Soviet cities,pre-revolutionary symbols Rostov-na-Donu found a new one only in 1967. After the announced competition, a variant developed by artists BM Shanibov and VM Kozhemyakin was put into effect. From the old city symbol, which was suggested as a basis, the Soviet coat of arms of the city of Rostov-on-Don inherited only a vertical division into a blue and red field, a tower and the presence of weapons, which acquired a completely different meaning.
The new city emblem was actively used onpractice and was considered one of the most expressive in the Soviet era. The coat of arms, the photo of which was decorated with numerous tourist materials, was well known to residents and guests of the city. The main element of the emblem was a circle formed from stylized ears on the left and part of the gear on the right. In the center of the circle is a crenellated tower, transferred from the historical coat of arms. In the lower part of the circle there is a buddyovka on the background of crossed sabers. The lower part of the shield is intersected by two wavy lines, embodying the main river of the region - Don.
In 1996, the city authorities restoredthe coat of arms of the 1904 model. But the description approved by the City Duma contained a number of deviations from the historical version, which does not allow to coordinate it in the Heraldic Council. This refers to the color of oak leaves - according to the rules of heraldry, they can be green, as in the accepted description, only according to special instructions on the kind of City Governance granted to the city at the beginning of the century, a more acceptable solution is a golden color.
![coat of arms of Rostov on Don Description [1]](/images/zakon/rostov-na-donu-gerb-goroda-istoriya-opisanie_4.jpg)
Specification requires the inscription and color of the mainelements - towers, chain mails, weapons that fill the Rostov coat of arms. The photo of the symbolism used in practice shows how an incorrect description can be interpreted in different ways.
The city, which has left a notable mark in the history of the country, plays a big role in the development of its southern region, deserves a more careful attitude to its symbols.
