The Emperor’s carriage and the bird of paradise. Let’s look at the unusual coats of arms of Moscow’s districts

A rider in silver armor and a black winged serpent with a pointed tail—this image is familiar to every Moscow resident. It can be seen on the capital’s coat of arms and flag. In addition, a horseman and a serpent decorate the facade of the Moscow City Hall. The gable of the house is crowned with a gilded shield. And on the buildings of the Loan Treasury in Nastasyinsky Pereulok and the Tretyakov Gallery in Lavrushinsky Pereulok the famous images are represented in the form of bas-reliefs.

The municipalities of the capital also have unique crests. Today there are 132 districts in Moscow, and each has its own coat of arms, reflecting its history, peculiarities and traditions. Images of all the crests of the capital’s districts are kept in the Armorial Hall of the City of Moscow. Some feature landmarks, while others depict plants, animals and even mythical creatures.

Chief herald of Moscow Oleg Kuznetsov, honored worker of culture and candidate of historical sciences, told mos.ru’s correspondent about the most unusual coats of arms of Moscow districts.

Reference samples and silkscreening

The Armorial Hall of the City of Moscow is located on Smolenskaya Square (number 13/21). The building, designed by architect Ivan Zholtovsky, is an cultural heritage site of regional significance. The entrance to the hall is located under a sign with the building’s name.

Massive wooden doors lead from a small hallway on the first floor to the two sides of the building. To the right of the entrance is the Small Hall, a real treasure trove of Moscow heraldry. Under lamps, vintage badges and orders, sketches, drawings and posters are on show in display cases. Nearby, flags stand on a circular support, and the wall above them is decorated with the coats of arms of Russia and Moscow.

“Moscow has four official symbols—its coat of arms, flag, anthem and banner. These are governed by laws and other regulations that establish their use, description and symbolic meaning. In heraldry, the description of a coat of arms is called blazoning. It is done in a strict sequence and using specific terminology. This tradition goes back to ancient times, when an accurate verbal description was necessary for artists to be able to reproduce the desired image in detail. The modern coat of arms of Moscow on a dark red shield depicts St. George the Victorious in silver armor and blue robe on a silver horse with silver harness, striking a black serpent with a golden spear. The same design can be seen on the flag of the capital. The symbolism is simple: good triumphs over evil. We can say that St. George the Victorious protects the citizens of Moscow through the official symbols of the city,” says Oleg Kuznetsov.

In the next room, rows of multicolored flags of the city districts stand on supports. And beneath the wooden ceiling, coats of arms with similar images are fixed on the walls. The coats of arms and flags are made by silk-screen printing. This technique allows the printers to reproduce an image of any complexity with a different number of colors, and make the design bright and durable.

“The Coat of Arms Hall of the City of Moscow is a branch of the Museum of Moscow and is the only heraldic space in Russia where visitors can familiarize themselves with the entire symbolism of the capital, at the state, territorial and municipal levels. Reference coats of arms and flags of all Moscow districts are presented here. This means that each design complies with all the rules of heraldry and can be considered a model,” explains Oleg Kuznetsov.

Comet, shore and the Pole Star

The coats of arms of the capital’s districts resemble quadrangular shields with rounded lower corners, indentations on the sides and a pointed tip. This shape of the shield is called the Moscow shield because of its similarity to the merlons (battlements) on the Kremlin wall. Nevertheless, each coat of arms has its own unique pattern.

“The image may occupy the center of the shield, be located at its head, or upper part, at the tip,-or lower part, on the sides or it may cover the entire field. Each drawing has its own symbolism. Their meaning can be interpreted in many different ways. There are, for example, word-based coats of arms whose image reflects the name of the neighborhood. So, on the coat of arms of Perovo you can see a feather, or “pero”, on that of Kuntsevo a marten, or “kunitsa” and on the heraldic shield of the Levoberezhny district the attentive viewer will recognize the river shoreline,” says Oleg Kuznetsov.

The coats of arms of the districts of Severnoye and Yuzhnoye Medvedkovo are also interesting. There you can distinguish not only the animals, but also the directions. The coat of arms of Severnoye Medvedkovo is decorated with a polar bear and an eight-rayed star, representing the Pole Star, or a snowflake. The north is also symbolized by the blue background of the shield. An indication of the coldest part of the world can also be found in the street names of the district. In Severnoye Medvedkovo there are Studeny Proezd, Polayarniy Proezd and Polyarnaya Street all of which refer to the harsh climate of the Arctic, as well as Severodvinskaya, Sukhonskaya and Vilyuyskaya streets, named after northern rivers.

In the south of Moscow, on the contrary, toponyms are very “warm”. In the Zyuzino district, for example, Chernomorsky and Simferopolsky Boulevards are adjacent to each other, and Azovskaya Street, named after the Sea of Azov, is also nearby. The coat of arms of Yuzhnoye Medvedkovo district is also associated with warmth. It depicts a brown bear and a golden sun.

“The drawing on the coat of arms can also reflect what the city district is proud of, what sets it apart from the other districts. Thus, the coat of arms of Aeroport district shows a golden road carriage of Catherine II on a vermillion (red) field. It symbolizes the historically established grand entrance to Moscow. The wall battlements above the carriage represent the Petrovsky Palace,” emphasizes Oleg Kuznetsov.

 

 

The Ostankinsky district is also proud of its history. Its coat of arms depicts a golden palisade, a four-rayed comet and two eight-pointed stars. The palisade represents the mid-18th century Krestovskaya outpost built on the Yaroslavskaya road. Outposts were the customs checkpoints into the city. They were connected by an earthen embankment, the Kamer-Kollezhsky Val. The comet and stars on the coat of arms symbolize the names of some of the district’s streets, including Zvyozdniy Boulevard and Alley Geroyev Kosmosa.

Gryphon, Pegasus and the black pearl

The choice of colors also plays an important role on heraldic shields. Each color in heraldry has its own meaning. Red symbolizes bravery and courage, black symbolizes nobility, and green symbolizes abundance and fertility. Gold speaks of fame and achievement, while silver speaks of justice. Especially beautiful combinations of colors can be seen on coats of arms depicting natural motifs.

“The coat of arms of Novokosino district depicts the dawn. In the lower part of the shield, a rising golden sun can be seen on a green background. It symbolizes the location of the district in the east of the capital. Above the sun is a golden roof rafter and just above it are silver and purple stripes. The stripes represent vegetable beds, because the district was founded on the territory of former agricultural fields,” says Oleg Kuznetsov.

If the sun rises in the east, it sets in the west. Thus, the coat of arms of Biryulevo Zapadnoye district depicts a golden setting sun on a background of a red (scarlet) and green field. Natural motifs can also be found on the coat of arms of Kosino-Ukhtomskoye district. A silver wave is depicted on the azure background of the shield. It is a reference to the ice age lakes preserved in the area—White, Holy and Black Lake. Seven azure drops can be seen in the heart of the wave. This number is considered a symbol of harmony and good luck.

A marine theme can also be found on the coat of arms of Filimonkovsky district. The gold shell depicted on the shield contains a black pearl. Such a symbol first appeared in the Filimonskovskoye settlement back in 1920. When new territories were annexed to Moscow and settlements were transformed into districts, it was decided to retain the main symbols of their coats of arms. The black pearl is a rare jewel. On the shield it symbolizes the Valuevo estate, which in the 18th-19th centuries belonged to Count Alexei Musin-Pushkin, famous for his find of the medieval manuscript The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.

 

The coats of arms of the districts also include other symbols. You can see mythical creatures on some of them. Thus, the coat of arms of Otradnoye district shows a bird of paradise. Its body is gold, and its crest, eyes and flapping wings are silver. According to legend, it brings people joy and symbolizes the pursuit of happiness, prosperity and well-being.

Another fabulous creature can be seen on the coat of arms of Vnukovo district. It depicts a silver Pegasus. The winged horse symbolizes Vnukovo Airport, the air gate of the capital. In addition, the coat of arms shows a quill, representing Peredelkino, the famous writers’ village located in the area. Children’s writer Korney Chukovsky, bard Bulat Okudzhava, poet Bella Akhmadulina and many others lived and worked there.

“Some mythical creatures on coats of arms hold a lot of history. Izmailov’s heraldic shield, for example, shows a golden griffin. This figure is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Romanov family, whose palace was located on Izmailovsky Island. And the coat of arms of Butyrsky district is decorated with a centaur shooting a golden arrow from a golden bow. This figure is taken from the coat of arms of the Butyrsky regiment, the oldest of all regular regiments of the Russian infantry. The regiment was quartered the territories of Butyrsky Farm territory in the late 17th century. Now the area is Butyrsky district,” says Oleg Kuznetsov.

Everyone can get discover the symbols and history of the capital’s districts. The Armorial Hall is open to the public daily from 11:00 to 18:00. Monday is a day off.