The coat of arms of Perm () is the official municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places * Perm, Russia, a city in Russia **Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 ** Perm Governorate, an administr ...

, Russia. The current design, adopted on 9 June 1998, features a red

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

with a silver bear with a yellow

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

resting on its back and a white four-pointed star above. The design is very similar to the coat of arms of

Perm Krai Perm Krai (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a Krais of Russia, krai), located in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is Perm, Russia, Perm. The population of the krai was 2,532,405 (2021 Russian census, 2021 ...

. Several different designs have served as the arms of the city. The first coat of arms was adopted in 1783 and was changed in 1969, during

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

times. The current coat of arms is a modified version of the 1783 coat of arms.

Design and symbolism

The bear symbolizes the abundance of animals that live in the area's forests. It is colored silver to symbolize natural resources, such as metal, salt,

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, and other stones, that can be found in the area of the city. The bear holds a special significance for

Komi peoples The Komi ( also ) are a Permians, Permian ethnic group who are indigenous to, and primarily inhabit a region around the basins of the Vychegda, Pechora River, Pechora and Kama river, Kama rivers in northeastern European Russia. They mostly reside ...

, who lived in the area. Tales, songs, and legends were written about the creature. Fangs and claws were worn by hunters as

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

s and special holidays were celebrated to honour the bear. The Bible symbolizes the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

enlightenment of the city around the time that

Russian Orthodoxy The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The primate of the ROC is the patriarch of Moscow and all Rus ...

was becoming more popular. The silver four-pointed star represents the Sun and symbolizes protection and victory. The red field symbolizes the city's status as the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of Perm Krai. This symbolism can also be found in the

coat of arms of Moscow The coat of arms of Moscow depicts a horseman with a spear in his hand slaying a basilisk and is identified with Saint George and the Dragon. The heraldic emblem of Moscow has been an integral part of the coat of arms of Russia since the 16th cen ...

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

History

First coat of arms

The first coat of arms was adopted on 17 July 1783, by decree of

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

. It featured a silver bear on a red field, with a gold Bible on its back and a silver four-pointed star above. The bear symbolizes the savagery of inhabitants prior to Christian enlightenment, which is represented by the Bible. The bear and Bible design dates back to the times of

Alexis of Russia Alexei Mikhailovich (, ; – ), also known as Alexis, was Tsar of all Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. He was the second Russian tsar from the House of Romanov. He was the first tsar to sign laws on his own authority and his council ...

, who used it as an emblem when he was

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

. Francisco Santi is listed as the author of the emblem. The

Perm Governorate Perm Governorate (), also known as the Governorate of Perm, was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR from 1781 to 1923. It was located on both slopes of the Ural Mountains, and its admi ...

submitted a draft of the coat of arms to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in the mid-18th century, which featured the same design, topped with a

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

Second coat of arms

In 1967, during

rule, Perm City Council announced a competition for a new coat of arms, which continued through 1968. The winner was announced on 25 September 1969. It very much featured elements commonly found in heraldry for Soviet cities. The Bible was replaced by a generic open book and elements of the city's industry could be found throughout the flag. A modified version of the coat of arms, minus the silver star, was shrunk and placed near the bottom of the shield, representing the city's history. The shield itself was a vertical tricolour of red, blue, and green. The red and blue meant that it was a part of Russia, the blue and green represented the natural resources of the area, like its rivers and forests. The center of the shield depicts a monument to the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

in Motovilikhinsky. A golden glow surrounds most of the emblem's design, representing the city's highly developed electrical and mechanical engineering industries.

Third coat of arms

On 23 December 1993, the city restored the historical coat of arms and on 9 June 1998 the current coat of arms, which is a modified version of the 1782 coat of arms, was adopted.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perm, Coat of arms of Municipal coats of arms in Russia Coats of arms with bears Coats of arms with stars Perm, Russia