Coat of Arms of Moscow - 20th Century

20th Century

After the Russian Revolution, the heraldic symbols of the Russian Empire were banned. On September 22, 1924, the Moscow Soviet adopted a new emblem of Moscow which featured a red star, sickle and hammer, and the Revolution Monument in Moscow. The Soviet emblem failed to gain popularity, however, and was rarely used. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the heraldic representation of Moscow reverted to the version used between 1883 and 1918, with some minor modifications.

As the Russian Orthodox Church does not allow sculptural representations of saints, no statues of Saint George and the Dragon were erected in Moscow prior to the Revolution. After the emblem was restored on November 23, 1993, a cluster of statues on the subject were unveiled in Poklonnaya Gora, Tsvetnoi Boulevard, Manege Square, and other places in Moscow. Most of these were sculpted by Zurab Tsereteli, who also had other versions of the subject installed in such cities as New York.