Imperial Russia
At first the charging horseman was interpreted as showing the figure of the ruling tsar slaying an enemy intruding into the Russian lands. This attitude was clearly expressed by the Muscovite statesman Grigory Kotoshikhin, among others. On the title page of the 1663 Bible the heraldic horseman appears to have the face of Tsar Alexis.
The foreigners visiting Muscovy were the first to notice the emblem's resemblance to the traditional iconography of Saint George and the Dragon. Although during Peter I's reign the horseman was still represented with a crown and his face bore some resemblance to Peter's, this Westernizing monarch was the first to identify the heraldic horseman as St. George.
A learned Italian heraldist in Peter's service, Count Santi, associated the horseman with St. George as the patron saint of the prince who founded Moscow. In 1730, Santi prepared the first detailed description of the heraldic emblem of Moscow, which, drawing on the traditions of Western heraldry, named the horseman as St. George. In Santi's version of the emblem, set against the red field appears a white knight riding a silver horse and charging with his spear against a black dragon reminiscent of Zilant, a heraldic symbol of Muslim Kazan. With several minor modifications, this emblem was officially confirmed December, 20 1781, during Catherine II's municipal reform which involved standardization of the municipal heraldry.
In 1883, it was decided to bring the colours of Moscow's emblem in line with the three colours of the Flag of Russia. The colour of the dragon was changed from black to white and the horseman's cloak was altered from gold to azure. These colours do not appear to correspond to the colour scheme traditionally used in Russian icons depicting Saint George and the Dragon. In 1903, the ancient colour scheme was revived by painter Viktor Vasnetsov in his design of the Tretyakov Gallery facade, whose entrance also displays a large effigy of St. George and the Dragon.
Read more about this topic: Coat Of Arms Of Moscow
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