Coat of arms and the flag of Karelia: description and photo

The Republic of Karelia is a subject of the Russian Federation and is located in its north-western part. The area of the territory is 172,4 thousand square kilometers.

Republic of Karelia: General description

Features of natural conditions and population density conditionally divide the Republic into the southern and northern parts. The northern part extends along the northern shores of Segozer and Vygozero and the mouth of the Sumy River. South Karelia is covered mainly by spruce and birch forests, while in the north there is a predominance of pine forests.

The most famous historical monuments are the native places of the folk epic Kalevala - the village of Ladvozero and Kaskola, the museum-reserve Marcial Waters, located in the village of Palaces. Of the natural objects should also be noted Keret Lake, an island in the Onega Bay of the White Sea. The central part of southern Karelia is occupied by the territory of the Kivach Reserve, the area of which is 10,000 ha.

History of Karelia

The territory of modern Karelia was inhabited in the 7th millennium BC. The ancient inhabitants were mainly engaged in hunting and fishing. The appearance of the rudiments of animal husbandry and farming dates back to the 1st millennium BC. At the same time, iron production was established.

The first information about the ethnic composition of the population refers to the V century. Then the territory of Karelia was inhabited by Finno-Ugrians, Karelians, Vepsians, Sami tribes. And from the VI to IX century, the modern republic existed in the form of a medieval state-territorial formation and was called the Karelian principality. In the XII century, the territory of the principality became part of the Novgorod feudal republic. It is known that in 1227 the Novgorod prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich invoked the conversion of Karelians and Vepps into the Orthodox faith.

During the struggle against the Crusaders, the German and Swedish feudal lords withdrew part of the western Karelian territory, on which they built the fortress of Vyborg. Through the efforts of one of the Valites (rulers) of that time, Karelia was freed from the Swedish invaders. But on this the confrontation between the two countries for these lands did not stop. Several centuries later, in the 17th century, after six months of siege, Swedish troops managed to take Mr. Korela. As a result of the loss of the Karelian Isthmus, a stream of refugees moved to the Russian state, most of which settled on the territory of the Tver region. As a result, the formation of the ethnic group of Tver Karelians took place.

Over time, the development of metallurgy began on the territory of Karelia. At the same time, the main workforce was peasants, whose labor was practically not paid, it was considered a duty. Numerous wars of that time required a large number of weapons, which were supplied from this northern region. The working conditions of the peasants became tougher even more, which led to a popular uprising. The number of protesters reached 40 thousand people. After the suppression of the uprising, a series of mass arrests and repressions began.

Such events of the beginning of the 20th century, such as the coming of Soviet power and the separation of the Olonets Republic, became prerequisites for new unrest. In the early 20-ies in Karelia, an uprising directed against the Bolsheviks broke out. It was suppressed by the prevailing forces of the opposing side. It was then that the first flag of Karelia was created, the description of which can be found below. There were several variants of this state symbol, they changed depending on the form of statehood and the sovereignty of the modern Republic.

Flag of Karelia: history in the first half of the 20th century

The very first flag of Karelia was a variant proposed by the Finnish artist Jonas Heisk in 1918 with a picture on the blue canvas of the constellation Ursa Major. The location of the constellation was the upper left corner. Data on the recognition of this version of the flag is not official.

In the short period of the proclamation in the Karelian land of the Ukhta republic (1920), the Finnish artist Axeli Gallen-Kallela created another flag of Karelia (photo below), on which the kinship with the Finns was clearly imposed. The substantial resemblance to the flag of Finland was obvious, only the colors differed: a green background on which there is a black "Scandinavian cross", which has a red edging.

Having become part of the Soviet Union, Karelia spent some time without a flag. And in 1937 XI extraordinary congress of the Karelian ASSR councils approved a new symbol of the republic. He was a red canvas, on which in Russian and Karelian languages it was written: "RSFSR" and "Karelian ASSR"

Further changes in state symbols date back to the time when the KASSR was transformed into the Karelo-Finnish SSR, which entailed the restoration of the statehood of the Finnish language. The flag of Karelia of that time was very similar to the flag of the USSR, differing only in the inscription "Karelian-Finnish SSR", executed in two languages (Russian and Finnish).

Flag of the Republic of Karelia in the second half of the 20th century

Later, in 1953, there were significant changes in the design of state symbols. In comparison with the previous versions, the flag of Karelia looked completely different now. The meaning of the colors of the blue and green stripes that appeared in the lower part was reduced to an indication of the beauty, greatness and significance of the forests and lakes of the Republic. But most of the flag was painted red, and at the top (at the shaft) were images of sickle and hammer.

The transformation of the KFSSR into the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic entailed new changes. The flag of the Republic of Karelia also became different: the blue and green stripes disappeared again, but the abbreviations of the republic's name appeared in Karelian and Russian. In 1978, a new constitution was adopted, according to which the abbreviations on the flag should be replaced by full names.

At present, the flag of Karelia consists of only three bands: red, blue and green. All inscriptions are canceled. Any indication of a regional or separatist affiliation is not visible. And colors only symbolize the richness of nature, cultural traditions, blood relationship and related ties.

Description of the flag

The flag of Karelia is a state symbol of the Republic. 16.02.1993 it was adopted by the Parliament of Karelia. The developer is AI Kinner. A copy was used as the basis of the modern flag, which operated from 1953 to 1956 during the times of the Karelian-Finnish SSR.

The flag of Karelia, the photo of which is shown below, is a canvas of rectangular shape with equal in size three horizontal stripes: red, blue and green. The ratio of width and length is 2: 3.

The coat of arms of Karelia up to the 20th century

The first mention of the coat of arms of Karelia dates back to 1562. Then Russia and Sweden were in a state of constant struggle for these lands. The coat of arms reflected this struggle. On it were two hands, one of which is clothed in armor (Swedish soldier), and the other - in chain mail (Russian soldier). And above there was a golden crown.

When part of Karelia was conquered by Russia, this coat of arms began to be used in these territories. But now both hands were in chain mail.

The prototype of the modern emblem

It is known that the Ukhta government in the spring of 1920, together with representatives of the northern volosts, decided to secede from Russia and declare independence of Karelia. A few days later, on March 29, 1920, a new coat of arms was approved. On it was depicted a black bear, which holds a "weight" (cutter-cutter) in its paw, a shield covered with a scarlet and greens is put on it. The shield was crowned with a traditional headgear of woodcutters. Over the figure of the bear, the northern lights were visible, and underneath - a chain was depicted.

Modern Coat of Arms

When in November 1991 the Karelian ASSR was renamed into the Republic of Karelia, work began on the development of a new coat of arms. A competition was announced, according to the results of which three sketches appeared in the leaders. The first of them was developed by Andrey Litvin. It was created on the basis of the Olonets coat of arms, and it depicted the Karelian bear, the Russian gyuss, moose and horse. The author of the second sketch, S. Lebedev, suggested using the running moose as the main figure. Yu. Nivin's project contained elements of the historical coat of arms and coat of arms created by the Ukhta government.

The approval and completion of the coat of arms took some time, and on September 28, 1993 the Supreme Council of Karelia approved the version of Yu. Nivin.

According to the regulations on the coat of arms, it looks like this. The background is a three-lane canvas, the same as the flag of Karelia. The arms themselves have the form of a shield, which is rounded at the bottom and bordered by a golden strip. The central element of the shield field is a bear, made in black. The figure of the bear is in a standing position in the profile. The top of the shield is crowned with an eight-pointed star of golden color. A feature of the coat of arms is also the fact that on both sides it is framed by stylized branches of trees: spruce and pine.

Thus, the flag and the coat of arms of Karelia symbolize the courage and strength of the people, as well as the natural resources of the Republic (forests and water resources).