The emblems of the constituent republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics all featured predominantly the hammer and sickle and the red star that symbolized communism, as well as a rising sun (although in the case of the Latvian SSR, since the Baltic Sea is west of Latvia, it could be interpreted as a setting sun), surrounded by a wreath of wheat (except the Karelo-Finnish SSR with a wreath of rye). The USSR State motto, Workers of the world, unite!, in both the republic's language and Russian was also placed on each one of them. In addition to those repetitive motifs, emblems of many Soviet republics also included features that were characteristic of their local landscapes, economies or cultures.
The emblems are often called coats of arms, but since they (deliberately) did not follow the rules of heraldry, most of them cannot be considered coats of arms. However, they all did follow the same basic pattern, a pattern which sometimes has led to the use of the term "socialist heraldry".
By the dissolution of the Soviet Union on 26 December 1991, only Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Moldova had adopted new official arms, while the other ones retained the Soviet emblems until new ones were adopted in the years following.
Emblems of the Soviet Republics The table below presents final versions of the renderings of the Soviet republics' emblems prior to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, as well as the arms of two republics that ceased to exist before that time. For comparison, national arms of present-day successor states of the Soviet republics are also shown. As can be seen, most Central Asian post-Soviet republics use arms based on or reminiscent of the Soviet-era emblems, with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have present-day arms nearly identical to the Soviet one. Most European republics, on the other hand, reverted to their traditional pre-Soviet heraldic arms. Belarus used the traditional Pahonia as its coat of arms from 1991 to 1995 when it was replaced by a new emblem closely resembling the Soviet-era design. Republic Emblem Main article Republic-specific features Present-day national coat of arms Russia Emblem of the Russian SFSR Plants wheat Coat of arms of Russia Landscapes, geographic features Industry Ornaments Baroque cartouche Ukraine Emblem of the Ukrainian SSR Plants wheat Coat of arms of Ukraine Landscapes, geographic features Industry Ornaments Baroque cartouche Byelorussia Emblem of the Byelorussian SSR Plants wheat, clover, flax Emblem of Belarus Landscapes, geographic features Industry Ornaments Uzbekistan Emblem of the Uzbek SSR Plants wheat, cotton Emblem of Uzbekistan Landscapes, geographic features Industry Ornaments Kazakhstan Emblem of the Kazakh SSR Plant wheat Emblem of Kazakhstan Landscapes, geographic features Industry Ornaments Georgia Emblem of the Georgian SSR Plants wheat, grapes Coat of arms of Georgia Landscapes, geographic features Caucasus Mountains Industry Ornaments Georgian ornament with a seven-pointed star from the pre-1921 Georgian coat of arms Azerbaijan Emblem of the Azerbaijan SSR Plants wheat, cotton Emblem of Azerbaijan Landscapes, geographic features Sun rising on Caspian Sea Industry oil drilling rig Ornaments Lithuania Emblem of the Lithuanian SSR Plants wheat, oak Coat of arms of Lithuania Landscapes, geographic features Industry Ornaments Moldavia Emblem of the Moldavian SSR Plants wheat, maize, pears, grapes Coat of arms of Moldova Landscapes, geographic features Industry Ornaments Latvia Emblem of the Latvian SSR Plants wheat Coat of arms of Latvia Landscapes, geographic features Baltic Sea Industry Ornaments Kirghizia Emblem of the Kirghiz SSR Plants wheat, cotton Emblem of Kyrgyzstan Landscapes, geographic features Tian Shan Mountains Industry Ornaments Kyrgyz embroidery Tajikistan Emblem of the Tajik SSR Plants wheat, cotton Emblem of Tajikistan Landscapes, geographic features Industry Ornaments Armenia Emblem of the Armenian SSR Plants wheat, grapes Coat of arms of Armenia Landscapes, geographic features Mount Ararat Industry Ornaments Turkmenia Emblem of the Turkmen SSR Plants wheat, cotton, grapes Emblem of Turkmenistan Landscapes, geographic features Turkmen landscape Industry oil drilling rig Ornaments gillam detail from a Turkmen rug Estonia Emblem of the Estonian SSR Plants rye, pine, spruce Coat of arms of Estonia Landscapes, geographic features Industry Ornaments Republics that dissolved before 1991 Karelo-Finnish SSR (1940–1956) Coat of arms of the Karelo-Finnish SSR Plants rye, pine Coat of arms of Karelia(constituent entity of Russia) Landscapes, geographic features Karelian landscape Industry Ornaments Karelian embroidery Transcaucasian SFSR (1922–1936) Emblem of the Transcaucasian SFSR Plants Wheat, cotton, maize, rice, grapes Landscapes, geographic features Caucasus mountains IndustryFactory, oil drilling rigs Ornaments
Derived designs The secessionist Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (Transnistria), internationally recognised as part of Moldova, uses an emblem based on the emblem of the Moldavian SSR.
References
See also
Communist symbolism State Emblem of the Soviet Union Emblems of the Autonomous Soviet Republics Flags of the Soviet Republics List of coats of arms of the Russian Federation Emblems of the Yugoslav Socialist Republics