View source for State Emblem of the Soviet Union

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox coat of arms
|color            = #DE2929
|name             = State Emblem of the Soviet Union
|image            = State Emblem of the Soviet Union.svg
|image_width      = 250
|middle           = 
|middle_width     = 
|middle_caption   = 
|lesser           = 
|lesser_width     = 
|lesser_caption   = 
|armiger          = [[Soviet Union|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]]
|year_adopted     = 6 July 1923
|crest            = [[Red star|Red five-pointed star]] with golden border
|torse            = 
|shield           = [[Hammer and sickle]], [[globe]] and the [[Sunrise|rising sun]]. An [[Red Star|emblem]] is surrounded by [[wreath of wheat ears|ears of wheat]] wrapped around a red ribbon with the state motto in all 15 [[languages of the Soviet Union]].
|motto            = [[Workers of the world, unite!]]
|other_elements   = 
|earlier_versions = 
|use              = 
}}

The '''State Emblem of the [[Soviet Union]]''' ({{lang-ru|Государственный герб Советского Союза}}, ''Gosudarstvenny gerb Sovyetskovo Soyuza''<ref>{{lang-uk|Державний герб СРСР}};  {{lang-be|Дзяржаўны герб СССР}}; {{lang-kk|ССРО мемлекеттік елтаңбасы}}; {{lang-lt|TSRS Valstybinis herbas}}; {{lang-lv|PSRS valsts ģerbonis}}; {{lang-et|NSVL riigivapp}}</ref>) was adopted in 1923 and was used until the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991. Although it technically is an emblem rather than a coat of arms, since it does not follow traditional [[heraldry|heraldic]] rules, in Russian it is called ''герб'' (''gerb''), the word used for a traditional coat of arms. 

It was the first state insignia created in the style known as [[socialist heraldry]], a style also seen in e.g. the [[emblem of the People's Republic of China]].

==History==

===First version (1923–1936)===
The project of the first version of the state emblem was accepted on 6 July 1923 by the 2nd session of the [[Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union|Central Executive Committee]] (CIK) and the version was completed on September 22 of that year.<ref name="NiZh">{{cite journal | last = Bolotina | first = S. |date=November 1983 | title = How Our State Emblem Was Created | journal = [[Nauka i Zhizn]] | pages =20–24 |issn=0028-1263 | language = Russian}}</ref> This design was fixed in the [[1924 Soviet Constitution]]: "The State Emblem of the USSR is composed of a sickle and a hammer on a globe depicted in the rays of the sun and framed by ears of wheat, with the inscription [[Workers of the world, unite!|"proletariats of the world, unite!"]] in six languages - Russian, [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]], [[Georgian language|Georgian]], [[Armenian language|Armenian]], [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]]. At the top of the Emblem is a five-pointed star."

[[Ivan Dubasov]] was an important contributor when creating the emblem.

===Second version (1936–1946)===
According to the [[1936 Soviet Constitution]], the USSR consisted of eleven republics. Hence the major new version's difference from the previous one was eleven ribbons bearing USSR State Motto inscriptions in eleven languages.

===Third version (1946–1956)===
The number of republics in the USSR became 16 after September 1939, before the [[Great Patriotic War]] began in June 1941, but the state emblem was changed to reflect this only after the war. By a Decision of [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR]] on June 26, 1946, all 16 constituent republics were represented on the emblem. The USSR State Motto was inscribed on 16 ribbons in 16 languages. The ([[Estonian language|Estonian]], [[Latvian language|Latvian]], [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Moldovan language|Moldavian]], and [[Finnish language|Finnish]] were added to the previous version). Inscriptions in Azerbaijani, [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]], [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]], [[Tajik language|Tajik]], [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]] languages were updated due to the transfer from [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] to [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] script of the respective languages within the USSR.<ref name="NiZh"/>

===Fourth version (1956–1991)===
[[File:Russian Foreign Ministry crop.jpg|thumb|Soviet state emblem on the building of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2011]]
In 1956, the [[Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic|Karelo-Finnish SSR]] was transformed into the [[Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Karelo-Finnish ASSR]], and soon this was reflected on the USSR state emblem.<ref name="NiZh"/> By a decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on September 12, 1956, the ribbon bearing the USSR State Motto in Finnish was removed.<ref name="Heraldicum">{{ru icon}} [http://www.heraldicum.narod.ru/russia/ussr.htm Герб СССР]</ref>

A minor change in the Belarusian inscription was a decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on April 1, 1958.<ref name="Heraldicum"/>

Inscriptions on the ribbons (which are translated into English as "''Proletarians of the world, unite!''") are as follows:

{| class="wikitable" border="1" width=100%
| '''Left''' || &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; || '''Right'''
|-
| [[:en:Turkmen language|Turkmen]]: Әхли юртларың пролетарлары, бирлешиң (''Ähli ýurtlaryň proletarlary, birleşiň'')! ||rowspan=7| || [[:en:Estonian language|Estonian]]: Kõigi maade proletaarlased, ühinege!
|-
| [[:en:Tajik language|Tajik]]: Пролетарҳои ҳамаи мамлакатҳо, як шавед (''Proletarhoi hamai mamlakatho, yak shaved'')! || [[:en:Armenian language|Armenian]]: Պրոլետարներ բոլոր երկրների, միացե՜ք (''Proletarner bolor erkrneri, miac’ek’'') 
|-
| [[:en:Latvian language|Latvian]]: Visu zemju proletārieši, savienojieties! || [[:en:Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]]: Бардык өлкөлөрдүн пролетарлары, бириккиле (''Bardyk ölkölördün proletarlary, birikkile'')!
|-
| [[:en:Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]]: Visų šalių proletarai, vienykitės! || [[:en:Moldovan language|Moldovan]]: Пролетарь дин тоатe цэриле, уници-вэ (''Proletari din toate țările, uniți-vă'')! 
|-
| [[:en:Georgian language|Georgian]]: პროლეტარებო ყველა ქვეყნისა, შეერთდით ! (''P’rolet’arebo q’vela kveq’nisa, sheertdit'')! || [[:en:Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]]: Бүтүн өлкәләрин пролетарлары, бирләшин (''Bütün ölkələrin proletarları, birləşin'')!
|-
| [[:en:Uzbek language|Uzbek]]: Бутун дунё пролетарлари, бирлашингиз (''Butun dunyo proletarlari, birlashingiz'')! || [[:en:Kazakh language|Kazakh]]: Барлық елдердің пролетарлары, бірігіңдер (''Barlıq elderdiñ proletarları, birigiñder'')!
|-
| [[:en:Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]: Пролетарі всіх країн, єднайтеся (''Proletari vsikh krayin, yednaytesya'')! || [[:en:Belarusian language|Belarusian]]: Пралетарыі ўсіх краін, яднайцеся (''Pralyetaryi wsikh krain, yadnaytsyesya'')!
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center" |[[:en:Russian language|Russian]]: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь (''Proletarii vsekh stran, soyedinyaytes′'')! 
|}

==Description==
The state emblem shows the traditional Soviet emblems of the Hammer and Sickle and the [[Red Star]] over a globe, and two wreaths of covered by the ("Workers of the world, unite!") in the [[official language]]s of the [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Soviet Republics]], in the reverse order they were mentioned in the Soviet Constitution.

Each Soviet Republic (SSR) and [[Autonomous republics of the Soviet Union|Autonomous Soviet Republic]] (ASSR) had its own coat of arms, largely inspired by the state emblem of the Union.

==Gallery==
<center>
<gallery>
File:Coat of arms of the Soviet Union 1923–1936.svg|State Emblem of the USSR (1923–1936)
File:State Emblem of the Soviet Union (1936–1946).png|State Emblem of the USSR (1936–1946)
File:Coat of arms of the Soviet Union (1946-1956).svg|State Emblem of the USSR (1946–1956)
File:State Emblem of the Soviet Union.svg|State Emblem of the USSR (1956–1991)
</gallery>
</center>

==See also==
{{Portal|Soviet Union|Heraldry}}
*[[State Quality Mark of the USSR]]
*[[Coat of arms of Russia]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Soviet Union topics}}
{{Coat of arms of the Soviet Republics}}

[[Category:Coats of arms of former countries|Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Coats of arms of the Soviet Union|*]]
[[Category:National symbols of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:National emblems|Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with suns|Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with sunrays|Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with wheat|Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with stars|Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with globes|Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with the hammer and sickle|Soviet Union]]