Coat of Arms of Serbia
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The current Coat of Arms of Serbia was adopted on August 17, 2004. It is a replica of the coat of arms of the former Obrenovic dynasty (first adopted in 1882 and features the white bicephalic eagle of the Nemanjić dynasty (which in turn took on the eagle from the Paleologos dynasty of Byzantium). An ermine cape of the style once worn by kings is featured in the background.
Blazon: The principal field stands for the Serbian State (Gules a double-headed eagle with wings displayed and inverted Argent, langued, beaked, legged and unguled Or, between two fleurs-de-lys of the third in base), while inescutcheon stands for Serbian Nation (Gules a cross Argent between four fire-steels of the same).
Although Serbia is now a republic, the new coat of arms also features the crown of the former Serbian monarchy. A crown in this manner usually signifies a monarchial form of government. However it also signifies a royal heritage, namely Russia and Poland have both restored coat of arms bearing crowns despite being republics.
Former Coat of Arms
The coat of arms was an example of the arms style used in time of communist rule both for the Soviet Union and its respective federal republics.
The floral motifs of wheat aim to signify an agrarian basis for the economy of the republic. The gear at the bottom symbolizes industrialization: one of the long term aims of communist politics.
The star at the top is the symbol of communist domination over the country. The only part of the coat of arms with any national connotation is the shield that was part of traditional coat of arms of Serbia, with four cyrilic "S" letters (which stand for Samo sloga Srbina spasava -- Only Unity Saves the Serbs). The cross that was part of original design was striped mainly for ideological reasons. Removal of cross was done also to show domination of the atheist Communist Party of Yugoslavia over previous Kingdom of Serbia. The Communists defeated the supporters of the monarchy, called the Chetniks in a bloody civil war, 1941-1945, while the country was still occupied by the Germans.
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Categories: Coat of Arms | Serbia