Zagoruiko, M.V. Symbols of the Republic of Armenia as the Geopolitical Mirror of the State

Abstract: The research subject of the present article is the coat of arms of the Republic of Armenia, its historical grounds, geopolitical challenges and importance for art history. Zagoruiko examines the description of the coat of arms (blazon) from the point of view of heraldic principles. Based on the historical experience of Armenia, the author of the article studies the reasonability of symbols used in the modern coat of arms of the Republic of Armenia. Zagoruiko analyzes the main errors, strong and weak points of the coat of arms as well as geopolitical pretensions demonstrated by the coat of arms. The history of the development of the coat of arms shows how the state and its external policy have been changing throughout centuries. Armenia is one of the most ancient states of the Transcaucasia. Their symbols were first created long before heraldry and then were transformed through centuries. These symbols appeared on the first coat of arms of the Kingdom of Greater Armenia and other Armenian states in the early XIII century. Having undergone serious transformations, the coat of arms of today’s Armenia has nothing in common with the previous coats of arms. In his research Zagoruiko has used the historical approach to describe geopolitical processes ongoing in the Republic of Armenia. To understand errors in the coat of arms, the author has used the system and anthropological methods. During the Soviet period heraldry was forgotten as a science. Therefore in many regions including Armenia the coats of arms were just signs but not symbols. After the Soviet Union fell apart, many CIS countries literally invented their coats of arms referring to false historical grounds. In this article the author describes the history of Armenian coat of arms and tells us what the creators of the coat of arms were based on. Zagoruiko also studies the last legislative acts concerning the modern coat of arms of the Republic. The main conclusion of the article is that the Armenian coat of arms proves to be inadequate. There were no experts in heraldry and heraldic historians at the moment when the coat of arms were created and approved and that fact caused many errors in the coat of arms. The coat of arms of the Republic of Armenia has never been studied from the scientific point of view or analyzed in terms of heraldry or history. According to the author, the modern coat of arms of Armenia is a great example of geopolitical ambitions towards other countries, it is based on false historical grounds and does not follow the heraldry principles.

Keywords: