The uses of heraldry in Belarus is used by government bodies, subdivisions of the national government, organizations, corporations and by families.

History

The history of

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

ian

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

is integral to that of the

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...

, the Polish-Belarusian

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

, and therefore to the history of

Polish heraldry Polish heraldry is the study of the coats of arms that have historically been used in Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It treats of specifically Polish heraldic traits and of the Polish heraldic system, contrasted with heraldic sys ...

. Until it was absorbed into the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, Belarus (as the

Belarusian Democratic Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; be, Беларуская Народная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Narodnaja Respublika, ), or Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic R ...

and earlier as the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

) was represented by a coat of arms: a charging knight on a red field, called the

Pahonia The coat of arms of Lithuania consists of a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as (). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is als ...

('the Chase'). Throughout the communist period, coats of arms fell out of favor and were replaced by emblems. The cities still used shields, but these were changed to add socialist realism or to announce the state awards each city earned. Once the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, the Pahonia was restored as the state coat of arms and the cities reverted to old coat of arms or created new designs. Each of the seven

voblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...

s of Belarus has its own coat of arms. Historical achievements, state awards or state symbols are placed on the coat of arms. For example, the enterprise "October" features the state flag of Belarus on their coat of arm

State symbols

File:Coat of arms of Belarus (2020).svg,

Emblem of Belarus The national emblem of Belarus features a ribbon in the colors of the national flag, a silhouette of Belarus, wheat ears and a red star. It is sometimes referred to as the coat of arms of Belarus, although in heraldic terms this is inaccurate a ...

since 1995 (with minor modifications in 2012 and 2020) File:Coat of Arms of Belarus (1991).svg, Coat of arms of Belarus (

) used between 1991 and 1995 File:Emblem of the Byelorussian SSR (1981-1991).svg, Emblem of the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

(with modifications in 1937, 1938, 1949, 1958 and 1981) File:Coat of arms of Belarusian People's Republic.svg, Coat of arms of Belarus as used on the passports of the

from 1918 File:Coat of Arms of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.svg, Coat of arms of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

File:Coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.svg, Coat of arms of the

Civic heraldry

There have been several waves of Belarusian cities receiving coats of arms. Firstly, many cities received coats of arms under the

Magdeburg Law Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within c ...

during the times of the

and the

. After the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

, territories in modern-day Belarus were incorporated into the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. In the late 18th century and during the 19th century, the authorities of the

assigned new coats of arms to most Belarusian cities, often aiming to emphasize the cities' conquest by the Russians. In the

Belarusian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

era, cities didn't have any official coats of arms. In the late years of the USSR, Russian-Empire-era coats of arms were sporadically used as informal symbols. After the restoration of the independence of

in 1991, the cities of Belarus have restored the official usage of coats of arms. Most cities have restored the initial medieval coats of arms, fewer have restored the coats of arms granted during the Russian Empire.

Regional heraldry

Medieval history

During the times of the

and the

, the

has been the dominating symbol on the coats of arms on the provinces on the territory of today's Belarus. File:POL województwo nowogródzkie IRP COA.svg, Navahrudak Voivodeship File:POL Mińskie COA.svg, Vilnia Voivodeship File:POL województwo poleskie II RP COA.svg,

Brest Litovsk Voivodeship Brest Litovsk Voivodeship ( Belarusian: ''Берасьцейскае ваяводзтва'', Polish: ''Województwo brzeskolitewskie'') was a unit of administrative territorial division and a seat of local government (voivode) within the Grand ...

File:POL województwo białostockie II RP COA.svg,

Podlaskie Voivodeship (1513–1795) pl, Województwo Podlaskie , subdivision = Voivodeship , nation = Lithuania (1513–1569) and then Poland (1569–1795) , year_start = 1513 , event_end = Third partition , year_end ...

File:POL Mińskie COA.svg,

Minsk Voivodeship , la, Palatinatus Minscensis) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1566Stanisław Kutrzeba: Historia ustroju Polski w zarysie, Tom drugi: Litwa. Lwów i Warszawa: 1921, s. 88. and later in Pol ...

File:Coat of Arms of Połacak Voivodeship.svg,

Polock Voivodeship Połock Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo połockie, be, Полацкае ваяводства) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Grand Duchy of Lithuania) since the 15th century u ...

File:Coat of Arms of Viciebsk Voivodeship.svg, Witebsk Voivodeship File:Banner of Amścisłaŭ Voivodeship.svg, Banner of the

Mstsislaw Voivodeship Mstislaw Voivodeship or Mścisław Voivodeship ( be, Амсьці́слаўскае ваяво́дзтва, pl, Województwo Mścisławskie, la, Palatinatus Mscislaviensis) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand ...

Under the Russian Empire

After annexation of Belarus to the Russian Empire, new administrative divisions (

gubernya A governorate, gubernia, province, or government ( rus, губе́рния, p=ɡʊˈbʲɛrnʲɪjə, also romanized ; uk, губернія, huberniia), was a major and principal administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire. After the empire ...

s, or governorates) were introduced.

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...

and

Vilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

governorates inherited coats of arms of their former voivodeships. File:Coat of arms of Vilna Governorate 1878.svg,

Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate (1795–1915; also known as Lithuania-Vilnius Governorate from 1801 until 1840; russian: Виленская губерния, ''Vilenskaya guberniya'', lt, Vilniaus gubernija, pl, gubernia wileńska) or Government of V ...

File:Coat of Arms of Minsk Governorate.png,

Minsk Governorate The Minsk Governorate (russian: Минская губерния, Belarusian: ) or Government of Minsk was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. The seat was in Minsk. It was created in 1793 from the land acquired in the partition ...

File:Coat of Arms of Mogilev Governorate.png,

Mogilev Governorate The Mogilev Governorate () or Government of Mogilev was a governorate () of the Russian Empire in the territory of the present day Belarus. Its capital was in Mogilev, referred to as Mogilev-on-the-Dnieper, or Mogilev Gubernskiy. The area of the ...

File:Coat of arms of Grodno Governorate 1878.svg,

Grodno Governorate The Grodno Governorate, (russian: Гро́дненская губе́рнiя, translit=Grodnenskaya guberniya, pl, Gubernia grodzieńska, be, Гродзенская губерня, translit=Hrodzenskaya gubernya, lt, Gardino gubernija, u ...

File:Coat of arms of Vitebsk Governorate 1856.svg,

Vitebsk Governorate Vitebsk Governorate (russian: Витебская губерния, ) was an administrative unit ( guberniya) of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting the Byelorussia Governorate and ...

Independent Belarus

After the restoration of the independence of Belarus, the regions received new coats of arms, mostly basing on the coats of the Russian era governorates. File:Coat_of_arms_of_Minsk.svg, City of

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Brest_Region.svg,

Brest Region Brest Region or Brest Oblast or Brest Voblasts ( be, Брэ́сцкая во́бласць ''(Bresckaja vobłasć)''; russian: Бре́стская о́бласть (''Brestskaya Oblast)'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative cent ...

File:Coat_of_arms_of_Homyel_Voblast.svg, Homiel Region File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Hrodna_Voblasts.svg,

Hrodna Region Grodno Region ( pl, Grodzieńszczyzna) or Grodno Oblast or Hrodna Voblasts ( be, Гродзенская вобласць, ''Hrodzienskaja vobłasć'', , ''Haradzienščyna''; russian: Гродненская область, ''Grodnenskaya oblast' ...

File:Escut_Oblast_Mohilev.png, Mahiloŭ Region File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Minsk_province.svg,

Minsk Region Minsk Region or Minsk Oblast or Minsk Voblasts ( be, Мі́нская во́бласць, ''Minskaja voblasć'' ; russian: Минская о́бласть, ''Minskaya oblast'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center is Minsk, ...

File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Vitsebsk_Voblasts.svg,

Viciebsk Region Vitebsk Region or Vitebsk Oblast or Viciebsk Voblasts ( be, Ві́цебская во́бласць, ''Viciebskaja voblasć'', ; rus, Ви́тебская о́бласть, Vitebskaya oblast, ˈvʲitʲɪpskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a region (oblast ...

Personal heraldry

''See Armorial of Polish nobility'' The nobility of the historical regions of modern Belarus, which comprise parts of Lithuania propria and

White Ruthenia White Ruthenia ( cu, Бѣла Роусь, Bela Rous'; be, Белая Русь, Biełaja Ruś; pl, Ruś Biała; russian: Белая Русь, Belaya Rus'; ukr, Біла Русь, Bila Rus') alternatively known as Russia Alba, White Rus' or W ...

, were a historical part of the

Lithuanian nobility The Lithuanian nobility or szlachta ( Lithuanian: ''bajorija, šlėkta'') was historically a legally privileged hereditary elite class in the Kingdom of Lithuania and Grand Duchy of Lithuania (including during period of foreign rule 1795–1918 ...

and

Ruthenian nobility Ruthenian nobility ( uk, Руська шляхта, be, Руская шляхта, pl, szlachta ruska) refers to the nobility of Kyivan Rus and Galicia–Volhynia, which found itself in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwe ...

in the

. Very early the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania adopted the heraldic tradition of the Polish

. The heraldry of the Belarusian nobility constitutes a part of the

Ecclesiastic heraldry

The Belarusian Roman Catholic senior clergy has personal coats of arms as according to the customs of catholic

ecclesiastical heraldry Ecclesiastical heraldry refers to the use of heraldry within Christianity for dioceses, organisations and Christian clergy. Initially used to mark documents, ecclesiastical heraldry evolved as a system for identifying people and dioceses. It ...

. File:Coat of arms of Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz.svg,

Tadevuš Kandrusievič Tadevuš Kandrusievič ( be, Тадэвуш Кандрусевіч; pl, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz; born 3 January 1946) is a Belarusian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Minsk–Mohilev from 2007 to 2021. He has been a bish ...

, Archbishop of Minsk and Mahiloŭ, consecrated in 1989 File:Coat of arms of Aliaksandr Yasheuski.svg, Alaksandar Jašeŭski, auxiliary bishop of Minsk and Mahiloŭ File:Coat of arms of Yury Kasabutski.svg, Jury Kasabucki, auxiliary bishop of Minsk and Mahiloŭ File:Gerb biscop velikoselets.jpg, Bishop Kazimier Vielikasielec of the

Diocese of Pinsk The Diocese of Pinsk ( la, Pinsken(sis) Latinorum, be, Пінская) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese in Belarus. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev. I ...

File:Coat of arms of Aleksander Kaszkiewicz.svg, Bishop Alaksandar Kaškievič of

Hrodna Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

File:Coat of arms of Aleh Butkevich.svg, Aleh Butkievič, bishop of

Viciebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...

External links

Belarusian Nobility Coats of Arms

Arms of the Belarusian cities

Arms of the cities in the Minsk Oblast
Belarusian coats of arms Belarus-related lists Heraldry by country {{belarus-hist-stub