The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia (russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, Respublika Kareliya; ; krl, Karjalan tašavalta; ; fi, Karjalan tasavalta; vep, Karjalan Tazovaldkund, Ludic: ''Kard’alan tazavald''), also known as just Karelia (rus ...

is crossed in three equal parts with the colors of the

flag of Karelia The flag of the Republic of Karelia is a tricolour featuring three equal horizontal stripes of red, sky blue and green. The height to length ratio is 2:3. History In November 1991, the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was transfo ...

on a shield with a profile of a rampant

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

. The golden frame of the shield comes into stylized image of a fir tree on the left and a pine tree on the right. In the upper part of the shield there is an octagonal star (doubled cross) of gold. The arms were created by Yu. S. Nivin. The current coat of arms of Karelia has much resemblance with the coat of arms of the independent

Republic of Uhtua The Republic of Uhtua (or the Republic of East Karelia) was an unrecognized state, with the focus of a state led by Finns. It existed from 1919 to 1920, created out of five Volosts in the Kemsky Uyezd of the Arkhangelsk Governorate, now in the Re ...

, the national symbol of East Karelia created by Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela. The main difference is that the bear was holding a

billhook A billhook or bill hook, also called a pruning knife or spar hook, is a versatile cutting tool used widely in agriculture and forestry for cutting woody material such as shrubs, small trees and branches. It is distinct from the sickle. It was ...

. The shield had the traditional

Varangian The Varangians (; non, Væringjar; gkm, Βάραγγοι, ''Várangoi'';Varangian
" Online Etymo ...

colours and there were polar lights above of shield.

Sources

Constitution of the Republic of Karelia A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princi ...

, paragraph 13.
The official site of the republic

Sources

See also