Why did Moscow become the capital of Russia? Why did Russian lands begin to gather around it, and, for example, not Tver, Vladimir or Novgorod? The reasons can be found in faith, economics, politics - both external and internal. Probably all this mattered.
However, esotericists and heraldry experts believe that the amazing coat of arms of Moscow is to blame. Historian and esoteric Mikhail KALYUZHNY agreed to tell us why the coat of arms of the capital is so unusual.
Mikhail, what is the secret of the Moscow coat of arms?
- The paradox is that due to political storms that have raged more than once in the history of our country, Moscow had several coats of arms. But only George the Victorious, according to the mystics, brought Moscow not victory, but defeat: he almost deprived her of its capital status forever.
From ancient times, on various versions of the coat of arms and coins of Moscow, they depicted either a foot soldier with a spear, or a horseman slaying a dragon. Moreover, the rider was the personification of the great prince himself, and later the king.
No wonder, having conquered the Kazan Khanate, that is, symbolically defeating the dragon, Tsar Ivan the Terrible added the dignity of the Kazan Tsar to his official title. Since then, the dragon rider has become the main symbol of Moscow.
But the rider on horseback is St. George the Victorious …
- Just no! Only foreigners called the Moscow horseman Saint George. Ambassadors of Ivan the Terrible to the question of the Patriarch of Alexandria: "On horseback is the faithful tsar on this seal?" - answered: "The sovereign on horseback." A quote from the chronicle is known: "Under the Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich, the banner on the money was fast: the great prince was on horseback, and having a sword in his hand and ottole produced money for money."
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And on the state emblem, placed on the title page of the Bible in 1663, the snake fighter was given a portrait resemblance to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Later, this tradition took root: with the change of the ruler, the face of the horseman depicted on the coat of arms began to change.
Which of our rulers was the first to name the rider Saint George?
- Only Peter I officially named the rider on the coat of arms Saint George the Victorious, which greatly surprised his subjects. And in the Senate decree of March 8, 1730, five years after the death of the emperor, the Moscow coat of arms was already officially described as follows: “… in the middle of the (two-headed) eagle, George on a white horse, conquering the serpent, the epancha and the spear are yellow, the crown is yellow, the serpent is black, the field is white all around, and in the middle is red. From that moment until the beginning of the 20th century, the horseman on the Moscow coat of arms officially began to be called St. George.
Ivan III's seal
And how, from the point of view of magic and heraldry, a rider on a horse is fundamentally different from St. George?
- The fact is that on coats of arms or banners they have always tried to depict symbols of luck, victory and prosperity. The rider on horseback, personifying a wise and just prince, fulfilled this role as best as possible. Saint George is another matter.
Calling the rider on the coat of arms George the Victorious, Peter I, without knowing it, brought misfortune to the city. As the life of George says, by the age of 30, thanks to his intelligence, courage and physical strength, he rose to the rank of a thousand-leader - this is something like a battalion commander. Moreover, he became Diocletian's favorite. However, George could not calmly watch as the emperor executed the followers of Christ. And he openly admitted that he was a Christian.
They beat him with ox tendons, drove the wheel, threw him into quicklime, forced him to run in boots with sharp nails inside. George endured all these torments and did not deny Christ. Looking at this, two noble dignitaries, Anatoly and Protoleon, who were secret Christians, revealed themselves to the emperor.
Diocletian executed them. And then he called the sorcerer Athanasius, so that he either pacified the former favorite, or poisoned him. The sorcerer presented George with two cups of potions, one of which was to make him obedient, and the other to kill him. But the potions didn't work. And then the sorcerer Athanasius, falling at the feet of George, confessed Christ. At this point, the emperor finally became furious and executed both - and Athanasius, who had believed, and George.
And how did the fate of George the Victorious affect Moscow?
- Bad times have come for Moscow with George on the coat of arms. During the period from 1730 to 1918 Moscow was repeatedly devastated by epidemics and fires, suffered terrible damage from the elements, became the arena of bloody mass civil strife and other disasters.
Who saved Moscow from such a patron?
- Oddly enough, the Bolsheviks. Soon after October, the coat of arms with St. George the Victorious was abolished. And in 1918, Moscow again became the capital of the country, but with a new coat of arms.
It was approved by the Presidium of the Moscow Soviet on September 22, 1924. The new coat of arms consisted of several important elements. In the central part, a large five-pointed star was inscribed in an oval shield.
Against its background, an obelisk of freedom and a sickle and a hammer were depicted - these were the emblems of the workers 'and peasants' state. The cogwheel and the rye ears associated with it became the personification of the link between town and village. The anvil is the emblem of the metalworking industry, the shuttle is the symbol of the textile industry and the dynamo is the symbol of electrification. Below was the inscription: "Moscow Soviet of Workers, Peasants and Red Army Deputies."
Was this coat of arms more successful than the previous one?
- Of course: the Bolsheviks knew very well the magic of symbols. Throughout the Soviet period, Moscow remained the richest and most prosperous city in the country. During this time, it has grown many times over - both in terms of population and area.
In 1941, the strongest German army at that time could not take the capital. The city, then still being predominantly wooden, did not burn down even during the massive raids of German aviation, which bombed it with incendiary bombs. And in the post-war period Moscow became a recognized world center of science, industry and culture. It was rightfully considered one of the most beautiful, clean and safe cities in the world.
But today Saint George reigns on our coats of arms again. How will his "rule" in the 21st century affect Moscow?
- After the return of the coat of arms with the image of St. George the Victorious, natural disasters again became more frequent in Moscow. The hurricane that whistled over the city on June 22, 1998 with a wind speed of up to 31 m / s, knocked down more than 100 thousand trees and caused property damage of more than $ 15 million. The 2001 hurricane also did a lot. After 1993, unofficial symbols of Moscow - the Ostankino TV tower and the Manezh - were also on fire. The Soviet coat of arms was clearly much more effective in ensuring the safety of Muscovites.
So why change such a successful Soviet coat of arms to an analogue of the pre-revolutionary coat of arms?
- It's all the fault of the politician. After the events of 1991 and 1993, the Moscow authorities hastened to get rid of the entire Soviet legacy, including the symbol of the city. But the federal authorities in the 1990s turned out to be wiser, having placed on the country's coat of arms not George, but the prototype of the princes of the pre-Roman era.
The rider-snake fighter is also depicted on the state emblem of the Russian Federation. But his name is no longer George. In the regulation on the State Emblem of the Russian Federation, approved by President Boris N. Yeltsin on November 30, 1993, it is said: "On the emblem is a horseman striking a dragon with a spear."
Interviewed by Dmitry SOKOLOV