Khakassia is a republic within the Russian Federation located in Southern Siberia, on the left bank of the Yenisei. The flag, coat of arms and anthem of Khakassia can tell us a lot about the history, natural and geographical features of the region.
Khakassia: a portrait of the region
“Bear blood” - this is how the name of the republic is translated from the Khakass language. In addition to brown bears, there are also wolves, deer, moose, wolverines, tigers, deer and snow leopards. By the way, the image of the last animal from this list adorns the modern coat of arms of Khakassia.
The Republic occupies 72nd place in terms of population among all subjects of the Russian Federation. Only 538 thousand people live in it. Most of the able-bodied residents of Khakassia are employed in the electric power industry, in the aluminum and coal mining industries. And about 60% of Russian foil is produced here. Agriculture is also developing in the region, in particular, sheep and horse breeding.
The most important natural-geographical and economic features of the region are successfully displayed in his anthem. Here are just a couple of lines from it: "You build factories, you build dams, sow bread and breed horses!" The anthem of Khakassia was officially approved only in 2015. Its text was written by a native of Abakan, an economist and writer Vladislav Torosov. There is a variant of this anthem in Khakass language. The author of the music is the local composer German Tanbaev.
Representatives of many nationalities and ethnic groups live in the republic. The most numerous among them are Russians, Khakasses, Germans, Ukrainians and Tatars. Russian and Khakass have the status of state languages in the region. The largest cities of Khakassia are Abakan (administrative center), Chernogorsk, Sayanogorsk and Abaza.
Flag of the Republic of Khakassia
The current flag of Khakassia was approved in September 2003. It is a rectangular panel with a aspect ratio of 1: 2. In its left part there is a vertical green stripe, in the center of which there is a golden “solar sign” (this symbol is also present on the coat of arms of the republic).
The rest of the flag space is occupied by three horizontal stripes of the same size. There is a blue stripe above, a red stripe below, and a white stripe in the center. By the way, they were not always located like this. In previous versions of the flag of Khakassia, the stripes in their location completely copied the state flag of the Russian Federation.
Coat of arms of Khakassia: photo and description
One of the official symbols of the republic is its coat of arms. It was developed in 2001 and slightly modified in 2006. Its author was Alexander Kotozhekov.
The emblem of Khakassia differs in a rather unusual round shape for heraldry. In its center is a red Amazonian shield with a green and gold border. The shield shows a running snow leopard (snow leopard) with wings. The head of the animal is turned towards the viewer. A solar sign already familiar to us, which is considered to be a symbol of the Universe, is placed above the shield. The entire artistic composition of the coat of arms is surrounded by two birch branches. At the bottom there is also a green ribbon with a traditional Khakassian ornament applied inside.
The differences between the current coat of arms and the 2001 variant are very insignificant. Initially, the ornament on the ribbon below was missing. There was an inscription in Russian: “Khakassia”.
What does the emblem of Khakassia mean?
The emblem of the republic has its own symbolism. Let's try to figure out its meaning.
The official emblem of Khakassia contains three main elements. This is an snow leopard, a solar sign and birch leaves. The snow leopard is, first of all, a tribute to the ancestors. After all, the image of this animal was painted on the walls of the rocks by the ancient Khakasses. In addition, the snow leopard symbolizes courage, directness and ideology.
It is not difficult to guess that the solar sign represents the Sun. The red shield is a kind of protective amulet for all residents of Khakassia. But the two branches of birch symbolize the feminine and masculine principles, which means wealth and fertility. The circle surrounding the entire composition of the coat of arms is a symbol of eternity and continuity of life.
It is curious that in the very first version of the coat of arms of Khakassia, the snow leopard was depicted curled up. Local deputies did not like it. They wished to give him militancy. But many have a claim to the modern look of the coat of arms. So, some experts even believe that the snow leopard on the main symbol of Khakassia should be replaced by another animal - a horse.