Coats of arms of the Soviet Republics

The coats of arms of the constituent republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics all featured predominantly the hammer and sickle and the red star that symbolised communism, as well as a rising sun (although in the case of the Latvian SSR, since the Baltic Sea is west of Latvia, it could be interpreted as a setting sun), surrounded by a wreath of wheat (except the Karelo-Finnish SSR with a wreath of rye). The USSR State motto, Workers of the world, unite!, in both the republic's language and Russian was also placed on each one of them. In addition to those repetitive motifs, coats of arms of many Soviet republics included also features that were characteristic of their local landscapes, economies or cultures.

The table below presents final versions of the renderings of the Soviet republics' coats of arms prior to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, as well as the arms of two republics that ceased to exist before that time. For comparison, national arms of present day successor states of the Soviet republics are also shown. As can be seen, most Asian post-Soviet republics use arms based on or reminiscent of the Soviet-era emblems. Most European republics, on the other hand, reverted to their traditional pre-Soviet arms. Belarus used the traditional Pahonia as its coat of arms from 1991 to 1995 when it was replaced by a new emblem closely resembling the Soviet-era design. Additionally, the secessionist Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (Transnistria), internationally recognised as part of Moldova, uses an emblem based on the coat of arms of the Moldavian SSR (see Coat of arms of Transnistria).

See also

• Flags of the Soviet Republics
• Coats of arms of the Yugoslav Socialist Republics