Every year on February 19, Ukraine celebrates the Day of the State Emblem, a memorable date dedicated to one of our national symbols. On this day in 1992, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved by its resolution a golden trident on a blue shield as the Small Emblem of Ukraine, defining it as the main element of the Great State Emblem.
The Small State Emblem is one of the symbols of Ukraine, along with the Constitution, the flag, and the anthem. Its image is placed on the seals of state authorities and state administration, currency, official IDs, and forms of state institutions.
The Ukrainian People's Republic was defended under the sign of the Trident, which was featured on the awards and postcards of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and on the lapels of the jackets of participants in the mass rallies against the communist totalitarian regime in the late 1980s.
By choosing the trident as its Small Coat of Arms after declaring independence, Ukraine emphasized the continuity of its traditions. After all, on February 25, 1918, the Ukrainian People's Republic approved the "sign of the Kyiv State of the time of Volodymyr the Saint" as the state coat of arms of Ukraine, emphasizing the continuity from previous periods of our country's history.
The honoring of the state symbol in Donetsk Oblast deserves special attention. One of the most striking historical events was the installation of a large wooden trident in Kramatorsk on the square in front of the L. Bykov (then Lenin) Palace on October 28, 1942. Local activist Oleksa Muravlov, who researched this event, notes that the funds for the installation of the Trident in 1942 were raised independently by the Ukrainian community of the city. Based on the above, it becomes clear that many years ago, there was already a strong Ukrainian community in Kramatorsk that preserved its identity and honored state symbols.
In 2020, in Avdiivka, soldiers of the Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps welded a trident from 122-caliber shell casings. It serves as a memorial to their fallen comrades in the Russian-Ukrainian war. The military managed to set a national record for "The largest trident made of anti-tank shell casings." It has been entered into the Ukrainian Book of Records.
During the full-scale Russian aggression, the Day of the State Emblem of Ukraine has taken on extraordinary significance, transforming from a formal date into a symbol of uncompromising struggle, resilience, and national identity.
The Ukrainian emblem has become a true symbol of resistance. The trident is a marker of Ukrainian identity, which the aggressor tried to destroy in Crimea and the occupied territories. It emphasizes the centuries-old struggle for independence, which opposes the Russian Federation's attempts to rewrite history.
Today's Day of the State Coat of Arms of Ukraine reminds us of the unity of Ukrainians around the world who continue their struggle for the territorial integrity of the state.