Armenia changes military emblem design

PanARMENIAN.Net - The emblem of the Armenian Armed Forces has been changed. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan published a video on Facebook explaining the reasons behind the redesign.

“Dear compatriots, we present to your attention the new emblem of the Army of the Republic of Armenia,” he wrote alongside the video.

The video states that the central figure of the previous emblem, the “eagle, was depicted with a closed beak,” while in heraldry a closed beak is considered a calm, non-combat posture, often perceived as a lifeless image, which contradicts the essence of an army.

It also says the eagle’s torso was missing and merged into the background surface, creating only an eagle-like figure formed from feathers. According to the explanation, the absence of limbs, claws and weapons created “the appearance of a powerless and vulnerable creature, which is unacceptable for a military symbol.”

“In the previous emblem, the sword was placed behind the shield, which in heraldry signifies lack of readiness for defense, whereas the mission of the Armenian army is to remain constantly prepared to defend the territorial integrity of Armenia’s sovereign territory.

“In the previous version of the emblem, the national flag was depicted with a gross mistake — not as a unified whole, but fragmented into separate ribbons, which symbolically could be interpreted as divided, fragmented or incomplete statehood,” the video says.

The upper section of the new emblem depicts the tricolor of the Armenian national flag and the map of Armenia.