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25th international congress of heraldry experts begins in Kirov

The opening ceremony was attended by Russia’s chief heraldist and deputy director of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg Georgy Vilinbakhov

KIROV, September 30 (Itar-Tass) —— The 25th international congress of heraldry experts begins here on Friday.

More than 100 delegates from various world nations will take part.

The congress’ venue will be the Kirov Region Alexander Herzen Library, one of Russia’s oldest libraries founded back in 1837. The library also hosts a Russian nationwide conference dedicated to library activities to popularize Russian state symbols.

“Participants in the congress will discuss ways to promote heraldry and popularize state symbols,” Tatiana Gudei, the library’s press secretary, told Itar-Tass.

The opening ceremony was attended by Russia’s chief heraldist and deputy director of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg Georgy Vilinbakhov.

The congress’ program also features an exhibition of regional and municipal coat of arms, and decorations from state and private collections, archives and museums. Among the exhibits are an ancient coat of arms of the city of Vyatka (now Kirov) made in 1577 during the reign of Ivan the Terrible and dubbed as a “stamp” at that time. The “stamp” features an arms extending from a cloud and holding a braced bow with an arrow. “In 1672, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the coat of arms was supplemented with a cross, and this way the emblem of the city has stayed up till now,” said Yevgeny Drogov, head of the Kirov region’s society of heraldry specialists.

The exhibition is timed to mark the 215th anniversary of the Vyatka province (now Kirov region) and will be open will the yearend.

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