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First-class error? Soviet-era symbols on Russian emblem creep into Siberian school diaries

Schools in Surgut have distributed school diaries among first-year students containing what looks like a curious misprint in Russia’s state emblem

© Kirill Kukhmar/TASS

MOSCOW, September 4. /TASS/. Schools in Surgut have distributed school diaries among first-grade students containing what looks like a curious misprint in Russia’s state emblem. The double-headed eagle is seen clutching the renowned Soviet-era hammer and sickle, instead of the traditional scepter and orb.

Югорские первоклассники получили дневники с неправильным гербом

Примерно 6000 сургутских школьников в этом году впервые сели за парты. Особым сюрпризом для первоклашек стал подарок от города - учебный дневник с полезной информацией.

Вот только содержание оказалось с ошибками. pic.twitter.com/Og9rG05X1v
— Наш Сургут (@nach_surgut) 4 September 2018

"I can only confirm this," an adviser to the chief of the Surgut city administration, Alexander Overchuk, told TASS. "There are some Soviet symbols [in the Russian state emblem]. Apparently, the person who worked on the dairy’s design made a mistake. We’ll conduct inquiries."

The diaries are distributed at the initiative of the municipal authorities under the program called Surgut First-Grader Day.

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"It’s a special branded diary carrying Russian and local emblems," the source said without elaborating.

TASS has obtained no official comments from the city’s department of education as to who designed and printed the diary and how many copies of it were made.

According to the department’s website, the Surgut First-Grader Day program has been active since 2012.

"The diary contains brief information about local history, extracts from the biographies of people who had made noteworthy contributions to the city’s development, and main places of interest, along with key monuments and infrastructure facilities," the website says.

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