The coat of arms of the Sakha Republic (, Saqa ÃÂröspüübülüketin caralñga; , Gerb Respubliki Sakha), in the Russian Federation, is an official symbol of the Sakha Republic, alongside the flag and the national anthem of the Sakha Republic. The coat of arms consists of a circle, in the center of which is a red silhouette of a rider on horseback holding a banner, based on the prehistoric petroglyphs of the "Shishkin pisanitsa", against a white sun background. The central image is framed with a traditional Sakha ornament in the form of seven rhombic crystal-like figures and the inscriptions "àõÃÂÿÃÂñûøúð áðàð (ïúÃÂÃÂøÃÂ) ⢠áðàð èÃÂéÃÂÿïïñïûïúÃÂÃÂÃÂ". This coat of arms has been used officially since 26 December 1992.
Prior to 1992, the Sakha Republic existed as the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Prior to 1937, Yakut ASSR used a coat of arms with the basis of korenizatsiya, on which it contained the depiction of the Lena River, Aurora, and the name of the ASSR. After 1937, the coat of arms of the Yakut ASSR is identical with the emblem of the Russian SFSR.
The central element of the coat of arms is an image of an ancient rider with a banner. The image was one of the rock paintings found near the village of Shishkino in 1745 by members of the Great Northern Expedition of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The painting was believed to be made by Kurykans. Scientists believe that the rider depicted in the painting are the leaders of the clans and tribes of the Kurykans. The red banner in the image symbolized the unity and the strength of the Kurykan tribes.
The seven rhombic crystal-like figures of faceted diamonds symbolizes one of the natural resources of the republic. The amount of the faceted diamonds also symbolizes the unity of the peoples living in Yakutia : Yakuts, Russians, Evenks, Evens, Chukchi, Dolgans, and Yukagirs.
The coat of arms of the Yakutsk Oblast was approved on 5 July 1878. The coat of arms consisted of silver shield, with a black eagle holding a scarlet sable in its claws. The shield is decorated with the Tsar's crown and is surrounded by golden oak leaves, intertwined by Alexander's ribbon.
The first emblem of the Yakut ASSR was described in the Constitution of the Yakut ASSR, which was approved by the Fourth All-Yakut Congress of Soviets on September 25, 1926. Article 118 of the constitution contained description of the emblem of the Yakut ASSR:
On March 9, 1937, the extraordinary 9th All-Yakut Congress of Soviets approved a new Constitution of the Yakut ASSR. Article 108 of the Constitution describes the emblem of the Yakut ASSR:
The new emblem of the Yakut ASSR was reconfirmed by the approval through the Decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the Yakut ASSR on May 13, 1938.
In 1939, the Yakut language shifted its writing method from Latin alphabet to Cyrillic alphabet. Hence, the inscription on the emblem changed.
On May 31, 1978, the 8th extraordinary session of the Supreme Council of the Yakut ASSR adopted a new Constitution of the Yakut ASSR. Article 157 of the constitution describes the Emblem of the Yakut ASSR:
A red star with a gold border was added to the top of the emblem.
This design was reconfirmed with the Decree of the Supreme Soviet of the Yakut ASSR on July 27, 1978.
On 4 April 1992, the Sakha Republic adopted a new constitution. The coat of arms of the Sakha Republic had not been made, so the constitution only states that :
The description of the coat of arms was approved and was inserted into the Constitution of the Sakha Republic by the amendments of 22 July 2008.
In June 2016, the government enacted a word change of the word "Republic" in the Yakut language. The Yakut word for Republic, àõÃÂÿÃÂñûøúðÃÂð, was changed into èÃÂéÃÂÿïïñïûïúÃÂÃÂÃÂ. This change affected the inscriptions on the coat of arms.
On 15 June 2016, to officially adopt this change of word, the constitution was amended, and on 25 October 2016, the inscription on the coat of arms was changed by the Law "On the Official Symbols of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)".