Coat of Arms of Abundant

The description of the coat of arms of the city of Abundant reads:

The shield is cut with azure and scarlet. On top of everything is a silver bowl with a silver flame surrounded by a fragment of a black gear and stylized golden ears of gold, connected at the bottom by a gold plate with silver numbers 1895. At the top of the shield is the name of the city in silver.

- Decision of the Council of the city of the Abundant Stavropol Territory of August 27, 2010 No. 401 ^[3] .

The coat of arms in the language of symbols and allegories reflects the cultural, historical and economic characteristics of the city of Abundant. The symbolism of the coat of arms figures is multi-valued: the black gear is a symbol of a developing industry, the golden wheat ears are a traditional symbol of high yields ^[3] . Silver numbers 1895 - date of construction of the Izobilnaya railway station ^[4] .

The scarlet symbolizes labor, life-affirming power, courage, celebration, beauty. Silver means purity, perfection, peace and understanding. Gold represents wealth, stability, respect, generosity. The mob symbolizes wisdom, modesty, eternity of being ^[3] .

Soviet period

At the beginning of the 70s of the XX century, a bronze sign was installed on the eastern side of Izobilny, considered the emblem of the city ^{[5] [6]} . This work was performed by two local residents - the artist V.I. Alexandrov and the engraver V.P. Varaev. In January 1971, an article by V. Zinoviev was published in the newspaper Stavropolskaya Pravda, which described the symbolism of the figures depicted in this coat of arms:

The torch will remind the traveler that one of the most powerful gas compressor stations in the USSR is operating in the city ... A grain of bread - and this symbol is directly related to the occupation of citizens. Every year the Izobilnensky state farm, which has set a course for the full irrigation of its land, raises the ceiling of grain crops. <...> And finally, the power line farm. What city now stands outside the Leninist plan for electrifying the country !

- V. Zinoviev “Coat of Arms of the Abundant” ^[6]

In 1973, by a decision of the chairman of the city council, Y. N. Sincheskul, a competition for the best sketch of the land coat of arms was organized and held in Izobilny, in which many local artists took part. The victory was won by the head of the art workshop B.I. Bespalov. One of the ten sketches he presented was recognized by the competition committee as the best ^[7] . On June 20, 1973, the emblem developed by Bespalov was approved by the executive committee of the Izobilnensky city Council of People's Deputies. He had the following description:

The shield is cut with azure and scarlet. On top of everything is a silver bowl with a silver flame, surrounded by a fragment of a black gear and stylized golden ears, connected below with a gold plate with silver numbers 1895. At the top of the shield, the name of the city is silver.

- N. Sobolev “Coats of arms of Russian cities” ^[8]

The black gear represented the developing industry of the city, the silver bowl with flame (torch) - its gas industry, the golden ears - agriculture. Silver numbers on a gold plate denoted the date of foundation of the Abundant. Azure and scarlet symbolized the territorial affiliation of the city to the RSFSR ^{[7] [9]} .

Post-Soviet period

In 1995, the administration of the Izobilnensky district decided to abolish the former emblem in connection with “socio-economic changes in the development of Izobilnoy, as well as the upcoming 100th anniversary of the city’s foundation” ^[10] . The development of the new coat of arms was carried out by the advertising agency of the city of Stavropol Allo-2 (G. E. Savrasov) together with the scientific and methodological center of the committee on culture of the Stavropol Territory ^{[7] [10]} .

In September 1995, the head of the district administration V.I. Afanasov signed a decree declaring the decision of the city executive committee of June 26, 1973 "On the land coat of arms of Izobilnoy" and approval of the land coat of arms as follows:

The heraldic shield is two-color, the upper half is blue, the lower half is gold. On the heraldic shield below, on a blue background, there is an inscription made in white “Abundant”. On the upper blue part of the heraldic shield is a symbolic image of an industrial production building, to the left and right of which are symbolic images of gas towers with burning torches. On the lower golden part of the heraldic shield is a symbolic image of wheat ears made in white. Above the heraldic shield is an inscription made in 1895 gold. The composition is framed by a wreath of golden oak leaves , intertwined with a three-color ribbon with the colors of the Russian flag .

- "On the city and the coat of arms" ^[10]

The symbolism of the coat of arms was interpreted as follows. The upper blue (azure) field of the shield personified a peaceful sky. Images of the power plant and gas towers reflected the industrial specifics of the city of Izobilnoy. White color (silver) symbolized the industry and its environmental cleanliness. The average golden field of the shield denoted the developed agriculture of the city and the Izobilnensky district, and the eleven silver ears placed in the field of the shield denoted "traditionally high grain yields on the abundant lands, thanks to which the city, in fact, got its name . " A golden oak wreath interlaced with a ribbon with the colors of the national flag emphasized the belonging of the city and the region to the Russian Federation ^{[10] [11] [12]} .

The decision of the administration of the Izobilnensky district to approve the new land emblem of the city of Izobilny “generated discussion and even caused outrage from those who participated in the adoption of the former emblem” ^[13] . For example, in September 1997, the socio-political newspaper Izobilnensky District, Nashe Vremya, published an article by V. Zinoviev, “Will the coat of arms return?” In which the author criticized both the actions of local authorities that abolished the coat of arms of 1973 and the one established by them in 1995 the official symbol of the city, noting the unreasonable use of images of the power plant ( “There is no GRES in the city” ), towers, an oak wreath and a number of other shortcomings in the coat of arms composition ^[7] . The city leadership negatively perceived the symbols approved by the district administration, and, in the end, refused to use it. In February 1998, the image of the canceled coat of arms reappeared on the Izobilny administration building ^[13] . In 2004, the symbols ignored by the city authorities were adopted in the status of the official emblem of the Izobilnensky district ^{[13] [14]} .

On August 27, 2010, by the decision of the deputies of the Council of the City of Izobilnoy, the coat of arms of 1973 was “officially confirmed with minor stylistic modifications” ^[2] . On September 6, 2010, the corresponding decision was published in the Izobilnensky Municipal Bulletin newspaper ^[15] .

This emblem did not pass state registration with the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation, as it was incorrect (not complying with the requirements of heraldry). Also, the flag of the city of Izobilnoy ^{[2] [16],} compiled on its basis, was not registered.

• Flag of Abundant

• Borisov I.V. Heraldry of Russia / I.V. Borisov, E. N. Kozina . - Moscow: AST , Astrel, 2005 .-- 424 p. - ISBN 5-17-030039-5 .
• Heraldry of Russia / author-comp. A. G. Mernikov . - Moscow: World of Encyclopedias Avanta + , 2008 .-- 512 p. - ISBN 978-5-98986-210-8 .
• Coats of arms of Russian cities / Inst. history of the RAS ; N. A. Soboleva et al. - Moscow: Profizdat , 1998. - 476 p. - ISBN 5-255-01331-5 .
• Okhonko N. A. Symbols of a small homeland. - Pyatigorsk: Bulletin of the Caucasus, 2007 .-- 96 p. - ISBN 5-85714-049-8 .

• Symbols of the city of Izobilnoy // Official site of the administration of the city of Izobilnoy.
• City settlement Izobilny city // Heraldicum.ru: official site of the Russian Center for Flag Studies and Heraldry.