| Republic of South Ossetia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Armiger | Republic of South Ossetia |
| Adopted | 1995 |
| Shield | Discgules, a leopardpassantor spotted sable on a groundor with a background of seven mountainsargent |
| Other elements | Республикӕ Хуссар Ирыстон, Республика Южная Осетия |
South Ossetia is a region in the NorthCaucasus that is under the effective control of the self-declaredRepublic of South Ossetia butrecognized by most of the international community as part ofGeorgia.
The emblem of the Republic of South Ossetia consists of a reddisc featuring aCaucasian leopard with seven white mountains in the background.[1][2] The blazon is "discgules, a leopardpassantor spotted sable on a groundor with a background of seven mountainsargent." The mountains symbolize the Ossetian landscape, while the leopard is an iconic inhabitant of the Caucasus mountains.
The coat of arms of the Republic of South Ossetia were adopted on 19 May 1999 by theParliament of South Ossetia. The design is based on Vakhushti Bagrationi's "Banner of Ossetia" which dates from 1735. Around the shield, the name of the country is written in Ossetian (Республикӕ Хуссар Ирыстон) above and in Russian (Республика Южная Осетия) below.
Between 1922 and 1990, South Ossetia was an autonomous oblast of theGeorgian Soviet Socialist Republic known as theSouth Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. As an autonomous oblast, it didn't have its own coat of arms, instead theEmblem of the Georgian SSR was used for official purposes.
Prior to the adoption of the current coat of arms in 1995,Lyudvig Chibirov used a design featuring an eagle embazoned with aTriskelion in the South Ossetian national colors, with a Wasamonga cup, a pole-axe, an oak branch, hop and ears of wheat, the gifts God gave toNarts inAssianism tradition.[3]
The Government of Georgia established aProvisional Administration of South Ossetia in April 2007.[4] It used an emblem depicting a Caucasian leopard and mountainous landscape without a surrounding legend.[5][6][7] The provisional administration was abolished on 31 December 2025.
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