Socialist-style emblems

[1] Many communist governments purposely diverged from heraldic tradition in order to distance themselves from the monarchies that they usually replaced, with coats of arms being seen as symbols of the monarchs.

In response to the needs and wishes, the national emblem adopted would lack the traditional heraldic elements of a shield, helm, crest and mantling, and instead be presented more plainly.

This style was followed then by other socialist and communist states, which wished to also focus attention on the nation's workers and diverge from feudalism and all of its associations.

Czechoslovakia became a Communist country in 1948 but retained its original coat of arms until 1960-1961, when they were replaced with a non-traditional shield depicting the heraldic Bohemian lion without a crown and with a red star above head.

With the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc in Europe, most of these countries' socialist emblems have been replaced with old pre-communist symbols or by wholly new coats of arms.

They also exclude emblems which were a mix of traditional heraldry and socialist symbolism, like the present arms of São Tomé e Príncipe and of East Timor, the 1960–1990 Emblem of Czechoslovakia, or the 1974–2008 state seal of Burma, or traditionally heraldic arms of socialist countries, like those of Guyana, Cuba and Poland minus the crown from 1952–1990.

The state emblem of the People's Republic of China is typical of socialist and communist heraldry. The colour red and the star are symbols of communism; grains are often used to represent agriculture, farmers, or the common people, the cogwheel or other industrial tools represent the industrial proletariat.
Soviet leaders sought to distinguish their insignia from the emblems used by the Russian Emperor and aristocracy. They replaced and omitted the traditional heraldic devices, substituting an emblem that did not conform to traditional European practices.