| Coat of arms of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania | |
| Year Adopted: | 1994 |
| Shield: | Disc gules, a leopard passant or spotted sable on a ground or with a background of seven mountains argent |
The Coat of arms of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, a federal subject of Russia, is a red disc featuring a Caucasian leopard with seven white mountains in the background.[1] [2] The mountains symbolize the Ossetian landscape, while the leopard is an iconic inhabitant of the Caucasus mountains.
Under the Russian Empire, the territory of present-day North Ossetia was a part of the Terek Oblast. The coat of arms of the Terek Oblast was approved on 15 March 1873.
The North Ossetian ASSR was formed on 5 December 1936. The 1940 edition of the constitution stated:
"The state emblem of the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic is the state emblem of the RSFSR, which consists of a golden sickle and hammer placed crosswise, handles downward, on a red background in the sun and framed by ears of corn, with the inscription 'RSFSR' and 'Proletarians of all countries, unite!' in Russian and Ossetian languages (РСФСР/УСФСР) (ӔППӔТ БӔСТӔТЫ ПРОЛЕТАРТӔ БАИУ УТ!) and the addition of, under the inscription reading "RSFSR", a smaller inscription reading 'North Ossetian ASSR' in both Russian and Ossetian languages. (ЦӔГАТ-ИРЫСТОНЫ АССР)" (Article 111).
In 1978 both the arms of the North Ossetian ASSR and the emblem of the RSFSR were modified to include a red star.
On 24 November 1994 the Parliament of North Ossetia, an autonomous republic within Russian Federation, approved and enacted Act No. 521, which had the country adopt a coat of arms designed by Murat Dzhigkayev. The prototype for the emblem was based on Vakhushti of Kartli’s “Banner of Ossetia”, dated 1735.