thumb|Pahonia on the building of the Vitebsk State Academy of Veterinary Medicine
The national emblem of Belarus features a ribbon in the colors of the national flag, a silhouette of Belarus, wheat ears and a red star. It is sometimes referred to as the coat of arms of Belarus, although in heraldic terms this is inaccurate as the emblem does not respect the rules of conventional heraldry. The emblem is an allusion to one that was used by the Byelorussian SSR, designed by Ivan Dubasov in 1950, with the biggest change being a replacement of the Communist hammer and sickle with a silhouette of Belarus. The Belarusian name is Dziaržaŭny hierb Respubliki Biełaruś (Дзяржаўны герб Рэспублікі Беларусь), and the name in Russian is Gosudarstvennyĭ gerb Respubliki Belarusʹ (Государственный герб Республики Беларусь).
Between 1991 and 1995, Belarus used a coat of arms, known as the Pahonia (), as its national emblem. The Pahonia was originally a symbol of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, of which Belarus had historically been a part.
Description
thumb|The emblem on the National Bank building in Minsk
Design
In the center of the emblem sits an orange outline of Belarus, superimposed over the rays of golden sun. The sun is partially covered by a globe, with the landmass (part of Eurasia) in red and waters in blue. Lining the left and right sides of the emblem are stalks of wheat, superimposed with flowers. Clovers adorn the left wheat stalks; flax flowers adorn the right. Wrapped around the wheat stalks is a red and green ribbon bearing the colours of the flag of Belarus; the ribbon meets at the base of the emblem, where the name Republic of Belarus (Рэспубліка Беларусь) is inscribed in gold in Belarusian. At the top of the emblem, there is a five-pointed red star.
Symbolism
The elements that comprise the state emblem are not tied to any "official" symbolism. The design of the emblem of the Byelorussian SSR was used as the basis for the current Belarusian emblem; the primary difference between the two is that the Byelorussian SSR emblem contains more references to Communism, such as the Communist symbol of hammer and sickle and pure red ribbon with Communist mottoes, which the modern emblem does not, replaced with the outline and the flag of Belarus, respectively; however, it still retains the communist red star, the red ribbon (albeit without the mottoes), the globe and the wheat bundles, which are also typical of Soviet emblems and still is very Soviet in nature.
Legislation
thumb|[[Belarusian passport bearing the state emblem on the left. 2009]]
The current law regulating the design and use of the Belarusian emblem was passed on July 5, 2004. Article 9 of Chapter 3 of Law No. 301-3 begins by describing the official drawing of the Belarusian arms and regulates its proper design. Officially, the arms can be drawn in full colour, monochrome or using two colors. Article 10 states that the national emblem must be displayed at specified locations continually, such as the residences of the Belarusian leader, the chamber of the National Assembly and at governmental offices of national and regional levels.
The emblem can also be used on documents issued by the government, including money, passports and official letterheads.
The law also restricts the use of the emblem in other contexts—e.g. cities, towns or oblasts may not adopt a coat of arms or emblem using the national emblem either completely or in part. Furthermore, organizations not listed in the Law on State Symbols may only use the emblem by permission. The emblem can be used by both foreigners and citizens of Belarus, as long as the symbol is displayed with respect, although citizens may not use the state emblem on letterheads or business cards if they are not agents of the government.