Guardian of the country’s eternity: Georgy Vilinbakhov is 75 years old

Without noticing it, every day we see various symbols of the country – the double-headed eagle on the obverse of coins and on the passport, flags on car license plates, athletes’ uniforms and government buildings. And for the most part we don’t even think about where these symbols came from, what their history is.

But there is a person in St. Petersburg who can be called the Guardian. The keeper of the old and the creator of the new symbols of our State, a person who took direct leadership, creative, scientific and organizational participation in the restoration of the State Emblem and Flag, and then the highest state award of the Russian Federation – the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, the creation of symbols of the President of the Russian Federation, the entire system state awards of the Russian Federation, symbols of federal departments, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, coats of arms, flags and awards of countless municipalities of our country.

This is Georgy Vadimovich Vilinbakhov, State Master of Arms – Chairman of the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation. A master who sews pieces of the country’s history into a single heraldic fabric, does not allow the threads of times to break, and forms the heraldic space of the country and society in which we live.

The responsibilities of the State Heraldic Master, which have rested on the shoulders of Georgy Vadimovich since 1992, are to ensure the implementation of heraldic rules in the creation and use of distinctive signs, which in our country are used by authorities and management at all levels: from the president of the country to municipalities.

There are many more such signs than might seem at first glance. Coats of arms and emblems, brands and logos, flags and banners, awards and memorial signs, uniforms and corporate identity… The list goes on for a long time, but the important thing is that all these signs surround us almost constantly, they are used by us, in most cases unconsciously, daily. Signs help us navigate the surrounding social space, and in order for them to effectively cope with their tasks, they must be correctly composed and applied. The state heraldic service created and headed by Georgy Vadimovich, which since 1999 has been called the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation, takes care of this.

On May 7, the most important event of the year awaits us – Vladimir Putin’s pronouncement of the presidential oath, which traditionally takes place in the St. Andrew’s Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace. It was Vilinbakhov who laid the ceremonial foundations for the inauguration of the President of the Russian Federation, carefully selected all aspects of this historical event, and took into account the significance of each plot of this majestic action.

But let’s return to St. Petersburg. Being for many years the deputy director of the State Hermitage for scientific work, Georgy Vadimovich created a serious scientific school for in-depth study of the historical heritage of Russia, taught courses in heraldry, St. Petersburg studies and military history at the Russian State Pedagogical University named after. Herzen, St. Petersburg State University. Organized systematic teaching of heraldry at RANEPA, systematic courses of heraldic training for artists at the Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. I.E.Repin Russian Academy of Arts and St. Petersburg State Academy of Arts and Industry named after. Baron Stieglitz.

He led the ceremonies for the reburial of the remains of Emperor Nicholas II, members of his servants and entourage (1998), the transfer of the remains of Empress Maria Feodorovna from Denmark to Russia (2006), and a number of other state and regional ceremonies and rituals. In general, Georgy Vadimovich’s entire life is inextricably linked with Leningrad and St. Petersburg, about the history of which you can talk with him for hours, as well as about the many unique cultural and architectural monuments of the city that were saved thanks to his civic position.

It is no coincidence that he has been an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts since 2016, and was also awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd and 4th degree, Alexander Nevsky, Honor, Swedish, Polish, Danish, Dutch, Italian, knightly and one French officer, which is higher in statute than knighthood.

Speaking about Georgy Vadimovich Vilinbakhov, one cannot help but say something about his historical roots, which are unique in many ways and deserve separate study as an example of faithful service to the Russian state for many centuries. According to the family tree, one can trace how his distant ancestor, Willim Bach (Philip Vilinbachov), came from Thuringia to Russia in the sixteenth or early seventeenth century and entered the service of the Russian Imperial Court. The fact that this service was adequately appreciated is evidenced by his awarding of estates in the Yaroslavl district in 1628–1629, from where the Russian noble family of the Vilinbakhovs came with their family coat of arms, which has survived to this day.

In the history of the family there is a lot of evidence of how his ancestors bravely fought for their homeland. Take, for example, Ivan Vilinbakhov, who distinguished himself in the Battle of Borodino and was awarded the golden sword “For Bravery,” as well as the Order of St. Anna, III degree, for successful actions in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1813–1814. And Semyon Vilinbakhov, colonel of the Russian army, awarded many orders for his participation in the Patriotic War of 1812, including the Order of St. Vladimir, IV degree with a bow, for the capture of Paris. The glorious ancestors of Georgy Vadimovich fought not only on land – captain Nero Vilenbakov, being a friend and associate of the great naval commander F.F. Ushakov, commanded the rearguard in several battles of the famous admiral with the Turks on the Black Sea.

The history of the Vilinbakhov family is inextricably linked with the history of Russia, with its glorious and tragic pages. After October 1917, it could finally be interrupted during the years of the Red Terror, when everyone belonging to the noble class was seen as an open enemy of Soviet power. But the glorious surname was saved by his grandfather – Boris Afanasyevich Vilinbakhov. Before the revolution, he served as an adjutant of the Life Guards of the Pavlovsk Regiment and, like many tsarist generals and officers who saw in the Bolsheviks the guarantee of saving the unity of the country, went over to the side of Soviet power. Boris Afanasyevich was a career military man; in addition to the civil war, he also took part in the Great Patriotic War, and in peaceful life he became the largest expert on Russian culture and a famous collector.

His father, Vadim Borisovich Vilinbakhov, also fought against fascism in the Patriotic War, reaching Vienna in 1945 and leaving military service only in 1954, then he is a prominent historian, scientist and cultural figure. Georgy Vadimovich knows that his family, inextricably linked with the history of the Russian state, will not be interrupted. The successors are the son and grandson, who want their names to be inscribed in the history of our country.

Now that Georgy Vadimovich Vilinbakhov is seventy-five years old, we wish him good health and sincerely thank him for how carefully he preserves the historical traditions of the country, how skillfully he introduces new generations of Russians to it.

Thank you, Guardian!