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# Five-pointed star with plough and hammer as the emblem of the Red Army in 1918
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/iznachalno-emblemoi-krasnoi-armii-byla-zvezda-s-plugom-i-molotom-sochetanie-serpa-i-molota-bylo-utverzhdeno-lish-v-iiule-1918-goda/
- Published: 2021-09-06T11:16:23.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T19:10:10.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Archive, Society

Originally the emblem of the Red Army was a star with a plough and hammer; the combination of sickle and hammer was approved only in July 1918.

In an order of the Military Commissariat of Moscow Province of 8 May 1918, the emblem is called a "Martian star with a plough and hammer", alluding to the name of the Roman god of war, Mars, who, according to the chosen mythology, was called upon to protect peaceful labour, since he had been unable to set off on campaign on account of a dove that had built its nest in his battle helmet.

As a symbol of the revolutionary movement, the five-pointed star, borrowed from the Egyptians and the Pythagoreans, had appeared in Russia as early as the beginning of the nineteenth century.

The star with plough and hammer was approved as the official emblem of the Red Army in April 1918\. In May a supplementary decree was issued forbidding anyone but persons serving in the forces of the Red Army to wear the red star, on pain of a military tribunal.

Naturally, the stars with plough and hammer did not fall out of use at once, and were quite widely represented in the uniforms of Red Army servicemen until 1922.

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_4948@06-09-2021_14-16-23.jpg)