TO THE ISSUE ABOUT THE FUNCTIONAL PURPOSE OF THE ARMS
The Constitution of the Russian Federation has fixed as the official state symbol the emblem of the Russian Federation (Art. 70) and provided need of further legal regulation of the order of its description and official use in the Federal constitutional law. It is important to note that the choice of the state emblem as a state symbol is not arbitrary - it is the result of the natural development of heraldry (this confirms the history of the coat of arms, emphasizing that the change of the heraldic symbol is a change of a certain symbolic era). The constitutional model of the coat of arms in Russia defined it as the official state symbol of the Russian Federation. Legal doctrine and law enforcement practice the term «official, state symbol of the Russian Federation» is used with different shades of meaning. Such terminological differences with regard to the designation of the «Federal significance of the coat of arms» do not contain a fundamental basis and reflect the absence of a well-established categorical apparatus. The terms «official», «state» are regulated in more detail in the normative legal acts of the subjects of the Russian Federation, municipalities than at the Federal level. The authors note that the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the legislation have not yet solved a number of problems. In particular: the concept of «emblem of the Russian Federation» is not fully disclosed, the elements of its status, including functions, are not defined.