Fans Of Rechytsa FC Fought For "Pahonia" All Around The Country

The image with a rider on the horse has appeared on the Sputnik logo.

On February 18, the VK group of Major League newcomers, Rechytsa Sputnik, came out of hibernation - apparently, the club has filled the recently announced vacancy for a press secretary, Ales Koval writes for Trybuna. The interesting thing is that along with the latest news the updated version of the club logo has also appeared on the page. The difference from the previous one is that the symbol of Rechytsadreu (key enterprise for the club) was removed from the upper part, where it was replaced by a pink banner, which is part of the coat of arms of Rechytsa. At first glance, nothing unusual, because the emblems of soccer clubs often demonstrate a connection with their hometown. However, in modern Belarus, things are much more complicated - as that very banner bears the image of a rider on horseback - Pahonia.

Pahonia aappeared on the emblem of Rechitsa long ago - in 1511 the town received the Magdeburg right (to self-government) and soon claimed the right to its own emblem. In 1845, after the partition of the Commonwealth of Poland, the coat of arms was approved again by decree of Russian Emperor Nikolai I. In Soviet times, the coat of arms was not used, but was revived in 2005 - the decree for approval was signed by Lukashenka.

The word "Pahonia" usually brings to mind the first state coat of arms in the history of independent Belarus. The horsemen on it and the coat of arms of Rechytsa are slightly different: the Rechytsa one has a different scabbard and no spurs, the shield has just a double cross and he himself has raised his sword in a slightly different way. In addition, the Rechytsa rider's horse is not angled in the same way as on the all-Belarusian coat of arms. However, all the variants follow the same principles of depiction, so all of them are Pahonia.

The first Belarusian coat of arms, along with the white-red-white national flag, became a real symbol of the protest movement in Belarus in 2020.

However, the absence of such a law (and its status of historical and cultural value) did not save Pahonia from the intrigues of the authorities. The case of Rechytsa is a good example - fans of the local team had problems with placing the official symbol of the town on the stands. For example, in 2017 one of the fans brought to the stadium a flag with the town coat of arms and the inscription "Rechytsa" with a red stripe. When he tried to hang this flag in the sector that had been traditionally occupied by fans of the local teams "Vedrych" and "Rechytsa 2014", representatives of the authorities immediately rushed to the stand. After that the flag was removed from the fence of the stadium stand - the deputy head of the department of education, sport and tourism of the district executive committee Aliaksandr Horbach argued that the flag was not registered by the Football Federation as a symbol that could be used at matches.

By the way, Pahonia can be found not only on the coat of arms of Rechytsa, but also on coats of arms of other towns in Belarus: Verhniadzvinsk, Lepel and even Vitsebsk region. Moreover, Pahonia on the soccer club logo is also not a new thing! Before the rebranding, which marked the clearing of the second league in 2020, the emblems of Dnepr contained a version of the rider, which appeared on the coat of arms of Mahiliou back in 1661.

The banner of the fan sector also contains this symbol - it was put up even when not allowed to the stands (because of the coronavirus).

In general, by efforts of the fans, Pahonia regularly appears at the stadiums. For example, the ultras of Dynama Brest made a huge banner with the rider at the end of 2015. "Our historical symbols, complemented with a concise phrase, are a call to preserve our historical past with thoughts and concerns about the future in order to move forward," - the fans explained then.

That year, a fan of Minsk Dynama was kicked out of the stadium because of such a scarf.

Last season, a WRW flag with Pahonia was seen at the sector at the away games of hockey Dynama Minsk. And the fans at the arena in Balashykha didn't agree to remove the banner commemorating the reburial of Kastus Kalinouski's remains, although the authorities persistently demanded that it be taken down. Well, this season, KHL banned the Belarusian symbols.

As for Pahonia at the matches of the Belarusian national soccer team, it is for the long haul. The fans have always had enough problems because of it - they were sentenced to days of arrest long before the Belarusian society understood the true essence of the power structures and institutions in Akrestsin street. The fans tried to educate the stadium police about the officially registered coats of arms of Rechytsa, Mahiliou and other towns, but it was to no avail. However, no matter what, Pahonia most often took its place in the sector.