The trident has been linked with Ukrainian history for quite a long time. That was the sign of the predecessors of Dynasty Rurik (10-12 century, time of Kyiv Russia). In 1918, immediately after the fall of the Russian Empire, the government of the Ukrainian People’s Republic chose the trident as the country’s coat of arms. It is not the first time that the narrative of Nazi and Fascist Ukraine is being spread on social networks, even though Ukraine banned the promotion of Nazism in 2015. This was done to justify the Russian aggression that has been ongoing for more than two years.
The trident has been linked with Ukrainian history for quite a long time. That was the sign of the predecessors of Dynasty Rurik (10-12 century, time of Kyiv Russia). In 1918, immediately after the fall of the Russian Empire, the government of the Ukrainian People’s Republic chose the trident as the country’s coat of arms. It is not the first time that the narrative of Nazi and Fascist Ukraine is being spread on social networks, even though Ukraine banned the promotion of Nazism in 2015. This was done to justify the Russian aggression that has been ongoing for more than two years.
We are fact-checking a post on Facebook claiming that the Ukrainian coat of arms – the trident – is a Nazi symbol.
And if it is not clear now… you are retarded,claims the post..
The post also shares a photograph of Zelenskyy with a circled emblem on his T-shirt – the Ukrainian coat of arms – the trident that has a long history, but at the same time it is a symbol of modern and contemporary Ukraine. It expresses the heroic events of the past – including the Ukrainian warriors protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine today.
A black and white photo is being shared, depicting the Nazi symbol Swastika and a man waving a flag with a symbol that resembles the trident. The photograph can be found here with the caption below saying: ”Volunteers of the battalion “Roland” swearing an oath before the flags of the Third Reich and Ukraine”. The Roland battalion was established in mid-April 1941, with 350 soldiers and its initial seat in Ostmark (today’s Austria), and was mainly composed of volunteers with Ukrainian ethnic background living in the territory occupied by Germany, or Poland and was linked to the organization of the Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera.
Bandera is a very controversial person in Ukraine. While some Ukrainians celebrate him as the liberator who fought against the Soviet, Polish, and German states to establish independent Ukraine, other Ukrainians, including Poles and Russians condemn him as a Fascist and war criminal who, together with his followers (the Banderists), to a large extent were responsible for the massacres of Polish civilians and partially for the holocaust in Ukraine.
To that end, the description of the photograph we found stresses that the flag is Ukrainian and not some Nazi symbol. What is already known is that the Nazi symbol is the Swastika which served as their official emblem. It was put on their flags, uniforms, and other propaganda materials. The symbol of the Swastika was derived from the ancient religious and cultural contexts, but unfortunately, was adopted by the Nazis, and ever since it has become widely linked to their ideology of hatred and discrimination.
The Trident, on the other hand, has been connected with Ukrainian history for quite a long time. That was the sign of the predecessors of the Rurik Dynasty (10-12 century, time of Kyiv Russia). Even today archaeologists still find coins, seals, accessories, bricks, and murals with his image.
From the days of the Ukrainian Peoples’ Republic, the trident (tryzub) became an important symbol for those fighting for Ukraine’s independence 100 years ago and for those defending the country today.
Officially, it is the emblem of the royal state of Volodymyr the Great. The mark most probably originates from the seal of Volodymyr the Great, Prince of Kyiv. The trident on Ukraine’s coat of arms reflects the heroic events of the past or the commitment of Ukrainian warriors to defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state in the past as well as today. As with any other sign, the Ukrainian trident has its symbolic meaning. However, there are also 40 theories about the actual meaning that vary between a bow and arrow, candlestick, anchor, falcon wing, etc.
In 1918, immediately after the fall of the Russian Empire, the government of the Ukrainian People’s Republic adopted the trident as its coat of arms. The commission authorized to choose the coat of arms analyzed several options, including a golden lion, an image of St. Archangel Michael, patron of Kyiv, etc.
It is not the first time that narratives about Ukraine being a Nazi and Fascist state that glorifies Nazism (Neo-Nazism) are spread on social networks. The purpose of this narrative is to justify the Russian aggression that has been ongoing for two years. As a reminder, Ukraine banned the promotion of Nazism back in 2015.
Due to all of the above-noted facts, we conclude that this post is untrue.
All comments and remarks regarding this and other Vistinomer articles, correction and clarification requests as well as suggestions for fact-checking politicians’ statements and political parties’ promises can be submitted by using this form