User Manual: EN

Yevgeny Ivanovich Kamzolkin (1885 –1957) was a Russian and Soviet artist-decorator, photographer, and creator of the hammer and sickle symbol later used in the State emblem of the Soviet Union.

Between 1904 and 1912 he studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. In 1907, he exhibited work at the International Photography Exhibition in Turin.

In 1917, Vladimir Lenin held a competition to create a Soviet emblem in time for May Day decorations in 1918. Kamzolkin was the winner of the contest. The winning design was a hammer and sickle on top of a globe in rays of the sun, surrounded by a wreath of grain and under a five-pointed star, with the inscription "proletarians of the world, unite!"

On 6 July 1923, the 2nd session of the Central Executive Committee adopted this design as the official Soviet state emblem.

The hammer and the sickle became widely used by communist parties all over the world and is arguably one of the most widely recognized emblems of the 20th century.