There is a controversial history of the emblem of the coat of arms of Nizhny Novgorod, where some historians believe in the 17th century an elk was depicted and some believe a deer was depicted
The history of the emblem of the coat of arms of Nizhny Novgorod is controversial. Some historians believe that in the 16th and 17th centuries the elk was depicted on the coat of arms of Nizhny Novgorod, and in the 18th century, the King-of-Arms turned it into a deer. In the decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich on the production of the stamp of arms from 1666 it was written: "The seal of the Nizhny Novgorod, on it the elk is coming". Other scientists believe that already in the 17th century, a deer was depicted on the coat of arms. 
