The Russian coat-of-arms is a golden two-headed...
The two-headed eagle as the coat-of-arms of Muscovy first appeared on the seal of Ivan III in 1497 after his marriage to Sofia Palaeologue, a Byzantine princess: the two-headed eagle (emblem of Byzantium) was united with the Moscow coat-of-arms, with the result that one side of the emblem showed the eagle and the other the horseman trampling the dragon.
As time went on, more changes were added to the coat-of-arms. The seals of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible began to display on the eagle's breast an image of St.George the Victorious, the symbol of Moscow grand dukes. In 1625, during the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, three crowns appeared above the eagle's heads. After Peter the Great instituted the Order of St.Andrew the Apostle, the coat-of-arms began to feature a chain bearing the sign of the Order. Under Pavel I, the image of the Maltese Cross was introduced into the coat-of-arms.
During the reign of Alexander II the coat-of-arms was modified and its design brought
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