The Russian Coat of Arms comes from the old Russian Empire, and it was restored after the fall of the Soviet Union. Even if it has undergone several modifications since the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505), the current Coat of Arms is directly derived from the various precedent versions. The general chromatic layout corresponds to the early XVth century standard. The shape of the eagle can be traced back to the times of Peter the Great (Peter I).-----------------The two major symbolic elements of Russian state symbols (the two-headed eagle and St. George slaying the dragon) predate Peter the Great. The Great State Seal of Ivan III, Duke of Moscow, featured a horse rider slaying a (or struggling with) a dragon. The figure was not officially identified as Saint George until 1730, when it was described as such in an Imperial decree. The older form (a mounted dragon slayer known as Saint George the Victory-bearer, "???????????") was always associated with the Grand Duchy of Moscovy, later becoming the official arms of the city of Moscow. The earliest graphic representation of a rider with a spear (1390) figures in a seal of the prince of Moscow, Vasiliy Dmitriyevich. The serpent or dragon was added under Ivan III. Saint George henceforth became the patron of Moscow (and, by extension, of Russia). Today, the official description does not refer to the rider on the central shield as representing Saint George, mainly in order to maintain the secular character of the modern Russian state.