Coat of Arms of Moscow - Muscovite Russia

Muscovite Russia

Alexander's great-grandson, Ivan II, was the first ruler of Moscow to employ as his emblem the standing warrior with a sword in his hand. Ivan's son Dmitry Donskoy chose to represent this warrior riding a horse with a spear in his hand. Historians traditionally connect Dmitry's symbol with his victory over the Mongols in the Battle of Kulikovo, although historical clues are scarce. At about the same time, a similar symbol, the Pogonia, emerged as a state emblem in the rival Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The symbol of the horseman slaying the dragon passed down through the generations: from Dmitry to his son Vasily I, then to Vasily II and Ivan III. A coin which featured the image became known as kopeck, from kopyo, the Russian word for "spear".

Ivan III used the triumphant horseman as a state emblem of Russia on his seal from 1479. In 1497, it was replaced with the double-headed eagle, popularly interpreted as a symbol of Ivan's marriage into the last ruling dynasty of the East Roman Empire, thus illustrating his claim to the Byzantine political and cultural heritage.

Both emblems had been used on state seals alternatively until 1562, when the first Russian tsar, Ivan IV the Terrible, combined them by placing a heraldic shield with the triumphant horseman to the chest of the double-headed eagle. This layout has become known as the coat of arms of the Russian Empire and then of the Russian Federation.