Russian Federation Coat of Arms, double-sided. Printed on stiff card stock with string to hang on automobile mirror or as a wall hanger, in a window, or as a collectible souvenir. Not a reproduction, it was purchased in Russia shortly after the breakup of the Soviet Union, most likely to inspire pride for the Russian Federation rather than political propaganda. Card is in excellent condition as shown in the photos. Overview: The coat of arms of the Russian Federation derives from the earlier coat of arms of the Russian Empire which was abolished with the Russian Revolution in 1917 and restored in 1993 after the constitutional crisis. Though modified more than once since the reign of Ivan III, the current coat of arms is directly derived from its mediaeval original, with the double-headed eagle having Byzantine and earlier antecedents from long before the emergence of any Russian state. The general tincture corresponds to the early fifteenth-century standard. The shape of the eagle can be traced back to the reign of Peter the Great, although the eagle charge on the present coat of arms is golden rather than the traditional, imperial black.