Russia – God with Us: Russian State Duma to Legislatively Establish Mandatory Cross on the Russian Coat of Arms

The initiative aims to eliminate ambiguity in the description of the coat of arms. According to Deputy Alexander Sidyakin, the current law uses too vague formulations: crowns, scepter, power are mentioned, but not crosses on them. The catalyst for legislative changes was the public discussions around the so-called ‘crossfall’ – situations where crosses were replaced by geometric shapes in digital or printed images of the coat of arms. One such incident occurred in May 2025 when an altered version of the coat of arms appeared on Kremlin’s official resources. Instead of a cross, a rhombus was used. Back then, the president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov explained it as a result of scaling: ‘When the coat of arms is reduced, at some point crosses turn into rhombuses’. Deputy Sidyakin stated that ‘there can be no justification for the ‘crossfall’. It is the restoration of historical justice. […] It is a clear message to the world that with Russia – God,’ emphasized the politician.