According to a translation of a Russian news report that’s been kicking around the Web, some conservative believers see the image of the bitten apple as a symbol of Adam and Eve’s original sin in the Bible. Some have gone so far as to cover up the logo and replace it with an image of a cross.

Apparently no one has clued these folks in to the fact that Apple’s name and logo were actually inspired by the legendary piece of fruit that fell on the head of mathematician and astronomer Isaac Newton….

Why would that make a difference to some nutball fundamentalist?

New anti-blasphemy laws proposed in Russia’s parliament could conceivably prevent Apple from selling products with its own logo in the country…

If Apple does come to blows with the Russian church or government over its iconic logo, it could find allies within the country. Interfax news reports that the Russian political party Yabloko has been a sharp critic of the efforts to create what it calls a “clerical-police state” that is “deliberately fueling a conflict between the Russian Orthodox Church and secular civil society.”

Yabloko might have another good reason to come to Cupertino’s defense in Mother Russia — the party’s name is also the Russian word for “apple.”

Har!