Every year, at the end of summer (August 22), State Flag Day is celebrated. This holiday was officially established in Russia in 1994, in accordance with a presidential decree.
The flag raising procedure is usually accompanied by a hymn. The venue for this ceremony is usually large public events in which top officials of the state participate. The moment when the national flag of Russia rises is significant. This is an expression of the greatness of the country and its historical past. Intentional deterioration and destruction of the flag shall be prosecuted in accordance with article 17.10 of the administrative code.
Etymology of the word
The very concept of “flag” comes from the German word Flagge and the English flag. According to another version, it was borrowed in the era of Peter the Great from the Dutch language, in which the word flag is translated as "flag, banner." A flag is a cloth of a certain color, having a geometrically regular rectangular shape.
All national symbols are distinguished by their individual colors. Their number corresponds to the number of states on our planet. The element of each flag has a certain meaning. Each banner conveys the history of the country it represents.
How did the history of the flag of Russia begin?
This is hard to believe, but during the first five centuries of its history in Russia there were no state symbols customary for us, such as a coat of arms, flag and anthem. In medieval times, instead of a flag, a miraculous icon was used. The prince’s squad went on a campaign with her, after having made a general prayer. A vivid example of this is the Battle of Kulikovo described in historical documents . Before her, Prince Dmitry Donskoy was blessed by St. Sergius of Radonezh. He was presented with an icon depicting the Virgin. Also, banners and banners with images of the faces of the saints, Jesus Christ and the Virgin were widely used. However, a single state flag in those days had not yet appeared.
The appearance of the first banner
Today we know what the flag of Russia looks like, but few think about what path the state symbol of our country had to go to reach the present in the form in which it exists now.
As mentioned earlier, for a long time, namely until the 17th century, a single state flag did not exist in our country. The first time references to him appear in historical sources dated 1667-1668. At this time, the country was ruled by Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, the father of Peter the Great, who begins to actively develop international trade.
The colors of the Russian flag familiar to us appear precisely at this time. Under them, the Eagle, the first Russian warship, was launched. The ship was intended to protect trade caravans from marauders.
But officially, this flag was introduced into state symbols only by Peter the Great. In 1705, he issued a decree according to which a white-blue-red flag was to be hoisted on each merchant ship. Peter himself worked on a sample of the national flag, making a paper sketch of his image and determining the order in which the stripes should be located on the canvas.
Flag during the time of the Russian Empire
In 1858, already under Emperor Alexander II, a decree was issued according to which the streets of cities on holidays should be decorated with banners, flags and other objects painted in the colors of the country's coat of arms. Since 1865, the state colors of Russia from white, blue and red have changed to the colors in which the coat of arms is painted - black, gold and white. The imperial flag of Russia acquires the colors of the coat of arms and remains so until 1883.
In April 1883, Alexander III, by his decree, returned to the state flag a white-blue-red color, while the black-yellow-white tricolor was given the status of the dynastic flag of the Romanovs reigning house. According to another version, the emperor customary for us tricolor claims only to be raised on merchant ships.
In 1896 - in accordance with the decree of Nicholas II - the state flag of the Russian Empire began to look like it is today.
In 1914, the First World War began. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs put into circulation one of the options for the imperial flag, which looked like a state flag. The difference was that in the upper left corner appeared a yellow square with a picture of a black two-headed eagle. This composition at that time could be seen on the palace imperial standard. This flag was not official, as many people think, its task was to raise the patriotic spirit of the people in wartime. Using it was not required. What is the significance of the flag of Russia in this variation? He was a symbol of the unity of the people and the king at that difficult time.
Russian flag at the beginning of the 20th century
In 1917, after the February Revolution and the emperor’s renunciation of autocracy in favor of his brother Michael, who later transferred power to the Provisional Government (led by Kerensky), Russia became a democratic republic.
The revolutionaries made extensive use of the red flag. But in the spring of 1917, it was decided not to deprive the Russian tricolor of state status and postpone the issue of the country's symbols to a special order of the Constituent Assembly. Thus, until April 1918, the white-blue-red flag remained the status of the state symbol of the country.
Post-revolutionary time
After the October Revolution took place, the history of the flag of Russia, like our country itself, made a very sharp turn. When the Soviet regime came into its own, the Communists considered their symbol to be a rectangular cloth of red color, on which no additional elements were depicted. But this flag was not officially recognized in any regulatory documents (the country was also called the Russian Republic, and the white-blue-red-tricolor was officially considered the banner).
In 1918, the issue of the national flag was discussed by the Council of People's Commissars. The decision following the meeting suggested that the All-Russian Central Executive Committee assign the state flag status to a red banner with the abbreviation PVSS, which stands for the motto: “Workers of all countries, unite!”
However, this proposal was not supported. The official flag of the RSFSR was assigned a red banner . But the decree, which proclaimed official symbolism, did not contain clarifying details prescribing the color, size, location of the inscription, the length and width of the banner.
In July 1918, the first Constitution was approved. Her 90th article described what the Russian flag looks like: the status of a trade, sea and military banner. Officially, the banner had a bright red color, its left corner was occupied by the abbreviation RSFSR. In the Constitution of the country of 1937, a clause was confirmed that confirms the use of the flag described above as the state symbol of the country.
The new look of the Soviet banner
In 1947, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a resolution that recommended the adoption by the Union republics of their state flags on the basis of the country's banner. Which they did by adding their individual stripes. In 1954, the flag of the RSFSR took on a new face: a bright blue strip across the entire width appeared on a bright red panel near the flagpole, on a red background at the left edge there were crossed a sickle and a hammer of gold color and above them a scarlet star framed by a gold border.
Return to tricolor
At the end of the 80s of the 20th century, the state symbol again began to look like the flag of Russia today, the familiar red, blue and white colors returned to it. In 1991, during the August coup, the tricolor used forces opposing the GKChP. After the GKChP was defeated, the tricolor flag began to be used as the state flag of the RSFSR, but officially it only became such in November of that year, and the blue stripe was replaced by a azure one. Since December 25, 1991, the RSFSR officially ceased to exist, and the Russian Federation appeared in its place.
On December 11, 1993, President Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin signed a decree that described the flag as a rectangular cloth consisting of three stripes of the same width, the upper of which is white, the middle is blue, the lower is red.
Flower magic
Few of us think about what the flag of Russia means, or rather, its color. There are many versions about this, but there is no official interpretation. It is generally accepted that white color symbolizes peacefulness, purity, integrity and perfection (or freedom); blue represents constancy, faith and fidelity (according to another version, symbolizes the Virgin); with red color is associated energy, strength and blood shed for the homeland (or autocracy).
One can argue for a long time about what the flag of Russia really means. We can say with confidence that these colors are a reflection of the Russian soul and character.
The connection of the flag of Russia with the flags of other countries
White, blue and red are also called pan-Slavic colors. They were used in the process of creating the flags of many Slavic states. Among them are the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria. It should also be noted that the Russian tricolor gave its colors to the all-Slavic flag.
Other banners
The history of the flag of Russia is inextricably linked with the history of the country itself, the state symbol changed with it. In addition to the official white-blue-red, each military department has its own special flag.
All military branches have their own banners : the Navy, the Air Force, and the Airborne Troops. Each flag, if it does not depict the attributes of the kind of troops that it represents, then its history is somehow connected with the symbolism of the banner.
A striking example of this is the St. Andrew flag, which is the most famous of the military banners of our country and the main banner of the Navy. Its name is associated with the name of the fisherman Andrew, the first of Christ's disciples. He is that same apostle Andrew the First-Called. It should be noted here that the Scottish national flag is similar to our St. Andrew flag. His heraldry also means the so-called St. Andrew’s cross (the apostle was crucified on a cross of this form). But contrary to the statements of some Scottish politicians, the Russian sea flag has its own history, and its symbolism was not copied from the British highlanders. The banner appeared on Russian ships in the time of Peter the Great and remains the main symbol of the Navy to this day.
The military flags of Russia are diverse and are another reflection of our history, demonstrating the development of the country and our armed forces. For the past three centuries, the imperial attributes of the state introduced by Peter I have been national pride and a symbol of the country.
Now the reader knows what the flag of Russia looks like, as well as what its colors mean.