Each state has symbols. In the Russian Federation, state emblems approved by federal constitutional laws are the coat of arms, anthem and flag of Russia. What do the colors of the Russian flag mean?
The colors of the flag of the country, as a rule, are dictated by traditions, and then fixed by law. But it happens in every way. For example, the Brazilian flag depicts constellations, such as they would be seen by an outside observer on the morning of 11/15/1889, at the time of the proclamation of the Republic of Brazil. Original, but still hardly appropriate. After all, the history of the country did not begin at this moment. In one form or another, the state existed before. And the flag, especially the flag of the country, is such a symbol, which, in theory, has been accepted for centuries.
Legislatively approved in 2000, the flag of the Russian Federation consists of three stripes - white, blue or azure and red. What is the meaning of the colors of the flag of Russia?
There are several versions in this regard. The first, which can be called semantic, proceeds from the fact that each color in Russian history has its own traditional semantic load. The meaning of the colors of the flag of Russia can be deciphered as follows. White means purity, nobility. Blue - the color of the Virgin, sky and rivers, symbolized honesty, fidelity. Red is the traditional color of military banners, which can be read even in ancient Russian sources. This color symbolizes courage, self-sacrifice, readiness to defend one’s land. Russian centuries-old history, and even controversial modernity, have proved that the inhabitants of Russia have no shortage of any of these qualities.
Another version, explaining the meaning of the colors of the flag of Russia, proceeds from the fact that the historical core of the country consists of three parts - the Great, the White and the Small.
White Russia is the northwestern part of the territory. The state located there now has retained in its name a commitment to traditional color (Belarus).
Blue is the traditional color of Little Russia. This is the southwestern part of the territory of the ancient Russian state, now Ukraine is located there. Nevertheless, Kiev was not without reason called the mother of Russian cities. The flag of modern Ukraine is half blue.
The territory, called Great Russia, hardly needs additional specification of its location on the map. Her traditional color is red. Red in Russia meant "beautiful", and not only. This is the color of princely banners and, in general, strength, power, courage.
There is another version explaining why these are the colors of the flag of Russia. The meaning of flowers, according to her, is the following: it is the unity of the church, the king and the people. The church was symbolized in white. Blue is the color of the ruler, red personified the people and the country as a whole. This is like an illustration of the famous slogan "For Faith, Tsar and Fatherland".
It is interesting to note that the previous officially approved flag of Tsarist Russia consisted of three stripes - black, yellow (or gold) and white. Its colors signified the unity of the then estates. And the meaning of the colors of the flag of Russia, oddly enough, was interpreted differently. Black was the color of the clergy, yellow (gold) symbolized the noble nobility, and white - the peasantry.
But we must admit that as state colors, white, azure and red colors look more historically justified than black, yellow and white, which are more likely to be inherent in European countries.