In all countries, the flag, coat of arms and anthem are symbols of statehood. Finland is no exception. But this country has its own characteristics with respect to sovereign symbols. The flag of Finland is officially approved in three different forms: national, state and presidential. The history of this symbol, as well as how it looks now, we will consider.
Flag history
In 1556, Finland received some freedom from the Swedes who conquered the country in the 12th century. The new territorial entity - the duchy - took over the coat of arms two years later. It depicted a golden lion on a red background. The heraldic animal stood on its hind legs and had a crown on its head. In the right front paw, which was chained in a plate glove, the beast held a silver sword. The lion propped up a curved silver saber - a symbol of Poland, with which Finland as part of Sweden repeatedly fought. Nine silver roses edged this whole image. Therefore, red and gold were the "livery colors" of the state. In 1809, imperial Russia conquered the country. After the Crimean War, the question arose about the standard of ships that were assigned to the ports of the Baltic colony. Since it had the status of autonomy and was called the Grand Duchy of Finland, it was decided to give it its flag. Shortly before that, the brother of the Russian emperor Alexander II, Konstantin Nikolaevich, founded a yacht club in Nyland and came up with an emblem for him - a direct blue cross on a white background. The modern flag of Finland has taken this image as a basis.
Liberation from Russia
What happened next? The de facto autonomy of Finland was illusory. The Grand Duke was the Russian emperor. In 1910-1916, the chauvinists carried out intensified Russification, which is why the tricolor appeared in the upper left corner as a symbol of the empire's rule over the Suomi people. But as soon as the February Revolution took place, the Finns destroyed all the signs of Russian domination.
But citizens could not come to a consensus. Some simply tear off the lower strip of the Russian tricolor, while others used red banners on which a golden lion flaunted. In February 1918, the Senate adopted such a flag of Finland: a scarlet cloth with a golden Scandinavian cross (whose short bar is installed vertically). But since during the war the “reds” completely discredited themselves in the eyes of the population, in May 1918 the Senate decided to change the colors of the national banner. They became white and blue. The Finns recalled the words of their poet Sakarias Topelius, who back in 1862 urged the Senate to accept these colors. He said that white is the snow-covered fields of the country, and blue is its countless lakes. However, in 1920, the delicate cornflower blue color was replaced by dark blue. The coat of arms has also undergone changes. The lion on him lost his crown.
Modern state symbols of the country
The flag and coat of arms of Finland were approved by the law of the country of June 1, 1978. He quashed the eighteenth year’s decree as amended on the twentieth. The dark, almost black crossbeams of the cross are now intensely blue. The right front paw of a lion turned into a human hand. However, the militaristic sword has not disappeared anywhere - it is a symbol of readiness to fight off external enemies. Also, three hypostases of the banner and the dates when the flag should be raised were developed. The presidential oriflamme and the standard of the armed forces were adopted separately. Basically, they are completely based on the national flag of the country, but are complemented by three pigtails and special symbol icons.
National flag of finland
Siniristilippu - “blue-cross” - the Finns so affectionately call their civil banner. He is very simple. The national flag is a rectangular white cloth, where the length relative to the width is 18: 11. A blue Scandinavian (that is, turned upside down) flaunts on it. The length of the cross member with respect to the main axis is three to eleven. The width of the blue stripes of the cross is strictly regulated: three to eleven in relation to the entire panel. The horizontal (main) axis divides the flag strictly in half. As you can see in the photo, the cross forms two pairs of white rectangles. Those closer to the flagpole have a 5: 11 aspect ratio for the width of the banner. And the length of the rectangles at the free edge of the banner should be 10: 11 of the width of the banner. Cross cross divides the banner in the proportion of five to three.
State flag of Finland
A blue cross on a white background flaunts and on the sovereign symbol of the country. This duality inherent in the flags of Finland gives rise to a lot of misunderstandings, because in other states only one model of banner is officially adopted. But if you look, the situation is very simple. National banners can be raised by anyone and on any occasion, up to family holidays or funerals. They also decorated all the ships of Finland. And state banners are raised only on clearly specified dates of official national holidays. In addition, they flutter on flagpoles above the buildings of parliament, government and ministries, central government bodies and courts. They decorated the embassies of Finland, the central bank, the border service, the pension fund, state higher educational institutions.
How does the state banner differ from the national? Only the presence of a coat of arms at the intersection of two crossbeams of the cross. As we remember, it is a golden lion standing on its hind legs against a red background. The beast holds a sword in its paws and tramples the saber. For beauty, the red square of the coat of arms is framed by a yellow border, the width of which is one fortieth of the thickness of the crosses.
Flag of the President of Finland
In addition to the national and state banners in this Scandinavian country , kielekkeinen valtiolippu is also used - a banner with pigtails. What does the flag of Finland look like with “cloves”? It differs from its counterparts in that three cloth triangles are attached to the free edge of the cloth. The base of the middle "pigtail" is adjacent to the blue base of the cross and is equal to its width. And the upper and lower triangles form the corresponding corners of the panel in the free part. All three pigtails have cuts 5/11 deep from the width of the banner, and their length should be sixth to the eleven free edges of the panel. The standard with cloves symbolizes either the President or the military department of the country. A more accurate affiliation can be determined by paying attention to the upper left rectangle (the one that is closer to the flagpole). On the oriflamme of the President of the Republic, the Cross of Liberty flaunts there. It is golden (yellow) in color.
Finnish military flag
There are not only braids on the presidential oriflamme. The military flag of Finland, whose photo you see, is also notched. It is used by the Minister of Defense, the commander in chief, the central headquarters of the Armed Forces and his departments. In addition, banners with three prongs adorn the stern of military ships. On the banner of the Commander-in-Chief, as well as in the Presidential banner, at the intersection of two crossbeams of the cross there is an image of the coat of arms of Finland. The Armed Forces in the upper left rectangle has a special icon.
Swastika or runic sign?
For many people, the Finnish Air Force flag, whose photo you see, is shocking. Swastika? Fascism? Not at all. This runic sign, denoting the sun and its cycle, was revered by the Finns long before Hitler set himself the manic idea of capturing the whole world. Back in 1918, the swastika was recognized as a symbol of the Finnish Air Force. After the end of World War II, the Finns pledged to remove this odious badge from the banner of the Air Force, but did not. They argued that the Nazis have a swastika sloping, while the symbol of the Sun is a straight line.