Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Peoples'Friendship University of Russia –
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On August 22, Russia celebrates the Day of the National Flag. In honor of the holiday, we decided to talk to the head of the Russian History Department of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of RUDN Elena Kryazheva-Kartseva and find out when the tricolor appeared, who was its creator, and what other flags our country has had.
When did the very first flags appear and where?
There are many flags in the world today, both state and territorial, regional, city. There are also flags of military forces, international organizations, ships and even some private companies.
They are studied by scientists within the framework of an auxiliary historical discipline – vexillology (from the Latin vexillum – banner), where they study the history of the formation and development of the so-called banner material (banners, flags, standards, banners, banners, curtains, ensigns, pennants, guises, weather vanes, bunchuks, etc.), as well as staffs, rods, scepters and various signs that are worn on the pole. In recent years, flags have been most actively studied, as they represent symbols of state sovereignty. Along with the coat of arms and the anthem, they are a conscious embodiment of the unity of the meanings of civilization.
Speaking about the appearance of the first flags in the world, scientists point to the countries of the Ancient East (banners with the emblem of the Sumerian god Nanna (3rd millennium BC), the white flag of the Chinese Zhou dynasty (11th–3rd centuries BC), Indian flags with images of totem animals and birds.
Speaking about the history of Russia, the word banner was first mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years in 1096. However, in the 11th century, a banner was understood as a military unit, and only since the 12th century, a banner increasingly began to mean a flag, and not a military unit. The following expressions are found in the chronicles: “having thrown the banner and run”, “holding Yaropolk’s banner”, “raising the banner”, “they see that his banner is raised up”. The standard-bearer was called a “banner bearer”. At the same time as the banner, a gonfalon began to be mentioned in the meaning of a flag. A gonfalon is a church banner (a portable icon). Its main feature is the way the cloth is attached – its upper part is attached to a horizontal crossbar, which is fixed crosswise on a vertical pole. Since the 14th century, images of Jesus Christ began to be placed on banners. Such banners began to be called banners. In the Battle of Kulikovo, the banner of Dmitry Donskoy was crimson. With the same banner, crimson, Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible went on a campaign against Kazan in 1552.
Where should we look for the earliest roots of the Russian tricolor?
The prototype of the modern flag appeared in Russia at the end of the 17th century under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The first Russian military ship "Orel", built in the village of Dedinovo in the Kolomensky district, was equipped with a white-blue-red banner, the exact order of the mutual arrangement of the stripes is unknown. In the center was an image of a gold (yellow) double-headed eagle. The ship was intended to protect Russian merchant ships on the Caspian Sea. Sources indicate that red, blue and white fabric was used in the manufacture of the flag of the first Russian ship. However, the white-blue-red flag of Alexei Mikhailovich was not similar to what we have today. The creator of the tricolor as it exists in modern Russia was Peter I.
The future Emperor Peter I in 1693 during a trip to Arkhangelsk saw that all foreign ships sailed under the flags of either the country, or the home port, or a trading company. The future Emperor also saw the color diversity of flags and was familiar with the tricolor variant. The first tricolor appeared in the Netherlands during the War of the Seventeen Provinces for their independence in the 16th century. It was a cloth of horizontally arranged orange, white and blue stripes – the heraldic colors of Prince William of Orange.
That is why Peter I, who was keen on maritime affairs and shipbuilding, ordered that Russian ships should fly either "cross" or "striped" flags, the color scheme of which should be white-blue-red. Peter the Great personally worked on developing the image of the flag with the sequence of white-blue-red stripes that we are accustomed to.
Thus, on August 6, 1693, a tricolor with a golden double-headed eagle was established as a symbol of the state. Peter I had such a flag during his voyage across the White Sea. This is the first example that has come down to us – the so-called "flag of the Moscow Tsar" Peter I, which was raised on the ship "Saint Peter" in 1693. It was from Peter's time that the combination (from top to bottom) of white, blue (light blue) and red stripes was established. On the one hand, the appearance of the white-blue-red flag is associated with the development of the fleet, on the other hand, it is a sign of the construction and strengthening of the state. During the Battle of Narva, a significant part of Peter's troops fought under tricolor banners with a double-headed eagle. A large number of these banners fell into the hands of the Swedes after the defeat at Narva, thanks to which it is known exactly what they looked like.
How has the country's national flag changed throughout its history?
What prompted Peter to abandon the widespread use of the white-blue-red banner and flags created on its basis is unknown. But this is exactly what happened in 1720. The "St. Andrew's flag" was established as the naval flag of Russia – a white flag with a blue oblique cross. A yellow cloth with a black double-headed eagle in the center began to be used as the royal standard. The white-blue-red flag remained exclusively a commercial flag from 1720.
The State Flag of Russia was approved by Alexander II on June 11, 1958, and it was a black and white-yellow flag, which correlated with the emblem of Russia-the Black State Eagle in a yellow or golden field. However, at the conclusion of the Parisian world, Alexander II, the French capital was decorated with a white-blue-red flag. And in the future, white-blue-red banners often adorned the cities of Russia. For example, at the opening of the monument to A.S. Pushkin in 1880, the opening of the monument to the Grenadiers who fell under the Plevna (1887). Around the 1870s, the simultaneous existence of two flags in the country was not noticeable, since the buildings were decorated during the holidays with carpets, garlands and other attributes. But at the end of the 19th century, it became clear that it was necessary to make a decision, which flag is folk. That is why Emperor Nicholas II gathered a special meeting twice, which came to the conclusion that the white-blue-red flag was perceived by the people. In April 1896, at the direction of Emperor Nicholas II, the only Russian state flag was declared white-blue-red. In April 1918, at a meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, a new state flag was approved. The Decree of the All -Russian Central Executive Committee read: “The flag of the Russian Republic establishes a red banner with the inscription“ Russian Federal Republic ”. On the model of the flag of the RSFSR, state flags of other Soviet republics were subsequently established. In 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed. The first official description of the flag of the Soviet Union is found in the 1924 Constitution. The state flag of the USSR over the years of the existence of the Soviet state was modified slightly. The following description was given in the 1936 Constitution: “The flag consists of a red panel with an image on its upper corner, near the pole, gold sickle and hammer and a red five -pointed star framed by a golden border above them. The ratio of the width to the length is 1: 2 ”.
Since August 22, 1991, the tricolor flag has once again become the State Flag of the Russian Federation. However, the color scheme was not established immediately. After the events of August 1991, the flag was white-azure-scarlet. And only on December 11, 1993, the day before the referendum on the new constitution, the flag of the Russian Federation was changed by presidential decree from white-azure-scarlet to white-blue-red.
In 1994, a holiday was established – Day of the State Flag of the Russian Federation. Since then, it has been celebrated annually on August 22.
What do the colors of the Russian tricolor symbolize? Is there an officially approved interpretation of the colors of the flag?
The white-blue-red flag is a symbol of the Russian Federation. However, its history is still controversial, especially the interpretation of its color scheme. There is no official "explanation" of the colors of the national flag in the laws. Therefore, to interpret them, we turn to public attitudes and the conclusions of experts in different historical eras.
According to Russian "everyday" concepts of the 17th-18th centuries, red symbolized courage, war, protection of faith and poor people, heroism, generosity, blood, self-sacrifice, fire, mortal combat, the power of the state. Blue – the sky, chastity, fidelity, the Virgin Mary, spirituality, faith. White – "incorruptible perfection", peace, purity, truth, freedom, nobility, innocence. The arrangement of the stripes reflects the ancient idea of the structure of the world: below – the physical, then – the heavenly world, at the top – the divine world. Many supporters of the white-blue-red banner explained the symbolism of its colors with church images. For example, in the book by A. I. Uspensky, information is provided that the three colors indicated are sacred colors for the Russian Orthodox Church, and blue is considered the color of the Virgin Mary. There was also another popular interpretation of the white-blue-red flag, namely that the colors (from top to bottom) symbolize Faith, Hope and Love.
Due to numerous discussions about the symbolism of the colors of the flag, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Emperor Nicholas II twice convened a Special Conference "for a comprehensive and, if possible, final clarification of the issue of the state Russian national colors," which recognized the white-blue-red flag as the Russian national flag. The Special Conference noted that objectively the appearance of the flag is associated with the historical activities of Peter I. But the public recognition of the color scheme also contributed to the establishment of the flag as a national flag. On the pages of the materials of the Special Conference, we find an explanation of this phenomenon from the point of view of manifestations of folk life, as well as the nature of Russia. In particular, the following fact was noted: "A Great Russian peasant wears a red or blue shirt in the field and on holidays, a Little Russian and a Belarusian – in a white one, Russian women dress up in sarafans, also red and blue." It was emphasized that in the Russian language there are many proverbs and sayings where "respect for the white color is visible." Thus, in the opinion of the members of the Special Conference, such examples of the use of the said colours by the people were proof that for the "emblematic expression of the external appearance of Russia it is necessary to use the colours: white, blue and red". As a result of the work of the Special Conference, it was decided that the white-blue-red flag should be uniform for the entire Empire.
Although in the 21st century Russians no longer wear red shirts and sarafans to holidays, the colors of the flag are still close to public understanding. And that is why the most common interpretation of the colors of the flag is as follows: white means freedom, nobility, peace; blue – faith and spirituality; red symbolizes sovereignty, which has always been inherent in the Russian state and our multinational people.
Why was the white-azure-scarlet flag replaced by white-blue-red?
The replacement of the white-azure-scarlet flag with a white-blue-red one occurred in the process of standardizing state symbols. The terms "azure" and "scarlet" are poetic and less accurate in color designation. In 1991, the Extraordinary Session of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR decided to consider the pre-revolutionary tricolor as the official symbol of Russia. However, the color scheme was not established immediately. After the events of August (the Putsch), the state flag was white-azure-scarlet. And only on December 11, 1993, the day before the referendum on the new constitution, the flag of the Russian Federation was changed by presidential decree from white-azure-scarlet to white-blue-red. The use of the terms "blue" and "red" made it possible to unify the description of the flag's colors, simplify its production, and ensure uniformity of the state symbol in international perception.
Thus, the modern Russian tricolor is the result of a long historical development of state symbols; it reflects both ancient traditions and modern realities of our country.
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
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