Day of the National Flag of the Russian Federation

The flag of the Russian Federation is one of the most important symbols of the state, uniting citizens and expressing the ideas and principles of the nation.

There is no official interpretation of the meaning of the flag's colors, but there are common versions, for example: white symbolizes peace, blue – faith and loyalty, red – courage and strength.

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"For a long time, there was no single flag 'for the whole country' in the modern sense in Russia — symbolism developed separately across different spheres (navy, coat of arms, royal court)."

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📜 How did the history of the Russian tricolor unfold?

1668–1669: The flag of the ship "Oryol"

Under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, a banner with fabrics of "scarlet, white, and azure" colors was made for the first Russian warship "Oryol." Historians debate its exact appearance, but this moment is linked to the origins of the Russian tricolor. It was more of a naval/state sign for the ship rather than a national flag of the country.

1693: The "Flag of the Tsar of Moscow"

Peter the Great raised a white-blue-red flag with a golden double-headed eagle in the center on his yacht "Saint Peter." It served as the Tsar's personal standard and effectively represented Russia on the international stage.

January 20, 1705: Peter the Great's decree

The Tsar issued a decree stating that "on all merchant vessels" the white-blue-red flag must be flown. From this moment, the tricolor became an official symbol in a specific sphere – the merchant fleet – and was firmly established as the recognizable "Russian flag" abroad.

1712: The St. Andrew's flag for the navy

A different flag was adopted for warships – a white field with a diagonal blue cross. This definitively separated the "merchant" and "military" flags.

1858: The black-yellow-white flag

Emperor Alexander II approved it as the official state (heraldic) flag of the empire – its colors derived from the state coat of arms.

1883: The decree of Alexander III

For his coronation, the Tsar ordered that the white-blue-red flag be used for decorating buildings on ceremonial occasions. This effectively restored the tricolor to the status of the main national symbol.

1896: Final confirmation

Under Nicholas II, a Special Commission under the Ministry of Justice resolved that the white-blue-red tricolor was "definitively considered" the state flag of the empire.

1918–1991: The Soviet flag

After the revolution, the former tricolor lost its state status. In 1918, the official flag of the RSFSR became a red flag with the inscription "RSFSR," and later, as part of the USSR, the main symbol became the red flag with the hammer and sickle and a star: it represented a new ideology, internationalism, and the unity of the working people. For decades, this flag was the country's main state symbol – at parades, above government buildings, and in international representations.

1991–1993: The return of the tricolor

In 1991, amid sweeping changes, the white-blue-red tricolor was once again used as a national symbol. On August 22, 1991, it was officially raised over the White House in Moscow. In 1993, a presidential decree approved the description and usage rules of the flag, and in 2000, its status was enshrined in the Federal Constitutional Law "On the State Flag of the Russian Federation."

📌 Which flags were used in the times of Griboyedov and Nakhimov?

During the lifetimes of Alexander Griboyedov (1795–1829) and Pavel Nakhimov (1802–1855), different banner symbols were used in the Russian Empire depending on the sphere.

➖ The white-blue-red tricolor. It remained the flag of the merchant fleet (since Peter the Great's decree of 1705). It was also occasionally used in everyday life and on civilian objects, but it was not perceived as the main state symbol at that time.

➖ The black-yellow-white flag. It was approved as the official state (heraldic) flag only in 1858 – after both Griboyedov and Nakhimov had died. Its colors corresponded to the state coat of arms: black (double-headed eagle), yellow (golden field), white (silver horseman).

➖ The St. Andrew's flag (a white field with a diagonal blue cross) – the official flag of the navy. It was under this flag that Pavel Nakhimov served, along with the entire Russian fleet during the Crimean War. For sailors, this flag was a symbol of honor: it was protected like a regimental banner.

➖ There were also special award variants – for example, the St. George St. Andrew's flag for ships that had particularly distinguished themselves.

➖ Imperial and departmental standards, regimental banners. The army used regimental banners, and the court used imperial standards. There was no single civil flag for institutions and cities.

📚 RUDN Library Collection:

• Vasilevich A.P. State Flag: Color and Symbol / A.P. Vasilevich // Energy: Economics, Technology, Ecology. – 2009. – No. 6. – P. 67-72. – ISSN 0233-3619.

• Khoroshkevich Anna Leonidovna. Symbols of Russian Statehood / A. L. Khoroshkevich. – Moscow : Moscow University Press, 1993. – 96 p.

• State Coats of Arms and Flags of the USSR, Union and Autonomous Republics. – Moscow : Izvestia, 1982. – 103 p.