Russian state flag
Ancient state flag
White-blue-red The flag is the ancient state flag of the Russian state. The flag with a recognizable color scheme has been known as the state flag since the middle of the 1560th century. So the Banner of the Sovereign of All Rus' Ivan IV (consider - the state flag) of XNUMX - white-blue-red. The middle of the banner - lazareva (blue), slope - sugar (white), border around the cloth - lingonberry (red), and around the slope - poppy (red) colors.
White-blue-red the flag was used in the future. In 1667, the white-blue-red flag was hoisted as the state flag on a ship built at the direction of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich "Eagle". The flag under which Peter I sailed in August 1693 on the 12-gun yacht "Saint Peter" on the White Sea is still kept by the Central Naval Museum in St. Petersburg (stock number 10556).
Carl Allard "The Book of Flags" about the flags of the Russian sovereign Peter (early 18th century):
"(the first flag) is divided into three, the upper strip white, average blue, lower red. On the blue stripe gold with a royal crown crowned with a double-headed eagle"
"(the second flag) is divided into three, at the top there is a strip white, in the middle blue, at the bottom red, the flag is pierced with the blue cross of Saint Andrew"
Not a trade flag
Legends say that the white-blue-red flag was originally merchant ship flag. As shown - this is not true. On the contrary, initially white-blue-red flag was used to represent exactly Military ships (actually, and "Eagle" - combat vessel).
Warship "Goto Predestination" under white-blue-red tricolor.
Only then, to distinguish military courts, they began to raise St. Andrew's flags with a blue cross on a white background.
Russian shopping (commercial) ships were designated white a flag with a coat of arms (eagle) in the middle. But, since one of the main tasks State flag - designation of the ship's belonging to the state, then from 1709 Russian merchant ships began to be designated state white-blue-red tricolor.
From the "Statements of Naval Flags" of 1709, edited by Peter the Great, about white-blue-red flag:
"Usually trading and any Russian ships flag"
Both the state flag of the USSR was used to indicate the affiliation of civil (including merchant ships), and the state flags of other states are still used to indicate the affiliation of civil (including merchant) ships to the state. It's commonplace.
But white-blue-red the flag remained on the ships taking part in the hostilities.
From the entry of the Danish envoy in St. Petersburg Just Yul May 1, 1710:
“All other ordinary ships: flutes, galliots, boats and the so-called karbas, assigned to depart for Vyborg with provisions, guns, ammunition, carry three-lane white-blue-red flags and red vanes"
Attended white-blue-red flag as a state symbol and on land armies.
Officer's scarf of a soldier of the era of Peter I
White-blue-red colors were present on the pennants of ships and galleys naval fleet throughout the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries.
Pennant of warships of the Baltic Fleet until 1865
St. George pennant (award for hero ships)
Russian ships under Russian white-blue-red flag participated in:
- Russian-Swedish
- Russian-Turkish
- and other wars
Under the Russian white-blue-red famous Russian naval commanders led their fleets with the tricolor:
- Ushakov
- Spiridov
- Apraksin
- Lazarev
- Nakhimov
- Kornilov
- Istomin
- and others.
Under this flag, Russian sailors made many geographical discoveries and discovered a whole continent.
Aivazovsky "Ice Mountains" 1870 (discovery of Antarctica by the Russian expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev)
applied white-blue-red flag in the Russian navy and in the XNUMXth century.
Flags of ships and watercrafts of sea fortresses
If these ships were manned by servicemen under the command of an officer, then the Andreevsky flag was placed in the canton, but if the crew was civilian and controlled by a non-officer, then the tricolor was located in the canton.
Coat of arms of the Russian Empire
Let's talk a little about the black-yellow-white flag. This flag is now known as "Flag of the Russian Empire" - but in fact, as such, the black-yellow-white flag has never been a state flag. This so-called "Stamped Flag" in the colors of the emblem of the Russian Empire (or the imperial standard): a black eagle on a golden field with a white cockade. This is directly written in Decree No. 33289 of Emperor Alexander II on June 11, 1858 from the Complete Code of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire:
"The highest approved drawing coat of arms of the Empire on banners, flags and other items used for decoration on solemn occasions"
The flag was never adopted - the society preferred the white-blue-red tricolor. As shown, this flag is present as the state flag in Aivazovsky's 1870 painting. White-blue-red the monument to Pushkin in Moscow on June 6, 1880 was surrounded by banners. They also came to the monument to the grenadiers - the heroes of Plevna in 1877.
Therefore, by the Decree of the Russian Emperor Alexander III on April 28, 1883 on the state flag, the white-blue-red flag was recognized as the only state one:
“The police see to it that on those solemn occasions when it is recognized as possible to allow the decoration of buildings with flags, it should be used exclusively Russian flag, consisting of three stripes: top-white, medium-blue and bottom-red colors"
This was confirmed by the Decree of Emperor Nicholas II on April 29, 1896 on the national flag (the law on the state flag of the Russian Empire):
"12858. - April 29. The highest command announced by the Temporary Manager of the Naval Ministry (Sobr. Uzak. April 1898, 28, art. 685) - on recognition in all cases the white-blue-red national flag.
The Sovereign Emperor, according to the most loyal report of His Imperial Highness, the Chief Commander of the Fleet and the Naval Department, on the 29th day of April 1896, His Highest deigned to recognize in all cases the white-blue-red flag as national "
The flags of the Admiralty and Baltic shipyards, Izhora and Obukhov steel plants adopted in 1908
So white-blue-red was also the flag of workers and workers.
During the First World War under Russian soldiers defended Russia from the Germans with a white-blue-red flag, for example, the future chiefs of staff of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War (future marshals and Heroes of the Soviet Union): Zhukov and Vasilevsky.
Tricolor and "Vlasov"
This paragraph would not have appeared if some "communists" articles about the national flag did not advertise Vlasov (a member of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks since 1930) and the collaborationist Eastern Legion headed by him.
Andrey Vlasov participated in the civil war of Russians against Russians (and all against all). In 1930 he joined the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. But during the Great Patriotic War, he did not want to fight against the Germans - he went over to the side of Nazi Germany and continued to fight against the Russians for the Germans. Unlike Shaposhnikov, Vasilevsky and Zhukov, who during the First World War defended their state from the Germans under a white-blue-red flag. And after the change of political leadership, they continued to defend Russia already under the red flag.
But under every mention of the white-blue-red flag is some pseudo-communist - who considers it his "international" duty to recall the existence of Vlasov and the Germans' attempts to introduce Russian state symbols among collaborators (including the white-blue-red flag). True, such people do not think: why did the Germans decide to try to use the white-blue-red flag when recruiting defectors? Because this will give an interesting answer: the Germans who fought against the USSR (and Russia in its composition) chose the white-blue-red flag as the symbolism of collaborators like the communist Vlasov and the collaborators from the Eastern Legion led by him - precisely because the white-blue-red the flag was an ancient symbol of the Russian state and intuitively evoked a response from the population of Russia. That is, it corresponded to the tasks of recruiting the Russian population - it could be successfully used by German propaganda against the Russian population.
The Nazis generally took for their collaborationist units the national flags of those countries from which the fighters were. This does not make the tricolor or St. Andrew's flag a symbol of the enemy.
During the war, the Germans tried to introduce the white-blue-red flag as a symbol of collaborators for the same reason that German saboteurs dressed in the uniform of Soviet military personnel, and German propaganda conducted Russophobic agitation in Russian.
At the same time, it makes no sense for Russians to play along with German Russophobes and abandon their ancient symbol - only because the German Nazis, through the communist defector Vlasov and other collaborators, tried to discredit him with their activities directed against Russia.
Need to say, the leadership of the USSR did not consider the white-blue-red flag to be enemy (recognizing it historical a symbol) neither before the Second World War nor after.
Why white-blue-red
Some claim that the white-blue-red flag was a "gift" from the Dutch. It is not known where such individuals get their knowledge from (probably they compose themselves, or maybe there is a training manual?), But data and any sources that the tricolor "was a gift from the Dutch" No. But we have a demanding statement of the Dutchman D. Butler, who actually built the "Eagle":
“And with flowers (flag) like a great sovereign (Russian) will indicate; but only on ships whom state ship, of state and banner. "
That is, in the opinion of the foreigners themselves, the white-blue-red flag on the Orel was the state flag of Russia installed at the direction of the Russian sovereign (foreigners are just executors of the Russian order).
By the way, the stripe on the Dutch flag orange or ore yellow (red with a noticeable admixture of yellow), and in Russian - lingonberry or scribbled (that is, red in the absence of an admixture of yellowness).
Why white-blue-red?
There are several versions - why white-blue-red became the flag of the Russian state.
According to one of them, the Russian state white and blue flag received colors in honor of the banner of the sovereign of all Rus' (and then Moscow as his residence): a white rider with a blue cloak (or other elements of clothing) on a red background.
George the Victorious was extremely revered in Rus'. And there is an explanation for this. Saint George is the warrior-patron of farmers (the literal translation of the name into Russian is "farmer"). In ancient times, a significant part of the population of the Russian state was made up of peasants - it is not surprising that George became a state symbol already in the 1497th century under the Russian prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich. George is also depicted on the seals of the Russian prince Yuri Vladimirovich (Yaroslav's great-grandson) and his grandson Yuri Vsevolodovich. George is also depicted on the seal of Ivan Vasilyevich in XNUMX.
According to another version, the white-blue-red colors on the flag are the colors of the Mother of God revered in Rus' as the patroness of the state.
White-blue-red colors are generally common in the Orthodox Christian environment - this is probably why these colors ended up on the flag of the Russian state.
Or perhaps white, blue and red are some of the most common and persistent natural dyes (constituting a balanced color spectrum).
Information