subject: The National Flag of Russia [print this page] The National Flag of Russia The National Flag of Russia
I have researched and studied banners and flags of all kinds, including school banners. National flags fascinate me, especially those considered a little more controversial or those that have been displayed from steel flag poles and such for only a relatively short time. The Russian flag is a tricolor flag, meaning it displays three colors on three horizontal or vertical bands, also called stripes.
Adopted back in the spring of 1883, the flag was first used for purposes of identification on Russian commercial and military vessels at sea. The then national flag did not last very long. It was substituted by the so called "Bolshevik" government, with a red colored flag displaying communist symbols, till the end of the Soviet time period ('91).
Interestingly, and like other countries in the world, Russia did not fly a representing national flag from a flag pole till the mid 1600-s. Some historic professionals claim that the current colors of the tricolor were taken from the Dutch one, which also displays the colors red, white and blue on 3 horizontal stripes.
The earliest mentioning of a Russian flag was found in documents that tie into the construction of the first Russian naval ship. During construction, there was a need for a flag. The vessel's chief engineer was from Dutch origin and his expertise was sought as to what was done in the Netherlands...
Banners and flags, including school banners, are produced from all kinds of materials and are usually manufactured using the correct flag size or proportion. The Russian tricolor's proportion is 1:2. The horizontal stripes are each equally sized, the upper stripe is white, the middle stripe is azure (blue-ish) and the lower stripe is colored red. The colors are the so called "Pan-Slavic" colors. Controversy exists however as to what the origin and reasoning for the choice of colors really was.
This respective country is referred to officially as "Russia" and the "Russian Federation," and counts over 140 million people or inhabitants. Banners and flags of all kinds such as school banners and flags are attached to objects of all kinds, including flag poles, throughout the land.
