The nation of Russia has designed and used various flags throughout history. Listed in this article are flags — federal, administrative, military, etc. — used between the time of the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721), Russian Empire (1721–1917) and today's Russian Federation (1991–present day). Also included are flags from the USSR (1922–1991), a country that existed as a federal union of 15 distinct national republics, including the Russian SFSR (1917–1991).
Flag of the Russian Federation from 12 December 1991 to 11 December 1993. Still included in the State Heraldic Register.
1993–present
Proportion changed from 1:2 to 2:3. First, the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On the State Flag of the Russian Federation", adopted on December 11, 1993, then Constitutional law "On the State Flag of the Russian Federation" adopted on 25 December 2000.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, for a brief time, many Soviet era flags were still in use until new designs replaced them in the early 2000s. The new flags of the Russian Armed Forces are heavily inspired by the regimental banners and flags of the late Imperial Russian Army and Navy.
In 1992, the ensign of the Imperial Russian Navy was revived and replaced the Soviet era Naval Flag, however the new design used a lighter shade of blue, rather than the traditional dark blue. On December 29, 2000, the flag was changed to its original historical appearance with dark blue.
The Aerospace Forces are a branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, it has three arms, the Russian Air Force, the Air Defense Forces, and the Russian Space Forces. The Air Defense Forces does not have a flag.
Each branch of the Armed Forces has a representative banner, one for the Ground Forces, the Aerospace Forces, the Navy, and one to represent the entire Armed Forces as a whole.
The first banner of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was introduced on 8 December 2000, later confirmed by Federation Council on 20 December and signed by Vladimir Putin on 29 December. It was a plain red field, it symbolized the traditional red color of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union.
2003–
The present banner of the Armed Forces of Russian Federation is introduced under a resolution by State Duma in June 2003. This banner consists of two double-headed eagles, on the obverse side is the coat of arms of the Russian Federation, and on the reverse side is the middle emblem of the armed forces of the Russian Federation. The banner follows the principles and format of historically older Russian military flags that were last used prior to the Russian Revolution in 1917. It also contains four stars in each corner of the banner to symbolize the heritage of the Soviet Armed Forces. The reverse side also contains two pieces of text written in old style Slavic typeface, the top side of the banner contains the inscription "Fatherland" ("Отечество") and on the bottom side the inscription reads "Duty [and] Honor" ("Долг Честь").[1]
2002–
Banner of the Ground Forces
The banner of the Russian Ground Forces was introduced by decree No. 141 on February 4, 2002, by Vladimir Putin. It is similar to the above banner, but doesn't have stars and inscriptions, on the reverse side is the middle emblem of the Russian Ground Forces.
2002–
Banner of the Air Force/Aerospace Forces
The banner of the Russian Air Forces was introduced by decree No. 141 on February 4, 2002, by Vladimir Putin.[2] It became the banner of the newly created Aerospace Forces branch, which saw the merger between the Russian Air Forces and the Air Defence Forces on August 1, 2015.
2000–
Banner of the Navy
The ensign of the Russian Navy is used as the banner of the Russian Navy. On December 29, 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a federal law making the naval ensign of the Russian navy the official banner of the Russian Navy.[3]
The Victory Banner was a historical banner raised atop of the Reichstag building in Berlin, by the Red Army, on May 1, 1945. It signified the victory over Nazi Germany, and served as the main symbol of victory of the Soviet people. It was amended in Russian law in 1996, but with a new design to distance the new Russian state from any usage of Communist iconography. In 2007, following pressure from Red Army veterans, the original Victory Banner design replaced the 1996 variant, and has since then served its usage in virtually every single Victory Day parade held across Russia.
Banner
Date
Use
Description
1996–2007
Symbol of Victory Banner
The Symbol of Victory Banner was an alternative to using the historic Victory Banner, which contained the hammer and sickle.
This section covers flags of the various government paramilitary organizations which are not part of the Russian military, but are structured similarly by ranking system, uniforms, and are equipped with both light and heavy arms.
Prior to the creation of the first official flag of Russia in 1858, several merchant flags were used to represent Russia, the most notable being the White, Blue, and Red tricolor devised by Tsar Peter the Great. The historical State Flags of Russia were signed by decree to officially represent the country as a whole. The Black, Yellow, and White tricolor became the first official flag of Russia in 1858, with previous flags being de facto unofficial flags of Russia.
Peter the Great's tricolour was the merchant flag of the Russian Empire. However, the flags used by the Russian Army were regimental flags with the Double-Headed Eagle, the official Imperial symbol, in the centre. The Imperial Standard was the black Double-Headed Eagle displayed on a golden banner, which represented the Empire and the Emperor, the absolute ruler of Russia.[4] When the black-yellow-white flag was in use between 1858 and 1896, the white-blue-red flag was still used as a merchant ensign.[4]
On 11 June 1858, by decree of Alexander II, the heraldic colors of the empire were approved for flags, banners and other items (draperies, rosettes, etc.). It became the first State flag of Russia in 1865. The white-blue-red flag was reintroduced in 1883 but the black-yellow-white remained in use until it was fully replaced in all circumstances in 1896.[5][6][7][8][9]
1896–1917
On 28 April 1883, Alexander III amended the 1858 decree "on flags for decorating buildings on solemn occasions" to be replaced exclusively with the white-blue-red colours. This meant that the white-blue-red flag was now to be used on land in addition to at seas. It fully replaced the black-yellow-white flag when it became the only official National flag in time for the coronation of Nicholas II in 1896.
The first flag of the RSFSR was established by decree on 13 April 1918. However the law never provided an official drawing or depiction. Instead, a simple red flag was commonly used. The description of the decree stated that the "flag of the Russian Republic is set on a red banner with the inscription: Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (Russian: Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика)." The decree however did not specify the exact shade of red used on the flag, nor the exact placement and size of the inscription, the ratio of the flag itself and the colour and font of the words. There is no evidence to suggest such a flag was ever produced and used. Later that year, on 17 June 1918, a decree was established on the new state flag of the RSFSR. This time, the law provided an official image for the flag. The ratio of the flag was 1:2, located in the upper left corner, the letters "R.S.F.S.R" appeared in old Slavonic font and were surrounded by a golden border.
1937–1954
Red banner with stylized "RSFSR" abbreviation in gold Cyrillic letters in the honour canton.
1954–1991
The flag of the Soviet Union with a blue band at the hoist.
1991
Used by protesters during the August Coup and proclaimed national flag on 22 August 1991, then formally adopted as the state flag on 1 November.
Unofficial standard of the president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, used during the inauguration of Boris Yeltsin on 10 July 1991.[13][14] A law establishing the official standard for the President of Russia was not created until 1994, at the time of Yeltsin's first inauguration, an impromptu standard was created solely for the event, but without any official decree or design.
Mandylion, an image of Christ portrayed on a red flag, with the Inscriptions IC XC NIKA (Christ will win) on all corners. Nowadays used as a "Russian Orthodox flag".
The armorial banner of Peter the Great was created in 1696. Made from red taffeta with a white border, the banner depicted a golden eagle hovering over the sea. On the chest of the eagle in the circle is the Savior, next to the Holy Spirit and the holy apostles Peter and Paul. The banner was likely made for the second Azov campaign.
A tricolour of horizontal stripes, white, blue and red, with a yellow canton with the coat of arms. Introduced as a flag for private use on the outbreak of World War I on 8 September 1914 with introduction as a national flag planned for after the war, hence never officially adopted.[15]
1948, 1949
State flag of the Russian SFSR
A proposal for the state flag of the RSFSR was created by artist Alexey Kokorekin [ru]. It added white and blue horizontal stripes at the bottom, both two stripes took 1⁄6 of the flag's height.
c. 1949
State flag of the Russian SFSR
Another proposal with the traditional Russian tricolour at the bottom.
c. 1950
State flag of the Russian SFSR
Another proposal for the state flag of the RSFSR was created by Mikhail Rodionov. It consisted of a traditional tricolour flag and a hammer and a sickle in the middle of the flag. Because of his proposal, he was accused of anti-Sovietism in 1950, at the Leningrad affair case.[16]
1994; 1997
State flag of the Russian Federation
Project flags of Russia after the dissolution of the USSR with communist symbols slightly modified, submitted multiple times in the State Duma by Communist and Agrarian deputies.[17][18][19]
2007
Symbol of Victory Banner
As described in a bill from 2007 vetoed by Vladimir Putin's presidential decree.[20] The flag was used on public display during celebrations of the Victory Day and other events related to past wars during the first decade of the 2000s, along with the state flag.
^Bill 97700653-2 «On the State Flag of the Russian Federation», submitted by the CPRF deputy Oleg Shinkarev on 11 February 1997 stated that «the State Flag of the Russian Federation is a rectangular red colored sheet. In the left upper corner of it are golden hammer and sickle. Flag's ratio is 1:2» (article 1).
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Media related to Flags of Russia at Wikimedia Commons
