Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated the country’s citizens on the Day of the State Flag, which he touted as a symbol of the nation’s unity.
In a video address on Monday, he underscored that "our banners, like our state, have a thousand-year history," recalling that national flags with various colors were used in the country for centuries.
“All historical flags and symbols of Russia require respect from citizens, all public forces and government officials, because they reflect the continuity of development of our nation and statehood,” Putin said.
He noted that the Russian people have a special attitude towards the white-blue-red banner, which is "our official state flag, approved in this capacity by [Russia’s Tsar] Peter the Great."
"We have overcome many hardships and ordeals with this flag flying overhead, but, in fact, we have restored the sovereignty of our country," the Russian head of state emphasized.
History of the Tricolor
The Russian National Flag Day was established on the basis of the decree of the country’s president issued on August 20, 1994.
On this day in 1991, the Supreme Council of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) adopted a resolution "On the Official Recognition and Use of the National Flag of the RSFSR." The move, just a few months before the official disintegration of the Soviet Union, brought back a design similar to the pre-revolutionary white-blue-red tricolor abolished in 1917.
The Soviet Union’s red sickle-and-hammer flag was lowered in Moscow’s Kremlin on the night of December 25, 1991, and the Russian white-blue-red tricolor was raised in its place, heralding the breakup of the USSR.
The history of the country’s tricolor dates back to 1668, when the white-blue-red flag was hoisted for the very first time on the first-ever Russian ship Orel during the reign of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich. On January 20, 1705, Peter the Great issued a decree ordering all merchant ships to fly the white-blue-red flag.
The tricolor was formally approved as the state flag of Russia only on the eve of the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II in 1896.
The three colors of the flag received an official interpretation, with red meaning "sovereignty," blue referring to the Mother of God (under whose heavenly protection Russia’s land was deemed to be), and white referring to freedom and independence.