Everyone should know not onlythe past of his country, but also the history of the emergence of its main symbols of state power. In this article, we would like to describe the Imperial, or the National Emblem, black-yellow-white flag, whose it, when it appeared and what it personified.
What does the flag mean?
The banner of any country has a deep sacredmeaning and capacitively expresses its originality. This official symbol of statehood represents the nation, describing its spiritual reality. The flags depict important symbolic emblems, the emblem or its individual elements, which conditionally can tell about significant historical events, traditions, beliefs and even about the economy and geographical location of the country. The colors of the banner always have a deep meaning, expressing the unity of the people, its power, the desire for freedom and peace. The Russian black-yellow-white flag became a sacred symbol of the Great Country, state power and fortress, stability and inviolability of the historical borders of our Motherland. We will describe it in detail later.
The history of the Russian flag. The first national flag
State flags, like hymns, beganto appear in European countries only from the end of the XVIII century. Until that time, of course, there were various banners and arms of aristocratic families, dynasties, merchant and military fleets, badges of guilds and shops. In Russia, military banners-banners were distributed. They often depicted the faces of the Mother of God, Savior and Saints. They were sacred, like icons, often prayed before them and prayers served. Tsarist banners were considered banners of the state, but until the XVII century had no official status, so often changed their appearance, color and shape. It is believed that the origin of the first Russian flag was put by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who issued two special edicts in 1668-1669. They ordered to raise over the Russian warships a white-blue-red banner.
Flags of the reign of Peter I and Elizabeth Petrovna
Later, Peter I continued the work of creatingstate banner. In 1693, the "flag of the Tsar of Moscow" was raised on the St. Peter's warship, which was a cloth (4.6 by 4.9 m) made of horizontal stripes of blue, red and white colors. On the flag in the middle of the golden paint was a two-headed eagle. In 1699, the tsar himself drew a sketch of the three-lane flag of the Russian kingdom. In addition to the tricolor used on military ships, Peter I approved another state standard - a yellow cloth with a black eagle painted in the center, which held four maps with images of the Caspian, White and Azov seas, as well as the Gulf of Finland.
Russian flag black, yellow, white - "imperial"
The next national flag was created by the daythe coronation of Alexander II. He looked like this: on the golden panel were depicted a black eagle and white George the Victorious on horseback. Proposed to create such a flag, the heraldist BV Köhne, who was engaged in the development of the arms of the Russian Empire and the Romanov dynasty. He believed that for the new Russian national flag it is necessary to establish the coat of arms - black, silver and gold, as it was accepted in the heraldry of many European countries. Later, on June 11, 1856, Alexander II, by his order, approved the new appearance of the National Flag and established from now on that all banners, standards, pennants and other items used in ceremonial occasions should have the coat of arms of the Russian Empire. So in Russia there was a black-yellow-white flag. This tricolor was used on various solemn days, including the coronation of Alexander III. It looked like a black-yellow-white flag of the Russian Empire as shown in the following figure.
What symbolized the banner, approved by Emperor Alexander II
Каждый цвет флага - черный, желтый, белый - был deeply symbolic. Let's take a closer look at what they meant. Black, the color of the two-headed eagle, showed imperial power, statehood, fortress and stability. He pointed to the inviolability of the borders of the Russian Empire, stretching from the Pacific to the Baltic Sea. He marked the strength and might of a huge country. Gold (or yellow) color also had a huge value. In the past, it was the main color of the banner of Orthodox Byzantium and was perceived by the Russian people as a symbol of spirituality and religiosity. The yellow color symbolized the desire for moral development, perfection, and also the firmness of the spirit. He marked the preservation of the Orthodox faith in purity and the comprehension of Divine truth.
Which flag: black, yellow, white or Petrine "tricolor" was used at the end of the XIX century?
Despite the fact that the new Russian flag,black-yellow-white, was created on the basis of state stamped flowers, which carried a significant sacral burden, society it was perceived solely as a government standard. The black and yellow colors of many Russian people were associated with Austria and the Habsburgs' house. But the "Petrovsky" white-blue-red tricolor was closer to the people and was considered civil, gradually acquiring the status of "philistine". Therefore, in the 70 - 80's. XIX in the Russian Empire was the place to be called the "duality" of the state symbol.
"Petrovsky" tricolor - the national flag of the Russian Empire
During the coronation, Alexander III was surprised that,that the Kremlin itself and the solemn procession were decorated in official colors, and the capital was decorated with white-blue-red banners. Subsequently, the emperor signed a decree, according to which the "Peter's" tricolor acquired an official status and became the national flag of the Russian Empire. Since the entry into force of the decree, the flag "black, white, yellow strip" has been considered the banner of the reigning house of the Romanovs. Emperor Nicholas II, through his decree of 1896, consolidated the position of the white-blue-red banner as the only state one.
Return of the black-yellow-white flag
Approaching the important date - the 300th anniversary of the governmentThe houses of the Romanovs, as well as the bourgeois-democratic revolution, became the reason for a turn in politics concerning national colors. Adherents of the monarchical foundations wished to return the flag "black, yellow, white strip", which for them acted as a symbol of protection of the Russian Empire from the coming dramatic events. In 1914, an attempt was made to combine two flags - a "Petrovsky" tricolor and a black-and-white-yellow "imperme". As a result, a new banner appeared, in which colors were present - blue, black, red, yellow, white. The flag looked like this: in the upper corner of the white-blue-red rectangular canvas was a square of yellow color. In it was painted a black double-headed eagle.
Red flag of the USSR
After the October Revolution, the state flaghas acquired a new look: it was a simple red cloth of a rectangular shape with no inscriptions and any emblems. It became a symbol of Freedom and marked the advent of a new era in the life of the country. On April 8, 1918, at a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars, a proposal was made to approve, as an official red flag with the letters "PPSS" denoting the famous motto, which called for the unification of the proletarians of all countries. Further, in April 1918, the red flag with the inscription "The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic" was recognized as the flag of the state.
Using a white-blue-red flag
From 1923 to 1991 the official flag was recognized as such. Nevertheless, the "Peter's" tricolor continued to be used in some cases.
During the Great Patriotic War, he, along withThe St. Andrew's flag served some anti-Soviet formations. For example, the Russian Liberation Army under the leadership of Lieutenant-General AA Vlasov used a slightly modified Andreevsky flag with a red band along the edge. Note that the use of Russian national symbols was common in the collaborative formations of the Third Reich. Later in the 70's. white-blue-red colors were used in the anti-communist organization - VSHSON. In 1987, the "Petrovsky" tricolor began to be used by various patriotic groups, for example, the society "Pamyat". In 1989, the mass democratic movement adopted tricolor as its official symbol. At the same time, monarchists and followers of conservative movements began to re-use the black and yellow-white flag of Imperial Russia. In 1989, the Patriotic Association "Russian flag" issued a proposal to abolish the red flag and again make the official white-blue-red banner. The Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR decided (22.08.91g.) To recognize the white-blue-red tricolor as the official symbol of the state. On November 1, 1991, it was adopted as the state flag of the RSFSR.
The symbolic meaning of the white, blue and red colors of the modern Russian flag
Nowadays there are several interpretations of colorsflag of the Russian Federation. Since ancient times, white denoted frankness and nobility, blue - honesty, chastity, fidelity and impeccability, and red - love, generosity, courage and boldness. Another common interpretation was the correlation of flowers with the historical territories of Russia. So, white associated with White, blue - Small, and red - Great Russia, symbolizing the unification of three nations - Little Russians, Great Russians and Belarusians. There were other interpretations of color symbolism. For example, white color was considered a symbol of Freedom, red - the state, and the blue - symbolized the Virgin. Sometimes, the colors of the "Petrine" tricolor were interpreted as a trinity of royal power, Orthodox faith and the Russian people.
Instead of concluding
So, in this article we have consideredblack-yellow-white flag: whose it is, when it arose and what it personified. We learned how the Russian banners changed over time and what they represented themselves. We described not only the "Peter's" banner, but also the red flag of the USSR. And, of course, they told when the white-blue-red tricolor was adopted as the main state symbol of the Russian Federation.
