Russia’s flag is a horizontal tricolour of white, blue, and red, restored as the state flag in 1991 after the Soviet period and standardised by law in 1993. Its origins trace to the late 17th century and Peter the Great’s merchant ensigns. The tricolour served the Russian Empire until 1917–1918, returned briefly in the 1917 provisional period, and was re‑adopted after the USSR’s dissolution. Protocol codifies proportions (commonly 2:3), colour standards, co‑display, and respectful handling.
Russia’s white‑blue‑red tricolour—familiar from embassy façades, stadiums, and summit tables—links modern statehood to a seventeenth‑century maritime beginning.
Origins. The tricolour’s genesis is commonly tied to Peter the Great’s efforts to modernise Russia’s fleet and commerce. In the 1690s, merchant ships flew white‑blue‑red banners influenced by Dutch practice, with the arrangement soon stabilising into horizontal stripes. Through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the tricolour gained currency as a national emblem for civil use, while imperial eagles and black‑yellow‑white cockades populated court heraldry and military standards.
Imperial era. By the late nineteenth century, usage differentiated: black‑yellow‑white sometimes served as imperial colours, while the white‑blue‑red tri‑band stood for the nation in civil contexts. The tricolour fluttered over public buildings and merchant ships and became a fixture of international display even as the Romanov arms dominated state seals.
Revolution and eclipse. The upheavals of 1917 brought brief revival and then eclipse. The provisional government used the tricolour; Bolshevik victory replaced it with red flags bearing hammer‑and‑sickle devices and the red star. Throughout the Soviet period, the tricolour persisted in exile communities and historical memory but not as a state flag.
Restoration. As the USSR unraveled, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic replaced the Soviet banner with the tricolour (1991). A 1993 constitutional law fixed the white‑blue‑red as the state flag, setting proportions (commonly 2:3), and standardising colour references for manufacturing. The law prescribes respectful handling, co‑display in federal and regional settings, and dignified retirement. August 22, the day of the 1991 re‑raising over the White House in Moscow, became National Flag Day.
Symbolism
Explanations vary: white for nobility and frankness, blue for faith or the Virgin’s robe in Orthodox tradition, red for courage and statehood; or, alternatively, colours of pan‑Slavic kinship later influential in the region. Official texts avoid dogmatic assignments, preferring historical continuity as the flag’s core meaning.
Protocol
and variants. The state flag bears no arms; the coat of arms (double‑headed eagle) occupies seals and official devices. Military and presidential standards adapt heraldry separately. Federal law specifies precedence when flown with regional flags across the federation’s subjects and sets standards for diplomatic, maritime, and ceremonial use. Misuse and defacement are sanctionable.
Continuity
Since 1993, minor circulars refined colourimetric values and guidance for digital reproduction. Education and public campaigns emphasise correct display, especially on public buildings and schools. Abroad, embassies and consulates maintain strict procurement standards to ensure crisp horizontal banding and durable fabrics appropriate to climate.
Global visibility. Russia’s tricolour is among the world’s most recognisable, encountered in multilateral halls and international sport. It is, however, always paired domestically with the coat of arms in official interiors, maintaining the Russian separation between national flag and armorial state emblem.
From merchant ensign to state flag, the white‑blue‑red tri‑band has traversed empire, revolution, and restoration—its persistence a function of maritime origins, practical clarity, and the power of a simple, enduring design.